DETROIT – With a grittier approach offensively, The Utah Mammoth closed out their three-game road trip with a dominant victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Led by their captain Clayton Keller, the Mammoth found a way to close out the third period and secured four out of six possible points on the road to keep their heads above water.
Here are the key takeaways from the Mammoths 4-1 victory in Hockey Town.
The Detroit Red Wings have constructed a fortress in the heart of Hockey Town
Take one step inside Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and you’re instantly transported into a hockey temple worthy of a place known as ‘Hockey Town.’
Replacing their former home of Joe Louis Arena in 2017, this newer barn is overflowing with tradition, history and symbols that pay homage to the organization’s many years of championship hockey.
At every turn, stairwell, point of entry, etc. there is a tribute to the history of the Red Wings that fills your soul with an indescribable passion for the sport.
Whether it’s a statue or mural of the legendary Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey), Ted Lindsay, Alexander Peter “Fats” Delvecchio or various banners from any of their 11 Stanley Cups, you take in their hallowed history with every single breath.
Growing up a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, I never thought I’d see the day where I would be saying nice things about the Detroit Red Wings.
I take back everything bad I ever said about the Red Wings.
This is one of the greatest sweaters ever & their arena is a temple in the heart of Hockey Town.
More soon…#TusksUp #LGRW pic.twitter.com/TR6vQeWgHJ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 17, 2025
Following a game-six victory over my Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, they delivered my first taste of hockey heart break as I watched Chris Chelios, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Osgood lift Lord Stanley over their heads instead of Sidney Crosby.
But even I could not deny the history and tradition that flows through those walls in Detroit.
Whether you love them or you hate them, Hockey Town is a must as the Red Wings have done a magnificent job of creating an atmosphere that reflects the true nature and history of the NHL.
Utah played a gritty style of offense against Detroit, and it worked
Ever since Logan Cooley went down with injury, the Utah Mammoth have made more of an emphasis to play a gritty style of offense.
What does that mean?
Getting pucks and bodies to the net while screening the goaltender and crashing the paint hard.
“We’re playing a simpler game with more drive,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said. “We’re more net front presence, we’re more dirty, [scoring] dirty goals, and going to the dirty areas.”
“If you look at our first two goals, there what I call ‘blue paint goals’ where you go at the net and then after the rest opens up…We need to keep pounding the message and take pride in doing it.”
For the most part, this approach has worked out for Utah as they pushed the Florida Panthers to their limits, beat the Seattle Kraken and then orchestrated an impressive comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins with that same gritty style.
Notably, after going away from it in a disappointing 4-1 loss to Boston, Utah re-established themselves in front of the net against the Red Wings and scored a few greasy goals to help them claim a huge win to close out the trip.
That’s our Captain! 🔥
🚨1-0, Utah! pic.twitter.com/H7JvinB3UZ
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 18, 2025
Bain Train makes it 2-0, Utah! 🚂 pic.twitter.com/5wU0B53bYJ
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 18, 2025
Team-leading 16th goal of the season for Gunner! pic.twitter.com/2gQMDTc1oe
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) December 18, 2025
Utah’s number one focus moving forward should be playing gritty hockey and scoring greasy goals.
Not just because the best teams are winning Cups that way, but that style will help them keep their heads above water while also opening up other forms of offense.
You beat a team in front or down low, they have to respect you in other areas which generally results in more space for shooters and facilitators to operate in.
As demonstrated by their win in Detroit, if Utah can consistently play this way, a lot of things will start to go right for the Mammoth during a critical stretch without No. 92 in their lineup.
Led by their Captain, Utah buckled down during a critical stretch late in the third
After allowing Detroit to cut their two-goal lead in half near the midway point of the third period, the Mammoth orchestrated something special that’s often eluded them this season.
Rather than allowing the other team completely back into the game with the eventual final outcome determined by just a single goal, Utah put their foot on the gas and closed it out with several exclamation points.
“A lot of guys played well tonight. Everywhere you look. Our d-core was rock solid. Our goalie was rock solid. I liked our four lines… I’m really proud of the effort and the character of our guys,” Tourigny explained.
Look, tonight was a group effort.
No doubt about it.
From top to bottom, everyone played a complete 60 minutes of relentless hockey to get the win.
However, there was a noticeable difference on the ice and a lot of it had to do with the efforts of No. 9.
“Kells, he competes,” Tourigny said. “Tonight, he wanted to make the difference. He scored a big goal, made a great play on Stenny’s goal.”
“But it’s the fight he had. I felt like that about our team & it started with our captain.”
You want to discuss the impact a single player can have on a team?
The Mammoth are 8-2 this season when Keller lights the lamp.
That’s huge.
When he’s flying, playing a complete 200-foot game and scoring goals, it pushes the rest of the team to the next level.
Tonight, that was obvious as the Mammoth buckled down during a critical stretch, remained hungry and attacked Detroit rather than trying to defend the lead.
Notably, Keller’s handprints were all over that as he registered an apple on Stenlund’s goal to completely ice the game.
“When you have the lead, you don’t necessarily want to play like it. It’s a zero-zero game,” Jack McBain explained.
“There was more of a will to win I’d say.”
When Keller illustrates that relentless will to win, it’s contagious.
Once he’s able to master that kind of leadership, Utah will be able to achieve great things.
For now, two points and four total on a difficult road trip to keep their heads above water.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will begin a two-game home stand against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night at 7 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Mammoth+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
Take us with you, wherever you go.
