SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Mammoth captured their third-straight win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night amidst a heated and physical battle. Following a heavyweight tilt between Jack McBain and Alexey Toropchenko to start the game, a possessed Nick Schmaltz led Utah to victory with a three-point night.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s 4-2 victory over St. Louis.
The Jack McPain Train kicked things off with a bang after challenging Alexey Toropchenko for the previous hit on Logan Cooley
Utah Mammoth fans didn’t have to wait long for the fireworks to begin on Friday night as Jack McBain dropped the gloves with Alexey Toropchenko right from the initial puck drop and things quickly escalated.
Hurt Cooley and you will answer for it. https://t.co/OEyThtcHHp
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 10, 2026
The cause for the first scrap?
McBain wanted to send a message to Toropchenko, and the rest of the league for that matter, that if anyone ever lays a hand on Logan Cooley, they will answer for it.
“The answer from Jack McBain from what happened in the last game, that was probably the item of the night for the Bear,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said with a grin on his face.
Logan Cooley had to leave the game after this knee on knee contact pic.twitter.com/mECkSW48UF
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 30, 2025
The last time these two teams met, Toropchenko caught Cooley in the neutral zone with a knee-on-knee hit that resulted in a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct.
That’s a major no-no and led to an eventual response which McBain took personally as he unleashed a series of right hooks to his challenger’s face, dominating the fight.
Bain train 👊🚂 pic.twitter.com/p4swsn3mSB
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026
“We didn’t like the hit on Cooley…it showed how much guy’s care for each other…I’m not saying it has to happen but I’m saying I didn’t mind it,” Tourigny explained.
“Tell me how Logan Cooley feels right now, seriously. Put yourself in his shoes. His teammates had his back…I won’t lie to say that I like the game of hockey that way.”
Following the McBain fight, the Blues then forced Brandon Tanev to answer for a hit they disagreed with as No. 13 pulverized Jimmy Snuggerud along the boards.
That’s hockey.
Every team is a brotherhood and if you mess with one player, you’re almost guaranteed to answer for it with your fists later.
Answering those calls is even the role of some specific skaters and has been for a long time as Marty McSorely basically made an entire career out of protecting Wayne Gretzky.
As Tourigny pointed out, those kinds of fights are about standing up for your teammate.
Tonight, McBain showed how much he and the rest of team care for their star player by sending a statement with his fists.
“That’s awesome,” Nick Schmaltz said. “It’s kind of the culture we built in here. Awesome to see that Bainer (Jack McBain) got us going there. Happy we got the win, and he kind of set the tone for us tonight, so it’s great.”
Again, that’s just hockey.
The captain is taking over, and Nick Schmaltz was ‘possessed’ against St. Louis
Ready for the wildest stat of the day?
After scoring his second goal tonight on yet another assist from Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and the captain factored on the same goal for the 198th time for the highest total by a pair of U.S.-born teammates in the history of the National Hockey League.
Doesn’t get much more American than that, am I right?
But how have they accomplished it?
Eight years as teammates, but more recently, stepping up during a critical stretch for the Mammoth and playing “possessed hockey.”
“Schmaltz was possessed [tonight],” Tourigny said. “He was really, really good. He won battles, the speed he had defensively, his faceoffs, his PK, everything.”
To Tourigny’s credit, Schmaltz was absolutely possessed out there.
He dug hard in the dirty areas, conquered most of his battles, won 66 percent of his faceoffs, registered an apple, and scored two goals.
Schmaltzy loves to score against St. Louis 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7Ri1qAI178
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026
Schmaltz and Keller have factored on the same goal for the 198th time for the highest total by a pair of U.S.-born teammates in @NHL history 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EzvM7gwV03
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026
Arguably his best game of the season as he truly was everywhere.
As for Keller, Utah’s captain has started taking over games recently as he’s really settled into his role with a desire to lead his team into the playoffs.
“He’s been great. He’s the leader of our team and makes a lot of big time plays when it matters,” Schmaltz explained.
With 5 points over the last two games and eight over the last five, Keller is finding a way to impact games at a high level.
That’s huge for this team right now as they continue to push for a more favorable spot down the stretch without Logan Cooley for at least another few weeks.
If Utah is going to eventually make the playoffs this season, Keller and Schmaltz need to primarily lead the way.
As of late, they’ve gotten the job done and led the team to three straight wins for the first time since their seven-game win streak in October.
Karel Vejemlka has been on fire as of late, becoming the first goalie to reach 20 wins this season
No need to spend much time on this as Karel Vejmelka has been dominant lately but I would be remiss to not share another wild stat.
Following Utah’s win over St. Louis, Vejmelka became the second Czech goalie to be the NHL’s first goaltender to reach the 20-win mark in a season, joining Dominik Hasek (1996-97 & 1998-99).
That’s some good company to be in as Hasek was not only the greatest Czech goaltender ever with a Stanley Cup and gold medal (1998, Nagano), but he’s also a top five goaltender in NHL history.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Vejmelka said with a big smile. “(Dominik) Hašek is one of the best goalies in NHL history. It’s an honor, and I’m glad about it and happy for it.”
Not to say that No. 70 has reached a comparable level to the legendary Hasek, but he’s been very, very good for the Mammoth lately.
With a .908 save percentage through December and .920 save percentage with four wins in five games in January, Vejmelka has returned to elite form.
He’s quick to react, covering a lot of ground, gobbling up rebounds and making unexpected saves.
That’s the key.
He’s stopping big shots to keep his team in games and giving them a chance to win every single night.
Similar to Keller and Schmaltz, Vejmelka needs to be a dominant driving force for Utah to make the postseason.
Right now, he’s playing out of mind which has earned him the most wins in the NHL to this point in the year.
What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?
The Utah Mammoth will continue their seven-game home stand against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at 5 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.
