The Utah Mammoth got their first ever test of postseason hockey on Sunday night — and things were going well through two periods at T-Mobile Arena, leading the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on the strip.

Unfortunately for the club, they wouldn’t score again, while the Knights rallied with three goals to secure a 4-2 final and open up a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.

Despite the defeat, Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny believes his team will use the first playoff game in franchise history as a learning experience.

“From now on, it’s a race of improvement,” the bench boss said afterwards, per NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika. “We have stuff we can be better at, and we’ll make some adjustments. But I’m really proud of the way we performed.”

Utah didn’t look out of place at all against an experienced Vegas team, outshooting their opponents 33-31 and not backing down from a physical opening contest.

“I think we did a great job during that game, even when they took the lead or when they tied the game,” Tourigny continued. “It did not affect our spirit on the bench. It did not affect the way the guys talked or their intensity or so on and so forth. We even raised our game from there.

“I think we’ll learn a lot through the series, no doubt about it. But I think as a first game, would have loved to win the game, no doubt about it, but I think we pushed back after they took the lead. We stayed in control. The guys were calm on the bench, were even-keeled. We didn’t act like we were a young team or our team (had) a lack of experience. It was the reverse, I felt.”

Although beating a team of the Golden Knights’ caliber is a tall task — Vegas went 7-0-1 down the stretch — the Mammoth proved on Sunday that they won’t be pushed around.

And after the Arizona Coyotes failed to advance to the dance in their final four years of existence, Utah being one of the last eight standing in the Western Conference in just their second season is impressive, regardless of how the series plays out.

If Game 1 is any indication, this promises to be an exciting, bruising, and potentially long first-round series. Game 2 goes Tuesday night, with puck set to drop in Vegas just past 9:30 p.m. ET.

The Utah Mammoth got their first ever test of postseason hockey on Sunday night — and things were going well through two periods at T-Mobile Arena, leading the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on the strip. Unfortunately for the club, they wouldn’t score again, while the Knights rallied with three goals to secure a 4-2 final and open up a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.