\u2014 Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The cause for the first scrap?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer from Jack McBain from what happened in the last game, that was probably the item of the night for the Bear,\u201d Head coach Andre Tourigny said with a grin on his face.<\/p>\n Logan Cooley had to leave the game after this knee on knee contact pic.twitter.com\/mECkSW48UF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 B\/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That\u2019s 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\u2019s face, dominating the fight.<\/p>\n Bain train \ud83d\udc4a\ud83d\ude82 pic.twitter.com\/p4swsn3mSB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t like the hit on Cooley\u2026it showed how much guy\u2019s care for each other\u2026I\u2019m not saying it has to happen but I\u2019m saying I didn\u2019t mind it,\u201d Tourigny explained.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me how Logan Cooley feels right now, seriously. Put yourself in his shoes. His teammates had his back\u2026I won\u2019t lie to say that I like the game of hockey that way.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That\u2019s hockey.<\/p>\n Every team is a brotherhood and if you mess with one player, you\u2019re almost guaranteed to answer for it with your fists later.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n As Tourigny pointed out, those kinds of fights are about standing up for your teammate.<\/p>\n Tonight, McBain showed how much he and the rest of team care for their star player by sending a statement with his fists.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s awesome,\u201d Nick Schmaltz said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, that\u2019s just hockey.<\/p>\n The captain is taking over, and Nick Schmaltz was \u2018possessed\u2019 against St. Louis<\/p>\n Ready for the wildest stat of the day?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t get much more American than that, am I right?<\/p>\n But how have they accomplished it?<\/p>\n Eight years as teammates, but more recently, stepping up during a critical stretch for the Mammoth and playing \u201cpossessed hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSchmaltz was possessed [tonight],\u201d Tourigny said. \u201cHe was really, really good. He won battles, the speed he had defensively, his faceoffs, his PK, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n To Tourigny\u2019s credit, Schmaltz was absolutely possessed out there.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Schmaltzy loves to score against St. Louis \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/7Ri1qAI178<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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<\/a> history \ud83e\udd2f pic.twitter.com\/EzvM7gwV03<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Arguably his best game of the season as he truly was everywhere.<\/p>\n As for Keller, Utah\u2019s captain has started taking over games recently as he\u2019s really settled into his role with a desire to lead his team into the playoffs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been great. He\u2019s the leader of our team and makes a lot of big time plays when it matters,\u201d Schmaltz explained.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n If Utah is going to eventually make the playoffs this season, Keller and Schmaltz need to primarily lead the way.<\/p>\n As of late, they\u2019ve gotten the job done and led the team to three straight wins for the first time since their seven-game win streak in October.<\/p>\n Karel Vejemlka has been on fire as of late, becoming the first goalie to reach 20 wins this season<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Following Utah\u2019s win over St. Louis, Vejmelka became the second Czech goalie to be the NHL\u2019s first goaltender to reach the 20-win mark in a season, joining Dominik Hasek (1996-97 & 1998-99).<\/p>\n That\u2019s 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\u2019s also a top five goaltender in NHL history.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a big accomplishment,\u201d Vejmelka said with a big smile. \u201c(Dominik) Ha\u0161ek is one of the best goalies in NHL history. It\u2019s an honor, and I\u2019m glad about it and happy for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Not to say that No. 70 has reached a comparable level to the legendary Hasek, but he\u2019s been very, very good for the Mammoth lately.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He\u2019s quick to react, covering a lot of ground, gobbling up rebounds and making unexpected saves.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the key.<\/p>\n He\u2019s stopping big shots to keep his team in games and giving them a chance to win every single night.<\/p>\n Similar to Keller and Schmaltz, Vejmelka needs to be a dominant driving force for Utah to make the postseason.<\/p>\n Right now, he\u2019s playing out of mind which has earned him the most wins in the NHL to this point in the year.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for the Utah Mammoth?<\/p>\n The Utah Mammoth will continue their seven-game home stand against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday night at 5 p.m. MT.<\/p>\n The game will be available on Mammoth+.<\/p>\n All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM\/1280 AM).\u201d<\/p>\n Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports.\u00a0Keep up with him on X here<\/a>.\u00a0You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
\nTake us with you, wherever you go.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1746835450_492_Utah-Mammoth-Newsletter_300x250.jpg\")
\t
![](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Utah-Mammoth-Newsletter_830x100.jpg\")
<\/a>