Utah Mammoths score 7 goals to defeat St. Louis Blues – Hockey Writer – Utah Mammoths
The St. Louis Blues take on the Utah Mammoths at Enterprise Center on Thursday night. The game marks the start of a four-game season series between the two Central Division rivals, who will likely compete for the final few playoff spots.
game review
Mammoth comes out of the gate and opens fire. Ian Cole opened the scoring for them just over three minutes into the game, beating Joel Hofer in the five-hole, a shot that was often saved. This is Cole’s first goal this season.
The line continued to dominate early on. Three minutes after the Mammoths’ first goal, and six minutes into the game, Logan Cooley scored his second point of the night on a one-timer from the field with creative feedback from Dylan Guenther.
Two minutes later, the line scored again, extending the Mammoths’ lead to three. Olli Määtta tipped a puck into the Blues zone and Guenther rescued the puck near the blue line, finding Cooley running straight through midfield. He split the Blues defender with Dirk between his legs and then beat Hofer, who was replaced by Jordan Binnington after conceding three goals on six shots.
The goalie change didn’t stop the Mammoths from putting the puck in the net, and Cooley completed his hat trick less than 11 minutes into the game on the Mammoths’ first power-play opportunity of the night.
The Blues finally took the lead six minutes into the second period with a goal from Pius Suter. After the goal, Mammoth defender Mikhail Sergachev initiated a scuffle behind the net, resulting in a penalty kick immediately after the Mammoth conceded the goal.
The Blues then capitalized on their first chance with a man advantage, with Pavel Buchnevich scoring his first goal of the season in his 600th career game. The power-play goal brought the Blues within two goals midway through the game.
The Mammoths steadied themselves, regaining a three-goal lead on Clayton Keller’s goal 35 seconds before the end of the second period. JJ Peterka picked up his third point of the game with an assist.
The Blues continued to fight in the third quarter, pulling within two points just two minutes into the game with Nathan Walker’s first goal of the season. They then pulled within one when Philip Broberg scored his first goal of the season with 15 minutes remaining.
That was the Blues’ closest response against the Mammoths, as Sergachev’s split shot for their sixth goal of the game was blocked by Nick Schmaltz for his second point of the night and his 11th in five straight games.
The goal helped the Mammoths win 7-4, with Keller scoring his second goal of the game in an empty net. This is their fifth straight win. The Mammoths will face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, while the Blues take on the Detroit Red Wings on the same day.
