3 takeaways from the Mammoths’ 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks – Hockey Writer – Utah Mammoths

The end of the road for the Utah Mammoths, or at least the first road trip, is here. It wasn’t a happy ending in Chicago, as the team lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, giving them their first win of the season.

Interestingly, it wasn’t a bad game for the Mammoths. In fact, the team took nearly twice as many shots as the Blackhawks. Despite this, the Mammoths eventually won 3-1 and returned to Salt Lake City. Here are some takeaways from Monday’s game.

JJ Peterka’s first goal as a Mammoth

If there’s one huge positive takeaway from not just this game, but the entire road trip, it’s that the second line is more effective than any other line on the Mammoth. The second line, known to fans as the “Youth Line,” consists of Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley and JJ Peterka. On Monday, the trio shone again.

The game started with John Marino throwing the puck into the Blackhawks’ zone and the Blackhawks found Peterka. The German striker passed the ball to Gunther in the back of the net. He waited for his teammates to get into position. Gunther then backhanded the puck to the other side of the net from Spencer Knight’s left side, where a waiting Peterka fired it in for his first goal with the Mammoths.

JJ’s first goal for the Mammoths couldn’t have come at a better time! pic.twitter.com/Amg2hBm8Xg

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 14, 2025

After being traded to the Mammoths in the offseason, Peterka is expected to be a big part of the Mammoths’ top six this season. He has two points in three games so far, as advertised. He meshes well with Guenther and Cooley, and the line is by far the team’s best.

“I think putting pressure on them is the key to getting a pre-clearance opportunity,” Peterka said. “That’s how the goal is scored too, just pre-checking and then putting the body into the net.”

The three forwards currently have seven points. Their speed has been their biggest asset throughout these three games, as they’ve been able to outrun some of the best defenses in the league. This trio is also very good at finding each other, making incredible passes across the ice and into the back of the net.

Head coach Andre Turini likes the speed at the free throw line. He does wish they played more of a two-way game, but he did like what he saw from the trio.

RELATED: Detailed analysis of Utah Mammoths’ opening night roster

“They played well,” Turini said. “They use their speed well. When I assume they start anticipating like they did in the second quarter, I think that’s a little bit reflective of our game. They’re fast and their sticks are good. Their legs are good. If they anticipate like they did in the second quarter, they’re going to separate.”

We’ll see if the line can continue to improve. Sure, Gunther has been great with four points now, but you’d like to see more from Cooley, especially since he’s only scored one goal in three games.

However, if you compare this line to the other three lines on the Mammoth, they are the only ones that actually go into production. It’s a problem, but if you’re Guenther, Cooley and Peterka, you have to keep moving forward and keep improving. They are a team that can and will win games at Mammoth. The trio must continue to work hard, keep helping the team win, and hope that the rest of the team will follow in their footsteps.

everything but victory

Losing to a rebuilding team like the Blackhawks doesn’t look pretty. What may be most frustrating is that Mammoth gets a lot of things right. Just not enough to win it all.

Starting with shots, the Mammoths took nearly twice as many shots as the Blackhawks, outshooting them 23-14. They’re not terrible shots either. The Mammoths have a lot of high-danger opportunities, especially on the power play or second line on the ice.

For the first time this season, the Mammoths also performed well in the faceoff circle. They won more than half of them, with a success rate of 55%. Although it was against the Blackhawks, it was still progress.

The Mammoths looked to be the better team for most, if not all, of the game. Especially considering the Mammoths dominated zone time while the Blackhawks didn’t have a single field goal in the first half of the second quarter. Then you start getting into the nuts and bolts.

Starting with a hiccup, the Blackhawks outplayed the Mammoths. They had 31 hits to the Mammoths’ 16. That doesn’t make you lose a game outright, but it’s surprising how many more hits the Blackhawks have than their opponents.

Despite only taking three penalties, they suffered yet another brutal death at the hands of Mammoth. Mikhail Sergachev’s hook penalty led directly to André Burakovsky’s power-play goal in what was a poor performance for the Mammoths’ penalty kill.

John Marino’s high-stick free throw was just as bad, if not worse. Trailing 2-1 with 3:04 left in the game, the Mammoths had just 1:04 to get to Vítek Vaněček and try to tie the game. If you watched a Mammoth hockey game last year, you know the team has yet to score without a goaltender pulling. Ilya Mikheyev continued that streak on Monday, scoring an empty-net goal for his second of the game.

But it’s not just defense. The Mammoth offense has been disappointing, to say the least. Outside of the second line, the bottom six have been extremely quiet, which is exactly what happened last season. Even the top line is a mixed bag, despite usual center Barrett Hayton missing the first two games of the season.

Players on Mammoth scored a total of 13 points. Seven of them came from the second line. To make matters worse, the bottom two lines total only one point. This is unacceptable.

The Mammoths’ performance should be one of the team’s strengths heading into the season. In the first three games, this seemed to be a weakness.

“I think in the first three games, I didn’t think we worked hard enough in front of the net,” Hayton said. “That’s a big thing and another big part of our team to be able to have two guys competing in the paint, competing in front of the net, working hard there. When we get around the back of the net, we don’t work hard enough. We have to fight there.”

Turini agreed with Hayton’s criticism of a lack of net presence. Rebounding and offense are a big help to the team’s offense and are something the Mammoths need more of.

“If you look at Nashville, the second goal they scored, they went all out and found a way,” Turini said. “Chicago, their first goal of the day, they fought hard and found a way. If we want to have a chance to come out on top, we need to score those greasy goals.”

It’s not just the web front-end that exists either. On many of their chances Monday, it felt like the Mammoths were one good pass away from scoring. However, the pass failed to connect. You can call it lack of luck or whatever. Either way, it has to change.

There’s a lot going for it against the Blackhawks. It was certainly an improvement over Saturday’s game.

“You see what we can do, we play fast, we play tight,” Hayden said. “That’s a big thing in this game. The game we talked about, we saw that in the second period. It starts with hard work and that needs to be the foundation of everything.”

Some improvements need to be made in the first few games at home. Hard work will help, but this team needs to get back into the winning column as soon as possible. Time is not their friend.

first road trip in the book

For better or worse, the team’s first road trip is now officially over. The Mammoths are currently 1-2-0. We’re nowhere near the end of the season, but it does put them at the bottom of the Central Division. Although only three games in, a slow start wasn’t what the Mammoths needed.

The American Thanksgiving has long been a benchmark for teams to understand how they’re doing. Historically, if you’re a few points away from a playoff spot by that point, your chances of making the playoffs aren’t great. It’s crazy to talk about the playoffs right now with just a few weeks until then, but a mediocre first half of the season doomed the Mammoths last season. Even in the first few games, a slow start could put them in trouble again.

Losing to a team projected to be one of the worst teams in the league this season shouldn’t happen. The Mammoths’ next three games will be against teams that did not make the playoffs in 2024-25. They should be able to win at least two games. They need to win at least two games.

The good news is the Mammoths have played competitive hockey in all three of their road games. If you exclude Mikheyev’s empty-net goal on Monday, that’s one goal in every game. It’s a good sign that the team is on the right track. That means the Mammoths have to take advantage of every shot, every opportunity to score the equalizer and possibly win.

“I’m not complaining about our performance,” Turini said. “These guys worked really hard. We tracked really hard. We did a lot of good things. Our anticipation in the second period was really good. We did a lot of good things. In order to get over that hump and win those games, we need to work harder in the paint. We need to work harder in front of the net.”

It felt like the Mammoths were about to break through and find a way to win. One more bounce, one more pass, one more puck in the net and they can get it. At least that’s what it felt like throughout the road trip. We’ll see if they can get the final part of the equation on Wednesday.

Next up for the Mammoths is the Calgary Flames. This will be their first game at the Delta Center this season. The Flames are currently 1-2-0 and lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-2. They will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday before traveling to Utah. Last season, the two met three times, with the Mammoths sweeping the series, winning the latest game 3-1.