Mammoth Defeat Flames 3-1 in Home Opener

This was the lone goal of the first period, despite a combined five power-play chances in the period. The Mammoth controlled the majority of the shots in the period, but went into the first intermission trailing by one.

The Mammoth kept applying pressure early in the second and were finally rewarded when Nick Schmaltz found Barrett Hayton wide open in the slot to beat Devin Cooley for his first of the season.

They then took the lead three minutes later on an unassisted goal from J.J. Peterka, where he intercepted a cross-ice pass at the Mammoth’s blue line and was off to the races on a breakaway. He fought off a Flames’ back checker, drawing a delayed penalty. However, they would not need the man advantage, as Peterka beat Cooley to give Utah a one-goal lead, which they carried into the third period.

While the Mammoth were able to take the lead, things could have gotten much worse for the Flames as they allowed 18 shots, 21 scoring chances, and 10 high-danger chances in the middle frame.

Both Cooley and Vejmelka played well in net all game and slammed the door shut in the third period, holding the last 20 minutes scoreless until Kevin Stenlund scored an empty net goal with 22 seconds left in the game to close out the 3-1 victory.

These two meet up again in December in what could be a vital season series between two borderline playoff hopefuls.

Stats via Natural Stat Trick