TORONTO – A three-goal third period by the Toronto Maple Leafs led to a 5-3 loss for the Utah Mammoth. Michael Carcone, Mikhail Sergachev, and Dylan Guenther scored for the Mammoth while Dmitri …
The Mammoth’s line of Michael Carcone, Jack McBain, and Lawson Crouse has brought energy and effort throughout the season. Crouse’s hard work in the final minutes of the first period led to the game’s opening goal. After Crouse gained possession of the puck in the corner, he worked behind the goal and quickly fed the puck to a waiting Carcone on the doorstep. Carcone capitalized and the McBain line gave the Mammoth a 1-0 lead.
“Like every night, they work hard, they put pucks deep, they get on the forecheck, they put pucks on the net, they’re a really good identity line for us,” Tourigny said. “They do a good job for us.”
Toronto pushed back with a pair of goals in the second period by two of the team’s most dynamic players, William Nylander and Auston Matthews. However, like in the first, Utah found a goal late in the period. Mikhail Sergachev’s tally with 3:33 left in the second period tied the game, 2-2. Sergachev’s third goal of the season was set up by his fellow countryman, Dmitri Simashev, and the assist was the rookie’s first NHL point.
“Obviously, they turned it over, he picks it up, he’s in the right spot, finds me and I see that there’s two or three guys skating by the goalie and I just send one along the ice and it goes in,” Sergachev said of the goal. “I’m happy for (Simashev). He’s a great player and going to have a lot more points coming in.”
The Maple Leafs outscored the Mammoth, 3-1, in the final frame. John Tavares, Matias Maccelli, and Matthew Knies (empty net) scored for the home team, while Dylan Guenther’s tally with 67 seconds left in regulation was the final goal of the game. With the loss, Utah is 9-5-0 this season and is 1-1-0 to start the four-game road trip.
As the Mammoth look to grow from this game, they’ll work on their consistency and simplicity, especially on the second half of back-to-backs.
“It’s about consistency for a full-60,” Sergachev explained. “Obviously, we’re on a back-to-back, where conditioning might be a thing, because we feel a little bit tired. But you got to dig deep and play simple, simplify the game. We didn’t at times and it cost us.”
Source: Utah News