Utah Mammoth’s Offense Stays Hot in 6-2 Win Over Minnesota Wild

The quiet offensive start the Utah Mammoth had certainly feels like ages ago, doesn’t it?

With its latest 6-2 win over the Minnesota Wild, Utah has now extended its franchise-record win-streak to six games, with its last three coming against playoff teams.

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Against the Wild, it was another high-flying start for Logan Cooley, who opened the scoring for the Mammoth with a remarkable backhanded goal, that got Utah Mammoth’s offense started.

“I didn’t even see the puck really,” said Cooley. “It kind of just popped up and turned kick. Just trying to whack it and get it on net, didn’t exactly know where it was going, but was lucky it went in.”

Not only did Cooley locate the puck midair and bat it down, but he also managed to slip it past goalie Filip Gustavsson, who was hugging the left post.

Even after recording a natural hat trick in Utah’s 7-4 win over the Blues, Cooley still found a new way to impress, scoring this goal just 56 seconds into the game — tied for the second-fastest in Mammoth history.

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But it didn’t stop there for Cooley.

He scored again on Utah’s only power play at the 3:29 mark of the first, battling for position in front of the net once more.

For both of Cooley’s goals to come net front shows tremendous growth and speaks to the threat he’s becoming. Physicality isn’t going to deter Cooley from shooting — he’s embracing it.

Add in a deflected goal from Nick Schmaltz just 89 seconds later, and the Mammoth were already up 3-0 on the Wild. Not only was scoring three goals in 4:58 a huge advantage for Utah, it marked the fastest start to a period in franchise history.

But even with Utah winning 6-2 in what seemed like a blowout, it still took an incredible performance from Karel Vejmelka to keep the Mammoth in front.

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Stopping 33 of 35 shots against Minnesota, Vejmelka was busy all game. In fact, he was so busy that when John Marino scored Utah’s sixth goal in the closing seconds, Vejmelka dropped to one knee.

It was certainly deserved — after all, it was arguably his best performance of the season.

“It was rock solid at the end. It was a shooting gallery,” said coach André Tourigny. “He was really good but he had a really good game all game long. He made key saves at key moments. He was really good.”

And with Minnesota creeping back with two goals in the second, the Mammoth needed every one of those saves to keep the Wild from completing the comeback. If not for Vejmelka, JJ Peterka’s clutch goal in the third wouldn’t have sealed the win for Utah.

The number of shots Vejmelka stopped was certainly impressive — it was the highest total he’s faced this season. But what stood out even more was the quality of looks the Wild generated on their five power plays.

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Minnesota entered the game with a league-leading 10 power-play goals (now 11) and the fifth-best man-advantage percentage at 31.3. Giving that team five opportunities was hardly an ideal situation.

Though Wild forward Marcus Johansson scored on a power play to cut the lead to 3-2 in the second, Vejmelka helped kill off the other four and never allowed Minnesota to tie the game.

At times, Vejmelka faced an onslaught of shots at even strength, too, with the Wild firing in rapid bursts of two or three at a time. Despite several Grade-A chances, Vejmelka slid, stretched and gloved nearly every puck that came his way.

Now 6-1 on the year — the best mark of any goalie this season — Vejmelka is showing exactly why the Mammoth gave him a contract extension last year.

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After starting the season 1-2 and scoring only five total goals, the Utah Mammoth have completely turned their offense around, netting a whopping 29 goals in their last six games.

With their win over Minnesota, Utah has not only gone 2-0 to start a four-game road trip, but has impressively piled up 13 goals along the way. Cooley alone has accounted for five of those.

With Schmaltz adding two of his own in this game, he now ranks second in the NHL in points with 15 — trailing only Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel.

Simply put, Utah can’t be ignored, and it’s likely only going to get better with JJ Peterka growing more comfortable playing alongside Cooley and Dylan Guenther, which is dangerous considering the talent Peterka showed on his goal in the third.

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And now, Utah’s defensemen are finally starting to score, with three different blueliners finding the net over the last three games. For context, Utah didn’t have a defenseman score in its first six games.

While a quick turnaround against Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets this Sunday will surely test this offense, Utah no longer looks like a team still developing — it looks like one ready to claim a playoff spot.

Plus, if Utah can win the second game of its back-to-back against the Jets, it will remain first overall in the central division.

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