Author: Jesse

Riding the highs of its 3-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks, Utah HC couldn’t have anticipated that it was about to experience its worst loss of the season- a 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

After trading goal shot streaks, with the Oilers registering the first four and then Utah responding with four of its own, more than halfway through the first period, the game was still scoreless.

But when Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse was assessed a cross-checking penalty against Kevin Stenlund, Utah had a man advantage and an opportunity to capitalize on the Oilers mistake by scoring the first goal of the game.

However, just 26 seconds into the power play, it was the Oilers who were celebrating after capitalizing on a Utah mistake:

With Utah’s Mikhail Sergachev stumbling forward after trying to collect a Dylan Guenther pass, it was Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who took the puck off the boards and got a breakaway. With Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz too far away, Nugent-Hopkins scored the first goal of the game

What came next was reminiscent of the common saying, “When it rains, it pours.”

First, Utah was assessed a holding penalty after Jack McBain was caught holding Nugent-Hopkins.

While a penalty doesn’t always spell doom, this one was especially ill-timed, as it wiped out Utah’s remaining power play time, denying Utah a chance to retaliate Edmonton’s shorthanded goal. Plus, it allowed the Oilers to keep all the momentum it gained after their first goal.

The penalty also proved costly, as the Oilers scored their second goal just as McBain was getting out of the penalty box.

There were several issues with Utah’s defense on this play.

First, Nugent-Hopkins, who scored the game’s first goal, was left wide open on the right side of the net. In response, Utah’s Olli Määttä was forced to leave Edmonton’s Zach Hyman to contest him.

However, that decision proved to be a costly mistake, as it left Hyman wide open right next to the net. With Hayton too late on his rotation, no one was close enough to prevent Hyman from scoring an easy goal.

Utah Hockey Club Files Trademark Hinting At Possible Team Name According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Uyte LLC—the same company that filed previous trademarks for the Utah Hockey Club—has now filed a trademark for the nickname “Mammoth.”

But placing the blame solely on Hayton and Määttä wouldn’t make sense, as the play seemed to be a team-wide issue with executing proper rotations.

But the defensive mistakes wouldn’t end there, as Utah suffered another breakdown, this time with only less than 10 seconds remaining in the period.

The fact that Utah not only allowed the Oilers’ Connor McDavid to race past its entire defense to score the third goal of the period, but that it happened with so little time left, was a huge mental mistake by the team.

Utah simply allowed McDavid too much space to work with and didn’t alter his path in the slightest.

Even still, with Utah down 3-0, recent games against the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs had to still be fresh in their minds, as Utah had shown it could come back from two, even three-goal deficits to force overtime.

But while Utah’s backup goalie Jaxson Stauber—who Tourigny subbed in to replace starting goalie Karel Vejmelka with the intent to rest him after 11 consecutive starts and hopefully give the team a spark—started off with five saves, the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t be stopped, scoring two more goals in each period

The seven goals Utah gave up matched its season high for most goals allowed, as it also gave up seven goals to the Carolina Hurricanes back in February.

But unlike that game, Utah would suffer its worst scoring differential, as Utah scored three times in its game against the Hurricanes but only managed to score once in this game time, thanks to Sean Durzi’s second goal of the season.

Utah HC may have avoided its first shutout since losing 1-0 to the Boston Bruins back in November, but that was about the only redeeming quality of Utah’s 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

There simply wasn’t much resistance on defense from Utah, as it allowed too many breakaways, man-advantages, high-danger shots and even shorthanded goal attempts.

It’s also never a good sign when you give up two unassisted goals to the other team, as Utah did tonight.

To make matters worse, Utah was the only team to lose out of the four teams vying for a playoff spot, with St. Louis, Vancouver, and Calgary all coming away with wins.

Before tonight’s loss, Utah had been playing well, going 6-3-2 in its previous 11 games and losing by no more than two goals in any of its losses.

So while experiencing the worst loss of the season is sure to leave everyone in Utah unhappy, it will be important for the team to move past the defeat and address all of its defensive miscues, rather than develop bad habits.

But with the game against Edmonton being the last of its three-game road trip, Utah will get a chance to redeem itself in front of its fans against the Buffalo Sabres, who are last in the Eastern Conference.

The Utah Hockey Club hasn’t had many big losses this season. Even when they lose, it’s usually by a goal, plus an empty-netter or two.

Their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday did not fit that norm.

The final score was 7-1, with five of those goals coming in the first 30 minutes of the game. It marks the biggest defeat Utah has ever suffered.

If you’re looking for moral victories in terms of compete level or structure, you won’t find them in these game tapes. Utah gave up chance after chance, breakaway after breakaway.

“Wins or losses, you’ve got to be able to move on,” said Sean Durzi, Utah’s lone goal scorer. “The sun’s going to come up. (We’ve) got to wake up and be ready for the next one. We can’t afford to sulk. Can’t afford to lose confidence in this room.”

Two Oilers in particular deserve shoutouts: Mattias Ekholm and Zach Hyman. Both guys returned from injuries on Tuesday, and they combined for three goals and six points. They’ve both proven to be invaluable additions to this Oilers group.

Utah Hockey for dummies

New hockey fans might look at the final score and assume that Utah’s goalies were at fault. While Karel Vejmelka and Jaxson Stauber can’t fully escape without blame, it had far more to do with the play of the five guys in front of them.

As mentioned above, UHC constantly put its goalies in tough positions by allowing odd-man rushes.

Vejmelka started the game — his 11th in a row — but after Utah had given up three goals at the conclusion of the first period, UHC coach Andre Tourigny turned to Stauber to start the second.

“Too bad we let Veggie down,” Tourigny said after the game. “I think Veggie has been good for us for a long, long time.”

There are two main reasons for the switch: It gave Utah a change of scenery and it allowed Vejmelka to rest up in what was already a lost cause.

Tourigny will likely go back to Vejmelka on Thursday, though he mentioned that it’s good for Stauber to get more NHL experience, even if it’s in a losing effort.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

To add even more salt to the gaping wound, all three of Utah HC’s closest competitors in the standings won on Tuesday.

The Calgary Flames beat the New York Rangers, the St. Louis Blues bested the Nashville Predators and the Vancouver Canucks topped the Winnipeg Jets.

Utah is now four points out of the playoff spot that all those teams are so desperately competing for. With just 14 games left in the regular season, there’s not a lot of room for error.

Utah Hockey for nerds

It doesn’t take a statistician to realize that Utah played poorly on Tuesday, but sometimes advanced stats can offer some consolation. That wasn’t the case this time — especially in the first two periods.

Through 40 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick, Edmonton controlled:

• 68% of the scoring chances

• 85% of the high-danger scoring chances

• 73% of the expected goals

• 64% of the unblocked shot attempts

Additionally, the majority of Edmonton’s shot attempts came from the slot, while most of Utah’s were from the outside. It’s both a credit to the Oilers’ defense and a point of needed improvement for UHC’s offense.

Utah showed improvement statistically in the third period but not nearly enough to facilitate any sort of a comeback. All of the above categories were around 50% in the third, give or take five percentage points.

“At the end of the day, it’s on me,” Tourigny said. “It’s my job to make sure we’re better than that.”

What’s next?

UHC returns to Salt Lake City for a three-game home stand involving three Eastern Conference teams. First up are the Buffalo Sabres, who’ll be in town on Thursday.

The Sabres are currently in the longest playoff drought in NHL history, 13 seasons. Barring any miracles, this won’t be the year it changes, as they’re at the bottom of the standings in the East with a 12-point gap between them and the last wild card spot.

What does that mean for Utah? It means it’s a must-win game — not because it’s against a rival, but because, at least on paper, it’s one of the team’s easiest remaining matchups.

That being said, there’s no such thing as an easy win in the NHL. The Sabres have won three of their last four games, beating the Oilers, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Boston Bruins — three good hockey teams.

The game starts at 7 p.m. MDT and will be televised on Utah 16 and Utah HC+.

The goal horn would not stop blaring at Rogers Place.

It was, to put it plainly, a disastrous night for the Utah Hockey Club.

Not only did Utah spiral into a 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night but all of the other teams chasing the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference — the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks — won their respective games. The Club sits four points out of playoff contention now.

It was Utah’s largest goal deficit of the season, too. The most the Club had lost by before Tuesday was four goals. History was made, just not in a good way, as Utah ended the game with a six-goal gap between it and the opponent.

“Obviously that’s not us, that’s not who we are. Not the performance we wanted. We’re upset. This time of year you can’t have that,” said Sean Durzi who was the Club’s loan goal-scorer. “We’ll have to regroup, we’ll have to find that mentality of moving on and putting this one in the past.”

Jaxson Stauber skated out towards the net in the moments before the second period. The backup goaltender went in to relieve Karel Vejmelka following a three-goal first period.

It was not a Vejmelka-specific downfall to open the night, though. On the contrary, the netminder — who started in his 11th consecutive game — bailed Utah out early in the first. But, after three goals against (two of which came on 1-on-1 breaks), the Club opted to give Vejmelka a break.

“Too bad we let Veggie down. I think Veggie has been good for us for a long long time. I don’t think we had the right mindset, the right prep before the game,” head coach André Tourigny said. “I think it’s everybody — it’s not one guy more than the other. At the end of the day, it’s on me. It’s my job to make sure we are better than that.”

Stauber entered the matchup in his first NHL action since Dec. 31 which, coincidentally, was also in Edmonton. That game turned out to be a 4-1 loss. Stauber did what he could on Tuesday and finished with 24 saves on 28 shots through 40 minutes of play.

“Staubs is a pro every day. Brings his true self, takes care of his body, focuses on the ice, does everything he can to be ready for the moment,” Durzi said. “I thought he came into a really tough game to a team that wasn’t playing up to our standard and I thought he did a great job.”

The change in goaltending did little to spark the team, however.

Edmonton controlled the contest from the first puck drop to the final buzzer. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins started the domination with a short-handed goal which he flipped past Vejmelka on a breakaway for the 1-0 lead at 12:28. Then came a tip-in shot from Zach Hyman at 15:14, and Connor McDavid topped off the period with an in-close tally after blowing by four Utah players.

Things proceeded to get worse for Utah as the night wore on and seemingly would not end.

Hyman potted his second of the night at 7:41 with a deflected shot in front of Stauber to make it 4-0 before Vasily Podkolzin released a snapshot from the right circle to widen the gap to 5-0. Durzi’s ensuing goal from the point just as Utah’s power play expired did not hold much magnitude.

“Tough to have the right opinion right now. There’s a level of frustration,” Tourigny said. “The fight, the pushback, what we’re known for, the resilience and to be engaged and connected — it was none of that.”

The Oilers scored twice in the first three minutes of the third period to suck the — if there was even any remaining — final air out of the game. Mattias Ekholm ripped one from the high slot after Utah turned the puck over down low for the 6-1 advantage. Viktor Arvidsson followed it up with a knock-in goal around the crease; Utah mishandled the puck in front of its own net once again. That brought the matchup to its final 7-1 standing at 2:36.

“The performance is not up to our standard. Everybody in here knows that,” Durzi said. “I don’t think there’s a guy in here that’s happy with that or can find something that they want to take away from that.”

Utah closed its three-game road trip in Edmonton with the loss and collected two out of the six points available on the western swing. It will be back at Delta Center on Thursday to take on the Buffalo Sabres.

“There’s really no excuse at this time of the year,” Durzi said. “We’ve got to be upset about it.”

The Utah Hockey Club have been right in the thick of the Western Conference wild card race since well before the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline. Since standing pat at the deadline and giving their team the ultimate vote of confidence, Utah is just two points out of the second wild card spot.

Logan Cooley Ends Point Slump, Gives Utah Lead For Good in Vital 3-2 Win Against Vancouver Facing the Vancouver Canucks, the current holders of the final Wild Card spot in the West, Utah found itself playing its most important game of the season so far.

With only 15 games left, the season is winding down and while Utah has been relatively lucky with injuries this season. They are now without fan favourite Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien who is out for four weeks with a lower body injury.

The good news is, they activated Nick Bjugstad from the IR and he returned to the lineup Sunday in their big win against the Vancouver Canucks.

Utah HC’s Liam O’Brien Sidelined 4 Weeks With Injury The Utah Hockey Club has announced that fan favorite Liam O’Brien will be sidelined for four weeks with a lower-body injury.

Without further ado, let’s look at the Utah HC’s weekly injury report:

Injuries:

• Robert Bortuzzo, D, (lower body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to December 10th

• Liam O’Brien, F, (lower body) on Injured Reserve retroactive to March 16th

• Juuso Valimaki, D, (ACL) out for season

Personal Leave:

• Connor Ingram, G, (personal), out indefinitely

Utah takes on the Edmonton Oilers tonight in a game that can put them into a tie for the last wild card spot. They will need all hands on deck and hopefully that comes without anymore injuries down the stretch.

Logan Cooley Ends Point Slump, Gives Utah Lead For Good in Vital 3-2 Win Against Vancouver Facing the Vancouver Canucks, the current holders of the final Wild Card spot in the West, Utah found itself playing its most important game of the season so far.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The hiring of Alex Jensen reconnects Utah to a successful past that the Utes want to tap into while rebuilding their men’s basketball program and, hopefully, becoming more competitive in the Big 12 Conference.

Jensen was introduced as Utah’s coach on Monday, returning to his alma mater after spending a dozen seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA. Jensen spent four seasons with the Utes, playing under Rick Majerus in 1994-95 and from 1997-2000 following a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I’ve had some donors call me and they’re very excited,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said. “They remember Alex and they’re really excited about him. I get it.”

Harlan made luring Jensen back to Utah his main priority during a brief search for Craig Smith’s replacement. Jensen was previously a leading candidate for the job four years ago, before Smith left Utah State to replace Larry Krystkowiak. He became the top candidate this time around when Smith was fired in late February.

Jensen will split time between the Dallas Mavericks, where he’s currently an assistant under Jason Kidd, and Utah until the season concludes for the Mavs.

“I knew it would be difficult, but I felt like I needed to finish the season in Dallas,” Jensen said. “They’ve been great and I don’t think they would mind if I left, but I just feel it’s the right thing to do, to finish it out there which makes hiring a staff and getting going a little more difficult.”

Jensen is a connection to an era when Utah emerged as a regional basketball power. He was a starter for the Utes when they reached the 1998 NCAA Tournament championship game. Jensen totaled 1,279 points and 896 rebounds over four seasons, earning first-team All-MWC honors as a senior while averaging 13.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.

This is Jensen’s first coaching job in the college ranks since he served as an assistant coach under Majerus at Saint Louis from 2007-11.

What he learned from Majerus still influences Jensen’s approach to basketball many years after the fact.

“The line I always say with Coach Majerus – and we joke about it – is he kind of ruins the game for you because you learn it’s hard to watch a game without picking it apart,” Jensen said. “There’s a genius to it and I was fortunate enough to play for him and start my coaching career (with him) because you get your base knowledge of basketball.”

Jensen’s NBA experience became a key selling point for Utah after the Utes endured a turbulent first season in the Big 12 Conference. He spent a dozen seasons as an NBA assistant coach. Jensen was with the Utah Jazz for a decade, spending much of that time as Quin Snyder’s lead assistant, before joining the Mavericks and Kidd in 2023.

Utah is following a similar path to rival BYU, which hired Kevin Young away from the Phoenix Suns a year ago. Jensen, like Young, has a reputation for excelling at player development. He played a central role in helping Rudy Gobert progress from backup center to an NBA All-Star and elite defender during his time with the Jazz.

Jensen will draw on what he learned as an NBA assistant to guide how he approaches building a collegiate program.

“The college game, I think, is becoming more and more professional, but I think most players are the same.” Jensen said. “They want to know if you care and if you know what you’re talking about. I’ve been able to go through that (NBA experience) and I think it will help me here.”

One of Jensen’s primary goals will be helping Utah consistently reach the NCAA Tournament again. Utah hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since the 2015-16 season and made a single NIT appearance in Smith’s four seasons in charge.

___

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The 2024-25 Utah men’s basketball season lives on.

On Monday, the Runnin’ Utes found out they will play in the College Basketball Crown, a new 16-team postseason tournament played in Las Vegas that features many teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East.

Utah (16-16) will take on Butler in a first-round matchup on March 31 (1 p.m. MDT, FS1) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Four other Big 12 schools — Arizona State, Colorado, Cincinnati and UCF — will also participate in the inaugural College Basketball Crown.

Utah basketball’s 2024-25 season

The Utes’ first season in the Big 12 was rife with challenges, including a coaching change when Craig Smith was fired Feb. 24. The team has gone 1-4 since then under interim coach Josh Eilert.

There were highs, too. Before Smith’s firing, Utah beat BYU, a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, and blue blood Kansas, which earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAAs.

Utah has already named Smith’s successor — former Ute great Alex Jensen was named the program’s 17th head coach.

Following the Utes’ loss to UCF in the Big 12 tournament’s first round, Eilert and fifth-year senior Gabe Madsen expressed interest in continuing the team’s season if an invite came from a national postseason tournament.

“I’m excited about it. I know players have to make decisions, but I think it would be special to have another opportunity to battle with these guys,” Eilert said.

What is the College Basketball Crown?

The College Basketball Crown, or CBC, is a new national postseason basketball tournament meant to give teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament field a chance to continue playing.

It is designed to be in direct competition with the long-established NIT, which revealed its 32-team bracket Sunday.

Three conferences — the Big 12, Big Ten and Big East — partnered with the CBC and Fox, which holds the broadcast rights to the tournament.

That partnership ensured that at least two teams from each of those three conferences would make the College Basketball Crown field.

In the inaugural edition of the tournament, there are five Big 12 teams, two Big Ten teams and four Big East teams playing in the CBC.

The CBC will be played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in between the Elite Eight and Final Four rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

All games will be televised on either Fox or FS1.

Big 12’s ties to the tournament

The College Basketball Crown came up several times last week at the Big 12 tournament when discussing postseason options for teams in the back half of the conference who weren’t considered to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was bullish on the concept of the new tournament and the conference’s tie with Fox.

“We’re excited to be part of the Crown. We think it’s going to be a first-class opportunity for our student-athletes to showcase their talents, our teams,” he said during a pre-tournament press conference.

“Fox is a wonderful partner of ours. As you probably know, they’ve been doing football with us for quite some time. And next year, they distribute basketball games for the first time in the year. So we’re excited to be in the Fox family and I think their tournament is going to be off the charts. I will be there in Vegas to kick things off.”

It’s unsurprising, then, that the Big 12 has the highest number of teams in the CBC field.

All together, 13 of the 16 Big 12 teams will be playing in postseason tournaments.

That includes seven in the NCAA Tournament — BYU, Houston, Arizona, Texas Tech, Kansas, Baylor and Iowa State — as well as Oklahoma State in the NIT.

Only West Virginia, TCU and Kansas State won’t be participating in one of these tournaments. The most notable is West Virginia, the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament field.

The Mountaineers’ snub from the NCAAs sparked an outcry from the college basketball world.

In a statement, West Virginia coach Darian DeVries said, “Obviously, we are extremely shocked, saddened and disappointed with not being selected for the NCAA Tournament. We strongly believe that we have a resume that is worthy of an NCAA Tournament team. I am incredibly proud of this team and what they accomplished. They poured their hearts into this season and put all their collective efforts into making the NCAA Tournament, and I believe they did that.”

What to know about Utah’s draw in the College Basketball Crown

Like Utah, Butler is heading into the CBC on a losing streak. The Bulldogs (14-19) lost five of their last six games and went 1-1 at the Big East tournament.

The Utes also compiled a 1-5 record in their last six games, including the last five with Eilert as interim coach.

Butler is led by senior forward Jahmyl Telfort, who averages 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

If Utah wins its first-round matchup, the Utes would face the winner of the Atlantic 10’s George Washington (21-12) and the Mountain West’s Boise State (24-10) in the second round.

If the Utes advance to the semifinals, they could potentially face former Utah guard Rollie Worster, who transferred to Nebraska last offseason.

If Utah made it to the championship game, it could be an all-Big 12 final, with Cincinnati, UCF and Colorado all on the other side of the bracket.

At the very least, the College Basketball Crown will give this tight-knit group of Utes, which includes six seniors, one last run together.

Will there be any player opt-outs?

The College Basketball Crown runs from March 31 to April 6, and teams could deal with players opting out of playing in the tournament, especially considering that the NCAA’s basketball transfer portal window opens March 24.

One Utah player, Jake Wahlin, already announced he has entered the transfer portal, though he also committed to playing for the Utes in the postseason and isn’t ruling out a return to Utah.

“I’m excited to continue my conversations with Coach Jensen and to learn more about his vision for the program,” Wahlin said in his announcement.

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As they gear up to play the Utah Jazz (15-53) on Monday, March 17 at Delta Center, with tip-off at 9 p.m. ET, the Chicago Bulls (28-39) have three players currently listed on the injury report. The Jazz’s injury report has six players on it.

The Bulls dropped their previous game to the Rockets, 117-114, on Saturday. Coby White was their top scorer with 23 points. The Jazz dropped their most recent game to the Timberwolves, 128-102, on Sunday. Collin Sexton was their leading scorer with 22 points.

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Today’s Chicago Bulls Injury Report

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Bulls vs. Jazz Game Info

• Date: Monday, March 17, 2025
• Time: 9 p.m. ET
• How to watch on TV: KJZZ and CHSN
• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Venue: Delta Center
• Live stream: Watch this game on Fubo (Regional restrictions may apply)

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Welcome to this edition of the Vancouver Canucks post-game analytics report. This recurring deep dive breaks down the analytics behind each Canucks game as recorded by Natural Stat Trick. In this article, we look back on Vancouver’s most recent 3-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club.

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The Canucks were heavily outplayed from an analytics perspective during their defeat to the Utah Hockey Club. Utah held a 20-15 even-strength scoring chances advantage and won the even-strength high-danger scoring chances battle 11-5. Maybe the most disappointing part from the analytics is that Vancouver only generated one high-danger chance on the power play despite having over six minutes with the man advantage.

As for the heatmap, it displays how problematic the Canucks offence was. Vancouver struggled to create chances from in tight and was only able to generate one high-danger shot the entire game. While fatigue may have been an issue in this game, as the Canucks played back-to-back, the lack of traffic and tips in front of Karel Vejmelka was concerning.

When it comes to standouts, one easy selection was Quinn Hughes, who scored Vancouver’s only goal of the game. During his 23:58 of even-strength ice time, the Canucks held an 8-5 shots advantage and won the scoring chances battle 9-4. Ultimately, it was another successful night for the captain, who now has points in three straight games.

To wrap things up, the trio of Dakota Joshua, Pius Suter and Conor Garland had yet another impressive outing. During their 10:43 of ice time, Vancouver had an xGF% of 64.28 and won the scoring chances battle 6-3. If this line continues to win their matchup, it will be a massive boost for the Canucks as they look to secure a postseason spot.

Make sure you bookmark THN’s Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.