Beckett Hamilton and Taylor Makar scored in their preseason NHL debuts while Ilya Nabokov made 16 saves as the Avalanche pulled away for a 4-1 win over the Utah Mammoth.
The Colorado Avalanche gave Alan Roach plenty of reasons to yell into his microphone Sunday night.
Roach, the longtime public-address announcer at Ball Arena, was back behind the mic for the first time this season, and the Avalanche made sure he had plenty of work to do. Colorado scored four times over the final two periods to pull away from the Utah Mammoth for a 4-1 preseason victory at Ball Arena.
Beckett Hamilton and Taylor Makar scored in their preseason NHL debuts, while Gavin Brindley and Brock Nelson also found the back of the net. Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Brindley and T.J. Hughes each recorded an assist.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all seven shots he faced before giving way to Ilya Nabokov, who made 16 saves on 17 shots. in his preseason NHL debut.
Colorado dictated the pace of much of the opening period but couldn't find the net. That all changed in the second period.
What Happened
The Avalanche broke through at 8:54 of the second period.
Hamilton finished from the right side of the crease after Necas knocked down a pass from Mammoth defenseman Maveric Lamoureux and quickly turned the broken play into a scoring chance.
Utah answered late in the period when Yegor Borikov scored from the doorstep at 15:27, sending the game into the second intermission tied 1-1.
The stalemate did not last very long.
Brindley put Colorado back in front just 1:52 into the third period, finishing off a two-on-one rush with Kadri.
Then came an unusual decision in a preseason game: Utah challenged the goal for offsides. The challenge failed, and the resulting delay of game put the Avalanche on the power play. Colorado wasted no time making the Mammoth pay.
Lehkonen found Nelson in the high slot, and Nelson buried a one-timer at 2:27 to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
Makar then put the game away late in the third.
Brindley chipped the puck out of the neutral zone, sending Makar in on a partial breakaway. Makar finished the opportunity at 17:27, giving the Avalanche their fourth and final goal of the night.
Not a bad way for the Avalanche to get the season started.
Next Up
Colorado will head north for its second preseason game Monday night, facing the Winnipeg Jets at 6 p.m. MT. The game can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio 950 AM.
