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    Alex Tumalip
    Alex Tumalip
    Oct 9, 2024, 07:48

    The club started fast and finished strong in nabbing their first win in their first game.

    The club started fast and finished strong in nabbing their first win in their first game.

    Utah Hockey Club Takes Down Chicago On Memorable Opening Night

    Andre Tourigny was confident his team could lock in and still soak up the moment for their inaugural game against Chicago.

    Dylan Guenther made sure the fans did, too.

    Powered by his two-goal night, including the game-sealing empty net tally with under a minute left, the Utah Hockey Club (1-0-0) kicked off its inaugural campaign with a 5-2 nationally televised win over the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night at the Delta Center.

    It did not come easy, however, as the 'Hawks (0-1-0) shaved a 3-0 lead to just 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining in the third, but timely saves by Connor Ingram, including one on a breakaway by Taylor Hall, relieved the pressure just enough for Utah to put it away late.

    "What I did like is the maturity we showed during the game," Tourigny said. "There were a lot of emotions and wanting to deliver. Our leaders did a great job to make sure we stay level as much as possible."

    Captain Clayton Keller had a huge hand in it too, especially when he slotted home his first goal to illicit another massive eruption from the Delta Center crowd to make it 2-0.

    "You just stay patient," Keller said. "When you're squeezing the stick too tight, that's when things don't go your way. You've just got to relax and trust your teammates."

    Utah also has the fans to thank for that; the crowd of 16,020, the largest ever for hockey in Delta Center history, chanted "Let's go, Utah" almost constantly, and created a wall of sound that soared past healthy hearing levels multiple times Tuesday.

    "The first pre-season game was pretty crazy, but this was a whole other level," Keller said. "We couldn't be more excited to play in front of them for the rest of the year.”

    This article has been updated to reflect the actual attendance of last night's game, as released by the club this morning.

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