The Utah Mammoth played another preseason game last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, and although things went better than in games past, they still came out on the losing end.
As a group, the Mammoth played better. They fought hard and held the lead until late in the third.
Dylan Guenther continues to find the back of the net, scoring both goals for the club. He and J.J. Peterka have shown some chemistry early in the preseason, which is a bright spot for the organization despite not being able to win games.
Head coach Andre Tourigny spoke about the growing chemistry between them and Barrett Hayton.
“I liked the speed, I liked the skill, I liked the compete as well,” Tourigny said on the Peterka, Hayton, Guenther line. “We talk about detail and playing both sides of the puck and this line did it perfectly. Really liked their effort.”
The Mammoth led 2-0 until the third period, when Mitch Marner found Jack Eichel in the slot to cut the lead in half. The Golden Knights got a late power play chance after Gabe Smith and Cole Reinhardt dropped the gloves, which was Utah’s eighth fight in four games. Unfortunately, Smith was also given the extra two for roughing.
On that power play, Eichel scored again for his second of the night, tying the game 2-2. Regulation ended still tied, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra frame, the Mammoth had a few decent chances but couldn’t capitalize. The Golden Knights did, when Shea Theodore picked up a turnover and scored the game-winning goal.
Despite the improved effort, the Mammoth weren’t able to hold on and have now fallen to 0-4. Yes, it’s only preseason, but with just three games remaining, there are still some question marks looming.
Tourigny met with the media after the game and had this to say:
“We played a really good game. We were relentless, we had pace, we were in their face, we were more in sync, I really liked the way we played.”
If the Mammoth can build off this, they could turn it around and close out the preseason with a few wins. Wins don’t necessarily matter in the preseason, but they can give a team a boost of confidence heading into the regular season.
