The Utah Mammoth dominated from start to finish, leaving the Blackhawks thoroughly embarrassed in a one-sided 6-0 season-opening defeat.
The Utah Mammoth wasted little time making a statement.
In their season opener Thursday night, Utah overwhelmed the Chicago Blackhawks from the opening faceoff, rolling to a 6-0 victory behind two power-play goals from Dylan Guenther and a 15-save shutout by Karel Vejmelka.
The win marked the second time in three seasons that Utah has opened its campaign by defeating Chicago.
Guenther struck first with 3:19 remaining in the opening period, converting on the power play to put the Mammoth in front. Just 40 seconds later, Michael Carcone doubled the advantage, lifting a wrist shot over Arvid Soderblom's elbow.
Clayton Keller played a key role on special teams, picking up assists on both of Guenther's power-play tallies.
Utah continued to pull away in the second period. Nick Schmaltz made it 3-0 at the 9:46 mark after the puck ricocheted off Soderblom's skate. As the Chicago goaltender went down, Schmaltz stayed with the loose puck and slipped it home from close range.
The Mammoth struck twice more before the period ended.
With 6:54 left in the second, Anders Lee found the back of the net in traffic, redirecting a feed from Andrew Peeke. Guenther then returned to the power play and scored his second of the night with 4:32 remaining, pushing Utah's lead to five.
Daniil But added the final goal, completing a night in which virtually everything went Utah's way.
Chicago struggled to generate any sustained offensive pressure, managing just nine shots through the first two periods. Vejmelka turned aside all 15 shots he faced, while Soderblom finished with 26 saves despite facing a constant barrage from the Mammoth.
The Blackhawks entered the night coming off a 5-2 loss to Vegas on Tuesday and now have dropped consecutive games to begin their season.
The Mammoth are already on the road. They face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at 5 p.m. from Nationwide Arena.
