Before its 7-4 win over the Blues, the longest win streak the Utah Mammoth had achieved in their inaugural season was four games. It made sense, Utah was adjusting to life in a new state, playing in front of fans the team had never had before, and the Mammoth were a young, inexperienced group still seeking consistency. The team was finding its identity in real time But this season, the Mammoth are not only comfortable playing at home, as their 4-0 home record indicates, but their elevated play has also given them a franchise-record five-game winning streak. And though this win over the Blues had its fair share of sloppy moments, it’ll be the Mammoth's electric offense that stands out most at the end of the day— particularly Logan Cooley’s natural hat trick in the first period. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah/latest-news/logan-cooley-naturally-nets-mammoth-s-first-natural-hat-trick] LOGAN COOLEY'S A NATURAL Early and often, the St. Louis Blues were playing physical with Cooley delivering big hits and fighting with him on the net front. But it didn't matter in the slightest, Cooley was unbothered and scorched St. Louis' defense on way to his natural hat trick. In just 4:48, Cooley had scored three goals by himself and put Utah's lead all the way up to 4-0. What made it even more impressive was that the Blues had pulled goalie Joel Hofer for Jordan Binnington after Cooley’s second goal. No matter who challenged him or which goalie was in net, Cooley was not going to be denied on his way to history. To cap an already prolific night, Cooley also registered an assist earlier in the period on defenseman Ian Cole’s first goal of the season. Cooley had logged just 3:45 of ice time before tallying all four of his points. Any remaining concerns about the chemistry of Utah’s second line quickly vanished, as each crisp pass to Cooley resulted in a goal. JJ Peterka is fitting in nicely with Cooley and Dylan Guenther, and the trio is quickly emerging as a fast and dangerous lineup. CLAYTON KELLER'S COMES UP CLUTCH Cooley's performance may have dominated the first period, but it was Clayton Keller who kept the Mammoth from giving up its lead. Besides his 200th career goal, which officially sealed the win for the Mammoth, Keller’s second-period goal proved even more clutch. The highs of Logan Cooley’s hat trick were short-lived for Utah, as the team faced a very aggressive Blues squad for the remainder of the game. With the added intensity, St. Louis swung momentum back in its favor, making life uncomfortable for Utah. Forcing the Mammoth to commit six penalties, the Blues not only maintained puck possession for much of the period but also scored two goals — one on the power play — cutting the lead to 4-2. Though Utah held a lead, the St. Louis crowd was roaring, and the Mammoth looked as if they were barely hanging on. Just before the Blues could enter the third period with all the momentum, Keller stepped up big. His goal didn’t just extend Utah’s lead; it stopped the bleeding after a sloppy second period. The Blues remained dangerous and cut Utah’s lead to one in the third, but they could not keep pace with Keller and the Mammoth’s rolling offense. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/809f4cec-1e35-4990-b263-e6fc3a05dec7.jpeg] SLOPPY PENALTIES NEARLY COSTED UTAH The penalties just keep coming for the Utah Mammoth. Utah entered its game against St. Louis with 80 penalty minutes, the fourth-highest total in the league. By the end of the game, the Mammoth had added 12 more minutes to their overall total. Though the penalties haven’t cost Utah any games yet, the trend is heading in the wrong direction. St. Louis found life in the game when it was able to draw Utah penalties, a big reason its comeback attempt nearly succeeded. It’s impossible to avoid penalty minutes all season, of course, but considering how strong Utah’s defense has looked, the team can often bail itself out even when shorthanded. And with Utah going 2-for-4 on its own power plays, the Mammoth were able to counteract the penalty trouble with success on the man advantage. Not every penalty minute has led to power plays for opponents, but if Utah can clean up some of its penalty-ridden stretches, the team will become even harder to beat. It will be especially important for Utah to clean up its penalties as it faces a Minnesota Wild team that has been particularly lethal on the power play. With the game scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 25, Utah will need a cleaner performance if it hopes to extend its win streak to six. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com [http://thn.com/] or creating your own post in our community forum.
