Utah
Utah Blanks Philadelphia, 3-0 | Utah Mammoth
Schmaltz’s 24 goals this season are a new career-high. He’s been a consistently strong presence and has taken on more responsibility with the switch from wing to center. His goal on the power play came just eight seconds into the man-advantage and opened the scoring early in the second period. In addition to his goal, he had an assist on Utah’s second goal of the game. Tourigny discussed Schmaltz’s maturity following the win.
“He’s a mature person, mature man,” Tourigny explained. “He really wants to make a difference. I always say about Schmaltz, (he’s) a gamer. He wants to play in those moments, and I think he’s excited about where our team is at, and he wants to be a big part of it, and he is. He’s a huge leader for us.”
Utah held Philadelphia to 16 total shots: four in the first period, seven in the second, and five in the third. The Mammoth showed their strong defensive game in the win.
“I think that’s when we’re at our best, when we’re defending hard,” Schmaltz said. “We’re playing with a lot of pace, not giving them time and space, frustrating them, and making them force plays, and then we turn it over and go the other way.”
On the flip side, against a stingy Philadelphia defense, Utah generated 23 shots including 14 in the second period. Schmaltz spoke to what led to the increased opportunities in the middle frame.
“A little bit more direct,” Schmaltz shared. “I think our transition game was really good. We were catching them, kind of hemming them in. Good line changes and just rolling them over and shooting a little bit more.”
In addition to Schmaltz’s goal, Captain Clayton Keller scored his 19th of the season seven and half minutes after his linemate’s tally to increase the score to 2-0. Michael Carcone’s empty net goal with 1:48 left in regulation secured the 3-0 win.
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)
- The Mammoth’s power play went 1-for-2 against the Flyers. Utah has scored seven power play goals in seven games (7-for-18, 38.9%). On the other side of special teams, the Mammoth’s penalty kill went 3-for-3.
- JJ Peterka played his 300th NHL game. Peterka was selected 34th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and is the ninth player from his draft class to reach the milestone. He is also just the eighth German-born forward in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
- Keller has recorded 11 points in his last seven games (2/2-3/5: 3g, 8a), finding the scoresheet in six of those contests.
- With two assists tonight, Dylan Guenther has posted his second straight multi-point outing (3/3 at WSH: 1g, 1a) and his third in five games (2/25 vs. COL: 2g).
Utah has won the first two games of a five-game road trip. Up next, the Mammoth travel to Columbus and face the Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
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