The frustration in the Utah Hockey Club locker room is rising.
Utah is now on a five-game losing streak after Sunday night’s 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues, with the last three losses coming at home.
Nothing Utah HC doing seems to be working, and the players are starting to recognize it.
“We’ve had a lot of meetings about this,” said veteran defenseman Ian Cole after the game. “I think that everyone’s really said just about all that could be said. At some point, it needs to get put in practice on the ice.”
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Head coach André Tourigny agreed.
“You want to win,” he said after the game. “You want to find a way to cross the finish line and stuff like that. I don’t think we played that well today.”
The team is left looking for answers to more questions than just what it should be called next season. They have one game left in their current home stand, and its importance is not lost on Tourigny.
“It’s an extremely huge game for us (Tuesday) against Philly,” he said. “We need the two points; We need to finish the home stand at least at .500, hit the road and have a hell of a road trip before the break. There’s no doubt about it.”
Here’s a rundown of Sunday’s game.
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How this works
This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.
First, we’ll have “Utah hockey for dummies” for all you new hockey fans. Welcome, by the way — we’re glad you’ve taken an interest in the greatest sport in the world.
Next, we’ll have a section titled “Utah hockey for casual fans,” aimed at those who have a basic understanding of the sport.
Finally, we’ll have “Utah hockey for nerds.” That will be for those of you who, like me, think about nothing but hockey all day, every day.
Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X.”
Utah Hockey for dummies
As mentioned in the pregame article, a number of Utah players have had great success in against the Blues in their respective careers.
Defenseman Michael Kesselring continued his offensive streak against St. Louis with Utah’s only goal of the game. He now has goals in all three games against the Blues this season and he has points in all four games he’s ever played against them.
“(I’m) a little lucky, I guess,” Kesselring said of his scoring tendency against the Blues. “It was nice to get one there.”
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On the other hand, two point streaks came to an end. Nick Schmaltz had scored points in each of his previous 11 games against the Blues, while St. Louis-area native Clayton Keller had done so in each of his previous eight contests versus his hometown team.
It was not for a lack of effort. Keller and Schmaltz, who play on the same line, seemed to be feeding off each other all night. They were responsible for more than their fair share of Utah’s scoring chances, but they just couldn’t get anything past Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington.
It culminated in Keller’s third-period bomb on the power play. Upon receiving a perfect pass from Mikhail Sergachev, Keller let it fly and drilled the crossbar.
The puck went so high that the fans on the left side of the net thought it might fly above the netting and into their section of the stands.
Utah Hockey for casual fans
Since Connor Ingram’s return to the lineup, he has given his team a chance to win every time he’s tended the net. Utah has struggled to score though, which means he’s gotten credit for a few more losses than he’s deserved.
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Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) and St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) compete for possession of the puck during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues center Zack Bolduc (76) falls while skating for possession of the puck with Utah Hockey Club left wing Michael Carcone (53) during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) takes possession of the puck with St. Louis Blues center Zack Bolduc (76) on defense during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) and St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) trail Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) for possession of the puck during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues center Zack Bolduc (76) skates toward the puck with Utah Hockey Club left wing Michael Carcone (53) on defense during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
A referee falls during a faceoff between the Utah Hockey Club and the St. Louis Blues during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club center Jack McBain (22) reacts after losing 2-1 against the St. Louis Blues during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club left wing Michael Carcone (53) skates toward the puck during an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) and St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler (17) stop the puck during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club center Kevin Stenlund (82) prepares to pass the puck during an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) defends the goal during an NHL game against the Utah Hockey Club held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club defenseman Michael Kesselring (7) takes possession of the puck during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington (50) defends the goal during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club center Nick Schmaltz (8) and St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) faceoff during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) helps defend the goal as the St. Louis Blues attempt to score during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club center Jack McBain (22) and St. Louis Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker (75) engage in a fight during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club fans smile during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Hockey Club defenseman John Marino (6) skates down the ice during an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
The Utah Hockey Club and St. Louis Blues face-off during an NHL game held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler (17) takes possession of the puck during an NHL game against the Utah Hockey Club held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
In his six games since returning, he has a .910 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average. He’s not the most technically sound goaltender, but he’s finds ways to make saves — and that’s what ultimately matters.
For example, nearing the halfway mark of the first period Sunday with Utah killing a penalty, Ingram made an excellent save in tight on Oskar Sundqvist.
Ingram was down and out, but he managed to get his stick in position to block Sundqvist’s next bid and keep the game knotted at zero. Ingram has given his team all the support in the world. The team needs to start returning the favor by scoring enough goals to win.
Utah Hockey for nerds
To the Blues’ credit, Utah HC’s biggest problem was something the Blues did well rather than something UHC did poorly: congest the offensive zone.
In the first two periods especially, Utah couldn’t get anything to the inner slot without five white sweaters blocking every lane. That forced them to either shoot from the outside or cough the puck up.
“We made some tactical adjustments after the second to build more speed through the neutral zone,” Tourigny said after the game. “We’re happy about the result and it’s something we’ll try to duplicate.”
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According to Natural Stat Trick’s data, Utah controlled just 23.08% of the high-danger scoring chances in the first period and 33.33% of those chances in the second.
Statistically speaking, Tourigny’s adjustments worked in the third period: Utah HC had 83.33% of the high-danger chances in the third period.
What’s next?
Utah closes out its home stand on Tuesday as it hosts the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Flyers are in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference standings, but there’s so much parity in the east that they’re onlyseven points out of the playoffs.
They made a big trade last week to acquire Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko, the latter of whom is due for a bounce-back season. He scored 39 goals and 74 points as a member of the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23, but he hasn’t come close to that since.
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Neither player has suited up for the Flyers yet. It’s unclear why Pelletier hasn’t played, but Kuzmenko is experiencing visa issues, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall.
Being the last game of the home stand, it’s the last day to vote on the team name and branding.
The Utah Jazz have extended their losing skid to three games with a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The final score was 114-123.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the night:
Defense folds again under Curry takeover
Utah controlled the first half of this game. At one point they held a 12 point lead.
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But at 37 years old, Steph Curry can still do some amazing things. Curry went for 20 points in the third-quarter, frazzled the Jazz, and they never really recovered after that. Part of this was Curry being the greatest shooter of all time, but part of it was Utah struggling to defend at the point of attack and off screens. They weren’t particularly physical, particularly attached, or particularly effective at shrinking Curry’s space. It’s same story from most night’s this season.
The Jazz are a solid offensive team – 16th best in offensive rating to be exact. They continue to lead the league in sharing the ball with a 72% assist rate and have weapons at every level, especially when Walker Kessler returns. But they are still the worst defensive team in the league at 30th in defensive rating. This is good news for pro-tank fans, but bad for the Jazz becoming a competitive team under this core.
Who is Utah’s third piece
Keyonte George is clearly playing at an All-Star and Most Improved Player of the Year level. He finished tonight with 22 points and nine assists. His third-year jump is real and he’s solidified himself as a core of the franchise moving forward.
Lauri Markkanen is still playing at an All-NBA level. He finished tonight with 35 points and five rebounds. He’s one of the best scorers in the league this season and a great companion next to George.
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When both of Utah’s stars are playing, it’s easy to convince yourself that the Jazz just need one more core player to pop to enter win-now mode. But it isn’t very clear who that player is. Is it Ace Bailey? Maybe, but that will take another two-three seasons to find out. It’s clear it’s not Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, or any other role player on the roster. It’s a shame that Walker Kessler is out for the season, because if the shooting was real, he might be a suitable answer.
The truth is that the next core piece is probably not on the roster right now. Let’s hope that comes from the draft if the Jazz keep their pick.
A note on tonight’s whistle
Praising the referees is usually not something people like to read about, especially when the Jazz lose. I’m doing it anyway, apologies.
Tonight’s crew chief was the fan-favorite Bill Kennedy. He was joined by 16-year veteran Kevin Cutler and 6-year veteran Simone Jelks. The crew did two things that I haven’t seen much of this season:
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(1) The crew did not penalize defenders for simply existing while offensive players generated contract. Keyonte George, for one, was someone who struggled with this. George (smartly) has learned that the NBA has decided that offensive players can initiate contact at will, enter the established space of the defender, and be rewarded with free throws. It’s partly why he’s shooting 7.4 free throws a game. In my opinion, this is bad for basketball.
To be clear, I don’t blame George for doing this. The most talented players at manipulating this part of the game are elite scorers in the league (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Austin Reaves, for example). But tonight, the crew didn’t reward George, Curry, Butler, or Markkanen with any of these types of plays and I think it led to a more competitive, faster, and more enjoyable watching experience.
(2) The crew treated Draymond Green like every other player when it comes to technical fouls. It’s no secret that Green gets a much longer leash than most when it comes to berating the officials. Watching him get two technicals after complaining on a meaningless play was nice to see, for once.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lani White scored 25 points to lead Utah past No. 8 TCU 87-77 in overtime Saturday night.
Reese Ross added 15 points and Maty Wilke had 12 for the Utes. Evelina Otto finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Utah (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) made 13 3-pointers and shot 56.5% from long distance.
Olivia Miles had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace the Horned Frogs (14-1, 2-1). Marta Suarez added 23 points and 11 rebounds. TCU shot just 37% from the field, including 9 of 39 from 3-point range.
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White forced overtime by making a 3-pointer that tied it 67-all with 12 seconds left in regulation. Utah never trailed in OT and went up 76-69 with 2:47 left after White capped a 9-2 run with her fourth outside basket.
TCU used a 7-0 spurt to erase a four-point deficit in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Suarez and Donovyn Hunter put TCU up 66-64 with 49 seconds remaining.
Ross had a chance to tie it on two free throws with 33.3 seconds left, but missed both. Miles made one of two foul shots with 22 seconds to go before White tied it.
Utah took advantage of cold shooting by the Horned Frogs to pull ahead in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Suarez were TCU’s only field goals over an eight-minute stretch. The Utes scored on three straight possessions, culminating in a layup from Wilke, to take a 52-48 lead.
Miles made back-to-back baskets to put the Horned Frogs back up 58-56. Utah used a 7-0 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Ross, to go ahead 63-58 with 4:32 left in regulation.
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Up next
TCU hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Utah plays at Kansas on Wednesday.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The judge in Utah’s redistricting case filed a ruling making it possible for the Legislature to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, but not without a strong rebuke of their process.
On Friday, Judge Dianna Gibson ruled partially in favor of the Legislature’s most recent request in the redistricting case, certifying its August 25th ruling as final in order to allow them to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
However, she strongly denied their request to enter a final judgment and end the case, saying, “This case is far from over.”
“Quite literally – this Court is between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. This entire case is not ‘final,’” Gibson wrote in the ruling. “But the Court agrees that the important legal issues decided by this Court and reflected in each of its rulings … should be reviewed by the Utah Supreme Court as quickly as possible.”
Gibson said it was the legislative defendant’s “duty to seek appellate review” regarding any of her interlocutory, or non-final orders, within 21 days of the rulings. She said they repeatedly claimed they would but never did.
Now, they are requesting she finalize the case, or at the very least one of her orders, to allow them to file an appeal.
Because Gibson does not want to delay appellate review, she agreed to certify the August 25, 2025 Ruling and Order as final.
“Every Utah voter, every Utah congressional candidate and arguably every Utah citizen is impacted by this case. Issuing a final ruling – on even a portion of this case – ultimately serves the public’s interest and will lead to a faster resolution of the entire case,” she wrote.
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The redistricting case dates back to 2018, when voters passed a ballot initiative to create a commission to redraw the congressional district boundaries.
State legislators repealed the ballot initiative in 2020, and attempted to draw their own congressional map the following year.
This prompted a lawsuit, which has led to several rulings, including the one on August 25th, which declared that the Utah Legislature violated voters’ rights by approving congressional boundaries that split Salt Lake County.
“Until there is a final decision on these legal issues from our Supreme Court, there will be a cloud on Utah’s congressional elections and an open question regarding the power of the Legislature and the power of the people,” Gibson wrote in her most recent ruling.
