SANDY, UT — There’s no place like home. The Utah Mammoth are counting on it, if they’re to take the upper hand in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights Friday night.
After securing the franchise’s first-ever post-season victory Tuesday in Vegas to even up the series 1-1, the Mammoth are about to experience another first: Their first-ever Stanley Cup Playoff game at home.
There’s a buzz in the city, but at the practice rink inside the Utah Mammoth Hockey Center, the vibe is calm, cool, and collected, the focus fixed on finding a balance between the thrill of hosting a playoff game and the mission to make sure they seize the opportunity and give their fans a good show.
“We’re all ready to get out there and have our fans cheering for us,” said Mammoth forward Logan Cooley, following Friday’s optional morning skate. “Just in general, I think playing at the Delta Center, it’s such a unique experience. I’m really looking forward to a playoff match there. It’s a huge game for us to come out on home ice and get this win tonight.”
“It’s exciting,” said forward Dylan Guenther, the team’s leading goal-scorer in the regular season. “I think you don’t want it to overwhelm us. Just continue to play that same way. You don’t want to change your game because you’re at home.”
It’s a small sample size, but watching Cooley and Guenther and the rest of this team through two playoff games so far is like seeing a playoff identity form in real-time, with the many lessons that come with it.
The Mammoth that hit the ice in Game 2 brought the same grit and persistence we saw from them in the series opener, but after falling off at the 40-minute mark in Game 1 as the veteran-laden Vegas club took over, Utah learned how to close things out Tuesday night. The young club took to heart head coach André Tourigny’s call for more, and harder, drives to the net — and were rewarded for it.
Securing that first win of the series, said Cooley, “means everything.”
“You know, we’re not gonna have a whole celebration over winning one game in the playoffs, but at the same time you’ve got to enjoy these games, enjoy winning, anytime you can,” he said.
“It was a good start,” Guenther said of the first two games. “When you look at what happened, I mean, if you would’ve told us we’d get the split going there, I would’ve taken it.”
That balanced approach — to the games, to the series, and to the atmosphere throughout — is something Tourigny has preached thus far this post-season.
“Obviously, Game 1, first game, a lot of excitement. Second game was maybe a little bit more poised, but the level of intensity, of urgency, was maybe even greater,” he said. “I think today will be something a little bit different because we’re at home, (with) our fans. But at the same time, we talk a lot about staying even-keel. We need to embrace the moment, we need to appreciate the moment, but that cannot get under our skin.”
On the ice, the focus will once again be on their speed. That’s been one of Utah’s greatest strengths all season, and it’s been on full display through two playoff games so far. It’s not just about being fleet of foot, but quick to move the puck, too, in an effort to avoid Vegas’ smothering defence.
But while the on-ice plan remains the same, the fact remains that this is no ordinary game. Everyone here knows that. It’s a moment that comes with expectations — loud, boisterous, enthusiastic ones from Utah faithful who’ll be making their way to the rink.
Those fans, said Cooley, are “one of the reasons that we’re in this position right now, playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs … it means a lot to us — and honestly, it helps us win games sometimes, too.”
The support of the city, continued Cooley, has been “amazing” from the start.
“Now, we can kind of give back to them by being in the playoffs and playing for something here.”