Fowl Play

Your Favorite Hockey Guy in Utah

November 18, 2025

^{Giving up a lead with less than 5 seconds left is kinda bad, right?}

The Mammoth started their newest road trip, this time to California. First stop, Anaheim, to take on the surging and surprising Mighty Ducks.

The Ducks came into the game with one of the best records in the league, though their last three games have been losses. Utah, meanwhile, entered the game on an overtime loss to the Islanders two days before.

These evenly matched teams have both been at the top of the division at random points in the year. Both had a 7 game winning streak recently. Both have been struggling a bit lately – Utah longer than Anaheim. These two teams will be playoff rivals in the near future. So, nearly 20 games in, how do they stack up?

FIRST PERIOD:
The Mammoth and Ducks started out slow, with no chances and just some back and forth prodding for the first few minutes. A dual penalty was called at the 3 minute mark, with a hooking call by Troy Terry and an embellishment penalty against Mikhail Sergachev, forcing both teams 4 on 4 for 2 minutes.

Quick aside – I absolutely hate the embellishment penalty. If a penalty is committed (hook, trip, etc) then it’s a penalty. If an embellishment happens, the hook, trip, etc. wasn’t an actual penalty. Embellishment as an idea needs to be retired, it’s absolutely stupid.

On 4 on 4, the Ducks had a great opportunity denied by Karel Vejmelka early on. The dangerous rush of the Ducks left Cutter Gauthier open and walking in from the dot. His shot was saved by Vejmelka, who sprawled across the crease to deny an easy follow up shot and keep the game scoreless.

Gameplay was fast paced, with few stoppages in the first 10 minutes. Both teams spent a lot of time skating in their opposing zones, but the very few shot attempts that Utah tried were missed or blocked, and no shots registered at all. At the halfway mark, the Mammoth would go on the man advantage, with Barrett Hayton drawing a tripping penalty on Beckett Sennecke.

The anemic Mammoth power play made a change recently, promoting JJ Peterka to the top line for the first time this year. His presence, while a great sign for the desire to actually score a goal on special teams, struggled to get on the same page. Early puck movement was promising, but passes weren’t sharp, slightly off target, and placement of the unit didn’t allow for much opportunity. Logan Cooley got the puck back to Nate Schmidt for the first shot of the game, about 12 minutes in, but it was tracked from the blue line and easily stopped by Lukas Dostal, and the power play ended like every other 5 on 4 this month.

Utah had a glorious chance with about 7 minutes to play. A 2 on 1 developed between Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller, but the cross-ice pass from Keller ended up in Schmaltz’ skates, and he wasn’t able to get a shot off.

Utah had several chances over the next few minutes, bringing in pucks deep, but each time there was an opportunity, an errant pass or turnover ended any hope of breaking the ice. Notably, multiple shots were passed up in favor of a pass – each of which ended with nothing positive for Utah.

After a tight-in save by Dostal on Guenther, the Ducks dangerous counter attack struck first. A 4 on 3 saw nifty passing, drawing Utah defenders out of position. A tic-tac-toe play pass from Ryan Strome, Alex Killorn, and Jackson LaCombe saw the young defenseman pot his first of the year. Anaheim’s third shot of the game, 16 minutes in. 1-0 Ducks

Liam O’Brien immediately dropped the gloves with noted heavyweight fighter Ross Johnston on the face-off, in an attempt for Spicy Tuna to generate some energy for the team. That backfired, though, as the Ducks were barely kept at bay by a great save by Vejmelka on Nikita Nesterenko as a result of yet another Ducks rush.

Michael Carcone had a great shot from high at the dot with less than a minute to go, but Dostal was able to get a pad on it, and the horn sounded on one of the quickest periods we’ve seen this year.

Utah and Anaheim combined for just 11 shots in the period, with 6 for the Mammoth and 5 for the Ducks.

SECOND PERIOD:
Utah started out with a much better pace this period, with Cooley, Schmaltz, and Guenther each getting a shot on net in the first minute. Anaheim recovered from this early barrage, and both teams traded offensive zone time but shots were either blocked or went wide.

Lawson Crouse got called for a hook on Troy Terry at the 5 minute mark, which prevented Terry from getting a clear breakaway in on Vejmelka. The Mammoth PK has been very successful lately, with 16 straight kills, so they would be tested.

The PK stood tall, again. They gave up some shots to Anaheim – allowing Anaheim to nearly double what they had in the first period in a 2 minute span – but most of the opportunities were at range and weren’t very dangerous against for the Mammoth. The kill ended, successfully, and Utah remained perfect on the penalty kill in November.

Post penalty, the teams reverted to their no-shot possessions in each other’s zones. A scary play for Utah ended up just out of reach for Anaheim. A 2 on 0 opportunity would have developed if the puck connected with the stick of McTavish, but Nate Schmidt was able to recover the missed pass behind the net, and the Mammoth were able to regroup, unscathed.

John Marino took a shot from the point, which was saved by Dostal at 7:20 left in the period. This was notable, as Utah was held without a shot for 11 minutes after that initial flurry in the first minute. Spoiler alert – this was not even the last shot drought of the period.

Hayton was gifted the puck, all alone, right in front of Dostal about 30 seconds later, but he was unable to collect the puck and couldn’t recover by the time pressure arrived.

Play was pretty stagnant until a smart flip by Guenther to Carcone forced Dostal out of his net to play the puck. Dostal iced it, Utah won an offensive draw, and great skating by Schmidt opened a lane. His cross-ice for Guenther connected, unlike so many others this game, and Gunner’s one timer was true. All of a sudden, Utah moms had something to cheer about. 1-1 Tied

That goal followed another stretch where Utah went almost 5 more minutes without a shot.

JJ Peterka had a scary moment, with a near breakaway that saw him fall down after what could have been a penalty shot. He slid into the net, but was able to get back to the bench showing no damage other than some disappointment in not getting that power play or penalty shot opportunity.

Utah actually won a second period, despite just 7 shots and multiple 5+ minute stretches of no shots at all. Both clubs just not shooting, 14 shots for Anaheim, 13 for the Mammoth through 2.

THIRD PERIOD:
The period, like the first, started out with a lot of probing and zone time, but little actual scoring chances or shot attempts. The Mammoth got their first chance about 3 and a half in, with Schmaltz throwing a pass right in front for Keller, but he was just in too tight and couldn’t elevate the puck over Dostal’s pad.

Neither team saw chances over the next several minutes, until a failed clearing attempt by Dimitry Simashev was kept in at the line by the Ducks. Leo Carlsson had a chance from the slot, which Vejmelka saved, and the rebound was just cleared by Utah before the Ducks could capitalize.

Vejmelka was tested repeatedly from here – two shots from the slot were both saves, and the Ducks tried a wraparound that popped up off Veggies pad and into his glove.

The top line would finally connect about the 9 minute mark, as they were able to sustain enough pressure in the Ducks’ zone to get themselves an open look. A great lead pass from Cole to Schmaltz allowed Utah a solid entry into the zone. Schmaltz, with some fancy footwork, was able to get the puck deep. Cooley was able to recover the loose puck from behind the goal line. He found a lane to Sergachev at the blue line. Sergy looked to take a shot, opening the return pass back to Cooley, who one-timed it right over Dostal’s shoulder. This was the first goal for Cooley since his extension, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. 2-1 Utah

Unlike previous games, the Mammoth didn’t turtle after their goal. They still attacked, and a golden chance by Guenther with 9 minutes to go just went wide. Gunner rushed the wing, and though he was shadowed by a Ducks defenseman, he tried to sneak a shot 5-hole while cutting across the crease. However, he was unable to sneak past Dostal to give Utah a bigger cushion.

Vejmelka faced his biggest blast of the night from the high dot, but a kick save kept the Ducks from equalizing. On the attack, Cooley had a 2 on 1, but couldn’t get the pass through to Schmaltz in the slot. Seconds later he took a pass from Keller right in front of Dostal, but couldn’t get the puck from his backhand to his forehand while standing at the top of the crease. The play ended as he took a cross check to the back. Play was ruled dead as he fell into the net while Dostal covered.

The Ducks had an aggressive goalie pull with more than 2 minutes to go. Their potent offense went to work 6 on 5, but Utah’s positioning forced the puck to the boards repeatedly. The game was almost iced, as Guenther almost got a breakout pass at the blue line, but the Ducks recovered as Guenther slid out of the zone.

One minute to go, a Utah clearing attempt ended up about 3 feet wide of the net, but a streaking Cooley negated an icing. Utah pushed the Ducks in their zone for a few moments, until the puck squirted out to Stenlund in the neutral zone. He was unable to stop himself from going offside, and the Ducks were able to regroup.

The Ducks won a neutral zone face-off with 20 seconds to go. Terrible play by Utah defensively – with a failed control by Sergachev, and several failed clearing attempts by Keller caught up to them. With 5 seconds to go, Anaheim hit a post, which rebounded directly to Troy Terry. I couldn’t miss from that spot. 2-2 Tied

A one goal lead for Utah late in the third hasn’t been ideal lately for Utah, as they blew a lead against the Islanders and Anaheim. So, for the second game in a row, with the second blown third period lead in a row, Utah would get a point, and need extra time to fight for the second.

OVERTIME:
The last overtime game saw the Islanders control the puck the entire overtime period. Tonight, overtime started out completely different, as Utah won the draw.

Controlling the puck, the Mammoth inexplicably went offside. In overtime. How that happens, no one knows.

Utah, though, won the second face-off. Eventually, Keller got ice time, received the puck, and made a strong move to the net. He was unable to get the shot off on Dostal, but he laid a massive hit on Sennecke which allowed Utah to regain the puck. Keller tried to thread a pass to Guenther, but Alex Killorn got his stick on the puck to knock it loose. Sergachev, again inexplicably, backed up off the puck, allowing Killorn to gain possession. With Keller deep in the zone, the Ducks had a 3 on 2 rush. Killorn fed to Sennecke, who Vejmelka came out extremely aggressively to play. Sennecke simply passed over to Olen Zellweger at the side of the net, who tucked the puck into the open cage. Game. 3-2 Ducks

3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

The Play of Logan Cooley has been pretty good lately. Since signing his contract, he’s not had much point production, but his shooting percentage has been absolutely terrible. He’s been aggressive on forechecks, he’s been able to force turnovers, but he hasn’t been able to score.

Tonight, Cooley had the almost-game winner in a pivotal third period. This was his first November goal, his first on his last 12 shots (8%). That’s about half his career shooting percentage, as he’s normally a 15.5% shooter. Hopefully this gets the monkey off his back.

Utah Defense was great today. The defensemen were activating at the right times, keeping play in the offensive zone far more than they did vs, the Islanders. When in their own zone, Utah’s defensemen and forwards limited the Ducks chances through 50+ minutes of the game. The Ducks shoot 30+ times a game, and more at home. They were under that average tonight, with a mad dash scramble under 2 minutes giving them a boost to those stats.

Utah gave up just 2 goals to a team averaging 4+ a game at home. The Ducks had a slide coming into the game, but considering they’re top two in their division, kudos to the defensive structure holding strong.
The Penalty Kill The Penalty Kill remains perfect. It’s the only part of special teams that is working, so it’s the one part that we need to continue to call out. If only the PP unit, the 6 on 5, and 5 on 6 units could take a page out of the PK playbook, I’d be happy.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

Mikhail Sergachev How could it not be Sergy as the biggest issue today? He was out of position on the first goal to LaCombe, leaving him open right in front of an out-of-position Vejmelka. He misplayed a puck late in the second when Utah had great zone pressure and nearly gave up an odd man rush against. He misplayed the puck behind the goal line with 15 seconds to play, giving Anaheim the puck back that led to the tying goal. That goal was due to a pass that hit his coverage, which he misplayed. His play in overtime was some of the worst hockey he’s had in his career.

A 5 minute span at the end of the game by Sergy nearly singlehandedly cost Utah a point. I don’t know what he was thinking with that OT offside move. I don’t know what he was trying to do behind the net with 15 seconds to go. I don’t know why he decided to give up on a puck that wasn’t even 50/50 – he had the clear advantage. All I know – his stats on paper looked good, but his decision making in critical situations tonight was awful.

Where’s the clutch? Because this team, with their clutch scoring over the first 2 weeks of the season can’t get worse when it matters. Late in the game, they coughed up the lead. Yes, there will always be a push in a 6 on 5 and it’s naive to think that you’ll never give up a lead. However, you had the ability to score the empty net goal and failed. You could have iced the puck at the end, and failed. And then, when it mattered in overtime, bad play from Sergachev and Vejmelka doomed the team.

Will one of the moms in the stands give them a pep talk? Doesn’t look like the coaching staff can.

Utah Offense remains stagnant. Utah’s scored 2 goals in 6 of their 8 games this month, with only a 2-1 OT winner getting them a full 2 points. The other 5 games were losses – with 2 OTL’s (3-2 vs. Islanders and Ducks) at least salvaging one point. They had 5 goals against Buffalo and won. The only other game, Toronto, saw them pot 3 goals, but they lost 5-3.

Where is the offense? What happened to the clutch play with Guenther, Schmaltz, Peterka, Cooley, Keller? Why is this team passing instead of shooting, especially when a lane to shoot is there? Why can’t passes connect to allow for 1 timers or plays at the net? Where’s crashing the net? Where are tips in front?

Utah’s shot volumes are good, tonight notwithstanding, but this offensive output is just regrettable from a team with a lot of offensive firepower. I don’t have answers on what to do at this point, but you know who else doesn’t know? The coaching staff.