Duck, Duck, Goose Egg

Your Favorite Hockey Guy in Utah

December 4, 2025

^{Utah dominates Anaheim with a statement win and first shutout of the year}

The Mammoth started December the way they ended November. This was not ideal. After a beating by the Sharks, a battered Utah Mammoth team limped into Anaheim for their second road game against the Ducks in as many months.

Utah decided to finally make some changes to the team in advance of this matchup. The lines? Completely shaken up. Sharpshooter from the AHL? Making his debut. Passengers on the team? Watching from the press box.

How would this new look Mammoth fare against the Pacific division leading Ducks?

FIRST PERIOD:
The Mammoth and Ducks started out as their records would indicate. Utah had an early face-off win and an initial early push by the third line, but the Ducks absolutely manhandled Utah over the next several minutes. Utah was out hit, out shot, and simply out played by the best Pacific team. On their heels, Utah was bailed out early as Karel Vejmelka was forced to make a few early stops.

The overall play would equalize over the next few minutes, as Utah pushed back using an old friend. Maveric Lamoureux, in his first game in over a year, had moments of struggle to start the period but picked up his intensity and confidence as the period went on. About 5 minutes in, Lamoureux had a big hit and a shot attempt, something that the defense has been seemingly afraid to do for a month.

Another thing Utah had been somewhat afraid to do recently is play in front of the net. Unsurprisingly, the most physical play came from the 3rd line. Winning a board battle on the near side, Jack McBain and Lawson Crouse were able to get the puck deep behind the net to Michael Carcone. Carcone saw Crouse streaking to the front of the net, and his backhand dish perfectly connected. Crouse went forehand-backhand, lifting the puck over the sprawled out pad of Ville Husso for a rare, early Utah lead. 1-0 Utah

Utah didn’t waste time after the drop, as they continued to push. JJ Peterka snapped off a pair of shots in his shift – one golden opportunity from near the goal line that was barely kept out, as well as a centering feed for a back door shot that was just a moment too late and intercepted. This pressure kept Anaheim on their heels, preventing that immediate pushback teams want after giving up a goal.

The Mammoth continued to pressure Anaheim, posting some good offensive zone pressure – including shots by newcomer Daniil But – but a Logan Cooley tripping penalty derailed the momentum.

Utah’s penalty kill has faltered in the past few games. Going from shutting opponents out to giving up 3 goals in 9 kills, the Mammoth faced a middle-of-the-pack Ducks power play, but one that has been struggling with a below 10% success rate in their past 3 weeks.

Utah returned to their stellar PK ways, clearing the puck after broken plays, and stuffing Anaheim repeatedly as they tried to get in deep and open passing lanes. Utah gave up one shot through the PK duration, keeping Anaheim scoreless and ruining their chance to regain momentum. Shortly after the kill, Utah was able to further drive Anaheim into the ground as Dylan Guenther took control after a failed stretch pass. Ian Cole threw the puck towards a streaking But, but the pass was knocked down at center ice by Jacob Trouba. Guenther snatched the loose puck, and charged in with Logan Cooley for a 2 on 1. Anaheim’s Pavel Mintyukov fell during the play, giving a clear 2 on 0 against Husso. With two of the top 3 Utah goal scorers in and no help, Husso was cooked. Guenther cut across the crease, going forehand-backhand-five hole for the goal. 2-0 Utah

As with the first goal, Utah was able to stifle an Anaheim push; while Utah didn’t get sustained zone pressure late in the period Carone turnstyled Radko Gudas and had a breakaway, but his 5-hole shot on Husso didn’t have enough on it, keeping the score 2-0.

Vejmelka, for his part, helped keep the score 2-0 with some well-positioned saves, none bigger in the period than the doorstop save he made on a shot by Jacob Trouba in the final 2 minutes. Nothing amassed for either team to close out the period, and both teams go back to regroup with the score 2 – 0 in favor of the good guys.

Utah and Anaheim had an energetic first period, but shots were low. Overall 14 shots recorded, 8 for Utah, 6 for Anaheim.

SECOND PERIOD:
The second started with the Ducks immediately penning Utah in their zone, hard. They opened up the period with half a dozen shot attempts in the first 45 seconds. Veggie was tested by Alex Killorn, in close, but was able to fend off that early chance. Less than 2 minutes later, Mason McTavish was point blank after a pass from the corner, but Vejmelka again robbed the Ducks of their icebreaker.

Play continued back and forth for several minutes; both teams had zone time but eventually Utah converted theirs. 6 minutes in, good puck movement between Cole, Lamoureux, Keller and Peterka saw the puck cycle deep and back out twice. On the second cycle at the blue line, Lamoureux fed Cole, and he proceeded to walk in towards the dot. Seeing a lane, Cole rifled a shot, short side on Husso, beating him and the net-front traffic for Utah’s third goal of the game. 3-0 Utah

The message after the last two goals from Utah seemed to be “take away momentum”, and for the third straight time they did. Following the goal, Utah stormed back to the Anaheim side of the ice, seeing shots from Sean Durzi, and a wide-open-missed over the top shot by Guenther and – in a bit of foreshadowing – an opportunity by Liam O’Brien.

Both teams had a bit of push, but nothing of note for several minutes until Ian Cole took an interference penalty on Alex Killorn. Anaheim responded with significant zone time pressure, a complete reversal of their previous attempt, notching 9 shot attempts during the power play. The Mammoth, however, were in nearly every lane – they blocked 6 shots on the kill, officially, though there may have been one or two or thirty five other attempts that were not recorded. Utah’s resolve won out, however, and they remained perfect on the PK for the evening.

The Ducks would get on the board, temporarily, when McTavish finally beat Vejmelka after getting behind Utah’s defense. The Ducks forward beat Veggie glove side, but ultimately this was wiped clean as Anaheim was offside. This was due to a fantastic stick check by Durzi, forcing the puck back on the line and catching McTavish a few inches offside. All that hype, all that excitement, and Utah immediately deflated that momentum with a successful challenge.

Within a minute, Utah capitalized on that momentum and emotional shift, when JJ Peterka posted his 11th goal of the season. A breakout by Sergachev and Marino saw forwards Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Peterka play catch. Penultimate pass by Peterka to Schmaltz was returned for a one timer, beating Husso after that beautiful give and go. All of a sudden, Utah started running away with the momentum, the game, and running away from the demons of the last game here at the Honda Center. 4-0 Utah

A scary moment in the later half of the second – Ross Johnston leveled Durzi behind the net. Helmet off, Durzi seemed initially dazed by the impact. Considering his injury history, this could have been bad, but thankfully nothing major other than a little shakeup. No calls, and play would continue with the Ducks stealing a pass and letting McTavish get another close in shot on Vejmelka, but once again the Wasatch Wall was unbeatable, and the Ducks kept finding ways to get frustrated by Utah’s netminder.

Both teams had shots, but nothing high danger for the rest of the period, until Beckett Sennecke got caught breaking his stick in the back of Kevin Stenlund. You can’t do that, so Sennecke had a two minute time out for cross-checking. However, Utah’s power play has struggled Mightily (OK, I had to) and this PP was no different. The Ducks and Mammoth both had a shot on the truncated power play, as 36 seconds would bleed to the third period.

Just like last time against Anaheim, Utah actually won a second period on the scoreboard. Despite being outshot 16-13, they outscored Anaheim 2-0 for a 4 goal lead entering the third.

THIRD PERIOD:
Utah continued their power play to start the period, against Vyacheslav Buteyets making his NHL debut. The power play – like almost all the previous 40 – ended unsuccessfully, but Peterka nearly got his second as he rung the iron from the blue line.

Utah made it 5-0 on the most unlikely plays by the most unlikely player. After Jack McBain’s shot was saved by the Russian netminder, the rebound was picked up by Liam O’Brien and his shot(?) from the boards hit Drew Helleson’s skate and beat Buteyets up over his glove. The O’Brien shot/pass was headed north of the crease, so everyone was caught off guard – but it doesn’t count for style points, it counts all the same. Congratulations, Liam, you’ve scored two this year – nearly the same as Utah’s first line center! 5-0 Utah

The Ducks struggled to get momentum at all, and failed to mount a response to Utah’s post-goal shifts again. Utah had about 2 minutes of heavy momentum – a few shots, a few opportunities, but nothing very significant other than a Lawson Crouse backhand attempt about 4 minutes in. This didn’t add to the score, but was important time keeping the Ducks from getting any positive things to build on at all. Then, about 5 minutes into the period, Lamoureux took a tripping penalty. Lamoureux penalties last year were an issue, so taking one in his first game back is something of note, though a 5 goal lead is the second most dangerous lead in hockey.

Despite their third power play of the game, the Ducks basically mailed it in, with no shots and sloppy play from a team that looked like it wanted to just go to bed. The frustration was obvious, though as Johnston – not shy to throw hands – spent half a shift instigating Liam O’Brien. Now a leading goal scorer for the Mammoth, O’Brien politely declined and drew a roughing penalty for his trouble.

Utah’s power play, so poor in November, scored in their second attempt tonight. The Ducks, an aggressive penalty kill team, were actually pressuring short handed. A drop pass to Killorn was whiffed on, and the Mammoth – already with the man advantage – were able to catch 3 Ducks deep in their zone. This resulted in a 3 on 1 break, with Guenther, Keller, and Peterka all playing catch, ending with Peterka redirecting a Guenther pass into the back of the net. 6-0 Utah

Anaheim, broken from this point, simply had no response. No pushback again, with immediate opportunities by Carcone and then a 3 on 2 rush with Peterka and Keller. Keller got in on the action, throwing the puck at the net. 7-0 Utah

With 5:30 left to play, and only pride keeping them going, a scoring chance saw McTavish catch Vejmelka down on the ice. The puck slipped by him, Lamoureux kept McTavish from tucking the puck into the open net, frustrating the forward for the final time tonight. Utah posts the first shutout of the year behind a stellar performance by Vejmelka and an offensive outburst tying their best goals for record, and setting a record for the biggest margin of victory in club history.

3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Child’s play as the Utah kids just keep having fun. Peterka added 2 more goals today, Guenther added one, and getting in on the action, Daniil But had a really strong first game showing. Maveric Lamoureux may have had his best game every in the NHL (going back 15 whole games) and posted +4 on the night adding an assist. Only Ian Cole had a better night, +5 with a goal, so MavLam not too shabby after a year away.

Overall? Kids’ boxcars final tally – 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, a combined +10 (adding in Cooley’s +1). That’s… pretty decent, I’d say.

Utah Defense was a shot blocking behemoth today. Utah blocked 25 shots overall, over and over again when Anaheim threatened to push hardest. Blocked shots on the penalty kill frustrated the Ducks significantly. 16 blocked shots in the 2nd period? I’ll take that. 5 blocked shots on the 2nd period power play when the Ducks had a chance to get back in the game was a defining point of the game.
With how Utah’s played in the 2nd and the struggles they had, keeping the Ducks at arm’s length during that PK was extremely important. Once Peterka scored, putting the Ducks down 4, that period was definitively won – and the Ducks just could not recover.

The Wasatch Wall has shown up for the first time this year. Play after play, shot after shot, Vejmelka was on point from the drop. He was beaten once, on an offside, but even had that counted he came up big when it was needed. Most importantly, when the Ducks started the second period, barraging Utah’s defensemen with shots, those that got through to Veggie were tracked properly, and his rebound control was the best it’s been all season – and probably one of the top 3 performances he’s had since coming over. He’s had bad moments, he’s let in some bad goals. Tonight? He had neither, and that was phenomenal.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

The Power Play saw a goal, which is great. This was due, however, to a massive Duck’s shorthanded push. Utah caught 3 Ducks deep in the defensive zone, and had a 3 on 1 rush. They scored, which is fantastic – so great on that. However, the power play system as a whole seemed to be the same as it was coming into the game. With one look – and with But out there testing out his role – we didn’t really get to see much from the unit. It doesn’t matter how, it matters how many at the end of the day, but we need to make sure that how is more consistent, and that comes with better system execution.

Where has THIS been? The fans have suffered so much frustration over the past 35 days because of terrible play, poor execution, and a lack of passion. Tonight? Not only were they executing, they were walking all over the best team in the Pacific. Sure, Anaheim’s not Colorado, and they’ll probably finish 3rd in the division, but that’s not a small thing.

So, where was this team against St. Louis? The worst team in the league, couldn’t get one? Couldn’t beat Joel Hofer when you got 3 in on him in 6 shots already? Couldn’t have a goalie performance shutting down San Jose – or at least running up the score on them? They gave up 7 to the Caps today!

The team needs to seriously find their identity and stick to it. Flailing between big wins and crushing emotional defeats may be a good way to build character (it’s not), but it sure sucks for fans either way.

Blackout Restrictions because of network broadcasting straight up suck. The TNT broadcast is superior to the ESPN one, but those paying for SEG programming or those without the proper subscriptions are blacked out. There’s no reason people who pay good money to watch the team are locked out of doing that, ever.

Besides, the commentators nationally are… rough. If you can’t say a player’s name correctly, and you get paid hundreds of times what the average person makes, you need to either hire someone to teach you, or step aside and let someone who cares more about the teams playing comment.

Could make these national broadcasts interesting though. Imagine how interesting it could be to have 2 announcers – one from each team – in the booth commenting against each other in play by play. THAT might be worth the additional subscription price…