The team suffered a 6-1 loss in St. Louis to end the inaugural campaign
ST. LOUIS – In the final game of the inaugural season, Utah Hockey Club fell 6-1 to the St. Louis Blues. Clayton Keller’s second period power play goal was Utah’s lone tally in the loss. Karel Vejmelka stopped 23 of the 29 shots he faced.
“Not much to say about that game,” head coach André Tourigny explained post-game. “I think our special teams didn’t make the difference. I don’t think we played really good. I think we left Vejmelka by himself a little bit, and it’s unfortunate because I think we had a really good, strong end of the season. We had a really good trip.
“The other thing I will say is give (St. Louis) credit,” Tourigny continued. “They had four days to get ready for that game. They knew that was the game to get into the playoffs on their side. They were well prepared and no excuses, but we were not as prepared for them than they were. We just played three games in four (nights), playing a back-to-back while them, they were off for four days preparing for us. So, give them credit and on our side, I would have loved to finish on a different note, but I think our guys, they fought hard all season long. They showed a lot of pride. I have a ton of respect for the way they showed up in the second half.”
UTA at STL | Recap
Brayden Schenn’s goal eight minutes into the game opened the scoring for St. Louis. After Jimmy Snuggerud’s shot was stopped by Karel Vejmelka, Schenn tapped in the rebound and scored. Three minutes later, Pavel Buchnevich scored his 20th of the season and doubled the home team’s lead. Jake Neighbors drove towards net, waited, and then passed to Buchnevich in the corner. Buchnevich capitalized on his chance and increased St. Louis’ lead to 2-0.
After a scrum broke out in front of the Blues’ net, Lawson Crouse was sent to the box for roughing. St. Louis went on the power play and 42 seconds into the man-advantage, Snuggerud’s power play goal gave the Blues a 3-0 lead. It was the forward’s first NHL goal in his seventh career game.
In the final minutes of the first period, Logan Cooley was sent to the box for holding and St. Louis went back on the power play. 54 seconds into the penalty kill, Barrett Hayton was called for a delay of game penalty. St. Louis had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:06. After the initial penalty was killed off, the Blues scored their second power play goal of the period and took at 4-0 lead.
Three minutes into the second period, Sean Durzi was sent off for tripping and Utah went back on the penalty kill for the fourth time. However, the visitors killed off the penalty. On the other side of special teams, Utah went on the power play for the first time five and a half minutes into the second period. Six seconds into the man-advantage, Captain Clayton Keller scored his 30th of the season and put Utah on the board. This is the third straight season in which Keller has scored 30 or more.
Utah went back on the penalty kill six and a half minutes into the third period. 28 seconds into their power play, St. Louis scored and took a 5-1 lead. Jordan Kyrou’s tally was the Blues’ third power play goal through five opportunities. Utah went back on the power play right after but were unable to score. With two and a half minutes left in the game, Kyrou scored his second straight and the final goal of the game. Utah finished the 2024-25 season with a 38-31-13 record.
Bortuzzo’s Return
Robert Bortuzzo returned to the lineup for the final game of the season, a testament to his hard work and drive to bounce back from injury. It was a special day for Bortuzzo who had his family in attendance as he faced his former team. Bortuzzo just finished his one-year contract with Utah, and at this time he doesn’t know his future plans.
The Blues presented a video montage during a first period TV timeout. The crowd in St. Louis gave Bortuzzo a standing ovation and plenty of cheers. The defenseman won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 and spent nine seasons with the organization.
“It means everything,” Bortuzzo explained about the fan reaction. “It’s a blue-collar town. They don’t expect too much they just want you to lay it on the line and that’s what we felt like we did for 10 years. I always felt a tight connection with this community. I’m from a small town and I always felt like it’s a big city but it’s a small town. Favors, you’re one phone call away. The people are truly special around here, just so friendly, and so passionate about things.”
From his teammates to his coach, members of the organization have praised Bortuzzo’s leadership and dedication to the team. A fellow veteran, Ian Cole, shared what it meant to the group to have Bortuzzo in the lineup tonight, and in the locker room this year.
“Bortuzzo is a guy that we love in here,” Cole shared. “He’s a great teammate, great hockey player. Unsure what his plans are but regardless we think extremely highly of him. Can’t say enough great things about him as a teammate, as a player, a person.
Other Notes from Tonight’s Game:
Utah had six players play in each of the team’s 82 games this season: Barrett Hayton, Nick Schmaltz, Ian Cole, Jack McBain, Michael Kesselring, and Kevin Stenlund.
There’s something about facing his hometown team that fuels Clayton Keller. The forward scored his 13th career goal against the Blues Tuesday night. The St Louis native has 35 points against the Blues (13G, 22A) through 32 games. Out of all 31 teams he has faced, Keller has scored the most points in his career against the Blues.
