(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Mammoth host the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
“It’s good to be back home.”
Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny opened his post-game interview with that one phrase that said everything.
As the rest of the Central Division rushed out to a strong start to the season, Utah’s 1-2 start to the year on the road had dropped them to the bottom of the standings — not a great place for the team with playoff aspirations to be.
But the 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames in front of the raucous crowd on Wednesday night cured a lot of ills.
The most encouraging part of the game for Tourigny and company was the way the Mammoth dominated every aspect of play in the first and second period, holding a 28-8 shots on goal advantage through the first 40 minutes of the game.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah's Logan Cooley (92) checks Calgary's Zayne Parekh (19) as the Utah Mammoth host the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
“When we’re on top of our opponent, we’re skating the way we did in the first two periods, we’re tough to play against,” Tourigny said.
While the Flames kicked off scoring with a Rasmus Andersson power-play goal, Utah countered within five minutes in the second period. A goal from Barrett Hayton near the goalmouth a minute in tied the contest.
The game-winner came just four minutes later. New acquisition JJ Peterka picked up a loose puck near his zone and simply blazed past the Flames defender to turn it into a breakaway against Calgary’s goalkeeper, Devin Cooley.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah fans cheer on a fight as the Utah Mammoth host the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
Peterka coolly slotted it home to emphasize his arrival in front of his new home crowd.
“The crowd throughout the whole game was unbelievable, starting with the anthem and the warm-ups,” Peterka said. “I think just throughout the whole game, when we needed energy, we for sure got it from the crowd.”
All night, chants echoed and Mammoth fans at a sold-out Delta Center waved rally towels. Two sets of second-period fights helped the crowd keep it going, especially when Jack McBain took Adam Klapka to the ground in one of the night’s loudest moments.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Mammoth host the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
The team debuted new game introductions under a Mammoth-themed arch, a new goal horn, new goal songs, and even a new mascot: “Tusky.”
And the fans were needed in a shaky third period, in which Calgary kept the puck in the Mammoth defensive zone, trying to find the game’s tying goal. Karel Vejmelka ended the game with 19 saves, the majority of which came in the third period, to slam the door shut on Calgary’s comeback attempts.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tusky, the new mascot of the Utah Mammoth, is introduced in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
“It’s not always easy when you dominate the way we dominated for two periods, and you arrive in the third and they have a push,” Tourigny explained. “I didn’t feel any panic.”
Three more games await the Mammoth in the week to come, including matchups against the Sharks, Bruins, and division rival Avalanche.
And yes, Tourigny, and the fans, will all be pleased: They’re all at home.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Utah Mammoth fan before the season opener against the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Mammoth fans before the season opener against the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Mammoth fans in front of the Delta Center before the season opener against the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Mammoth player Dylan Guenther signs a jersey before the season opener against the Calgary Flames, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025.
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