Utah starts the season with a statement
Dylan Guenther scored twice overnight and the Utah Mammoth opened their season by flattening the Chicago Blackhawks 6-0 in Salt Lake City. The game was effectively decided by the end of the first period.
Utah outshot Chicago 13-7 in that opening frame, then needed one 40-second burst to change the game. Guenther tipped a power-play look from Logan Cooley through a screen at 16:41. Michael Carcone doubled it at 17:21 after Kevin Stenlund picked off a pass behind the net. Guenther has now scored the first franchise goal, Arizona or Utah, in three straight seasons.
Nick Schmaltz made it 3-0 early in the second with a rebound at the right post.
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Lee debuts, Vejmelka stands tall
Anders Lee, 36, signed as a free agent over the summer, tipped in Andrew Peeke’s shot from the top of the right circle at 13:06 of the second for a 4-0 lead. It was his Mammoth debut. Guenther added his second at 15:28, redirecting a Clayton Keller cross-ice pass on the power play, and Daniil But closed the scoring in the third.
Karel Vejmelka stopped all 15 shots he faced for the ninth shutout of his career. Utah outshot Chicago 13-2 in the second period alone and finished with 39 shots overall. The Mammoth won 39 of 54 faceoffs, a 72.2 percent clip, and went 2-for-3 on the power play while the Blackhawks went 0-for-3.
Chicago’s rough start on the road
Arvid Soderblom made 26 saves in a losing effort. The Blackhawks have opened the campaign with two road losses. Utah, meanwhile, got goals from five different skaters and two assists from Keller, a scoring spread that will matter over 82 games.
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