Dylan Guenther and Mikhail Sergachev each scored and assisted in the second period as the Utah Mammoth edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Daniil But opened the scoring for Utah with 5:05 left in the first period, flicking the puck around a defender and snapping it over Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz. Vincent Trocheck extended the lead a minute into the second when Logan Cooley crossed the puck to him at the opposite post, allowing Trocheck to flick in a close-range wrist shot. Three minutes later, Sergachev scored a short-handed goal to push the Mammoth ahead 3-0.
Toronto got on the board with Auston Matthews’ power-play goal at 5:16 of the second period, but Utah responded each time the Leafs cut into the lead. Guenther snapped a long-distance shot home with 5:43 remaining in the second to restore a three-goal margin. Jack Roslovic then scored a one-timer between the legs of Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka with 3:31 left, trimming the deficit to two. MacKenzie Weegar finished the scoring in the period with a goal at 40 seconds remaining, giving Utah a 5-2 lead heading into the third.
Toronto attempted a late rally in the final period. John Tavares scored a power-play goal at 7:12, and Gavin McKenna pulled the Leafs within one goal nearly four minutes later with a shot from the circle. Despite the pressure, Vejmelka made a series of crucial saves during a penalty kill in the final minute to preserve Utah’s lead and prevent the game from going to overtime.
Karel Vejmelka finished with 22 saves for the Mammoth, while Stolarz stopped 23 shots for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, who fell to 5-4, will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Mammoth travel to Edmonton for a game against the Oilers on the same day.
According to Yahoo Sports.
