After dominating much of the game, the Utah Mammoth weathered a late push from the Calgary Flames to hang on for a 3-1 win in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
Barrett Hayton, JJ Peterka and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Mammoth in their home opener. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.
Rasmus Andersson got the goal for the Flames, who lost their fourth straight in regulation after winning their season opener. Devin Cooley stopped 29 shots.
Calgary pressured Utah for the last half of the third period before Stenlund’s empty-net goal clinched it with 23 seconds left. It was his first goal.
Calgary’s Matt Coronato hit the crossbar at around the seven-mark of the third period and Vejmelka denied Coronato from the front of the net with 3:35 remaining.
Utah owned the second period, scoring twice to take a 2-1 lead.
The Mammoth had an 18-3 shots advantage in the middle period.
Hayton tied the game at one apiece 1:16 into the second on a one-time shot from the slot, converting a pass from Nick Schmaltz. Peterka gave Utah the lead a little over three minutes later when he scored on a breakaway.
Peterka intercepted a pass by Calgary defenseman Brayden Pachal at the Mammoth blue line, raced down the ice and beat Cooley with a move to the backhand and a forehand shot. It was Peterka’s second goal of the season and second in two games.
Shots on goal were 28-8 in favor of Utah after the first two periods.
The Flames’ Adam Klapka and the Mammoth’s Jack McBain squared off in a true heavyweight fight with 8:22 left in the second period. Klapka is 6-foot-8, 235 pounds and McBain 6-4, 219.
Calgary scored the only goal of a choppy first period.
Andersson’s power-play goal 8:37 into the game gave Calgary a 1-0 lead. The rebound of Andersson’s attempted tip in of Morgan Frost’s shot/pass deflected twice before going into the net for his first goal of the season.
Devin Cooley stopped the Mammoth’s Logan Cooley (no relation) on a breakaway during a Utah power play in the final minute of the opening period.
