The LA Kings concluded the 2026 Rookie Faceoff with a 4-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth, ending their tournament with a 2-1-0 record.
The Kings took four minor penalties in the opening period but opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally by forward Kenny Connors. With the Kings skating a man short, Connors worked his way in behind the defense, deked onto his forehand and finished at the near post, past Utah goaltender Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko for in for his first goal of the tournament and a 1-0 lead.
Later in the opening frame, the Kings doubled their advantage through forward Koehn Ziemmer, who found the back of the net for the second straight game. Connors this time played the role of facilitator, as he created space and found Ziemmer in the high slot. Ziemmer took his time and picked his spot, blocker side and in for his team-leading third goal of the tournament and a two-goal advantage.
Los Angeles added an even-strength goal in the second period to open up a three-goal advantage through 40 minutes of play. Operating out of the right-hand circle, forward Jack Hughes hesitated with the puck on his stick and changed the angle ever so slightly before he fired a wrist shot past Tkach-Tkachenko for his first goal of the tournament and the 3-0 lead.
Forward Jimmy Lombardi capped off the scoring late in the third period with his team’s second power-play goal of the game. Ziemmer added an assist to his tally, as he threaded a pass from the right circle to Lombardi at the back post, where he tapped in the final goal of the 2026 Rookie Faceoff, his first tally of the tournament.
Hear from Connors, defenseman Jared Woolley and Head Coach Andrew Lord after today’s win.
The Kings rookies return home with a record of 2-1-0 from the 2026 Rookie Faceoff. The team will be off tomorrow before NHL Training Camp opens up on Thursday, September 17 at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, CA.
