There were plenty of momentum swings in tonight’s game, especially as the Mammoth and Rangers traded goals in the first and second period.
Peterka’s ninth of the season that opened the scoring. A key to the goal was a strong net front presence by Associate Captain Lawson Crouse and Peterka. After Nate Schmidt’s shot hit New York’s netminder Jonathan Quick and went behind him, both forwards pounced towards the loose puck. Peterka pushed the puck past the goal line and scored. Peterka has scored three of the last four Mammoth goals. Five of his nine goals have been in the last six games.
“Tonight, he was the player he can be,” Tourigny said of Peterka’s game. “He was really good. JJ’s skill is there. The battle level he had tonight, the desire to do those things was really good.”
The momentum shifted when the Rangers scored the next two goals. Vladislav Gavirkov tipped-in Adam Fox’s shot in the final five minutes of the first period to tie the game 1-1. Artemi Panarin gave the visitors a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the second period when his shot snuck past Utah’s Karel Vejmelka. However, as they had before, the Mammoth controlled what they could and stuck with their game.
Three minutes after the Rangers’ second goal, the Mammoth responded. After Kailer Yamamoto’s shot off a broken play was stopped, Keller scored on the rebound by lifting the puck over Quick on the doorstep. Keller’s eighth of the season tied the game 2-2.
Seven and a half minutes into the third period Nick DeSimone’s shot from the top of the right circle sailed past Quick and gave Utah a 3-2 lead. The tally would be the eventual game-winner and is the defenseman’s second career game-winning goal. DeSimone played on the top d-pair with Mikhail Sergachev and set a new season-high in ice time as the defenseman played 20:13 against the Rangers.
Karel Vejmelka made timely saves and stood strong throughout tonight’s game and was key when the Mammoth defended a one-goal lead for 12 and a half minutes. Utah's netminder remained strong in net in the final minutes as the team defended a one-goal lead. Vejmelka finished the night with 20 saves on 22 shots.
“Super consistent game,” Peterka said of Vejmelka's performance. “Huge saves. In the third, with four or five rebounds, it kept us in the game the whole game, and we did our job on the other side.”
Tonight’s result shows the team’s dedication to the game plan, controlling what they could, and staying calm through the momentum swings. Both Peterka and DeSimone reflected on the team’s strong effort following the win.
“Competing harder, that was the message over the last couple of days,” Peterka reflected. “We got a little away from that over the last couple of games, and I think today we did a much better job of getting to the shooting line and getting second chances. That gave us a win.”
“I think we built momentum with each shift,” DeSimone explained of the team handling momentum swings. “We (were) setting everybody up the next shift whether it’s setting them up for a forecheck or a good puck and we kind of set each other up all night, which gave us momentum.”
