MORNING SKATE NOTES
- The Mammoth held an optional skate on Wednesday. Daniil But, Maveric Lamoureux, Olli Määttä, Nick DeSimone, Sean Durzi, Kailer Yamamoto, Alexander Kerfoot (non-contact jersey) were in attendance.
- Head coach André Tourigny shared that the lineup from last game will not change; however, there will be some tweaks to the lines.
- Utah is in the middle of a three-game homestand when they host the Panthers.
Starting Strong
The Mammoth are looking to come out strong against the Panthers who play a relentless style for a full 60 minutes. That identity has been established by Florida for the last few seasons. To push back, Utah is focused on being sharp early.
“Our preparation right off the bat,” Lamoureux explained. “We had a big meeting yesterday about it. Our first periods have not been that good recently. I feel like if everyone is more prepared like (our) mental game is ready off the bat, we’ll have better starts. We know (the Panthers) come off strong. They like to break through the middle, they like to play really quick, so we can’t be lazy and slow out there or they’re going to make us pay.”
Tourigny said that when his team is bringing a high level of urgency, that’s when they start games strong.
“The last two games, I think that was what was lacking,” Tourigny explained. “I think we were a little bit (less) urgent. We were not as urgent on details or in the defensive area. I think we did good stuff offensively in both games, but defensively we need to have that overtime mentality.
Coordinating the Changes
As the Mammoth look to play connected, it is more than just working together as a group of five skaters on the ice. Utah wants to use their changes impactfully while setting up the next five skaters for success. Tourigny dove into how the team can do this following morning skate.
“When we talk about change up, it’s not just changing,” Tourigny shared. “It’s changing and keeping the upper hand. Putting the next guy in position to stay in the offense, having the fresh guy being in the offensive. When you change and you change either on defense or when the opponent has the puck because you just chip it out … now the fresh guy goes out there and spends their fresh energy (on) defending all the time. So, you always start your shift on the defensive side of it … so it’s changing in possession, it’s changing in o-zone, it’s changing at the right time, making sure you’re not getting at the end of your shift before you change, so you allow the next guy to get an opportunity to be in a good position when he goes on the ice. I think that change, that keeps you away from the box, keep you away from defending all the time, and you can go on the offense.”
