Utah Rallies Behind Keller in Dallas

DALLAS – When the Utah Mammoth and Dallas Stars faced off Friday night, the game on the ice took a back seat. Captain Clayton Keller’s father, Bryan, unexpectedly passed away on Thursday. Utah’s captain suited up to face the Stars as he wanted to be with his team and play in the game. All around him, Keller’s teammates, coaches, and support staff rallied to uplift the captain and his family.

“He loves his teammates so much and his teammates love him so much,” head coach André Tourigny shared. “He drives our passion and our competitiveness every night. He’s the kind of guy who wants to be better every night. We cannot have a better example as a captain.”

“It’s been an emotional 24 hours,” Associate captain Lawson Crouse shared postgame. “Keller is our leader in our locker room, but also away from the rink. Thoughts and prayers go out to his mom, his brother, and Keller. He’s done an incredible job leading us and guiding us. I’ve been with him for 10-plus years now and it’s really our turn to support him. It’s hard news and we’re trying to all deal with it in the best way that we can, and (we’re) trying to be there for him, support him, and give him the love and friendship that he needs.”

Following the game, Dallas named Keller as the First Star. It was a gesture of support from one NHL franchise to another and showed how tonight was more than a game.

The game on the ice was a back-and-forth, tight battle between two Central Division teams. After the Mammoth jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Logan Cooley and Kevin Rooney in the first period, the Stars pushed back with three unanswered goals.

Dallas scored two goals in 58 seconds to take a 3-2 lead in the middle frame. Six minutes later, Jack McBain tied the game, 3-3, with his second of the season. However, with a 5-on-3 advantage in the final two minutes of the second period, Dallas scored its second power play goal of the night and took a 4-3 lead. Both teams battled in the third, and Utah pushed until the final seconds looking for the equalizer. However, the Mammoth came up short and fell 4-3.

“I think we played, 5-on-5, a good game,” Tourigny said. “Give credit to Dallas, they’re a really good team. They’re another Stanley Cup contender, but their power play was really clutch. Obviously, 5-on-3 made a difference. But I think 5-on-5 we worked really hard. I didn’t like some of our turnovers, but the rest, I think we played well.”

Utah will travel to St. Louis, Keller’s hometown, and face the Blues Saturday night to wrap a back-to-back.

“The emotions are still going to be running,” Crouse shared. “It’s (Keller’s) hometown and we can use that energy and lift our group up. It’s a very sad time for everyone but we just got to do what we can here.”

Additional Notes from Tonight

• Logan Cooley (1g) has now extended his current point streak (11/24-11/28: 5g, 2a in 3 GP) and road point streak (11/9-11/28: 2g, 2a in 4 GP). He has also scored Utah's three fastest game-opening goals in 2025-26, with tallies at 0:56 at MIN (10/25) and 2:21 at NSH (10/11) (per Mammoth PR).
• With his 33rd career NHL goal, Kevin Rooney became the fifth Utah player to score in his team debut and first to accomplish the feat since Utah's inaugural game. Rooney has scored five goals in eight AHL games this season, including two in his most recent contest on Wednesday (per Mammoth PR).

Upcoming Schedule

• Nov. 29: UTA at STL
• Dec. 1: UTA at SJS
• Dec. 3: UTA at ANA