Three power-play goals lifted the Utah Mammoth to a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
Mikhail Sergachev opened the scoring for Utah on the power play at 11:55 of the first period, beating Columbus goalie Jet Greaves with a slap shot for his first goal of the season. Less than five minutes later, Nick Schmaltz extended the lead to 2-0 with an even-strength snap shot at 16:31. Columbus responded early in the second period when Kent Johnson converted a snap shot for his first goal of the year at 1:30, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Utah pulled away in the third period with two more goals on the man advantage. Dylan Guenther scored on a slap shot at 5:59 to make it 3-1, and Schmaltz followed at 14:13 with a wrist shot for his second goal of the evening. Guenther ended the night with three points on a goal and two assists, while Logan Cooley also assisted on both third-period scores.
Special teams shaped the outcome as Utah scored on three of its four power-play opportunities while Columbus failed to convert on two chances. Mammoth goaltender Sebastian Cossa stopped 18 of 19 shots to earn the victory. At the other end, Greaves took the loss after turning aside 27 of 31 shots as Utah held a 31-19 advantage in total shots.
With the win, the Mammoth improved to 2-0-0 on the regular season and pushed their winning streak to two games. Columbus dropped to 1-1-0 with the loss.
The Mammoth next host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, October 19, while the Blue Jackets host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, October 20.
