Behind the scenes: Utah Hockey Club wins inaugural game 5-2

The Utah Hockey Club is undefeated in regular season action. That streak probably won’t last long, so I have to say it while I can.

The final score on Tuesday was 5-2, though that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Utah HC got out to a 3-0 lead, but the Chicago Blackhawks clawed back to within one and then allowed an empty-net goal. Lawson Crouse followed that up with another late goal, rubbing salt in the Blackhawks’ wound.

Despite his team’s loss, Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno had great things to say about the Utah crowd.

“I thought it was electric. I thought it was great,” he said. It’s a big building. It’s definitely loud and they’re avid fans, so I give them a ton of credit. ... Hopefully that sustains all year long.”

Utah Hockey for dummies

Even folks who are unfamiliar with hockey enjoyed the pre-game entertainment.

The military flyover was loud, but not as loud as Shaboozey’s performance. He played “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” three times, in addition to a few others. That song is what people came to see and he gave it to them over and over again.

There were hockey shooting games, food trucks and a blue carpet for the players to walk down. ESPN did its pregame show from outside the Delta Center and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman joined team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith for an outdoor, open-to-the-public press conference.

The in-game entertainment was also special. Each seat was adorned with an inaugural game shirt and rally towel.

Rally towels are a playoff hockey tradition stemming from late Vancouver Canucks coach Roger Neilson, who waved a white towel on a stick in 1982 to “surrender” to the officials. Coincidentally, that game was also against the Blackhawks. Now, fans wave them out of excitement in the playoffs.

I didn’t notice the snow during the game the way I did during the pre-game rehearsals, but it was so light that I certainly could have missed it.

That was probably the only disappointing thing about the night.

Utah Hockey for casual fans

Dylan Guenther started the season on a good foot, scoring the first goal in franchise history.

It came on a one-time feed from Michael Kesselring. Guenther signed an eight-year contract extension during training camp, so his success and the team’s success will be tied at the hip for the foreseeable future.

Guenther’s first goal, which came 4:56 into the game, was the third-fastest first goal in any franchise’s history since the 1967 expansion. The two goals ahead of his were scored by Kent Douglas of the Oakland Seals in 1967 (3:23) and Chris Kontos of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 (4:43).

Guenther also scored an empty-net goal late in the game, taking the franchise lead for goals scored for the second time on opening night.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said about breaking the record twice. “It’s nice to start off well and for us to continue to build and try to make the playoffs.”

Utah Hockey for nerds

One of my colleagues, who probably fits into the casual fan category, asked me why Utah Hockey Club seemed to move the puck so much better than the Blackhawks. I responded that it’s one of several indications that Utah’s rebuild is ending.

Unlike the Blackhawks, who are very much still in the rebuilding process, Utah no longer fills its roster with bad contracts taken on from other teams. It has good NHL players. Yes, they’re still developing, but the long-term core is set and is figuring out how to have success going forward.

As dominant as Utah HC looked in the first two periods, the Blackhawks’ experience proved valuable in the third. They sustained offensive zone pressure virtually the whole time, scoring once late in the second and again in the third.

“We were confident in our start,” said Utah’s head coach Andre Tourigny. “We knew we would be ready. We just knew, at some point, there will be pressure and there will be emotion and there will be stress and we need to learn how to manage those situations.”

What’s next?

Utah Hockey Club now hits the road for Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders.

The team plays the New York Islanders on Thursday, the New York Rangers on Saturday and the New Jersey Devils on Monday. As much as they enjoyed Tuesday’s win, players understand the importance of not letting off the gas pedal.

“You’ve got to have a short memory in this league,” said team captain Clayton Keller.

Each game starts at a different time. The first is at 5:30 p.m. MDT, the second is at 5 p.m. and the third is at 11 a.m. All three games will be available on Utah HC+ and Utah 16.