The Utah Hockey Club likes Saturdays.

On Nov. 23, they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1. The following Saturday, Nov. 30, they improved on that score, beating the Vegas Golden Knights 6-0.

This Saturday, Dec. 7, they beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2.

Utah scored five straight goals against the Sabres after initially suffering a 1-0 deficit. They showed resilience and drive to get back into the game — something that didn’t come as naturally last month.

In November, in every game in which they didn’t score the first goal, they didn’t score at all. That’s not a great way to win hockey games, so it was important that they moved past that this month.

It was also the 100th win of head coach André Tourigny’s career. He passes former Chicago Blackhawks coach Orval Tessier as the 153rd-winningest head coach in NHL history.

“It feels like an important win,” Tourigny told the media after the game, when asked how it feels to achieve that milestone.

How this works

This is a three-part article geared toward three different audiences.

  • First, we’ll have “Utah hockey for dummies” for all you new hockey fans. Welcome, by the way — we’re glad you’ve taken an interest in the greatest sport in the world.
  • Next, we’ll have a section titled “Utah hockey for casual fans,” aimed at those who have a basic understanding of the sport.
  • Finally, we’ll have “Utah hockey for nerds.” That will be for those of you who, like me, think about nothing but hockey all day, every day.

Feedback is welcome, so let me know what you think in the comments of this article or the comments section on “X."

Utah Hockey for dummies

New hockey fans might not be familiar with the “Gordie Howe hat trick.” Let me explain.

A regular hat trick is when a player scores three goals in a game, but a Gordie Howe hat trick is when a player scores a goal, records an assist and has a fight in the same game.

That’s what Utah HC defenseman Michael Kesselring did on Saturday — in the 100th game of his career, no less.

“It’s good,” Kesselring said of the accomplishment during the second intermission. “It’s nice to be in the game.”

That was the first Gordie Howe hat trick in Utah HC history. Kesselring was also the first Utah defenseman to score a goal, which he did on Oct. 16 against the Anaheim Ducks.

According to the Utah HC public relations team, there have only been two players to record Gordie Howe hat tricks in their 100th career games: Kesselring and his Utah teammate, Jack McBain (who also scored a goal on Saturday).

Kesselring was a relatively unthought-of piece in a trade at the 2023 NHL trade deadline, getting sent to the Arizona Coyotes from the Edmonton Oilers. Less than two years later, the 6-foot-4 defenseman is proving to be the most valuable piece in that trade.

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Utah Hockey for casual fans

In his first game after the release of the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters, Matias Maccelli looked like he had something to prove after not getting the call to represent Team Finland.

Going into the season, anyone who had left Maccelli off their projected rosters was immediately outed as someone who didn’t watch the Coyotes enough, but as the season has gone on, Maccelli’s play just wasn’t at the level that people had come to expect.

He had just three goals and 10 points in 25 games entering Saturday, but more importantly he didn’t seem to have the confidence or drive that he’d had in previous seasons.

On Saturday, his confidence and drive were back.

Time and time again, he made moves that likely had Sabres fans pulling out their phones to see who No. 63 is. He would make a couple quick moves in the offensive zone, find a lane and fire a shot or a pass.

He created a few good scoring chances, and although he didn’t get his name on the scoresheet, that kind of play will lead to a lot of points if he can keep it up.

In other words, Maccelli looked like his previous self in Buffalo on Saturday.

It’s not too late for Maccelli to make Team Finland, as teams can replace injured players until the day before the tournament starts. No player ever hopes for his peers to get hurt, but in such a physical game, injuries are inevitable.

Maccelli’s mission now is to play well enough to get that call if someone does go down.

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Utah Hockey for nerds

I’m no guru when it comes to the stock market, but here’s something I do know: A good stock rises and falls while trending upward. I do know a thing or two about hockey, and I can confidently say that that’s what Utah HC is doing right now.

They haven’t won every game in recent memory, but they haven’t lost by more than a goal since the Washington Capitals were in town on Nov. 18. They have points in five of their last seven games and they’re clawing their way back toward playoff contention.

In addition to the results of games, they’re showing a lot of improvement in intangible categories. They seem confident, they aren’t letting adversity ruin their games and they aren’t letting frustration get to them, which has resulted in them taking fewer penalties.

“For the last 10 games, I think we’re playing good hockey,” Tourigny said Saturday. “Even if we don’t have the results all the time we wish to have, I think we’re playing really good hockey.”

What’s next?

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Utah HC can’t celebrate their win too long. They’re playing again on Sunday.

It’s a quick flight from Buffalo to Philadelphia, where they’ll take on the Flyers. The Flyers also played an afternoon away game on Saturday, so the playing field will be relatively even in terms of energy level.

That said, the Flyers lost to the Boston Bruins in overtime and will be looking to get back on track.

The game was originally scheduled to start at 5 p.m. MDT, but it will now start at 5:30. Fans can watch it on Utah 16 and Utah HC+.

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