‘That’s a good one’: Mammoth bust out of slump, beat Sabres

The Utah Mammoth were in dire need of a win — and they got it on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Here’s the story.

Quick catchup

Utah Mammoth: 5

Buffalo Sabres: 2

The way the game started, things were trending toward another Mammoth loss. Isak Rosén scored the second and third goals of his career, giving the Sabres a 2-0 lead a few minutes before the game’s halfway point.

Everything changed when Nick DeSimone scored.

That was a turning point for the Mammoth, who played the latter half of the second period with much more pace and determination.

“Obviously wasn’t our best start, but we stuck with it and kept trying to play our game and kept working on it and fought through a little adversity,” DeSimone said. “And then (we) found a couple shifts in a row and got rewarded for it, and just kept rolling after that.”

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Less than a minute into the third, former Sabre JJ Peterka scored to tie it up. Lawson Crouse followed it up with another just two and a half minutes later.

By that point, the flood gates were wide open. The Mammoth would score twice more in the third period, earning them their first victory since their visit to Buffalo on Nov. 4.

“That’s a good one,” head coach André Tourigny proclaimed after the game.

Takeaways

Hometown kid scores against childhood favorite team

This section writes itself.

Growing up, DeSimone, a native of the Buffalo area, cheered for the Sabres. On Wednesday, he scored against them for the first time.

“Obviously, grew up being a fan,” he said at morning skate on Wednesday. “Not anymore, but yeah, it’s always cool playing against them.”

He wasn’t in the lineup when they played in Buffalo last week, so he didn’t get to play in front of family and friends that time — but that’s far from his mind after this game.

“It feels good to get one against them, not going to lie,” he said. “Taking that away, it’s nice to get one in a win.”

His teammates were happy for him, too.

“Since he came into the lineup, (he’s) done a heck of a job for us,” Peterka said of DeSimone. “He played super solid, so obviously super nice to see him score.”

One tweak was all it took

Tourigny switched up the lines to start the third period: Michael Carcone jumped up to the second line and Peterka dropped to the third.

The new third line needed just 3:22 to score its first two goals.

Peterka mentioned three things that worked well for them:

• Playing a direct game
• Building speed
• Getting open

“That tweak in the lines, I think, it helped everybody,” Tourigny said. “Really happy about the way JJ rebounded in the third. (Crouse) and (Jack McBain) played unbelievable again.”

He didn’t confirm whether those combinations would remain for Friday’s game against the New York Islanders, but given their instantaneous success, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

A chance to gain momentum

The Mammoth have had a hot streak and a cold streak already in this young season. Momentum affects them.

This is a chance for them to turn a win into a string of success. Five of their next seven games are at home, where their record is close to perfect.

Winning against the Sabres put them back into a playoff spot. Another win or two could restore their top-three placement in the Central Division standings.

Goal of the game

Lawson Crouse’s impossible-angle goal

Zoom in on this one. Crouse’s target was only a few square inches, but he hit it perfectly.

That’s his fourth goal of the season, putting him on pace for 19 over an 82-game schedule. That’s the type of player he was with the Arizona Coyotes, and he’s introducing that part of himself the Mammoth fan base now.