Yep, Salt Lake City is a hockey town. And it didn’t take long

No living human has seen a herd of live mammoths, but those at the Delta Center last Friday night have a pretty good idea of what it would sound like.

That was the night the Utah Mammoth, the NHL’s newest hockey team, played their first home playoff game. As they’ve done for two seasons now, the fans showed up — so much, this time, that the players had a hard time hearing the coaches‘ instructions.

And that’s exactly how they like it.

“Seriously, we had some confusion on the bench,” said head coach André Tourigny after the game. “Guys didn’t know who was up — and, for people who know me, I can be pretty loud.”

That type of volume is commonplace for the established, big-market teams across North America, but Utah didn’t have an NHL team until two years ago, and they play in one of the smallest metro areas in the league.

As unideal as the circumstances were that landed the team in Salt Lake City, it’s become obvious that Utah should have had NHL hockey long ago.

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League commissioner Gary Bettman, who spoke at a press conference alongside team owner Ryan Smith ahead of the game, took the opportunity to reflect on how far they’ve come in the last two trips around the sun.

“Everything they’ve done — and you’ve heard me say this repeatedly — has exceeded our highest expectations,” he said. “If you want to know how to write a textbook on how to start a franchise and a community from scratch, (there’s) nobody better than what Ryan and Ashley have been able to accomplish.”

Among the milestones Bettman mentioned were:

• Building a fan base
• Renovating the Delta Center
• Building the practice facility
• Growing hockey at the grassroots level
• Launching a fan-inspired name
• Engaging fans with things like Tusky and the Zammoth

Moreover, they have sold out all 84 home games they’ve played to this point, regular season and playoffs included.

Logan Cooley, one of the league’s brightest young stars, reflected on the journey since leaving Arizona, where he played only his rookie season before being uprooted.

“To see the arena filled — and it’s pretty much been filled ever since they said we were coming here — it’s a special feeling to be able to have the support of that many fans in that short of a time,“ he told the Deseret News. “It’s something that we don’t take for granted.”

He described the departure from Arizona as a “whirlwind” — and it makes sense.

Relocation had long been a topic of discussion for the Coyotes, but few thought it would happen so quickly. From the day the move was announced to the time the puck dropped was five months and 20 days.

Once the guys got settled, though, they began to appreciate their new home.

“It seems like we’ve been here for years already (with) how excited they are and how much they know about the game,” Cooley said of the fans. “(I’m) super grateful to be in this position, and to be able to have that support of that many fans in that short of a time is special.”

Now, as the Mammoth return to the Delta Center Friday for Game 6 of their ongoing first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, they hope to get a boost from the home crowd. Down 3-2 in a best-of-seven series, their season is on the line.

“(The fans have) been amazing all year. They were amazing the first two games at home. Definitely gives us a lot of energy, buzz. Can’t wait to go home.”

—  Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller

“We have to win,” said Mammoth associate captain Lawson Crouse after his team’s double-overtime loss at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “We’ve got to step up and do it on our home ice. We’ve got incredible fans back home, waiting for us to come home, and we’re excited to get going again.”

Captain Clayton Keller agreed.

“(The fans have) been amazing all year. They were amazing the first two games at home. Definitely gives us a lot of energy, buzz. Can’t wait to go home,” he said.

Michael Carcone, who scored in each of the last two games, expressed confidence in his team.

“We are a confident group,” he said at the Mammoth’s media availability Thursday morning. “We know Vegas is a good team, but so are we, so just playing our game. We obviously have a job here and we’ve got to take care of it.”

“... We’re playing good hockey, and at this time of year, it can go either way.”

Carcone added his remarks about the home crowd to those of Cooley, Crouse and Keller.

“You guys have seen it: The crowd’s unbelievable,” he said. “Obviously, does a lot for us, and we need to ride that wave and play a good, solid game.”