The Philadelphia Flyers traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to take on the Mammoth at the Delta Center on Wednesday night in their second game of a three-game road trip. Sam Ersson got the start in net. Nikita Grebenkin was inserted into the lineup with Carl Grundstrom becoming a healthy scratch. The Flyers entered the third period holding a two-goal lead and ultimately blew it. Clayton Keller would tie the game and win it for the Mammoth in overtime. The orange and black fell to 23-17-9 on the season.
Cam York gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead just 30 seconds into the game. Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka made the initial save on Travis Sanheim but allowed a rebound. York got to the rebound and put a wrist shot past Vejmelka’s glove. Christian Dvorak and Sanheim tallied assists.
The Mammoth got the game’s first power play at the 1:39 mark of the first period as Nick Seeler got called for delay of game (puck over glass). Ersson made a save on Dylan Guenther, and the Flyers were able to clear the puck down the ice a few times. However, with 1:21 left on the power play, Barrett Hayton was called for hooking. This made the game go to four-on-four, and then the Flyers got an abbreviated power play.
Not much happened on the four-on-four or Flyers power play. Ersson made a save on Nick DeSimone, and Travis Konecny missed a tip-in try just wide.
Dvorak gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead at the 4:36 mark of the first. Konecny made a pass to Dvorak that sent him on a mini breakaway. He finished with a wrist shot past the right pad of Vejmelka. Konecny and Noah Juulsen picked up assists.
The Flyers went on their second power play at the 5:18 mark of the first period as Liam O’Brien got called for cross-checking. They recorded three shots on net and moved the puck around very well in the offensive zone. The Mammoth did their job of clearing the puck down the ice when they had the opportunity.
Nick Schmaltz was called for high-sticking just as the first period ended. This gave the Flyers their third power play to begin the second. They’d capitalize on this opportunity courtesy of Bobby Brink. Vejmelka made the initial save on Trevor Zegras but allowed a rebound. Brink got to the rebound and put a wrist shot past Vejmelka’s glove from the side of the net. 3-0 Flyers. Zegras and Jamie Drysdale were given assists.
JJ Peterka got the Mammoth on the board at the 5:35 mark of the second period. He stayed with a loose puck in front and ultimately put a wrist shot over the goal line. The goal was unassisted. 3-1 Flyers.
The Mammoth kept the momentum going and made it a one-goal game at the 6:11 mark of the second. Schmaltz made a backwards pass to Lawson Crouse, and he put a slapshot under the glove of Ersson. This made the score 3-2 Flyers. A turnover by Emil Andrae allowed this to happen. Assists went to Schmaltz and Keller.
The Flyers got their fourth power play at the 9:35 mark of the second as the Mammoth got caught with too many men on the ice. Brandon Tanev served the penalty. Dvorak scored his second of the game on the power play to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead. Vejmelka made the initial save on him but allowed a rebound. Dvorak got to his own rebound and put a wrist shot into a wide-open net. Zegras and Drysdale tallied assists.
Peterka was called for hooking at the 11:00 mark of the second period, which gave the Flyers their fifth power play. They continued to move the puck around really well, but just couldn’t get pucks past Vejmelka. The Mammoth also blocked quite a few shots, and Ian Cole had a chance while shorthanded.
Seeler got called for hooking at the 14:54 mark of the second. This gave the Mammoth their second power play. Ersson came up with saves on Keller and Crouse, and the Flyers did a nice job of winning faceoffs and clearing the puck down the ice.
The Flyers went on their sixth power play at the 19:52 mark of the second period as Cole was called for high-sticking. No shots were recorded on net, and the Mammoth did their job of clearing the puck down.
Juulsen and Jack McBain dropped the gloves at the 11:49 mark of the third period. McBain won the fight single-handedly as he landed punches and dropped Juulsen to the ice. Both players got five minutes each for fighting, but Juulsen got an extra roughing penalty. This gave the Mammoth their third power play. Guenther’s shot went off the hip of Hayton and under the glove of Ersson. 4-3 Flyers. Guenther and Schmaltz picked up assists.
The Mammoth pulled Vejmelka with 1:45 remaining in the third in favor of the extra attacker with the team down by one. A play was whistled offside, so he had to go back in. He’d be pulled again with 59 seconds remaining. Keller tied the game up at four at the 19:25 mark. Sanheim turned the puck over to Keller, who then put a backhander past the glove of Ersson as he drove the net. The goal was unassisted.
No one else scored in regulation, so the game went to overtime. It didn’t take long before Keller won it for the Mammoth. Just 2:01 to be exact. He took a pass from Guenther and put a snapshot past the glove of Ersson from the slot. Guenther received the lone assist. The Mammoth would win five-four.
Flyers went two for six on the power play and killed off two of the three Mammoth man advantages.
Ersson saved 22 of 27 shots, giving him an .815 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
York (4) Assists: Dvorak (20), Sanheim (16)
Dvorak (11) Assists: Konecny (27), Juulsen (7)
2nd Period:
Brink (12) (Power Play) Assists: Zegras (26), Drysdale (16)
Peterka (17) Assists: none
Crouse (13) Assists: Schmaltz (27), Keller (34)
Dvorak (12) (Power Play) Assists: Zegras (27), Drysdale (17)
3rd Period:
Hayton (6) (Power Play) Assists: Guenther (19), Schmaltz (28)
Keller (14) Assists: none
Overtime:
Keller (15) Assists: Guenther (20)
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