The Hat Trick: Utah Hockey Club Complete Epic OT Comeback Over Canucks
Dec 19, 2024, 12:25 AM

SALT LAKE CITY – While it seemed as though the Utah Hockey Club would lose another at home after a poor second period, the club dug deep to orchestrate an epic comeback against the best road team in hockey. In addition to continued production from Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther, Mikhail Sergachev was the hero as he scored an OT winner with just seconds remaining to give Utah a huge win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Here are the key takeaways from Utah’s defining overtime victory.
It’s time for a change on Utah Hockey Club’s third line
Amid all the success over the past few weeks, it’s no mystery that the third line has struggled immensely for the Utah Hockey Club.
Over the previous five games, Matias Maccelli, Lawson Crouse and Nick Bjugstad combined for just two points while Dylan Guenther alone had eight, Clayton Keller had six and the fourth line posted 12.
Even though the team has been successful without much production from that trio, added support would only improve their efforts in an attempt to reach a playoff spot.
The issue? Perhaps that line just doesn’t mesh well.
Taking a closer look, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of chemistry or flow amongst those three.
On one particular sequence in the first period against Vancouver, that line dominated offensive zone possession but couldn’t manage to get a shot off as several players passed on open shots, movement in front was non-existent and they struggled to generate anything dangerous.
Bjugstad and Crouse are struggling to coincide and Maccelli simply looks out of place.
“The three of them together, it’s a little bit the same thing that we’re talking about when we were talking about Schmaltzy. They try to do more and often it’s not the right thing you need. Less is more,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said.
It’s time for a change, but it shouldn’t disrupt the other three lines as they’re all currently playing well.
Instead, it feels like the right time to swap one of those three out for someone else for a few games.
Give Liam O’Brien a shot or recall Josh Doan or Kailer Yamamoto to give someone eager a chance to skate
Simply put, that line needs some fire or a spark. It’s time to find it.
Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller remain red-hot for the Utah Hockey Club
Despite a collective team effort to complete the comeback against the Canucks and pick up two more crucial points, forwards Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther were yet again clutch for Utah.
Following an early goal by Vancouver in the third, Utah found themselves in another 2-0 hole that seemed insurmountable.
But thanks to more brilliance and an unwillingness to quit from the club’s two best players, Utah found new life.
“Yeah, it feels good. I think we had a good start, and in the second, we were a little sloppy. We gave them a lot of chances just from our mistakes and maybe forcing a little bit,” Keller said.
“But, similar to that Minnesota game, I think we regrouped after the second and wanted to have a good start. And I think it’s good, power play gets a goal, and we get a five on five, and great playing in overtime. A lot of players stepped up and made big plays at key times.”
Speaking of big plays at key times, it was the captain who dug deep for a greasy goal to cut the lead in half and give Utah some much-needed momentum.
When things aren’t going your way, this is how you get back in it.
Pucks on net, crash hard, and score greasy goals.
The captain continues to deliver.#UtahHC https://t.co/dIGC676nCQ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 19, 2024
Minutes later, Guenther then scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season to tie it up.
Not out of this one thanks to Gunner 💪 pic.twitter.com/DZ4kQcEJgS
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) December 19, 2024
Good hockey teams need their best players to step up in big moments and that’s what the Utah Hockey Club is currently getting from Keller and Guenther.
Whether it’s clutch game winners, power play goals or greasy shots that somehow wind up in the back of the net, Utah has received outstanding effort from their captain and leading goal scorer as of late.
The comeback against the Canucks could be a defining moment for the Utah Hockey Club
Early in the third period, it seemed like the Utah Hockey Club had come back to earth and their second period woes had returned to haunt them.
After a costly penalty, a big power play goal for the Canucks and massive shift in momentum, it appeared that Utah would drop to an abysmal 1-11-3 this season when trailing after the second period.
Update: 2-10-3
What a win for the home fans. https://t.co/fmTwyGw85d
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 19, 2024
Instead, the club fully demonstrated the growth they’ve experienced over the last month and relied on their playmakers to flip the script.
As previously mentioned, Captain Keller remained clutch and took it upon himself to score a greasy goal which cut the Canucks lead in half.
Another look at the Captains goal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kgnxHUt9XX
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) December 19, 2024
Just a few minutes later, Guenther added yet another to his tally on the power play to tie the game at two goals apiece which eventually resulted in more free hockey at Delta Center.
You know the drill Utah fans. Another home game headed to overtime.
3 on 3 for 5 minutes. Shooutout if necessary.
How we feeling????#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 19, 2024
Despite a back-and-forth overtime period with dangerous opportunities on both sides, it was Utah’s Alternate Captain Mikhail Sergachev who would score the game winner and send the crowd home with a big win.
According to Tourigny, Sergachev was banged up going into OT and couldn’t start. They told him to let them know when he was ready.
He then stepped on the ice and scored the game winner.
Legendary.#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 19, 2024
Even more impressive, Sergachev scored after taking a puck to the arm in the final 90 seconds of regulation that kept him on the bench for a majority of the extra period.
But after pushing through and returning to the ice, No. 98 received a perfect pass from non-other than Logan Cooley to put the game away.
“Yeah, it feels good. Finally we got two at home. It feels great. I don’t think we have won at home in a month or so, you know, obviously a big one,” Sergachev said.
Came for the OT winner, stayed for the celly 🥹🩵 pic.twitter.com/S5H2uESat2
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) December 19, 2024
The win against Vancouver is significant and could be a defining moment for this team moving forward.
It demonstrates the growth, resiliency and a potential that this team lacked just weeks ago.
“We’re growing as a group. You know, we’re a young group, but we can make the playoffs. We can play in the playoffs. We can play against playoff teams. We show it on a nightly basis, so we just have to put 60 minutes together and play like that every night,” Sergachev said.
Mikhail Sergachev on Utah’s resilience: “We’re growing as a group. We’re a young group but we can make playoffs, we can play in the playoffs, we can play against playoff teams and we show it on a nightly basis…we’ve just got to play like that every night.”#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/HEehuKiDjE
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) December 19, 2024
Bookmark this win for the Utah Hockey Club and let’s see how they respond after such an emotional and epic comeback victory that could define their season.
Utah Hockey Schedule
The Utah Hockey Club will now travel to Minnesota to face the Wild on Friday. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.