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Utah Mammoth right wing Kailer Yamamoto, front right, scores against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

By Tom Walker

Mon Oct 19, 2026

SALT LAKE CITY– The Utah Mammoth (6-3-0) struggled to protect a 3 goal lead in the third period, but hung onto for the 5-4 win and reclam the top spot in the Central Division Monday night beating the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-5-1).

The Utah Mammoth wrapped up a brief two-game homestand Monday night at Delta Center, hosting the Penguins. It was the first time Pittsburgh natives Vincent Trocheck and Logan Cooley squared off as teammates against their childhood hometown team.

Per the Mammoth stat crew, Trocheck (241-394-635 in 878 GP) and Cooley (70-90-160 in 221 GP) rank first and sixth among Pennsylvania-born players in career NHL points. Trocheck played in the Pittsburgh Hornets youth hockey program when he was 9-years-old, and Cooley participated in the first year of Sidney Crosby’s “Little Penguins Learn to Play” program at the age of five and later played youth hockey for Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.

Coming off of Saturday’s 6-2 spanking against Edmonton, Utah entered the night one point back of the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division race. Just 19 seconds into the game, Pittsburgh went on the power play as Dylan Guenther was sent to the sin bin for tripping against Blake Lizotte. 

Less than a minute later, defenseman Erik Karlsson gave the Penguins an early lead with his first goal of the season, assisted by Bryan Rust and Tommy Novak. 

Utah captain Clayton Keller tied things up at the six-minute mark with a backhand which got past Arturs Silovs for his fourth goal  of the season, assisted by Lawson Crouse and Nick Schmaltz. Halfway through the frame, Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev put the puck on net with the rebound going to Kevin Stenlund at the top of the crease.

Stenlund’s shot attempt was batted away by Silovs but banked off the stick of Pittsburgh defensman Declan Carlile right back to Stenlund who swatted the puck past Silovs for his first goal of the season, with Sergachev and Jack McBain credited on the assists as Utah took its first lead of the night 2-1.

The Mammoth dominated puck possession in the first period, peppering Silovs with sixteen shots while rookie netminder Sebastian Cossa turned away five of six for Utah.At 6:53 of the second period, Keller was whistled for high sticking against Spencer Stastney to give the Penguins their second power play opportunity of the night, and Pittsburgh forward Rickard Rakell exploited it eight seconds later to record his first goal of the season, assisted by Rust and Karlsson, to even the score at 2-2. 

Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt responded with his own first goal of the season, putting a slap shot past Silovs, assisted by Stenlund and Daniil But, as the Mammoth took the lead 3-2. Three minutes later, Kailer Yamamoto tipped in a shot from Schmidt for his second goal of the season to increase the Utah lead to 4-2, with McBain picking up his second assist on the night.

Silovs stopped seven of nine Mammoth shots in the frame, while Cossa turned away six of seven.As the third period began, Pittsburgh forward Blake Lizotte took his turn in the penalty box for tripping against Trocheck.  Utah forward Nick Schmaltz took advantage of the power play opportunity to net his seventh goal of the young season on a backhand shot, assisted by Keller and Cooley, to give the Mammoth what seemed like a comfortable 5-2 lead. 

Unfortunately for Utah, three goal leads in the third period are never a guarantee of anything, and the Penguins continued to press and mount a comeback. At 2:55 of the frame, Pittsburgh forward Egor Chinakhov registered his second goal of the season, assisted by 

Andrei Kuzmenko and Spencer Stastney, to narrow the Mammoth lead to 5-3. With just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Carlile brought the Penguins to within one with his third goal of the season, assisted by Rakell and Kaedan Korczak, as Delta Center fans began to hold their collective breaths. 

Sebastian Cossa stood tall down the stretch turning away multiple scoring chances by Pittsburgh to hang on for the win in his first career home start, finishing the game with 15 saves as Utah improved to 7-3-0 on the season and leapfrogged over the Minnesota Wild for the Central Division lead. Had the Penguins managed to send the game into overtime,

Utah would have risked the possibility of the team’s first shootout since the end of the 2024-2025 season when they were still known as just the Utah Hockey Club. They are now closing in on nearly 100 consecutive games without a shootout.

In the Utah locker room, first star of the game Nate Schmidt spoke of the team’s bouncing back from Saturday’s loss to Edmonton. “I just liked our directness, especially early in the game, and especially after the goals,” Schmidt began. “We talked a little bit about it in between periods, especially after they scored on their two power-play goals. I loved how we were able to direct our next couple of shifts, and I just love the way that we can kind of gain that momentum back because that really does change the hockey game and change the way that your team feels when you’re in a situation where you give up a goal.”

On his team’s energy, Schmidt said, “One of the things we talked about yesterday, especially as a D-Core, was just listen: We got a ton of skilled forwards; let’s get them the puck early, especially in the neutral zone. Let’s try a half-ice game as much as we can. When we drag it back, we get in a little bit more trouble, and it allows them to set their defense up, especially in their neutral zone forecheck. So I thought, especially in the first and second, we did a really good job with that. And as the game went on in the third, we got a little bit away from it, but even when they scored, there was no panic on the bench.”Winning netminder Sebastian Cossa, on getting his first win at home, said, “It was big. The guys played really well tonight. It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but at the end of day (we) got the win, so that’s the most important thing.”

When asked how he stayed calm going through long  periods without facing a shot (Pittsburgh managed only 6-7 shots per period on the night), Cossa said, “Trying to stay in it mentally. When you got a good team like that, we (had) a lot of possession of the puck and keeping it in their zone, so that’s nice, but got a little bored and a little cold down there on one end. Just continuing trying to move and just trying to stay in it mentally.”

The young goalie was asked what it was like facing some of the NHL’s biggest names over the past few games. He responded, “It’s pretty awesome, obviously. As a Canadian, watching (Erik) Karlsson and (Sidney) Crosby my whole life, so really cool experience. (Connor) McDavid last game, and (Sidney) Crosby this game, so every game is a new experience and new challenge. So it’s cool.”

His first thoughts after the final save of the game: “Pretty excited. I was like, ‘Is the game over yet?’ So I saw the puck go out, and then there’s quite a bit of bodies in front of me. So make sure that we get the win, and then Weegs (MacKenzie Weegar) and Schmidty (Nate Schmidt) were right there.

So pretty awesome.”Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny opened his media remarks, saying, “Great, great win by Coss. Good to get a win in front of our fans for him. I think Desi (Nick DeSimone) as well played well for a guy who did not play since the start of the season.

To jump in after a lot of practice time. Happy about his performance. That was good, and a heck of a performance from our fourth line. I think Stenny (Kevin Stenlund), Buter (Daniil But), and Bainer (Jack McBain) played rock-solid, physical, simple, and effective.

Really, really happy about their game.” On Cossa’s performance in his first home win, Bear said, “the game has to slow down for him, you know. And right now, the game is probably fast for him, and he gets surprised in some situations and stuff like that. And when we say that, it has nothing to do with your ability to play in that league. It’s the ability to relax, settle down, and be comfortable. It’s just that. So I think he wants to do great, won a big game for us. Happy, get back on his feet, get his leg under himself, and now try to get into a better rhythm.”

The Mammoth (7-3-0) now head off for a single road game against the Seattle Kraken (5-3-1) before returning for a pair beginning Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild.