Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Mike Folta previews the Utah Mammoth's first ever playoff series against Vegas, Regular season finale tonight + more

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Mike Folta previews the Utah Mammoth's first ever playoff series against Vegas, Regular season finale tonight + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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Speaker 1: You're tuned to The Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
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Speaker 1: Chevrolet Studio of ESPN seven hundred at ninety two to
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Speaker 1: one af M. I can't Believeday Sean O'Connell's show, final
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Speaker 1: half hour. Bill Riley's sitting in. Thanks again to Sean
0:28
Speaker 1: for letting me sit in. All the folks here, Thanks
0:30
Speaker 1: to my bosses in the you for let me sit
0:34
Speaker 1: in a couple of times a month here for Sean
0:36
Speaker 1: while he's out.
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Speaker 2: Uh, he'll be back next week.
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Speaker 1: He's in Belfast doing some fighting stuff, so he'll be
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Speaker 1: back to talk a little hockey playoffs and more with you.
0:45
Speaker 1: Wrap up spring football next week here on The Shan
0:47
Speaker 1: O'Connell Show. Hockey playoffs begin for the Mammoth on Sunday.
0:51
Speaker 1: They wrap up the regular season Tonight. ESPN will have
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Speaker 1: the television broadcast. Our next guest will have the radio
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Speaker 1: call tonight as the Blue Note are in town Saint
0:59
Speaker 1: Louis Blues to close out the regular season, Mammoth they'll
1:02
Speaker 1: be playing the Golden Knights in Vegas Sunday. Mike Folta
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Speaker 1: joins us now the voice of the Mammoth. Who's got
1:08
Speaker 1: the radio call Sunday from Vegas.
1:10
Speaker 2: How are you, Mike?
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Speaker 3: Oh good, I'm just looking out my window at some
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Speaker 3: hockey weather here. Bill Flurry's coming down in the valley
1:18
Speaker 3: and how apropos. Game eighty two of the regular season
1:22
Speaker 3: for the Mammoth a year ago yesterday they were also
1:26
Speaker 3: playing the Saint Louis Blues. But that was it. That
1:28
Speaker 3: was the end of what was a really fun story
1:30
Speaker 3: in the inaugural season. But there will be a game
1:33
Speaker 3: eighty three this year, as you mentioned, taking on the
1:37
Speaker 3: Golden Knights on Sunday. So fun time to be a
1:40
Speaker 3: hockey fan on the washtass front.
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Speaker 1: So what was the biggest difference a year ago at
1:43
Speaker 1: this time till now? Why do you think this team
1:46
Speaker 1: took a step forward this year?
1:49
Speaker 3: Young players got better. Dylan Gunster has forty goals, Logan
1:52
Speaker 3: Cooley's been fantastic and the team improved as well. General
1:57
Speaker 3: manager Bill Armstrong brought in some players via free agency.
2:01
Speaker 3: He traded for JJ Patterka, who has twenty five goals
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Speaker 3: this year, but one of the guys he brought in
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Speaker 3: via free agency Nate Schmidt, a versatile, experienced defenseman. He
2:12
Speaker 3: has fit in on Utah's second defense pair nightly and
2:16
Speaker 3: actually just tweeted it, But that second defense pair, Nate
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Speaker 3: Schmidt John Marino, maybe two guys who you don't see
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Speaker 3: a ton of their jerseys walking around the Delta Center,
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Speaker 3: but that has been the second most effective pair this year.
2:30
Speaker 3: And we look at plus minus, which isn't the end
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Speaker 3: all be all of hockey stats, but they have the
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Speaker 3: best plus minus of any defense pair in the league.
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Speaker 3: They've been fantastic and the core has gotten better as well.
2:43
Speaker 3: Clayton Keller has had a great year. Nick Schmalt's had
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Speaker 3: a career season, so a lot of contributing factors. Everybody's
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Speaker 3: elevated their play and the Mammoths have a great a
2:52
Speaker 3: great playoff situation trying to muck their way through specific division.
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Speaker 1: You know, you always want to create rivalries. It's hard
3:00
Speaker 1: to have a rivalry when you're a brand new franchise,
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Speaker 1: and obviously the Mammoth are. You've got the Avalanche to
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Speaker 1: the east, You've got the Golden Knights to the south.
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Speaker 1: I've always said to create rivalries, you have to have
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Speaker 1: memorable games and things that mean something. You just don't
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Speaker 1: have that when you're only two years in as a franchise.
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Speaker 1: But you know, if you want to start to create
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Speaker 1: a rivalry, this could be a good opportunity to do so.
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Speaker 1: Proximity with the Golden Knights, there's still a relatively new
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Speaker 1: franchise as well, play some meaningful playoff hockey.
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Speaker 2: Maybe you get a little something started here. What do
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Speaker 2: you think?
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Speaker 3: No doubt. And I think some of our broadcast crew
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Speaker 3: is even making the drive down I fifteen. That's how
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Speaker 3: they're getting there. So it's gonna be awesome. Last time
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Speaker 3: we were in Vegas a few weeks ago, there was
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Speaker 3: a lot of Mountain Blue on the strip on Las
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Speaker 3: Vegas Boulevard. So I'm expecting a bunch of a bunch
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Speaker 3: of Mountain Blue jerseys in the crowd at the Fortress
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Speaker 3: on Sunday and then again on Tuesday as well. So
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Speaker 3: super exciting. And you look at you know, some of
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Speaker 3: the great rivalries we've had in the playoffs the last
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Speaker 3: couple of years. You know, think of crossby Nobskin, right,
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Speaker 3: two guys who have been pitted against one another ever
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Speaker 3: since they entered the league. They were constantly meeting in
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Speaker 3: the playoffs, the Capitals and the Penguins, and the story
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Speaker 3: for a long time was Ovetkin couldn't win the Big
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Speaker 3: One because he could not get passed Sidney Crosby and
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Speaker 3: the Penguins, and we know that that that's one of
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Speaker 3: the great rivalries of our sport. Now Tampa and Florida,
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Speaker 3: yet they're there, they share a state, but they also
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Speaker 3: met in the playoffs for several years and Tampa would
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Speaker 3: beat the brakes off the Panthers, and the Panthers finally
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Speaker 3: had enough and said, you know what, get over here
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Speaker 3: at Matthew could Chuck get over here, Sam Bennett, some
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Speaker 3: of the toughest guys in the league. We need to
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Speaker 3: get meaner. And they got meaner. And what do you know,
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Speaker 3: They've gone to the last three Stanley Cup Finals and
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Speaker 3: won the last two.
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Speaker 1: So you know this, and hockey fans here know this.
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Speaker 1: But if you're new to the game and you don't
5:03
Speaker 1: follow it closely, you can have a great regular season.
5:07
Speaker 1: But if you hit the playoffs and your goaltending is
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Speaker 1: average to below average, you've got no chance in the
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Speaker 1: Stanley Cup playoffs. So how do you feel about goaltending
5:17
Speaker 1: as you guys begin to get rid of yourself for
5:20
Speaker 1: Sunday and into the playoffs.
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Speaker 3: Well, I think you feel good about correl va Melca
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Speaker 3: and his ability to steal you a game or steal
5:28
Speaker 3: you a series. And really throughout the year, when this
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Speaker 3: team has been at its best, their goaltending has been
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Speaker 3: at its best as well, whether it's been carrel Va
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Speaker 3: Melca or v Tech Vanichik the number two. We expect
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Speaker 3: carl Va Melca to play basically every game in the playoffs, jarring,
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Speaker 3: you know, barring anything notable. But Veggie's been solid this year.
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Speaker 3: His numbers dipped a little bit in November and the
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Speaker 3: team struggled well. In January, he was outstanding. He's led
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Speaker 3: the league and games played for most of the year.
6:02
Speaker 3: He's seen the most rubber, He's played the most minutes
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Speaker 3: out of anybody. Nobody has leaned on their goaltender as
6:07
Speaker 3: much as Utah has leaned on correl the Melka this season,
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Speaker 3: and he was the first goaltender to reach the thirty
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Speaker 3: win mark. So even if he doesn't have his a
6:18
Speaker 3: stuff every night, more than often finds a way to
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Speaker 3: get to win. He's been solid recently. I don't know
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Speaker 3: if we're going to see him tonight or if we're
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Speaker 3: going to see the number two. V Tech Banichick and
6:29
Speaker 3: get Correll a little bit of a little bit of
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Speaker 3: rest heading into the playoffs, But we've seen some really
6:35
Speaker 3: good stuff from Veggie over the second half of the year,
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Speaker 3: and you have to think it's probably an advantage for Utah.
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Speaker 3: It's Vegas still has a bit of a goaltending question.
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Speaker 3: They've been riding Carter Hart recently and he's been playing
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Speaker 3: really well, but there's just not as big of a
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Speaker 3: sample size there. So if you had to give an
6:54
Speaker 3: advantage in a goaltending matchup, I think you have to
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Speaker 3: give it to Utah.
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Speaker 1: Are there any other place this is where you feel
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Speaker 1: like Utah has got a definitive advantage in this series
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Speaker 1: with Vegas.
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Speaker 3: I think Utah's speed always gives teams problems and Vegas
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Speaker 3: can skate. Vegas is a very good team with elite players.
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Speaker 3: I think as a team though this Manis group probably
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Speaker 3: has better team speed than Vegas. The one thing that
7:23
Speaker 3: scares you as a Utah fan is that Vegas has
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Speaker 3: a special teams advantage, and special teams often can be
7:31
Speaker 3: the deciding factor if if five on five and goaltending
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Speaker 3: gets a wash. But Vegas has a top ten power
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Speaker 3: play and the top ten penalty kill and they've got
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Speaker 3: really good players, Mitch marn Or, Jack Eicel, Mark Stone.
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Speaker 3: These guys are really talented, really skilled. And they've got
7:48
Speaker 3: a new coach too, John Tortorella took over with eight
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Speaker 3: games left in the regular season and all they've done
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Speaker 3: is go the seven to zero to one unbeaten regulation
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Speaker 3: ever since the new coach took over. So all of
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Speaker 3: that will make for a ton of great storylines and
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Speaker 3: a lot of intrigue once the season starts. But honestly, Bill,
8:10
Speaker 3: you can you can throw out a lot of the
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Speaker 3: stats from the regular season once the playoffs start. They
8:14
Speaker 3: call it the second season for a reason. It's totally different.
8:18
Speaker 1: Well, that's what I was going to ask you, because
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Speaker 1: I don't think these two teams played a close game
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Speaker 1: in the regular season.
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Speaker 2: Weren't they all blowouts?
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Speaker 3: They were, And we've seen the Mammoths go down to
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Speaker 3: the Fortress and absolutely annihilate Vegas. We've seen Utah really
8:35
Speaker 3: struggle against the Golden Knights. That was kind of one
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Speaker 3: of the the gut check games earlier this year against Vegas,
8:42
Speaker 3: the Mammoths lost for one at home and then got
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Speaker 3: the train on the on the track literally like a
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Speaker 3: week later, a few days later and turned around and
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Speaker 3: beat Vegas five to one. So I think the biggest
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Speaker 3: thing is being able to handle the hide and lows.
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Speaker 3: You're not gonna sweep every playoff series. They're gonna lose
8:59
Speaker 3: the playoff game at some point. How you respond to
9:02
Speaker 3: that is going to be really telling, And that's something
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Speaker 3: that excites me about this Utah group. They've shown a
9:07
Speaker 3: propensity for bouncing back from bad performances throughout the course
9:12
Speaker 3: of the season.
9:13
Speaker 1: Mike Folts with us the voice of the Mammoth for
9:15
Speaker 1: just a couple of more minutes. He's got the call
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Speaker 1: of tonight's regular season finale, and then he'll be on
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Speaker 1: the call Sunday as they played the first game of
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Speaker 1: the playoffs, first game in Mammoth franchise history in the
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Speaker 1: postseason coming up Sunday in Las Vegas. This feels like
9:31
Speaker 1: a team that has built the right way year. Why
9:34
Speaker 1: I know, they just missed out last year, made the
9:36
Speaker 1: right moves. As you said, they've grown together still a
9:39
Speaker 1: young team. Is this about kind of where you thought
9:43
Speaker 1: they would be if I would have gone back to
9:44
Speaker 1: October with you, Mike and said, give me an idea
9:47
Speaker 1: of how you think this season plays out.
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Speaker 2: Is this kind of where you saw it with this team.
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Speaker 3: I don't know if I saw it, but this is
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Speaker 3: where we all hope, right And this was kind of
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Speaker 3: the death star plan from General Azure, Bill Armstrong and
10:01
Speaker 3: the top brass and I think a lot of us
10:04
Speaker 3: were sitting around saying, yeah, playoffs sounds good, we'll see,
10:07
Speaker 3: We'll believe it when we see it. It is kind
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Speaker 3: of shocking how things have proceeded according to the general
10:15
Speaker 3: manager's plan so far. Last year, the goal was to
10:18
Speaker 3: play meaningful games late in the season. Utah cops that
10:22
Speaker 3: they fell a little short of the playoffs, but they
10:24
Speaker 3: were still fighting towards the end. This year, ever since
10:28
Speaker 3: the onset, the goal was to make the playoffs, and
10:31
Speaker 3: Utah clint that with a few games left in the
10:34
Speaker 3: regular season. And I tell you what. You talked to
10:38
Speaker 3: Bill Armstrong and you able to get him on the
10:39
Speaker 3: show or sit him down. The first thing that he
10:43
Speaker 3: talks about oftentimes are the players that are coming that
10:47
Speaker 3: are on the way.
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Speaker 1: Next.
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Speaker 3: I'm thinking we're the playoffs, like we have a chance
10:52
Speaker 3: to compete for the Stanley Cup. But you asked Bill,
10:55
Speaker 3: he's really excited about the young players that are on
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Speaker 3: the way next. Even though this is going to be
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Speaker 3: a super exciting run in the next days and weeks
11:05
Speaker 3: and hopefully months. Uh, there's more talent coming up through
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Speaker 3: the pipeline and uh this this team is being built
11:12
Speaker 3: for sustainable success.
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Speaker 2: How excited are you to call these playoffs?
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Speaker 3: Bill? I'm just hoping I don't screw it up. You
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Speaker 3: grow up listening to these soundtracks, right, you're your favorite
11:22
Speaker 3: broadcasters and these memorable calls, and it's a it is
11:27
Speaker 3: a notable responsibility to call these moments that people are
11:31
Speaker 3: going to remember for the rest of their lives, not
11:34
Speaker 3: not necessarily because I called it, but because the moment
11:37
Speaker 3: itself is so special. And you know, I think you
11:40
Speaker 3: would say the same thing. You just want to do
11:41
Speaker 3: it justice. So we want to have fun and it's
11:44
Speaker 3: gonna be it's gonna be a blast. Is demandmates have
11:46
Speaker 3: a great chance to make a run.
11:48
Speaker 1: Well, you're great at what you do, and when you
11:51
Speaker 1: prepare and you're really good at what you do, everything
11:53
Speaker 1: else kind of falls together naturally, at least that's been
11:56
Speaker 1: my experience down through the years. So I think you're
11:59
Speaker 1: gonna have a lot of fun with this thing as
12:01
Speaker 1: it plays out, and hey, who knows, you know, Goltender
12:04
Speaker 1: gets hot.
12:05
Speaker 2: Few things go your way. Might not be one rat,
12:08
Speaker 2: it might be two.
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Speaker 3: The mammo don't need a nineteen eighties miracle on ice
12:14
Speaker 3: to get past the Golden Knights or to get past
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Speaker 3: the next team. They'll play the specific division. That's the
12:19
Speaker 3: bracket that Utah is going to be in. It's it's
12:22
Speaker 3: the weakest division in hockey in the last like ten
12:25
Speaker 3: twelve years, so still some really good teams and some
12:28
Speaker 3: incredible players. The Mamos left the beat. Nothing is easy
12:30
Speaker 3: in the playoffs, but it's a great opportunity. It's a
12:34
Speaker 3: great seating for the Utah Mammot to yeah, like you said,
12:38
Speaker 3: win a couple of rountes. So can't wait for it
12:40
Speaker 3: and can't wait to be up at right Beckels coming
12:43
Speaker 3: up next year as well, we'll be in your neck
12:45
Speaker 3: of the woods taking over the football field for a little.
12:48
Speaker 1: Bit one hundred and forty days till Utah football kicks off.
12:52
Speaker 1: I don't know how many days to the Winter Classic,
12:54
Speaker 1: but yeah, it will be. It's going to be so
12:57
Speaker 1: fun to see that set up. I've been so lucky
13:00
Speaker 1: for the last seventeen almost eighteen years to call Rice
13:04
Speaker 1: Cycles my home on Saturdays in the fall. I can't
13:08
Speaker 1: wait to see that hockey rink set up in the
13:10
Speaker 1: middle of the field and see the mammoth playing, and
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Speaker 1: I think it'll be fantastic.
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Speaker 3: Yeah. I might have to stop by twenty two for
13:19
Speaker 3: you fan day the spring game, just to get used
13:22
Speaker 3: to the accommodations up there.
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Speaker 1: Well, yeah, couple, Well that's going to be over at
13:25
Speaker 1: the fieldhouse on the inside, won't be at the stadium.
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Speaker 1: But here's what I'll do. I'll walk you around, I'll
13:30
Speaker 1: bring you up. In fact, we'll.
13:32
Speaker 2: Get you used to it.
13:32
Speaker 1: If you want to come up to sit in the
13:33
Speaker 1: boot this fall when you're not doing a game, I'll
13:36
Speaker 1: get you used to the booth in the setting. And
13:38
Speaker 1: you're a little further from the ice at Rice Cycle
13:40
Speaker 1: Stadium than you are at the Delta Center, so you
13:42
Speaker 1: might want to just get your eyes used to that.
13:44
Speaker 1: And I don't think you use the binoculars very often
13:47
Speaker 1: at the Delta Center.
13:48
Speaker 2: You will at the Rice Cycles.
13:50
Speaker 3: Hey. You know on Radio Bill sometimes we just make
13:53
Speaker 3: it up.
13:53
Speaker 1: Hey, Hey, it's theater of the mind, Mike. If you
13:57
Speaker 1: and I say it, it must be true, right.
14:01
Speaker 3: I'll tell you this, The Utah Mammots have never lost
14:05
Speaker 3: a fight on the ice on the radio broadcast.
14:09
Speaker 1: Hey, I was at that Capitals game a couple of
14:11
Speaker 1: weeks ago. That was unbelievable the amount of fighting we saw.
14:16
Speaker 1: I mean, I've been to a number of games. For
14:18
Speaker 1: a regular season game, I don't know what got into
14:20
Speaker 1: the boys that night, but the Capitals and the Mammoth
14:23
Speaker 1: were not having it with each other.
14:25
Speaker 3: Well, and honestly, it didn't go Utah's way that night.
14:29
Speaker 3: But I think that was a great learning experience for
14:31
Speaker 3: the Mammots because once you get to the postseason, you
14:34
Speaker 3: get those dust ups after every strum, after every whistle,
14:39
Speaker 3: there's guys clutching at you, grabbing you. If you're a
14:42
Speaker 3: new fan and you don't know what a face wash is,
14:45
Speaker 3: go look up what a face wash is. It's not comfortable,
14:50
Speaker 3: but you get a lot of those in the postseason.
14:52
Speaker 3: And the Mammots got dragged into the mud by Tom
14:54
Speaker 3: Wilson and the Caps that day, and they need to
14:57
Speaker 3: make sure they don't get thrown off their game again
15:00
Speaker 3: in the playoffs because Vegas will likely try and do
15:02
Speaker 3: the same thing.
15:03
Speaker 1: Hey, my friend, thank you for doing this. I'll look
15:05
Speaker 1: forward to catching up with you. Have a great call
15:07
Speaker 1: tonight in the regular season finale, have fun in the
15:10
Speaker 1: postseason beginning Sunday, and we'll get together and have a
15:14
Speaker 1: little lunch when your season in sound good.
15:16
Speaker 3: Hopefully that's in Joe, We'll see it, Bell, Thank you.
15:19
Speaker 2: Thank you, Mike, Mike Folt.
15:20
Speaker 1: We'll have the call tonight on radio for the Mammoth
15:22
Speaker 1: and the Blues, and then I'll have the call on
15:24
Speaker 1: Sunday for Game one in Vegas for the Golden Knights
15:28
Speaker 1: and your Utah Mammoth. We'll come back, we'll do a
15:31
Speaker 1: little topical trivia and wind it down next Sean O'Connell Show,
15:35
Speaker 1: ESPN seven hundred ninety two one FM