Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Nick Olczyk on the Utah Mammoth's first playoff game, Adjustments for game 2, Anticipating first home playoff game on Friday + more

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Nick Olczyk on the Utah Mammoth's first playoff game, Adjustments for game 2, Anticipating first home playoff game on Friday + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

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Speaker 1: It's by Sean O'Connell's show.
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Speaker 2: You were home of the best inside.
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Speaker 1: Of your hues. Let's get back to OC from.
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Speaker 3: A Murdoch Chevrolet studio of ESPN seven hundred ninety one, alf.
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Speaker 4: Am, Welcome to our number two on a Monday. It's
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Speaker 4: the Sean O'Connell Show, and we're lucky enough to have
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Speaker 4: nick Olchick join us Utah Mammoth analysts. You can see
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Speaker 4: him on Tuesday night on the Utah sixteen, the local
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Speaker 4: broadcast for Mammoth versus Golden Knights playoff hockey Game two
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Speaker 4: of the opening round series.
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Speaker 1: Nick Olechick, Welcome to the show again. How are you,
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Speaker 1: sir John.
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Speaker 3: Great to be with you, man, Really really exciting time
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Speaker 3: here in Salt Lake City, and of course with the
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Speaker 3: first ever playoff first for the Mammoths, the build up
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Speaker 3: for the game last night was was special.
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Speaker 2: You could just you could.
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Speaker 3: Feel the energy from Vegas, even though for for some
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Speaker 3: of us who weren't there, they were watch parties going
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Speaker 3: all around the great.
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Speaker 2: State of Utah. It's uh it's.
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Speaker 3: The best time of the year and and uh, I
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Speaker 3: know everybody's very very excited that there that their favorite
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Speaker 3: team is.
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Speaker 2: In the playoffs.
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Speaker 4: Absolutely buzzing for Friday night when we get to see
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Speaker 4: this team host a playoff game. But uh, we'll try
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Speaker 4: to be patient for it. And let's talk about what
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Speaker 4: happened in the third period last night. You've got a
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Speaker 4: much more seasoned and veteran eye on these things than
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Speaker 4: any of us do.
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Speaker 1: What happened to the Mammoth in period three, Well, I think.
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Speaker 3: It was one of those games where you know, Utah
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Speaker 3: did a heck of a job in the first two
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Speaker 3: periods and and looking ink at the end of the day,
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Speaker 3: there's there's going to be adversity throughout the course of
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Speaker 3: a of a game, is throughout a playoff series as well,
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Speaker 3: and I think Utah can be can be relatively happy
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Speaker 3: with how they played. I don't think there's any doubt
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Speaker 3: about that. You saw the the postgame press conferences where
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Speaker 3: you know the yes, the disappointment was at you know
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Speaker 3: there was a four to two loss, but you know
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Speaker 3: this team.
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Speaker 2: Did did a lot of good things.
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Speaker 3: But I revery they think when you look at the
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Speaker 3: game in totality, there's john I think two areas really
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Speaker 3: stood out to me. First is the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman.
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Speaker 3: They love to pinch down the wall, and by that
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Speaker 3: I mean when Utah's got the puck in their own zoned,
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Speaker 3: their defensemen are really tight up. They don't sag, they
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Speaker 3: don't retreat, and so when the defenseman moved that puck
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Speaker 3: to the wingers along the boards and Utah is trying
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Speaker 3: to work themselves out of their zone, there is not
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Speaker 3: a lot of time and space at all to be
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Speaker 3: able to make a play let alone when you do
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Speaker 3: get the puck on your six. So I'm looking for
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Speaker 3: an adjustment there to help Utah break out a little
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Speaker 3: bit cleaner as the game goes on. But man, oh man,
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Speaker 3: did they ever have some good rushes in the first
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Speaker 3: two periods and then once she did get to the third,
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Speaker 3: I thought the biggest difference in this game overall was
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Speaker 3: was the NetFront presence for the Vegas Golden Knights, and
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Speaker 3: then they had a presence all game long. But in
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Speaker 3: the third period it seems like they really they really
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Speaker 3: turned it up, but they did not really let Prela
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Speaker 3: Melchis see any shots that were clean from distance.
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Speaker 2: And then on the.
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Speaker 3: Reverse side of it, for the Utah Mammoth, I just
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Speaker 3: think they need they need to do a better job
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Speaker 3: of not only getting a player at the front of that,
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Speaker 3: but more Vegas's defense.
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Speaker 2: They're big, they're mean, uh, and they are more.
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Speaker 3: Than capable of moving guys out of the front of
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Speaker 3: the net. So anyone trying to screen their goaltender, they
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Speaker 3: have the strength and the ability to move them out
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Speaker 3: of there and allow their goaltender to get a good
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Speaker 3: clean look at it.
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Speaker 2: So I'm I'm looking forward to game two.
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Speaker 3: We saw a lot of nastiness in that game, uh,
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Speaker 3: and and plenty worth talking about and and some of
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Speaker 3: the bad blood that's continuing to build between a budding
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Speaker 3: rivalry between the Golden Knights and the Mammoths. But but
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Speaker 3: I think the pinching defenseman as well as the net
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Speaker 3: from Presidence, ended up being a real difference maker in
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Speaker 3: the third period in game one.
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Speaker 4: Those stat lines don't tell the full story, but the
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Speaker 4: Mammoth got out hit fifty two to thirty I think
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Speaker 4: was the official final tally. How problematic is that? And
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Speaker 4: is it something that they can close the gap on
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Speaker 4: in game two and beyond.
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Speaker 3: It's to be expected this time of the year. It's
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Speaker 3: it's hit or be hit. That's that's the.
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Speaker 2: Mantra for every player.
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Speaker 3: And you know what I love so much about this
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Speaker 3: time of the year is, yes, the guys that are
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Speaker 3: naturally more physical are going to have a field day,
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Speaker 3: But but look for some of the guys that maybe
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Speaker 3: aren't traditionally the physical type, you know, Look look for
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Speaker 3: those guys to be just as physical. And I think
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Speaker 3: one guy for the Vegas Golden Knights that really brought
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Speaker 3: it was Ivan Barbashev. I mean he led the team
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Speaker 3: and led the entire game with thirteen hits just for
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Speaker 3: him alone. But you know Utah's game. They play a
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Speaker 3: physical brand of hockey and that they're not shy to
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Speaker 3: go body on body, and they have their fair share
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Speaker 3: of guys that can hit, whether it's brand kanev up front,
5:01
Speaker 3: Michael Carconi may not be the biggest guy in the world,
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Speaker 3: but he's never afraid to throw the body lost and
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Speaker 3: Kraus had nine hits in last night's.
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Speaker 2: Game as well.
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Speaker 3: So is it their style of hockey to a team,
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Speaker 3: Maybe not, But that's where you need to rely on
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Speaker 3: your speed to try to be able to move the
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Speaker 3: puck quickly and know that yeah, you're gonna be hit,
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Speaker 3: You're going to need to be able to take hits
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Speaker 3: to make plays, and I think for times Utah did
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Speaker 3: that well. Become playoff time there Sean, it's it is
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Speaker 3: hit or be hit. And yeah, fifty two hits. That's
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Speaker 3: the most the Vegas goal the Knights have had in
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Speaker 3: a playoff game in their history. So I think that
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Speaker 3: really speaks to the rivalry that's beginning between both of
5:44
Speaker 3: these teams. And a lot of those hits led to whistles.
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Speaker 3: And after the whistles, the hitting, the face washing, the shoving,
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Speaker 3: the pushing, the grabbing, the chirping didn't stop. It continued
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Speaker 3: on even more energetically after the whistles. And in terms
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Speaker 3: of the physicality of that game, it was very evident
6:02
Speaker 3: from the opening puck drop and Utah is going to
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Speaker 3: have to make sure that they're ready and and and
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Speaker 3: one thing, one more thing in terms of the hitting
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Speaker 3: aspect of the game. In game one, one guy that
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Speaker 3: really stood out to me who was demanding the puck,
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Speaker 3: who wanted it on his stick? Who yes, scored the
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Speaker 3: first ever goal and will be the answer to a
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Speaker 3: trivia question, first ever playoff goal in Mammoth.
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Speaker 2: History, And I was Logan Cooley.
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Speaker 3: I have the pleasure of seeing him up close and
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Speaker 3: personal for all the home games when I'm down there
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Speaker 3: between the benches, and he is the kind of guy that, yes,
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Speaker 3: he can take over the game with his skill set.
6:37
Speaker 3: You can take over the game with the speed that
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Speaker 3: he possesses, but he can also take over with some
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Speaker 3: of the jawing and the physicality going back and forth.
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Speaker 3: When he gets hit, he hits back, when he's pushed,
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Speaker 3: he shoves back. When when someone says something to him,
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Speaker 3: you better believe he's given it right back to him
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Speaker 3: and he's he's certainly not going into a hole. Logan
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Speaker 3: Cooley had four hits and they were pretty noticeable hits,
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Speaker 3: including a cup full of reverse sits as well to
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Speaker 3: try to get a little bit more time in space
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Speaker 3: for himself to make a play, and of course the
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Speaker 3: beautiful goal that he scored.
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Speaker 2: So everybody's gotta ratchet up.
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Speaker 3: Their game in terms of the body contact this time
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Speaker 3: of the year, but it is certainly a calling card
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Speaker 3: for the Vegas goal the night's scene when you look
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Speaker 3: at the makeup of their group both on the decor
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Speaker 3: as well as the forwards, and then looking for an
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Speaker 3: even bigger response for the Mammoth in totality in game two.
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Speaker 1: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Cool.
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Speaker 4: He certainly got under the skin of Nick Dowd. I
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Speaker 4: mean the highlights around the death threat and you just right,
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Speaker 4: you love to see I love to see the chippiness.
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Speaker 4: I know that this team is kind of growing into
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Speaker 4: what it's playoff identity is going to be. Obviously, is
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Speaker 4: the first time they've all played together in the playoffs,
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Speaker 4: first time this franchise, this version of it's been in
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Speaker 4: the playoffs.
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Speaker 1: And you know, the.
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Speaker 4: Spacing on ice in playoff hockey, and I think you
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Speaker 4: were trying to describe some of this with those pinching
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Speaker 4: defensemen and things like that. But is it is it
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Speaker 4: something that they can address formationally? Is it's something they
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Speaker 4: can address tactically the Utah Mammoth in order to get
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Speaker 4: guys like Gunther, who's maybe not the most physical and
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Speaker 4: I don't say that as an insult.
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Speaker 1: It's just not his game.
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Speaker 4: To get him better looks a little bit more space
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Speaker 4: to where his speed and precision has more room to
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Speaker 4: breathe against a team like Vegas.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, this time of the year, it's about subtle, little tweaks,
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Speaker 3: subtle adjustments, you know, And if we are going to
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Speaker 3: use that pinching defenseman as an example. There's really two
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Speaker 3: ways to do that, Sean. First is all those wingers
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Speaker 3: along the boards, they can come a little bit deeper,
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Speaker 3: and so the more you retreat into your zone, the
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Speaker 3: defenseman probably going to be a little less apt to
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Speaker 3: come down the wall because you've got to come such
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Speaker 3: a further distance a little bit more risky for them.
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Speaker 3: Or the inverse of that is, as a winger, as
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Speaker 3: soon as you see that your defenseman has one hundred
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Speaker 3: percent control of the buck, that's where you can maybe
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Speaker 3: kind of pull out. You're not flying the zone, you're
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Speaker 3: not picking cherries, you're not looking for the hail Mary
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Speaker 3: passing behind, but you just you pull out a little
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Speaker 3: bit closer to their defenseman.
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Speaker 2: So that way you force.
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Speaker 3: Him to vacate the space that he's in and you're
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Speaker 3: able to kind of almost reverse pinch in a way.
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Speaker 2: And I think with a guy like Dylan Gunther, I thought.
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Speaker 3: That line of he, Logan Cooley and Kylee Alamoto were
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Speaker 3: the best line for the Utah Mammoth, and Dylan certainly
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Speaker 3: had his fair share of looks. He had fifteen shot attempts.
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Speaker 3: I mean, he was all around it, especially off the rush.
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Speaker 3: And the one thing that we saw from that line
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Speaker 3: in particular, aside from just the great youth and the
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Speaker 3: skill is the speed. Is that when they were able
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Speaker 3: to move the puck quickly and efficiently out of their
9:39
Speaker 3: zone through the middle of the ice, their speed was
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Speaker 3: really tough for the Vegas Golden Knights to handle in
9:45
Speaker 3: the area of the ice in between both blue lines.
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Speaker 3: So I think that is another way Utah can find
9:52
Speaker 3: a way to generate even more off the rush. And yeah,
9:55
Speaker 3: Vegas is a big team, they have some fast players,
9:58
Speaker 3: but I think he give the speed and pace edge
10:01
Speaker 3: to the Mammoth and if they continue to use their
10:03
Speaker 3: speed through the middle of the ice, that's going to
10:05
Speaker 3: help them in a big way.
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Speaker 2: And then the next most.
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Speaker 3: Supportant part to that is if Utah is able to
10:11
Speaker 3: get a shot off the rush or they're able to
10:13
Speaker 3: make a play, they got to find a way to
10:15
Speaker 3: be able to recover those bucks off of a rebound
10:17
Speaker 3: that scorts to the corner or a rebound that's at
10:19
Speaker 3: the front of the net. More inside play I think
10:23
Speaker 3: is certainly going to help this team going into Game
10:25
Speaker 3: two to create a little bit more in terms of
10:28
Speaker 3: the offensive side of the game.
10:29
Speaker 4: Utah Mammoth analyst Nick Olchik is our guest here on
10:32
Speaker 4: the Sean O'Connell Show. You can catch him on Tuesday
10:34
Speaker 4: night on the local broadcast. It'll be on Utah sixteen
10:38
Speaker 4: as the Mammoth once again in Vegas taking on the
10:41
Speaker 4: Golden Knights Game two of the first round playoff series.
10:45
Speaker 4: What happened on the empty netter that Vegas scored? We
10:50
Speaker 4: saw like the down ice view from behind Veggie, and
10:55
Speaker 4: on the broadcast there was a conversation about whether or
10:58
Speaker 4: not he was skating over to the bench when he
11:00
Speaker 4: was supposed to be in your perspective, what happened when
11:04
Speaker 4: Vegas was able to salt it away and go up
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Speaker 4: four two on the empty dinner.
11:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, just for rule of thumb, for goaltender pulls,
11:14
Speaker 3: the head coach is the one that decides when the
11:18
Speaker 3: goaltender is pulled, and usually the whistle prior when it's
11:23
Speaker 3: late in the game you know you're down by one.
11:25
Speaker 3: There is eye contact or a quick conversation at the
11:28
Speaker 3: bench before the play resumes between the goalie and the
11:33
Speaker 3: head coach letting them know, hey, watch watch for me.
11:36
Speaker 3: I'm going to let you know when to come to
11:39
Speaker 3: the bench. And it was one of those situations I
11:41
Speaker 3: think in the offensive zone where is a perfect storm.
11:44
Speaker 3: Utah had it. Andre Turney was calling for correll of
11:48
Speaker 3: Amalca and whether he didn't see quick enough, whether he
11:52
Speaker 3: didn't exactly acknowledge when he had to go, It looked
11:57
Speaker 3: like there was a little bit of hesitation and then
12:00
Speaker 3: as soon as he left, Vegas got the puck and
12:03
Speaker 3: they sent it all the way down. It is such
12:05
Speaker 3: a quick bang bang play whenever you call the goaltender. Now,
12:09
Speaker 3: in a perfect world, you get into the zone, you
12:12
Speaker 3: get set up, you have full and total control of
12:14
Speaker 3: the puck. Then you can pull your goaltender while you
12:17
Speaker 3: already have control. You get the extra skater on there.
12:20
Speaker 3: For me, I love to see when teams are aggressive
12:24
Speaker 3: where maybe they haven't even gained the offensive zone yet
12:29
Speaker 3: they're still in the neutral zone, or they're breaking out.
12:31
Speaker 3: I love to see when teams pull goaltenders that way,
12:34
Speaker 3: so you get the extra attacker out there. It's a
12:36
Speaker 3: six on five, and that way, that extra player can
12:41
Speaker 3: help you win a battle. They can help you get
12:43
Speaker 3: in on the fore check and find a way to
12:45
Speaker 3: win a puck back that way to establish the zone.
12:47
Speaker 3: But I really think in that situation there, yeah, there
12:50
Speaker 3: was there was clearly either a miscommunication or a little
12:53
Speaker 3: bit of hesitation between Grell Vamelca and the bench. But
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Speaker 3: overall it was really the perfect storm because it's as
13:00
Speaker 3: he was called, Utah had it, then they lost it
13:02
Speaker 3: almost instantaneously, and then the Vegas goal, the Knights were
13:05
Speaker 3: able to gain control and and send about one hundred
13:08
Speaker 3: and sixty three foot shot into the into the open net.
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Speaker 4: Can how much concern is there internally with the penalty
13:16
Speaker 4: kill right now?
13:17
Speaker 1: They did.
13:19
Speaker 4: The most impactful goal I think in this game was
13:23
Speaker 4: was when Vegas got the power play goal.
13:26
Speaker 1: They killed it all the way down to twelve seconds left.
13:29
Speaker 4: In the power play, but then Vegas got that power
13:31
Speaker 4: play goal to grab themself a lead. And you know,
13:35
Speaker 4: the stats in the last whatever few games haven't been
13:37
Speaker 4: excellent on the penalty kill, So is there is there
13:41
Speaker 4: concern there?
13:42
Speaker 2: It's at peaks and valleys.
13:44
Speaker 3: Towards the beginning of the season, the penalty kill was
13:46
Speaker 3: was towards the top in the league.
13:48
Speaker 2: Then they they hit a valley and then about midway
13:51
Speaker 2: point of the season.
13:52
Speaker 3: That's when they started to find their groove and then
13:55
Speaker 3: it really was a bit of a roller coaster ride
13:57
Speaker 3: for the PK this year. But you know, there have
13:59
Speaker 3: been stretchers shown where they've killed off nineteen to twenty
14:01
Speaker 3: or they've killed off twenty three of twenty five, and
14:04
Speaker 3: that's been a real strength. No difference from the power play,
14:07
Speaker 3: which was humm in the last ten to twelve games
14:10
Speaker 3: of the season after going through a cold spell before that,
14:13
Speaker 3: and for the penalty kill, especially in the game last night,
14:16
Speaker 3: like special teams, that's the difference. And it didn't help
14:20
Speaker 3: that Utah one of their top penalty killers Alexander kirkfoot
14:23
Speaker 3: in the box, a guy that has been so crucial
14:26
Speaker 3: while down a man, the way he reads the game,
14:29
Speaker 3: the way he's able to clear pucks the entire length
14:32
Speaker 3: of the ice, but also the reads that he makes
14:34
Speaker 3: up the ice, not allowing the opposition easy entry into
14:37
Speaker 3: their zone. But that power play in particular for the
14:40
Speaker 3: Vegas Gold to Knights. Honestly, Sean, there really wasn't a
14:43
Speaker 3: ton going on. I guess there was a few saves,
14:45
Speaker 3: but on that Utah did a real nice job of
14:48
Speaker 3: protecting the middle of the ice in the that instance,
14:50
Speaker 3: in particular, they got stretched out, they got a little
14:53
Speaker 3: bit overextended. Vegas was able to make one play towards
14:57
Speaker 3: the net. It was Marner looking for a shot tip
14:59
Speaker 3: to Thomas Hurtle the front of the ad and then
15:01
Speaker 3: one of the best net front goal line power play
15:03
Speaker 3: players in the league, Mark Stone, made the difference in
15:06
Speaker 3: the game, which he so often does, and that ended
15:10
Speaker 3: up tying at two to two. So adjustment wise, moving forward,
15:13
Speaker 3: I liked how they killed off the first minute and
15:16
Speaker 3: forty plus seconds of that penalty. I think there's a
15:19
Speaker 3: lot to light there, but this time of the year,
15:22
Speaker 3: I think that just goes to show more than anything
15:24
Speaker 3: that special teams can be the difference in a game.
15:27
Speaker 3: And Utah, which I don't think they add that many
15:31
Speaker 3: undisciplinary issues during the course of this season, but it
15:35
Speaker 3: just goes to show you take one penalty, that's all
15:37
Speaker 3: it can be the difference, that's all it can take,
15:39
Speaker 3: and all of a sudden, that was a special team's
15:41
Speaker 3: difference in the hockey game.
15:44
Speaker 4: So what's a reasonable expectation you think for Tuesday Night?
15:49
Speaker 4: You know a lot of us are novice at best
15:52
Speaker 4: hockey fans, right, and you want to see adjustments made,
15:55
Speaker 4: but when you haven't grown up on a rink, you
15:58
Speaker 4: maybe don't understand those adjustment that well, it was going
16:02
Speaker 4: really well for two periods and the third is where
16:04
Speaker 4: the collapse happened in Vegas for Game one.
16:06
Speaker 1: What should we expect in game two of this series?
16:10
Speaker 2: Well, I think I think some credit.
16:12
Speaker 3: Again, I know we're all Mammoth fans here, but I think,
16:14
Speaker 3: just just looking at it from a hockey purest point
16:17
Speaker 3: of view, you have to give some credit to the
16:20
Speaker 3: Vegas gold The Knights for sticking with it. I would
16:23
Speaker 3: totally co sign your point there, Sean, and that Utah
16:26
Speaker 3: really took it to them, They really skated at them
16:29
Speaker 3: for two periods. But credits to the Vegas Golden Knights.
16:32
Speaker 3: They they've got a winning pedigree. They they want a
16:33
Speaker 3: Stanley Cup three seasons ago in twenty twenty three. They
16:37
Speaker 3: have some unbelievable players. They got a goaltender Carter Hart,
16:41
Speaker 3: who was really feeling it last game, the guy that
16:43
Speaker 3: they hope is going to be their savior. Considering the
16:46
Speaker 3: goltending position has been a real sore spot, but Vegas
16:50
Speaker 3: hung in there. They got some timely saves. They were
16:52
Speaker 3: able to defend just enough. They had some real solid
16:55
Speaker 3: block shots. Their penalty kill came through with a big timeill.
17:01
Speaker 3: So you got to give credit to Vegas for sitting
17:03
Speaker 3: in there and not starting to play high risk hockey
17:06
Speaker 3: when they were down one to nothing or when they
17:08
Speaker 3: were down two to one.
17:09
Speaker 2: They stuck with it.
17:10
Speaker 3: They continued to play the brand of hockey that makes
17:13
Speaker 3: them a great team that they are.
17:15
Speaker 2: And under their new.
17:16
Speaker 3: Head coach, John Tortorella, from the end of the regular
17:19
Speaker 3: season into the postseason, they're eight.
17:21
Speaker 2: To zero to one, and he hasn't come in and.
17:24
Speaker 3: Tried to change anything systematically because it was already so
17:27
Speaker 3: deep into the season. It's like studying for a test
17:30
Speaker 3: and then just throwing something brand new in there. You've
17:33
Speaker 3: already done all of your studying. Trying to cram before
17:36
Speaker 3: the test really isn't going to do much for you. So,
17:38
Speaker 3: if anything, John Tortorella has reignited a fire within this group,
17:43
Speaker 3: and so yes, you got to give some credit to them.
17:46
Speaker 3: But for Uta, I think it goes back to a
17:47
Speaker 3: couple of things we talked about off at the start.
17:50
Speaker 3: They played a really solid forty minutes. I think they
17:53
Speaker 3: had a good push, especially towards the end of the
17:55
Speaker 3: game when it was three to two, but Vegas was
17:58
Speaker 3: just able to hold on.
17:59
Speaker 2: So trying to bypass our pinching defenseman.
18:02
Speaker 3: I think it will be a real key and trying
18:04
Speaker 3: to allow Utah to create even more off the rush,
18:08
Speaker 3: of which I think they can be happy enough with
18:11
Speaker 3: what they did in game one, but look for that
18:13
Speaker 3: to play a real role in game two. But also
18:16
Speaker 3: it's got to be more people at the front of
18:18
Speaker 3: the net to try to make Carter Hart's life a
18:21
Speaker 3: lot more difficult. And when you go to the front
18:23
Speaker 3: of the net, the puck.
18:25
Speaker 2: Can hit off you and go in.
18:26
Speaker 3: It could hit the goaltender and pop right out to
18:28
Speaker 3: you for an open net. But also just by going there,
18:32
Speaker 3: you attract defenders to come with you, and that's going
18:36
Speaker 3: to open up a lot more space for the teammates
18:39
Speaker 3: that are trying to patrol the offensive zone. And the
18:41
Speaker 3: last point I will make is for as good as
18:44
Speaker 3: the second line was of Kooley, Gunther and Kyler Yamamoto,
18:49
Speaker 3: I thought lost and Kraus was a beast out there.
18:51
Speaker 3: I thought he was on a mission with nine hits and.
18:53
Speaker 2: Very much involved.
18:55
Speaker 3: But I'm looking for a big bounce back from the
18:57
Speaker 3: likes of Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, guys that had
19:00
Speaker 3: a couple of looks in that game. But these are
19:02
Speaker 3: two players that can really take over, especially when they're
19:05
Speaker 3: feeling it together. One's got it, he's looking for the
19:08
Speaker 3: other and vice versa. Look for those guys to have
19:12
Speaker 3: a real response in Game two and hopefully lead the
19:15
Speaker 3: way to a game a game two victory for the
19:17
Speaker 3: Mammoth in Las Vegas.
19:20
Speaker 1: Who's going to fight Kegan Kolo Star before the series
19:22
Speaker 1: is over?
19:23
Speaker 3: Nick, there's a couple of tough customers on this Mammoth roster,
19:27
Speaker 3: and we'll have to see, if you know, is there
19:29
Speaker 3: going to be any lineup changes? Is Liam O'Brien going
19:32
Speaker 3: to draw back into the lineup? But Utah's got their
19:35
Speaker 3: their fair share of tough guys, you know, Los and
19:37
Speaker 3: Kraus has never been shy of shedding the mits. Mackenzie
19:40
Speaker 3: Wieger on the back end, he's he's a tough customer
19:43
Speaker 3: and he and Cole he's not afraid to give a
19:44
Speaker 3: couple of licks either.
19:45
Speaker 2: So I think those are.
19:47
Speaker 3: A couple of more than willing combatants this time of
19:49
Speaker 3: the year.
19:49
Speaker 2: And one guy who had a.
19:51
Speaker 3: Little bit of a dust up with Cookegan cole Star
19:54
Speaker 3: at the end of last game was a guy that
19:56
Speaker 3: hadn't played since early April, didn't even practice skate the
20:00
Speaker 3: last couple of weeks, and then just magically appeared into
20:03
Speaker 3: the lineup. That's big Jack McBain. He can go toe
20:07
Speaker 3: for toe with the kid guy like ken Colo Sar,
20:10
Speaker 3: So we'll see if maybe that could be a physicality
20:13
Speaker 3: and they fits the cuff matchup.
20:15
Speaker 2: As a series goes on, I thought we.
20:17
Speaker 4: Were gonna get a little little extra curricular with Kolosar
20:20
Speaker 4: and circuit Chev. After the game had gone final half
20:24
Speaker 4: the guys are skating to the off the eye, so
20:26
Speaker 4: they're heading to the dressing room and those two were
20:28
Speaker 4: still holding on in John back and forth, sending a message.
20:32
Speaker 2: Sean. That's the key.
20:33
Speaker 3: Whether you win the first game or lose the first game,
20:36
Speaker 3: you're trying to send a message and let the opposition
20:39
Speaker 3: know that, Yeah, some guys are saying I'm coming for you.
20:42
Speaker 3: Other guys say you better keep your head up. That's
20:44
Speaker 3: what makes playoff hockey so great because it's all about
20:48
Speaker 3: trying to take every inch of ice that you possibly can,
20:50
Speaker 3: and certainly each one of these guys is doing their
20:53
Speaker 3: best to inflict physically or verbally.
20:58
Speaker 4: I know we got to let you go before we do.
21:00
Speaker 4: We're not going to have a chance to talk to
21:02
Speaker 4: you before Friday. And that is the first playoff hockey
21:06
Speaker 4: game hosted at the Delta Center.
21:08
Speaker 1: Very much looking forward to it.
21:10
Speaker 4: I know the atmosphere is going to be electric, but
21:13
Speaker 4: just give me your expectations for what that moment is
21:17
Speaker 4: going to be like puck drops on playoff hockey on
21:20
Speaker 4: home ice for the first time for this franchise that
21:22
Speaker 4: has been such an incredible addition to our sports community
21:26
Speaker 4: here in Utah.
21:27
Speaker 3: Two part sean First, it's going to be unbelievable, and second,
21:32
Speaker 3: I don't know how unbelievable it's going to be, and
21:36
Speaker 3: that's the exciting part. Sellouts consistently at the Delta Center
21:41
Speaker 3: this year. I happen to live right downtown. Whether I'm
21:45
Speaker 3: at the grocery store, whether I'm at the gas station,
21:48
Speaker 3: the barbershop, there's people talking hockey all around town. There's
21:52
Speaker 3: people wearing the merchandise, there's folks with the jerseys, there's
21:56
Speaker 3: kids with the Tusky plush. She's like I'm so proud
22:01
Speaker 3: to be a very small part of an organization that
22:04
Speaker 3: has that has done so much for this community. And look,
22:07
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, none of this is
22:09
Speaker 3: possible without both Ryan and Ashley Smith, who who brought
22:12
Speaker 3: the National Hockey League here to Utah and very clearly
22:15
Speaker 3: off the rip did not see this as an asset
22:18
Speaker 3: for them. It's a gift and an asset for the community.
22:22
Speaker 3: And I think Mammoth Nation has done an unbelievable job
22:25
Speaker 3: of being inclusive to let new fans come in. And yes,
22:29
Speaker 3: there's a lot of older hockey fans as well that
22:31
Speaker 3: have a lot of experience watching hockey or maybe transplants
22:35
Speaker 3: that are here that are new Mammoth fans that are
22:37
Speaker 3: formerly fans of other teams. And to me, there's nothing
22:41
Speaker 3: better than playoff hockey. And so for everybody to be
22:43
Speaker 3: able to get a taste of what the National Hockey
22:46
Speaker 3: League playoffs and Stanley Cup playoffs are like, that's exactly
22:49
Speaker 3: what I'm most excited for about these fans, and I'm
22:52
Speaker 3: pumped to see the traditions that we come up with.
22:54
Speaker 3: I can't wait to see the face paint, the body paint,
22:57
Speaker 3: the people dressed as mammoths, like Alloween costumes, and if
23:02
Speaker 3: the pomp and the circumstance of the pregame festivities that
23:06
Speaker 3: are going to be taking place on the Sea Geek
23:08
Speaker 3: Plaza right out front of the Delta Center, like this
23:10
Speaker 3: is It's the best time of the year, and I'm
23:12
Speaker 3: so excited to share it with our unbelievable fans because
23:16
Speaker 3: I know I'm biased and saying that, Well, I've been
23:18
Speaker 3: playing hockey since I was three years old. It's it's
23:20
Speaker 3: given me everything that I have, and so I know
23:24
Speaker 3: everything that this amazing sport that can provide for people
23:28
Speaker 3: and outlet a distraction, something to come together for and
23:33
Speaker 3: with and to support. I think Utah has done it
23:36
Speaker 3: right from the very beginning, and that Game three, no
23:39
Speaker 3: matter how Game two goes, that place is going to
23:41
Speaker 3: be rocking. It is going to be intimidating, an intense
23:45
Speaker 3: atmosphere for the Vegas Golden Knights to be in. And
23:48
Speaker 3: I don't even need to say Utah needs to show
23:51
Speaker 3: up because they have showed up since day one. I
23:53
Speaker 3: just can't wait to see them show out at Game
23:56
Speaker 3: three at the Delta Center.
23:57
Speaker 1: I love it.
23:58
Speaker 4: We're growing into being a hockey town and I don't
24:00
Speaker 4: care how long it's going to take.
24:01
Speaker 1: I got young kids. I'm excited that. I mean, it's
24:04
Speaker 1: hard to find space and these sign ups. You can't
24:06
Speaker 1: get your kids into hockey. That's how popular it is
24:08
Speaker 1: right now I moved.
24:09
Speaker 3: You're going to continue to grow, Sean, It's only going
24:12
Speaker 3: to continue to grow. And I can say with complete
24:15
Speaker 3: confidence and certainty that this place is a hockey town.
24:20
Speaker 3: And all you need to do is is just walk
24:22
Speaker 3: around town and it's it's very obvious no matter where
24:25
Speaker 3: you're at Nigga.
24:26
Speaker 4: I moved here when I was nine years old from
24:28
Speaker 4: Saint Paul, Minnesota, and that was nineteen ninety three. Nineteen
24:34
Speaker 4: ninety two is when I moved here, and there was
24:37
Speaker 4: one ice sheet that you could get on, and there
24:40
Speaker 4: was no hockey. We were not there was no hockey
24:42
Speaker 4: culture here, and coming from Minnesota to that was crazy.
24:46
Speaker 4: And the fact that now we're becoming what we're becoming
24:50
Speaker 4: when I'm in my forties, I never would have thought
24:52
Speaker 4: it was going to happen here, But like you said,
24:55
Speaker 4: Ryan and Ashley Smith made it possible. And the way
24:58
Speaker 4: that the community is in brace it has been really,
25:01
Speaker 4: really incredible. And obviously You've been a massive part of it,
25:04
Speaker 4: as you know, the guy that we here translating what
25:09
Speaker 4: we see on the ice for the average sports fans.
25:12
Speaker 4: So keep up the great work. Thank you so much
25:15
Speaker 4: for joining me today, and hopefully we'll see you Friday night.
25:18
Speaker 2: Sean.
25:19
Speaker 3: It's it's my pleasure. There's nothing more I love doing
25:22
Speaker 3: than being able to entertain and inform and then hopefully
25:26
Speaker 3: we've done that for all of our incredible fans out
25:28
Speaker 3: there today, not just in playoff game number one, but
25:31
Speaker 3: all of last season and the regular season to this point.
25:34
Speaker 3: There's nothing better than when a fan comes up and says, hey,
25:36
Speaker 3: we learned something from the broadcast, because that there's nothing
25:40
Speaker 3: that makes us feel better. So at the end of
25:41
Speaker 3: the day, the boys on the ice are getting the
25:44
Speaker 3: job done, The team's getting the job done in the community,
25:47
Speaker 3: and it's an honor, it's a pleasure and an absolute
25:50
Speaker 3: thrill to be able to call Utah home and be
25:52
Speaker 3: part of something very special here with the Utah Mamma.
25:54
Speaker 2: So same do you, Sean. Keep up the great work.
25:56
Speaker 3: And all I will say is for everybody during these playoffs,
26:00
Speaker 3: i'd run just just buckle up because Game one wasn't
26:03
Speaker 3: anything compared to probably what games two, three, four, and
26:07
Speaker 3: who knows, maybe more than that are going to be.
26:09
Speaker 1: Like, that's Nickle Chick again.
26:13
Speaker 4: The ESPN broadcast is great, but tune into the Mammoth broadcast.
26:17
Speaker 4: Tune into the local broadcast on UTAH sixteen and you'll
26:21
Speaker 4: see Nicole Chick there. Big thanks to him for joining us.