'I got a little chills': Utah's Michael Kesselring beats hometown Boston Bruins in OT

SALT LAKE CITY — Michael Kesselring was a little miffed.

The Utah Hockey Club defenseman had beat Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman clean. His rocket off an odd-man rush flew by one of the best netminders in the game; it just didn't find the back of the net.

Most people didn't notice that part, though. The Delta Center (well, the non-Boston fans at least) erupted and pillars of fog shot up.

There was just one problem: The puck hadn't actually crossed the line. Kesselring's shot clanged off the inside of the post and drifted through the crease to safety.

"I was a little frustrated after that one. You don't beat that goalie clean very often," he said of his near equalizer.

But frustration would turn to jubilation soon enough.

With 2:14 left in overtime, Kesselring took a pass from Logan Cooley and fired from just about the same spot. No posts got in the way this time as he lifted Utah to a 2-1 win over the visiting Boston Bruins Saturday at the Delta Center. Utah improved to 4-1-1 on the season.

"The big thing with Kess is to take that shot," head coach André Tourigny said. "I think he passes on two or three shots per night. I think at some point, he will understand with a shot like that, you don't pass on, you find a way to have more."

Saturday night more than proved that. And the victory came with some added significance for the defenseman who has moved into the top pair due to injuries. Kesselring grew up a Boston fan and even played hockey at Northeastern University.

If you would have told his younger self that he would have scored a game winner against the Bruins, well …

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie I got a little chills out there," he said. "It was a cool feeling."

Even better that he got to silence a large cohort of Boston fans that had filled Delta Center.

"Way too many black and gold jerseys in the stands," he said. "It's OK, Our crowd was loud when we won."

Kesselring's heroics came only after Vladislav Kolyachonok evened the score with 5:09 remaining — a goal that it felt like it was a long time coming.

First, there was Kesselring's near-miss in the second period. Then Kailer Yamamoto, playing in his first game this season, rebounded a miss shot and found the back of the net. The euphoria of that late equalizer, thouhg, was short lived. Boston challenged the play and the goal overturned after a review showed Utah was offsides.

"All those moments give us energy and we wanted to push even more," Kolyachonok said.

That push paid off when Kolyachonok got behind the defense and beat Swayman with a slick backhand to make things level

That set up yet another overtime for Utah, which has now played an extra session in four of its six games (the team has come out victorious in three of those).

"We're battling, we're in it," Tourigny said of the OT games. "I like that. The Bruins are a really good team, and we found a way to go get the big goal in the third and stay with it."

And the team celebrated accordingly.

Schaboozey — quickly turning into a victory anthem — blasted from the team's locker room as the team loudly cheered. Utah has now beat three of the Original Six teams in the first two weeks of the season. Not a bad way to start its first year.

As for Kesselring, well, he might have to filter through some texts to find the celebratory ones.

"I'm sure I got a few angry texts, but some congrats, too," he said. "So we'll see what happens."

With his winner, he likely made some old friends miffed on Saturday.

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