Guenther's first career hat trick helps Mammoth race past Islanders

ELMONT, NY — The Utah Mammoth began its road trip — and new year — with an exciting start in Thursday's matinee against the New York Islanders.

Despite a less-than-inspiring opening period from Utah, Dylan Guenther's first career hat trick and 4-point performance helped power the Mammoth to a 7-2 win over the Islanders.

The high-scoring game from Utah feature its top players making an impact in New York, including Nick Schmaltz netting two goals and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev recording 3 points on a goal and two assists.

Mammoth captain Clayton Keller also finished with 3 points on a goal and two assists, and Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton each recorded two assists.

New York opened up the contest aggressive, recording the first 10 shots on goal of the game. Each team recorded a penalty kill on the man advantage to keep the score at 0-0 after one.

Karel Vejmelka was sharp in his return from an upper-body injury that kept him out of the team's previous two games. Vejmelka saw plenty of shots early, recording 11 saves in the opening frame. He finished the game stopping 20 of the Islanders 22 shots.

In the opening seconds of the second period, Guenther ripped a goal past Islanders goaltender David Rittich to give Utah the lead; however, just minutes later, New York responded with Calum Ritchie's snap shot goal to tie the game. Ritchie's shot got by Vejmelka for his sixth goal of the season.

Shortly after evening the score, New York got on its second power play with an opportunity to take the lead. But another penalty kill from Utah prevented any further damage from the Islanders.

Lawson Crouse's no-look, backhand pass found a cutting Guenther, who netted his second goal of the period.

The Mammoth added another goal to their lead after a two-on-one opportunity for Utah gave Nick Schmaltz just enough space for him to sink a goal past David Rittich with Clayton Keller skating down the ice alongside Schmaltz.

New York gained some life after Alexander Kerfoot was called for a four-minute high-sticking penalty after his stick hit Ritchie underneath his visor. The Mammoth withstood the advantage as the period came to an end, but the Islanders still had just over a minute remaining on the power play.

A miscue by New York prematurely ended its man advantage with nine seconds left as the Mammoth successfully killed off the four-minute minor and jumped onto their own power play.

Utah then capitalized on special teams, with a Sergachev goal that bounced underneath the pads of Rittich and into the net, giving the Mammoth a commanding 4-1 lead. It would be the first of four goals scored in the period by Utah.

Minutes later, Keller got in on the scoring party as Utah scored yet another power play goal.

The goal from Keller chased Rittich out of the game following a 5-1 lead. Islanders head coach Patrick Roy had seen enough from his goaltender, replacing him with Marcus Hogberg.

Matthew Schaefer added a power play goal for New York as the No. 1 pick from the 2025 NHL entry draft scored his 10th of the season.

Guenther capped off his hat trick with his third goal of the afternoon and did so off another assist from Crouse. It was the first career hat trick for Guenther, with the three goals giving him 20 on the season.

Schmaltz added his second goal of the game, giving Utah its seventh of the game and capping off a strong performance from the team.

The Mammoth will look to keep its momentum rolling as they turn their attention to the New Jersey Devils for a matchup on Saturday afternoon.

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