Utah Hockey Club center Liam O'Brien (38) skates onto the ice during player introductions in the team's inaugural game and season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 (Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News).
(Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – With three losses in a row for the Utah Hockey Club, the roster will look a little different against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night. As offensive struggles continue, the coaching staff has elected to change every single forward line and added Liam O’Brien into the lineup in place of Josh Doan.
Lines have been constantly changing for #UtahHC
Per Coach Tourigny, this is how the team will look tonight against San Jose.
Keller, Cooley, Guenther
Maccelli, Hayton, Schmaltz
Kerfoot, Bjugstad, Crouse
McBain, Stenlund, O’BrienSergachev & Kesselring
Cole & Lamoureux…— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 28, 2024
After nine appearances with the Utah Hockey Club, Josh Doan will sit for the first time this season as Liam O’Brien enters the lineup against San Jose.
Liam O’Brien will play tonight against the San Jose Sharks.
Josh Doan will be a healthy scratch.#UtahHC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 28, 2024
In those nine games, Doan has registered a goal and assist with an average of 13 minutes on ice per night.
As for O’Brien, this will mark his third appearance for the club this season. In the previous two, O’Brien has yet to register a point with an average of nearly 10 minutes on ice per game.
In response to the team’s offensive struggles, the coaching staff is implementing a new strategy as the forward lines will look significantly different against the Sharks.
Related: The Hat Trick: Utah Hockey Club Runs Out Of Time Against LA Kings For Third-Straight Loss
Keller, Cooley, Guenther
Maccelli, Hayton, Schmaltz
Kerfoot, Bjugstad, Crouse
McBain, Stenlund, O’Brien
Sergachev & Kesselring
Cole & Lamoureux
Kolyachonok & Bortuzzo
Ingram
Vejmelka
Clayton Keller will now play with Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther on the top line. Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz will drop to the second as Matias Maccelli jumps up from the third to join them. Alexander Kerfoot will be joined by Lawson Crouse and Nick Bjugstad on the third while the fourth line features Jack McBain, Kevin Stenlund and Liam O’Brien.
With very little working offensively the last few games, it’s no surprise that the coaches have elected to change things up.
Guenther hasn’t scored in five games but maybe alongside Keller he can get things going. As for the second line, adding Maccelli could kickstart his offense as he’s been relatively quiet this season, but most of that has had to do with the fact that he’s been playing on the bottom two lines.
Bjugstad, Crouse, and Kerfoot is a solid trio as Crouse and Bjugstad can create havoc near the crease while Kerfoot looks to facilitate. As for the fourth line, there’s a ton of physicality and size between the three which Utah has been in desperate need of as a collective unit.
The Utah Hockey Club will now return home to face the winless San Jose Sharks at Delta Center on Monday. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
