SALT LAKE CITY- Offense has been hard to come by between the Utah Hockey Club and Winnipeg Jets all night as both Connor Hellebuyck and Connor Ingram have been unstoppable in their respectable nets.
Utah’s attack took even more of a hit when their leading point-getter and goal-contributor Clayton Keller spent most of the second period in the locker room after taking a puck to the face in the first few minutes.
With less than five minutes remaining in the second, a bloody Clayton Keller returned to the Utah bench with fresh stitches, and despite his injury, he made a game-changing difference in his first shift back on the ice.
Clayton Keller led the Utah charge into the offensive zone on the far side, tossing a pass cross-ice to Nick Schmaltz just after crossing the blue line. Schmaltz received the pass and then surveyed the ice before dropping it off to Olli Maatta at the top of the zone.
Maatta unleashed a one-timer toward net. As Maatta was lining up his show, Clayton Keller was battling with Winnipeg’s Dylan DeMelo for positioning in front of the net. Keller won the battle and was able to tip the puck, redirecting it into the goal to put Utah up 1-0.
I don't know if Keller can even fully see straight with how swollen his eyebrow is and yet he put the puck in the back of the net.
Thats a hockey player. Utah has a real one wearing the "C." https://t.co/ig3dm5TNQA
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 21, 2025
The goal seemed to reinject life into the Utah bench as the team was visibly more engaged following Keller’s score. The momentum was very clearly now on the Hockey Club’s side and they used it to their advantage.
With less than 30 seconds to go until the second intermission, the Jets were in the offensive zone, seeking a late game-tying goal. The puck cycled around the zone and made its way back up to Dylan Samberg.
Samberg mishandled the puck, turning it over to Barrett Hayton who spun and delivered a perfect pass to Logan Cooley who was streaking through the neutral zone, creating a two-on-one break for Utah.
Cooley entered the zone with Nick Schmaltz on the other side of the ice. Logan telegraphed a pass the whole way, looking at his teammate the entire way toward net, until the very last second when he sent a wrist shot high past Hellebuyck’s glove side to give Utah a two-goal lead just before the intermission.
The kid is so beyond talented.
Hellebuyck knew he was beaten before the shot left the tape.
What a stretch from Cooley and Keller. https://t.co/dR1vhyt8sT
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 21, 2025
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka was sporting a new dinosaur-themed mask at morning skate on Monday ahead of the team’s matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
Karel Vejmelka has a new helmet inspired by Utah’s history of dinosaurs.
He also loved dinosaurs as a kid and is very pleased with how it turned out. pic.twitter.com/yK5xeU3O92
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 20, 2025
Now minding the net for the Utah Hockey Club after the team’s relocation from Arizona, Vejmelka drew inspiration for his new mask from Utah’s rich history of dinosaurs.
Known for its dinosaur fossils and other related discoveries, including Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, UT, the beehive state boasts an impressive number of dinosaur parks and museums.
With an appreciation for dinosaurs since he was a child, Vejmelka seized the opportunity to include them on his new mask.
“I heard all about the history of Utah and dinosaur fossils. I liked dinosaurs when I was child and played a lot with them,” Vejmelka said.
“It was a good inspiration for me and a good chance to do it here. I like it a lot. There’s a lot of detail on the mask with a big raptor on the top.”
The helmet also features a similar design to the Jurassic Park logo on the right side and “Utah Hockey Club” wrapped around the bottom in a similar font.
His number 70 can also be found on the front below the actual cage.