At times, it didn’t feel like the Utah Mammoth were going to win their game on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a game that Logan Cooley said felt like a playoff game, the Mammoth were outshot and outplayed in the final 40 minutes. However, through their determination, grit, and skill, they were able to force overtime and win it all in the extra period.
Key performances by multiple players throughout the lineup helped the Mammoth secure two points on Saturday. Here are some takeaways from the 5-4 overtime win.
A Big Debut for MacKenzie Weegar
When the Mammoth made the trade for MacKenzie Weegar on Wednesday, most people knew what the trade brought the team. A top-four defenseman who brings great two-way play and leadership to any team he’s on. Most expected Weegar to have a slight adjustment period, as most deadline acquisitions have. Most were surprised when the defenseman showed there was no adjustment time needed.
Right before puck drop, it was announced that Mikhail Sergachev would not play due to a lingering lower-body injury. Even though Weegar was going to play on the top pair regardless, the loss of Sergachev meant allocating more ice time throughout the blueline to make up for the monster amount of minutes the Russian defenseman usually plays.
Weegar stepped into the number one defenseman role easily, playing with Sean Durzi on the top pair. The defenseman played 23:21, which was the most out of any player on the Mammoth. He registered a shot on goal, three blocked shots, and an assist. Quite an impressive statline for his first game with the Mammoth.
Weegar credits his new team and their warm welcomes to help him feel comfortable on and off the ice. The defenseman got his visa early Saturday morning and caught a flight to Columbus before getting lunch and heading to the arena. There was no pregame nap or anything. His new team made sure Weegar felt comfortable, though, helping him play as well as he did.
“Everybody was welcoming me with open arms, everybody was working to get me here, getting my visa here early in the morning,” Weegar said. “It was some funny circumstances, getting here…I thought everybody just made me feel comfortable on the back end. The coaching staff and everybody just made me feel comfortable. That’s the most important thing with the tight group is feeling the culture, the identity of the team, and just letting me settle in a little bit.”
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The defenseman was deployed in some key moments as well. In overtime, Weegar stayed out for quite a bit, eventually getting off right before Logan Cooley scored the game-winning goal.
Head coach André Tourigny liked the way Weegar handled the puck, either moving it or blocking it. He only had positive things to say when asked about his newest player.
“He played really good,” Tourigny said. “I like the way he moved the puck. He blocked a few shots. He was strong in his battle. We’ll like him.”
The entire locker room had nothing but good things to say about him. Both Cooley and Karel Vejmelka spoke highly of his on-ice play but also mentioned how he’s a great guy off the ice and a great addition to the locker room. Weegar has already shown off why both of those guys mentioned his leadership. Throughout the game on Saturday, he was very vocal with the refs, especially when Barrett Hayton got a penalty late in the third despite Elvis Merzlinkins shoving the forward twice.
It was a very impressive debut for Weegar. He showed he is already one of the Mammoth’s top defensemen. The craziest part about the whole thing was that he fit in seamlessly despite not playing a hockey game in the past couple of days, not participating in any practice, and getting limited rest after catching a flight to Columbus the morning of the game. To Weegar, it was simply a fun experience.
“That was a lot of fun,” Weegar said. “The back end was great. It was awesome playing with Durzi and Schmidty at the end of the game. Watching those forwards and seeing the talent and the skill was lots of fun…All around, I’m having a blast. That was really fun.”
The Gordie Howe Hat Trick
It wasn’t just the top players who showed up on Saturday. A lot of the depth players on the Mammoth played big roles in the win. That includes Alex Kerfoot, who played his best game of the season on Saturday, registering a Gordie Howe hat trick.
It didn’t take long for the veteran forward to get on the scoresheet. Kerfoot sprung Kevin Stenlund, who slid the puck over to Michael Carcone, who snapped a shot home for the first goal of the game. Kerfoot got the assist for the first point of the game.
Early in the third period, Kerfoot struck again. Carcone found him with a pass in the offensive zone at the side of the net. Kerfoot flung the puck at the net, and it went in for his first goal since Dec. 21. It was also his 100th NHL goal.
Stenny puts us ahead! 😁
3-2, Utah. pic.twitter.com/wSzAc0GbS9
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 8, 2026
Later in the period, chaos broke out. A line scrum broke out, and Kerfoot ended up fighting Damon Severson. Kerfoot fared well in the fight, which is impressive considering it was his first fight. With the fight, the forward completed his first-ever Gordie Howe hat trick.
The game was only Kerfoot’s second in which he’s produced points this season. It’s been a challenging season for the forward as he’s suffered two key injuries that have limited him to 15 games. However, his leadership has been crucial as ever, and his play since he’s returned has been solid.
On a line with Stenlund and Carcone, Kerfoot and his linemates have been great two-way players. Stenlund is one of the best penalty killers, Kerfoot has been a great leader, and Carcone has been one of the best goal scorers on the team. It’s a line Tourigny is happy to have on his team.
“That line can do a lot,” Tourigny said. “They can be on top of you, and they have skill. Kerfy (Kerfoot) is a guy who can produce in that league. He’s not a fourth-line guy who cannot produce. He’s one of the best penalty killers in the league, and he can produce. He can make plays. The same thing for Carcs (Carcone) and Stenny (Stenlund). It’s good to have them on our side.”
Going back to Kerfoot, it’s great to see him get a rewarding performance. He’s worked hard to come back from multiple injuries. Kerfoot is a big part of the locker room. There’s no shadow of a doubt that everyone on the Mammoth were ecstatic to see him get the Gordie Howe hat trick, a feat that’s not easy to accomplish.
You’re as Cold as Ice
Speaking of players who have battled back from injury, Cooley had a monstrous game on Saturday. One that resulted in two goals, including the game-winner.
Cooley had a solid first period and a mediocre second period. When the Mammoth needed him most, though, he showed up. In the third period, Lawson Crouse sprung the forward, resulting in a breakaway. Cooley headed into the offensive zone, went forehand-backhand, and put the puck past Merzlinkins on his backhand for his 17th goal of the season.
What a beauty, Logan Cooley!!!
4-2, Utah. pic.twitter.com/ZkXkFRwqbn
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 8, 2026
It was in overtime where the young star really shone. Tourigny kept Cooley on the bench for the first couple of minutes in overtime to keep him rested and in hopes that the Blue Jackets’ defensemen would get tired. When Tourigny finally deployed Cooley, he looked energetic and ready to win the game.
Clayton Keller got the puck from John Marino and snaked around two Blue Jackets defenders to get to the front of the net. Cooley, on the other side of the net, was left unguarded at that point, and the puck was dished to him. He finished it off with a simple shot to win the game for the Mammoth, putting his finger to his mouth to silence the crowd right after he scored.
LOGAN COOLEY OT WINNER!!! pic.twitter.com/vyBqsage9i
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) March 8, 2026
Tourigny can be hard on Cooley. He did it in his first game back, and he did it again a little bit on Saturday. However, it’s because he knows how good Cooley can be and because he wants the forward to keep improving. Tourigny knows even though his young forward can create clutch moments like the one on Saturday, we haven’t even seen the very best of him yet.
“I like his compete (level),” Tourigny said. “I didn’t like his second period, to be totally honest, and the way you respond, that’s what you want. I’m not expecting any of our players to always play well or not make mistakes, but I expect them to show character when push comes to shove and to be able to bounce back. That’s exactly what he did when he did not have the second period he was hoping for, and we were hoping for, but the way he responded the third, that’s what you want.”
With the win, the Mammoth got their 34th win of the season. Maybe even more impressive, Vejmelka got his 30th win of the season. He is the first goaltender this season to reach that plateau. The win was also Vejmelka’s 100th career NHL win.
“I didn’t know that I was that close to 100 wins,” Vejmelka said. “That surprised me. It’s a great accomplishment. I’m really happy about it, and it’s kind of unique, for sure.”
The win has placed the Mammoth five points ahead of the Seattle Kraken for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. The team has successfully created a gap between them and other teams, something that could be crucial if the Mammoth hit a rough patch. Securing that first wild card spot is critical as well, so the team doesn’t play any of their opponents in the Central Division in the playoffs.
However, it’s been anything but rough for the Mammoth on this road trip. They are currently 3-0-0 heading towards the end of the five-game trip. Tourigny has a different mindset about the winning streak, seeing each game as an individual chapter in this season.
“We needed to respond after our game against Chicago, then Philly,” Tourigny said. “There’s a lot of destruction, trade deadline stuff. There is a lot of emotion there, and it’s a really important game. We did want to get some consistency, and then we got the win there, and we arrived here tonight to play against maybe the best team in the league since mid-January. We took that as a challenge, and we want to prove we can play those kinds of games.”
This was not an easy game. As Tourigny mentioned, the Blue Jackets have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL ever since they fired Dean Evason and hired Rick Bowness as their head coach. The Blue Jackets showed that they are a competitive team with their dominance in the second and third periods.
The crowd was super into it, too. Cooley mentioned how rowdy the crowd was. The physicality certainly played a part in it. Throughout the game, neither team went away. This game between two teams hungry for points had a playoff vibe to it, and while there are things to work on, the Mammoth proved they can win under that type of pressure.
“I felt like that third period was a bit of a playoff taste there with the physicality,” Weegar said. “The crowd was into it. That’s what it’s going to be like down the stretch with these games. I thought we did a great job closing it.”
Weegar is 100% right. A lot of these games are going to feel like hard-hitting, intense, playoff-like games. It’s going to be a hard couple of weeks for the Mammoth. However, the team showed they can win in that environment. Now, they’ll look to do it consistently.
The Mammoth will next play the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. The Blackhawks are 23-29-10 this season and are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. They will play the Dallas Stars on Sunday before Monday’s game. These two teams last met last week, where the Mammoth lost 4-0.
