Andre Tourigny was confident his team could lock in and still soak up the moment for their inaugural game against Chicago.
Dylan Guenther made sure the fans did, too.
Powered by his two-goal night, including the game-sealing empty net tally with under a minute left, the Utah Hockey Club (1-0-0) kicked off its inaugural campaign with a 5-2 nationally televised win over the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night at the Delta Center.
It did not come easy, however, as the ‘Hawks (0-1-0) shaved a 3-0 lead to just 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining in the third, but timely saves by Connor Ingram, including one on a breakaway by Taylor Hall, relieved the pressure just enough for Utah to put it away late.
“What I did like is the maturity we showed during the game,” Tourigny said. “There were a lot of emotions and wanting to deliver. Our leaders did a great job to make sure we stay level as much as possible.”
Captain Clayton Keller had a huge hand in it too, especially when he slotted home his first goal to illicit another massive eruption from the Delta Center crowd to make it 2-0.
“You just stay patient,” Keller said. “When you’re squeezing the stick too tight, that’s when things don’t go your way. You’ve just got to relax and trust your teammates.”
Utah also has the fans to thank for that; the sell-out crowd of 11,131 chanted “Let’s go, Utah” almost constantly, and created a wall of sound that soared past healthy hearing levels multiple times Tuesday.
“The first pre-season game was pretty crazy, but this was a whole other level,” Keller said. “We couldn’t be more excited to play in front of them for the rest of the year.”
More news from Tuesday’s historic win:
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Related: “Soak It All In”: Andre Tourigny On Tonight’s Historic Game
Related: “Just Going To Be Myself”: Clayton Keller On Tonight’s Historic Game
