Mammoth Players Enjoy First Home Playoff Game – Hockey Writers – Utah Mammoth

Two years ago today, former Arizona Coyotes players were flown up to Salt Lake City by new owner Ryan Smith to see their new home. When the players arrived, hundreds of fans, including countless children involved in youth hockey, were waiting for them, cheering and asking for autographs as the players and staff passed by.

At that time, the team was not yet called the Utah Mammoth. They didn’t even have a Utah Hockey Club name yet. However, the second they stepped off the plane, they really were Utah’s team, and they all knew it. Head coach André Tourigny was surprised as the kids asked him to sign, that’s when he knew they were going to be good.

“When we arrived, we passed by the Delta Center to go to the hotel on the bus, and there were about 500 people at 10:30 in the morning waiting to enter the Delta Center for our presentation which was at five or six at night,” said Tourigny. “We were like, whoa, okay. I think it was 3 p.m. or 2 p.m., we had a press conference. So Bill (Armstrong) and I and Chris Armstrong, we went from the hotel to the Delta Center, and there were thousands of people waiting to get into the Delta Center at that time. There was no hockey game. It was a player introduction. We were like, okay.”

Now, two years later, the team has done all the work to get past Game 82 and into the playoffs for the first time. Mammoth will host a playoff game at the Delta Center for the first time. With the way the fans have supported them over the past two years, since that day at the airport, everyone in the organization is eager to see how Utah performs in their first postseason home game.

Fans Support From Day One

Two years have passed since the team first came to Salt Lake City to introduce the players. Since then, fans have shown a lot. The first home game was sold out, packed with Utah fans. They went on to sell out every game since then.

The fans made individual players feel at home. Broccoli headwear has started to appear on the field, representing Karel Vejmelka and his nickname “Veggie.” You can be sure to hear that name chanted on the pitch every time the goalkeeper makes a save.

When MacKenzie Weegar was traded at the trade deadline, fans wore wigs to one of the first home games he appeared in, an act called “Wigs for Weegar.” It was to help him feel like Utah was his home right away. The defender scored his first goal with Mammoth in that game, something he says he will never forget.

When Clayton Keller’s father died, and Connor Ingram entered the NHL Player Assistance Program, in both cases, fans wrote letters of support for the players. In just two seasons, Mammoth fans have shown up in big ways.

Now, they’ve been rewarded with the biggest playoff in hockey: the playoffs. Playoff hockey is different. It’s physical, intense, and rewarding. There is a reason why teams play all 82 games. For playing in these games.

Mammoth fans saw it at viewing parties. A tweet between Logan Cooley and Nic Dowd. Dylan Guenther unleashes a stunning shot past Carter Hart for his first goal of the postseason. Cooley gets the game winner to give the Mammoth their first ever playoff win. Even five hours after he left, Mammoth’s fans freaked out during each of those moments. Now, they will get a chance to see it live, and the players are excited to see how the fans react.

🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/OlF0UmEnPL

— x – Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 22, 2026

“The crowd has been loud for the last few games,” said Kailer Yamamoto. “I’m just thinking about what it’s going to be like in the playoffs.”

It’s been a while since the Delta Center and Utah have seen any playoff action. The NBA’s Utah Jazz are in a rebuilding phase and have not won a season since the 2021-22 season, when they were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks. The last time they advanced past the first round was the year before, when there were still COVID-19 restrictions on attendance for the entire season and playoffs.

Anticipation for the Playoffs is high

To celebrate, Mammoth is starting the event early. On Friday afternoon, the team held a jersey exchange event where former Vegas Golden Knights fans could exchange a new Mammoth jersey. Hundreds of people showed up to do that. It’s not surprising. Before Utah had a team, the state property rights belonged to the Golden Knights, who held summer events in Salt Lake City to help grow the game.

Before game 3, there was also a plaza party that featured an outdoor hockey rink, shops, food, and the now famous Zammoth. There was also a helicopter just before the doors opened.

Utah is ready for the playoffs. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/uwuMZR1p1Q

– Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) April 24, 2026

The fans will be in full force, waving their rally towels with passion. Guenther is excited about the crowd and the excitement for the first playoff game, but he doesn’t want his team to change the way they’ve been playing.

“It’s exciting,” Guenther said. “I think you don’t want it to wear us down. We have to keep playing that way. You don’t want to change your game because you’re at home and you have your fans watching. I think it’s that easy game that you try to tire them out the whole game.”

As usual the families of the players will be there. However, they will be wearing special clothes. Wives and girlfriends will be sporting specially designed play jackets designed by Lawson Crouse’s wife, Claire, and Victoria Stark, head designer for Mammoth. The children of the players will also have their own jackets.

This is very good. It is always a wonderful tradition for wives and girlfriends. #TusksUp https://t.co/a7jb7oF3hY

– Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) April 24, 2026

It’s expected to be another sellout crowd for Mammoth in Game 3. As has happened the past 82 games. As in the past two seasons, the Mammoth players expect the crowd to get wild.

“I expect it to be very high, a lot of excitement in the building,” Cooley said. “A lot at the Delta Center. It’s been a long time since there’s been playoffs there. The hockey part too. We’ve been here two years now, and just the support of the city has been amazing since we’ve been here. Now we’ve given it back to them by being in the playoffs and playing something here.”

It’s not just the players who expect it to be the loudest Delta facility in a long time. The coaches are excited about the next two games, and being in front of what they call the best fans in the NHL. They are very excited about what it means for the state of Utah. It feels like yesterday they got off the plane from Arizona. Now, they’re playing for the Stanley Cup in front of a sellout crowd.

“It will be electric,” said Tourigny. “I think it will be a proud moment for all of us. When I say all, I mean the players, the coaches, but the management, the marketing team, the owner, the fans, everyone, we are all in this together, the whole state, and I think it will be a proud moment, no doubt about it.”

It has been two years in the making. Mammoth fans from all over the world were there for the team. Now, as they witness some of the biggest games in franchise history, they are happy to continue supporting the team, and the entire team couldn’t be more excited to have the Delta Center at their feet.