Utah Hockey Club defeats Blackhawks in inaugural game

SALT LAKE CITY – Dylan Guenther scored twice, and the Utah Hockey Club defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 in their inaugural game at Delta Center on Tuesday.

Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist, Clayton Keller scored, and Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley each had two assists for Utah. Connor Ingram made 24 saves.

“What I did like is the maturity we showed during the game,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “Our leaders did a great job to make sure we stay level as much as possible. ... There were nerves and stuff like that, but I really liked the message on the bench.”

Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno scored, and Connor Bedard had two assists for the Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek made 20 saves.

"I didn't like our first period," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "I didn't think we kind of played the second half of the game, and especially the third [period]. But we adjusted a few things this week and we haven't had a lot of practice. It's no excuse, but we did it later in the game. We talked about some of those things early in the game plan, being disciplined and on our game plan. Unfortunately, we didn't get to it until we were down.

"I thought it was a great start to the second period and a really good third period. We [hit] a couple posts, a little bit unlucky on luck tonight, and their goalie played well, as did ours. But they got a few on us early and we were chasing it in that first period, so unfortunately when you start on the road [trailing] 3-0, it's a long climb."

It was the season opener for each team.

“It's huge,” Ingram said. “Any time you pick up two points, whether it's the first game of the year or the last game of the year, you're going to take it.”

Guenther scored the first goal in franchise history on a one-timer from just behind the right circle at 4:56 of the first period to give Utah a 1-0 lead.

“It's pretty cool,” Guenther said of scoring the first goal. “It's always nice to start off well, and for us to continue to build and try to make the playoffs, every game is important.”

Keller extended it to 2-0 at 13:35, scoring on a rebound off a shot from Schmaltz.

Hayton pushed it to 3-0 at 8:46 of the second period off a deflection of Mikhail Sergachev’s shot. The assist was Sergachev’s first point with Utah since being acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 29.

Teravainen cut it to 3-1 at 14:27 on a backhand in front off a centering pass from Bedard on the rush.

Foligno made it 3-2 at 4:48 of the third period, tipping in a shot from Alex Vlasic.

"They just got to their faster than we did in the first, and then honestly, I thought we took over," said Foligno, the Blackhawks captain. "The chances that we had ... they're going to get their opportunities, they're a skilled team, but I thought for the most part we carried the play and really deserved to equalize the game. So, that's the disappointing part. It's an area we need to address. We just need to make sure we start right."

Guenther extended it to 4-2 with 42 seconds remaining, scoring his second of the game into an empty net after recovering the rebound of Cooley’s long shot.

Lawson Crouse scored on a redirection at 19:38 for the 5-2 final.

“Every team wants to get off to a good start,” Keller said. “This is the best league in the world and you can't take nights off. So, it's great to get the win and now we turn the page and focus on the next game.”

NOTES: Keller became the first captain to score in a franchise's inaugural game since Kelly Buchberger did so for the Atlanta Thrashers on Oct. 2, 1999. … Utah became the eighth team in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to win in its inaugural game. The others were the Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Lightning, Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights.