Nate Schmidt delivered a standout performance with two goals and two assists as the Utah Mammoth pulled away late to defeat the Seattle Kraken 6-3 on Saturday night.
Lawson Crouse contributed a goal and two assists to help Utah extend its hot stretch, winning its third straight game and sixth in the past seven. Kevin Stenlund, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton also scored, while Karel Vejmelka turned aside 18 shots.
Seattle got goals from Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers, and Chandler Stephenson, but dropped its third consecutive game and fell to 1-3-2 over its last six. Philipp Grubauer finished with 24 saves.
After the Kraken rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the game late in the second period, Schmidt broke the deadlock with 5:30 remaining in the third, snapping a shot past Grubauer’s glove after threading it by defender Ryker Evans.
Eberle opened the scoring just 69 seconds into the game, lifting a backhand over Vejmelka’s shoulder for his 17th goal of the season. Utah answered quickly with a short-handed tally at 2:47 of the first period when Stenlund finished off a feed from Crouse only 11 seconds into a Seattle power play.
The Mammoth grabbed the lead early in the second on Schmidt’s long-range shot, and Schmaltz made it 3-1 at 4:31 by snapping home his 18th of the season off another crisp pass from Crouse.
Beniers cut the deficit late in the second, muscling the puck free and tucking in a short wrist shot, and Stephenson tied it moments later with a close-range finish.
Utah, however, regained control in the third and pulled away to seal the victory.
Up next
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Kraken: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
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Mammoth: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
