Utah Hockey Club forced its way back into the win column.
With three points from Alex Kerfoot, two each from Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino, five different goal-scorers and 27 saves from Karel Vejmelka, Utah took the Chicago Blackhawks down 5-2 Sunday at the United Center.
With the win, the Club surpassed its point total from last year in Arizona (77). The team now has 78 points with eight games remaining in the regular season. It is the most points the organization has earned since the rebuild started in the 2020-21 campaign.
“We created good traffic in front of their net and got some dirty goals — some deflections, we made it tough for their goalie,” head coach André Tourigny said. “You need all of your team to bounce back.”
There was a new — yet familiar — face from Utah as part of that effort. Nick DeSimone skated in his first game since Feb. 9; he was called upon after Olli Määttä (who suffered a lower-body injury Friday in Florida) went from a game-time decision to unavailable in Chicago. DeSimone slotted into Määttä’s spot on the third pair with Michael Kesselring and quickly made an impact.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Olli Maatta (2) looks to pass the puck during the first period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Following a scoreless first period — and one in which Utah spent four minutes on the penalty kill — the teams exploded for a cumulative five-goal middle frame. DeSimone got things started for the Club.
The 30-year-old picked up the puck from Kerfoot and ripped it from the left point with Nick Bjugstad and Kevin Stenlund screening in front. DeSimone’s shot beat Blackhawks’ netminder Arvid Soderblom for the 1-0 lead at 8:21 and marked his first goal with the team. He finished the afternoon with 17:02 of ice time, three shots, three blocks and two hits.
“A lot of flow. It was good to get some touches and get some good shifts,” DeSimone said in between periods. “[Kesselring] just skates so well that he makes things easy out there, creates a lot of space. I like to think that I can skate a bit too so I think it’s just a good match there.”
While DeSimone has been more of a seventh defenseman for Utah, he is simple and sturdy when plugged into the lineup. The Union College product — who was claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils in January — will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s in the last year of his $775,000 deal.
The final stretch of games may not mean a ton in terms of the seemingly out-of-reach playoff race, but players like DeSimone are fighting for a contract and these are the last performances to prove himself to general manager Bill Armstrong or other front offices around the league.
Armstrong extended Ian Cole (who played in his 900th NHL game on Sunday) to a one-year contract and Määttä to a three-year deal earlier this month. All six of Utah’s regular defensemen are locked in for at least next season and the organization has young D-men like Maveric Lamoureux and Artem Duda developing with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. Not to mention 2023 first-round pick Dmitriy Simashev who could come over from the KHL.
So, yes, it looks like Utah’s D-corps could be a bit crowded. But veteran depth and reliability like DeSimone cannot hurt a team — especially when it deals with injuries, as the Club has learned this season.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) looks to pass the puck as Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) assists during the third period of the NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.
Chicago responded to DeSimone’s tally with two consecutive goals. Joe Veleno’s slick move in the slot made it 1-1 at 11:02 before Ryan Donato gave his team a 2-1 advantage with a rebound wrist shot off the rush at 14:55.
“We got better as the game went on,” Utah’s Lawson Crouse said. “We demand a lot from ourselves, it wasn’t our best game early on. Obviously, we started playing a little bit more like our identity towards the end of the second and into the third.”
Sergachev proceeded to log two points in 31 seconds to put Utah ahead going into the third period. The defenseman tied the matchup 2-2 with a laser from the blueline at 16:37. Then, off a similar shot, Sergachev threw the puck in front where Kerfoot deflected it in for the 3-2 lift at 17:08. It was Kerfoot’s 11th goal and Sergachev’s 10th multi-point showing of the season.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kailer Yamamoto (56) Utah Hockey Club, in NHL preseason action between the Utah Hockey Club and the Colorado Avalanche, at the Maverick Center, on Saturday Oct. 5, 2024.
Kailer Yamamoto widened Utah’s lead in the final stanza with his first goal (and point) with the team. The forward was recalled from Tucson on Wednesday and has played in two games since then on the second line with Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton. Yamamoto’s one-timer put the Club up 4-2 before a snipe from Logan Cooley at 12:54 brought the contest to its final 5-2 score.
“Guys are great in the locker room,” Yamamoto said. “Being able to tuck that one in and see how happy everyone was for me — it was awesome.”
The Club now returns to Salt Lake City for its final five-game homestand of the regular season which starts Tuesday against the Calgary Flames.