New team lined up in the NHL championship, the Utah Hockey Club has made its debut in the North American professional league. On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the team which left Arizona (where it skated under the identity of “Coyotes”) for Salt Lake City during the summer, beat Chicago (5-2) at the Delta Center, the usual home of Utah Jazz basketball players in the NBA championship.
The enclosure will be renovated during the next two summer breaks in order to adapt it to the reality of ice hockey. From several thousand seats, it is currently not possible to have a view of the entire playing area.
Despite these disadvantages, the team coached by Quebecer André Tourigny, a technician who had notably managed Valais center Nico Hischier in the junior ranks in Halifax, was warmly welcomed by a crowd as dense as it was enthusiastic. “The reception from the public is fantastic,” said the man on the bench to our RDS colleague François Gagnon. Since day 1 of our adventure, we have felt supported. Desired.” A reality that contrasts with what the Coyotes’ daily life was like in Arizona, where they sweated in a university ice rink with 4,500 folding seats.
The Hockey Club (a provisional name until the start of the 2024-2025 season) took the energy from the crowd and transferred it to the ice, leading 2-0 after 14 minutes, 3-0 at mid-match. A significant margin that Chicago and its star player Connor Bedard (two assists) did not manage to fill despite a burst of pride.
History will remember that Utah’s first goal was scored by Alberta forward Dylan Guenther (21), first round pick of the Coyotes in 2021.
And she should forget that Bernese striker Philipp Kurashev (24) was also in action, in the Blackhawks uniform, when the lamp turned red.
NHL. Tuesday’s matches.
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