A hometown hat trick in the final second
Logan Cooley sealed a three-goal performance against the team from his hometown by batting the puck into the net from the left side with one second left in regulation, lifting the Utah Mammoth to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. The goal came moments after Ben Kindel had put Pittsburgh ahead with 25 seconds remaining.[S1][S2][S3][S4]
The tally was Cooley's sixth in four games and his seventh of the season. It marked his third career hat trick and made him the third player born in Pittsburgh to record one against the Penguins, following Brandon Saad and R.J. Umberger. Cooley had never scored in seven previous meetings with Pittsburgh.[S1]
Cooley's connection to the city runs deep: at age five he took part in Sidney Crosby's first Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey program. Thursday was his third NHL appearance in Pittsburgh. He opened the scoring with two goals in the first period to give Utah a 2-0 advantage, then completed the hat trick in the third.[S1]
Sergachev finishes it in overtime
Mikhail Sergachev ended the game at 3:27 of the extra period, converting a rebound in front of the net past Arturs Silovs. Sebastian Cossa made 31 saves for Utah, which has won three of its last five contests and is 5-0-0 following a loss and 8-0-0 when ahead after two periods.[S1]
Rickard Rakell scored short-handed and Erik Karlsson also found the net for Pittsburgh, while Silovs stopped 30 shots. The Penguins next travel to Montreal on Saturday night, and the Mammoth visit Philadelphia on Sunday.[S1]
