Yegor Sharangovich scored in the opening minute and goaltender Dustin Wolf posted his second shutout of the season as the host Calgary Flames claimed a 2-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Saturday.
Wolf stopped 28 shots to backstop the Flames to their second consecutive win to kick off a crucial four-game homestand and a stretch with 11 of 14 outings in Calgary.
Connor Zary also tallied.
Goalie Vitek Vanecek made 21 saves for the Mammoth, who had a two-game winning streak snapped in the final outing of a six-game road trip.
Utah forward Logan Cooley, who leads Utah with 14 goals and has added nine assists, did not play due to a lower-body injury after crashing into the net in Friday’s game vs. the Vancouver Canucks.
Sharangovich, who has struggled offensively this season, opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the clash. On Calgary’s first rush up ice, Nazem Kadri’s close-in chance was denied, but Sharangovich was in the right spot to bury the rebound for his fourth goal of the season.
From that point, it was on Wolf to hold down the fort. Wolf, a finalist for the league’s top rookie award last season, sparkled en route to recording his fifth career shutout. The Mammoth took a few minutes to find their form, but they had the momentum by the midway point of the opening frame and carried it until the game was out of reach.
Late in the first period, Wolf came up with highlight-reel saves on Jack McBain and J.J. Peterka late in the first period. He also denied Liam O’Brien’s opportunity from the doorstep late in the second period.
Utah pulled Vanecek with 2:35 remaining in regulation, but it was all for naught thanks to Zary’s empty-net goal at 17:44 of the final frame, his second goal in as many games and his fourth goal of the season.
It’s the first time Calgary has beaten Utah, having lost the four previous meetings.
–Field Level Media
