Olen Zellweger scored his first career overtime goal to give the host Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 comeback victory over the Utah Mammoth on Monday.
Jackson LaCombe and Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks, who snapped a three-game losing skid. Anaheim’s Alex Killorn logged two assists, and goaltender Lukas Dostal made 16 saves.
After Terry tied the clash with 4.1 seconds remaining in regulation, the Ducks rode the momentum to Zellweger’s winner. All three skaters on the ice were part of an odd-man rush that ended when Beckett Sennecke — the trailer on the play — slipped a pass to Zellweger at the side of the yawning net for the easy tally.
Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley scored for the Mammoth, who have just one victory in their past six outings (1-3-2). Goalie Karel Vejmelka stopped 23 shots.
Just as the Mammoth were poised to claim the win, Terry tied the clash with his first tally in nine games. During a wild scramble, Terry was on the spot for the loose puck in the Utah crease, forcing overtime.
It was a wild finish to a slow-starting clash between a pair of clubs loaded with young talent. The teams combined for a paltry three shots on goal through the first 12 minutes.
The hosts opened the scoring to breath life into the clash. Seconds after Dostal made a sparkling save on Guenther, LaCombe notched his first goal of the season by finishing off a give-and-go with Ryan Strome at 15:52 of the opening period.
Guenther relished a hint of revenge when he tied the clash at 18:14 of the second period with a rocket of a one-timer. He was set up by Nate Schmidt’s perfect cross-ice pass into the right circle.
Cooley broke the deadlock with his first goal in eight games. Cooley set up shop at the right faceoff dot and unloaded a one-timer that ricocheted off a defender’s knee and into the net at 9:19 of the third period.
Eight of Cooley’s nine goals this season have come on the road.
–Field Level Media
