Utah Hockey Club takes to the ice for the first time with a preseason win in Iowa
Sunday’s game at the arena, home of the Iowa Wild, the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate team, was watched by 8,851 fans. When game announcer Andrew Downs asked who was rooting for which team, Blues fans were dominant, but Utah definitely had a sizable vocal following.
The fans cheered loudly at the start of the game as the stadium announcer welcomed “the visiting St. Louis Blues and the opening game in the history of the host, the Utah Hockey Club.”
After Utah forward Dylan Guenther scored the opening goal 8:05 into the third period on the power play, fans behind the St. Louis goal loudly chanted “Let’s Go Utah.”
“It’s always nice to get back into game action,” Guenther said. “We’ve had a couple of good practices. It’s exciting to see the team come together for training camp and it’s nice to have one game behind us and get started on the next one.”
Utah defenseman Robert Bortuzzo said the atmosphere was “very cool.”
“The rink was great, the attendance was great. I thought both teams fought really hard and then gave the fans a little shootout,” Bortuzzo said of the multi-round shootout the teams had after the game. “We’re glad they came out. Their support means a lot to all the teams in this league.”
Utah also sparked interest with its gear, with long lines of fans forming near Section 108 to purchase Utah and NHL merchandise, from hats to sweatshirts to T-shirts.
“We actually know one of the coaches (at Utah), so I follow him because of that connection,” said Brooke Vass of Lincoln, Nebraska, who bought a Utah T-shirt and sweatshirt. “We’re fans of the (Pittsburgh) Penguins, but I don’t have a Western Conference team yet. So, we’ll see.”
It’s been a busy but exciting time for the Utah Hockey Club. The premieres are piling up and they’ve all been fun. Now we’re playing in front of the home fans.
“It’s going to be pretty cool. When we’re done, we’ll be able to say we were the first team in Utah,” Guenther said. “It’s cool for us, cool for the players, cool for the fans, and it’s going to give hockey a boost in the state, too.”
