Utah Mammoth goalie Sebastian Cossa attends Day 1 of the 2026 training camp at the Utah Mammoth Ice Center in Sandy on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026 (Laura Seitz, Deseret News).
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Following a closely contested matchup through 40 minutes of play, a collection of third period mistakes plagued the Utah Mammoth late in a 4-1 preseason loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
However, despite the loss, a handful of Utah’s young prospects made notable impressions as they seized an opportunity to play NHL minutes.
Through two competitive periods of play, the Mammoth and Avalanche were tied at a goal apiece.
While Colorado dominated most of the first, Utah finally found their groove in the second and appeared poised to make things interesting in the final frame.
But facing a superior Avalanche lineup, mistakes started to pile up which resulted in three third period goals for Colorado.
Tic-Tac-Toe ❌⭕️ pic.twitter.com/ay7lTQy1RA
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 21, 2026
Brock Nelson goal but we left in the entire Alan Roach goal call 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/RX51t9KkTH
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 21, 2026
Taylor Makar.
That’s it. That’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/U9aS2SYE8k
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 21, 2026
In a preseason setting, mistakes are bound to happen, especially when a roster full of prospects and AHL players faces some of the league’s best skaters.
Mistakes aside though, there were plenty of positives from Utah’s first preseason matchup.
Taking advantage of a golden opportunity to put on a Mammoth sweater, a collection of Utah’s young prospects rose to the occasion on Sunday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
Beginning between the pipes, 23-year-old netminder Sebastian Cossa looked fantastic in his first start for Utah.
Right from puck drop, No. 33 commanded the net with sound positioning, quick reflexes, the right reads and well-placed rebounds.
What exactly do I mean by that?
Rather than giving up juicy rebounds, Cossa did a great job at deflecting pucks into the boards in order to diffuse the pressure and give his team a chance to win back possession.
“[He did a] really good.” head coach Andre Tourigny said of Cossa. “They had a lot of traffic, passes through traffic and he found a way to see the puck and get a piece in front of it. It was a really good viewing.”
While Cossa’s night was ultimately cut short to give Michael Hrabal an opportunity to play in the third, Utah’s newly acquired backup finished the game with 11 saves on 12 shots against a formidable Avalanche lineup.
The fact that Cossa was nearly perfect against the likes of Brock Nelson, Martin Necas, Gabriel Landeskog and Nazeem Kadri should excite fans about his potential to effectively backup Karel Vejmelka this season.
In regard to Utah’s most recent top five pick, Caleb Desnoyers demonstrated why he was selected No. 4 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Offering a complete 200-foot performance, Desnoyers made all the right decisions, connected on the majority of his passes, forechecked, backchecked, won 66 percent of his faceoffs and played a very mature physical game.
On one particular shift in the third, No. 18’s IQ was on full display as he finished a check in the defensive zone and drew a penalty to give his team a man advantage.
Make the right plays and good things will happen.
As for the rest of the Mammoth’s youth, in addition to scoring Utah’s only goal of the night, Gabe Smith’s line was arguably the club’s best as they consistently asserted themselves on the forecheck, generated extended O-zone possessions and created a handful of other dangerous opportunities.
“I really liked the game of Borikov,” Tourigny said. “I think he played a solid game. Not just his goal, I think the way he controlled the puck and the pace he had in his game as a positive.”
“They (Gabe Smith’s line) had a hell of a game. In the third period they controlled the play. They were capable of holding on puck and playing fast as well with the puck, quick puck movement, good forecheck. There’s a lot to like in the third period about that line.”
Great work from the entire line to generate this goal.
Strong forecheck, great reload, underrated redirect by Smith, and an impressive effort by Borikov to put a greasy one away.
pic.twitter.com/wtFhRMIGm9— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 21, 2026
Despite the loss, Utah’s young skaters certainly showed out to open the preseason.
The Utah Mammoth will face the Los Angeles Kings in their second preseason matchup on Tuesday at 8 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on SEG+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Follow him on X. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.
