Utah Hockey Club’s Liam O’Brien Attends BYU-Utah Basketball Game
Mar 8, 2025, 8:55 PM | Updated: Mar 9, 2025, 1:14 pm
Utah Hockey Club center Liam O'Brien greets fans before the Utah Hockey Club’s first-ever regular season NHL game held against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – Utah Hockey Club forward Liam O’Brien was in attendance at Marriott Center on Saturday to watch the No. 23 BYU Cougars host the Utah Utes on senior night.
O’Brien may not have any dog in the fight but he was wearing both a BYU hat and a wristband.
Welcome to the Marriott Center @OfficialBigTuna 🤙 pic.twitter.com/lFV5KQXE9q
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 9, 2025
During a timeout in the second half, O’Brien made his way down to the court for an appearance on BYU TV.
“It’s unbelievable,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got to get that student section at Delta Center. The energy in here is unreal.”
Liam O’Brien describes the atmosphere at the Marriott Center for the BYU-Utah game:
“It’s unbelievable. We’ve got to get that student section at Delta Center.”pic.twitter.com/3HCMi4Irs6
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) March 9, 2025
Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien Becomes Instant Fan Favorite In Utah
It didn’t take long for Utah hockey fans to fall in love with O’Brien.
At the NHL Welcome Party in Delta Center, he made an introduction that won’t be soon forgotten by the people of Utah.
O’Brien introduced himself with his nickname “Spicy Tuna” and got a great reaction from the Salt Lake crowd.
I think Liam O’Brien is in the early lead for Utah’s favorite player.#NHL #NHLinUtah #SpicyTuna @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/20YfLcVwmn
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) April 25, 2024
In 24 games played with the Utah Hockey Club this season, O’Brien has recorded two assists. However, his presence isn’t typically felt in the stat sheet, just ask anyone who’s dropped the gloves with him. His 48 penalty box minutes is a better reflection of his role in the NHL.
Prior to the move to Utah, O’Brien spent three seasons as a member of the Arizona Coyotes.
O’Brien found his groove with the Yotes. He played 170 games across three seasons in Arizona compared to just 29 total games in the four seasons before that.
Known as an enforcer, O’Brien recorded 28 points over the past three seasons with 10 goals and 18 assists.
Cougars Close Out Season With Rivalry Home Game Against Utah
To close out the Big 12 basketball regular season, longtime rivals BYU and Utah will face off for the second time this year.
The Cougars have won seven in a row and hold the fourth spot in the conference. The Utes have one win in their last four games and are down at 11th.
BYU’s season has been more or less consistent while Utah has been on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Ironically, the Utes’ peak was back in mid-January when they snuck out a one-point overtime win over BYU at home.
Since that game, Utah has gone 5-8 and slowly fell down the Big 12 standings. Meanwhile, BYU has gone 11-2 in that same period and looks stronger with every game that passes. If the Utes want to pull off another rivalry upset, it will be much tougher the second time around.
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Mitch Harper is the BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
Follow the BYU Cougars with KSL Sports here.
