Utah Hockey Club first goal in franchise history, and it's totally bizarre

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Liam McCormick
September 22, 2024 (6:47 PM)

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The Utah Hockey Club scored their first goal in franchise history in a preseason game tonight, and it's got real strong Arizona Coyotes vibes.

The Utah Hockey Club were controlling the puck in the offensive zone with a delayed penalty, and the goalie pulled. Milos Keleman made a back pass to Dylan Gunther, but the puck just missed the stick and tricked all the way to the loneliest end of the rink. Utah's first goal in franchise history was on their own net.

What should've been a cool moment for the Utah Hockey Club will instead be remembered as one of the biggest bloopers in recent NHL history. Utah is probably thankful this happened in the preseason instead of their regular season opener, at least. It wasn't even in front of their new home crowd - this game was played at a neutral site in Des Moines, Iowa.

Shortly after, Michael Carcone did get the Utah Hockey Club on the board with a real goal, burying a 2 on 1 rush chance.

Fans, media, players, and the NHL at large have high expectations for the Utah Hockey Club this year and in the future. They've got tons of young talent accrued in the endless rebuild from the Coyotes, and now should have competent ownership that can invest in the team.

With a few good moves, Utah could be threatening for the playoffs this year or next year. It'd be a welcome sight for Utah to be a competitive team after the saga of the Arizona Coyotes, but it looks like the players needed to get a little Coyote-ness out of them in tonight's game first.