Yep, Salt Lake City is a hockey town. And it didn’t take long

A fan waves a rally towel during the third period of Game 3 of a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff series between the Utah Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 24, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News No living human has seen a herd of live mammoths, but those at the Delta Center last Friday night have a pretty good idea of what it would sound like. That was the night the Utah Mammoth, the NHL’s newest hockey team, played their first home playoff game.

As they’ve done for two seasons now, the fans showed up — so much, this time, that the players had a hard time hearing the coaches ‘ instructions. And that’s exactly how they like it. “Seriously, we had some confusion on the bench,” said head coach André Tourigny after the game.

“Guys didn’t know who was up — and, for people who know me, I can be pretty loud. ” “Hockey will never work in Utah. ” #TusksUp pic.

twitter. com/8fYHg8wPNQ — Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) April 25, 2026 That type of volume is commonplace for the established, big-market teams across North America, but Utah didn’t have an NHL team until two years ago, and they play in one of the smallest metro areas in the league. As unideal as the circumstances were that landed the team in Salt Lake City, it’s become obvious that Utah should have had NHL hockey long ago.