The wait to purchase the Utah Hockey Club’s official jersey finally ends Friday, just hours before the team hosts the Las Vegas Golden Knights in Salt Lake City.
Long lines are expected at the team store at Delta Center for the team’s first jersey drop, which was transferred from Phoenix on April 18. There are only a few player jerseys available including Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz. However, fans will be able to customize the blank jersey of the club playing their inaugural season.
Don’t be surprised if you see a few players wearing Utah backup goaltender Karel Weimerka’s No. 70 dotted around the stands at Friday’s game.
Weimelka, making his fourth start of the season, made a career-high 49 saves to lead Utah to a 4-1 victory over visiting Carolina on Wednesday. After earning No. 1 star honors in the game, he was serenaded with chants of “veg, veg, veg” as he circled the ice.
“It’s unreal,” the usually reserved Vejmelka said after giving a wild fist pump to the crowd. “This is definitely a memorable moment for me. This is an unforgettable night for me and everyone. This is a big game for us.”
Forward Nick Bjugstad, who scored his first two goals of the season on Wednesday, called Weimelka’s performance “unbelievable.” “We’re grateful to him. He had a great night.”
Utah had to crush the Hurricanes’ 11-minute power play, including a 5-on-3 portion, in the third period as Carolina had 18 shots on goal. Utah also blocked 26 shots in the contest, including six each by defensemen Ian Cole and Mikhail Sergachev.
“I hope we don’t get used to defending too much (on the penalty kill),” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “Veg was good and our guys were blocking shots. We defended the slot pretty well in our own zone.”
Vegas comes to Salt Lake City with a 3-2 win over Anaheim on Wednesday and leads the Pacific Division with 22 points. Pavel Dorofeev scored his team-high ninth goal early in the third period, which proved to be the winning goal.
Addin Hill started last time out against Carolina, allowing four goals on 21 shots, but has bounced back since then, repelling 22 of the Ducks’ 24 shots.
It was the Golden Knights’ second win in seven road games (2-3-2), bringing their record against Anaheim to 25-7-1, including 11-4-1 at Honda Center. Stretched.
The contest kicked off a November slate in which Las Vegas will play seven of its eight games on the road. It also began a four-day father’s trip for two Golden Knights games. Vegas improved to 10-0-1 in such games.
“It’s always fun,” Hill said. “In Father’s Trip, the record speaks for itself. It’s always great when you can find a way to get two points.”
After the game, a long line of fathers in jerseys greeted the players with high fives as they left the ice on their way to the locker room. The players’ fathers went whale watching in Newport Beach before Wednesday’s game, and the team was scheduled to spend Thursday at a ski resort in Park City, Utah, on a road trip.
“(The fathers) are happy,” Las Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Their team won, and they’re part of it. … This is the bonding aspect that a father and son go through. That’s what they got and I’m happy for them. ”
This will be the second of three meetings between the Golden Knights and Utah State this month. Vegas won the first game, played in Las Vegas on November 2, 4-3 on an overtime goal from Brett Howden.
–Field level media
