Michael Kesselring sat in the living room with his dad in 2013 watching the Boston Bruins play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The New Hampshire native’s favorite NHL team was down 4-1 in the third period before pulling off a four-goal comeback. Patrice Bergeron — a Bruin Kesselring looked up to as a kid — scored in overtime to seal the 5-4 win.
On Saturday at the Delta Center, Kesselring was the overtime hero against his childhood team.
Utah Hockey Club trailed the Bruins 1-0 in the third period before defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok tied things to force overtime.
Then came Kesselring.
The 24-year-old defenseman flashed out by the right circle to open ice and picked up a pass from Logan Cooley. Without hesitation, Kesselring snapped the puck home and secured the 2-1 win for Utah Hockey Club.
How times change.
“I’m not going to lie, I got a little chills out there. It was a cool feeling,” Kesselring said. “Obviously a little special against Boston, so that one felt good.”
Kesselring is a player who has been asked to step up in the absence of Sean Durzi, the defenseman who is out for the foreseeable future with an upper-body injury. Kesselring is skating on the first pair with Mikhail Sergachev and, evidently, is not taking the opportunity for granted.
Mikhail Sergachev, a defenseman for the Utah Hockey Club, speaks during an NHL news conference Friday, July 5, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
“I think at some point he will understand with a shot like that, you don’t pass on it,” head coach André Tourigny said. “You find a way to have more. He has a really good shot.”
Not only did the Hockey Club’s reconfigured blueline hold the Bruins to a single goal, but Utah’s D-corps scored two of its own for the first time this season.
“I think it shows team character,” Kolyachonok said. “We have lots of individuals on our team, lots of great players – everyone supports each other on the bench. That’s what helps us to get a win.”
Kolyachonok’s goal came at 14:51 of the third period to make it 1-1. The 23-year-old carried the puck into the zone, drove to the net and flipped to his backhand before roofing it past Jeremy Swayman. Nick Schmaltz’s assist on the play was his seventh in six games.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vladislav Kolyachonok (52), Utah Hockey Club, in NHL preseason action between the Utah Hockey Club and the Colorado Avalanche, at the Maverick Center, on Saturday Oct. 5, 2024.
It was a night of improbable heroes for Utah Hockey Club which displayed its depth against a hard-hitting, tight-checking and offensively-gifted Boston squad.
Cole Koepke opened the scoring and gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:49 of the second period. The forward dashed up the ice off the rush and snapped the puck from the right circle to beat Utah goaltender Connor Ingram.
It looked like Utah tied the game in the third period with a goal from Kailer Yamamoto who was skating in his debut with the team. The forward knocked in the rebound of Alex Kerfoot’s shot, but the play was ruled offside.
An overturned goal could’ve sparked frustration. Instead, Utah got back to work.
“I think that shows leadership,” Tourigny said. “Our young leaders do a really good job at staying with it and being a good example. ... If you want to win, you have to do those things.”
The production from Utah’s top six to start the season has been one of the team’s biggest strengths. The first two lines have combined for 36 points, including 15 of Utah’s total 22 goals, in six games. However, Saturday’s victory was fueled by tenacity, hard-nosed and opportunistic play of the bottom six.
Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse led the team in shots on goal with three each. The third and fourth lines pushed the pace of play, earned inside ice and created high-danger chances throughout the night.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club Matias Maccelli (63), in the inaugural game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Chicago Blackhawks, at the Delta Center, on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
With one minute remaining in the third, the game tied at 1-1, Tourigny turned to his fourth line of Maccelli, Yamamoto and Kevin Stenlund to take the ice.
“It just shows we had a great game and he trusts us. We just have to keep working up the trust and keep playing well,” Maccelli said. “The line was for sure the best it’s been in the last six games. I hope we can keep it going.”
Maccelli logged the secondary assist on Kesselring’s overtime tally and looked on from the left side as the puck soared past Swayman.
It was not a select few players or a specific top line that beat the Bruins. It was the entirety of Utah Hockey Club from Ingram out.
“Our four lines were rolling,” Tourigny said. “I think that’s a strength of our team.”
