Utah Hockey Club extends winning streak on the road

San Jose, Calif. • Utah Hockey Club got precision and teamwork from its fourth line.

It got individual brilliance from its captain.

And, in the end, Utah got its sixth straight victory away from Delta Center.

“It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done, had a good third period. Growing as a team, it’s good to see,” said forward Michael Carcone who earned his third goal of the season in the 4-3 victory over the Sharks. “You’ve got to find some other ways to win sometimes — that’s what the best teams do and we’re putting ourselves in that conversation.”

Utah captain Clayton Keller patiently probed the defense for the game-winning, power-play goal with less than a minute left in regulation Saturday night.

But Utah HC also got contributions further down the roster to secure the two-game road trip sweep over the weekend.

In the third period, Alex Kerfoot defended his possession of the puck before popping it over to Kevin Stenlund in the right circle. The veteran forward patiently settled it and found Carcone open on the left doorstep for the knock-in goal.

The movement from Utah Hockey Club’s fourth line tied the game against the San Jose Sharks 3-3 and marked the trio’s 12th cumulative point in the last five games.

“It’s a line I trust and they’re really competitive,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Good for them to get rewarded.”

Carcone’s line has been an important part of Utah’s recent success in which it has won four of the last five contests. The team’s offensive depth has been on full display —Stenlund, for one, was on a four-game scoring streak ahead of Saturday against the Sharks and continued to drive play.

“I think we are just trying to work hard for each other, help each other out, support each other. Make simple plays. Just play hard and the puck will find our bounces,” Stenlund said. “It’s fun to get some results.”

Earlier in the season, when things started to slip within a game, Utah would let it snowball. The team recently got rid of the habit.

Despite a sloppier opening 40 minutes, Utah stuck together, did not get frustrated and put together a gritty final frame that secured a four-point weekend.

“I liked the way we played in the third,” Tourigny said. “When everything is sunshine and rainbows and everything is good, that’s one thing. But when you have adversity … the way we bounced back, that’s good stuff. That’s what you want to see from your team.”

Logan Cooley was one player who showed resilience throughout the night and finished the game with two assists; the 20-year-old logged four points in two games.

In the first period, Cooley carried the puck into the zone down the left side before swinging it to Dylan Guenther in the high slot. Guenther sniped it past San Jose goaltender Vitek Vanecek for the 1-0 lead at 7:27.

The Sharks found the equalizer at 14:58 of the opening frame with a goal off the rush from Alex Wennberg. Mikael Granlund gave San Jose a 2-1 advantage after Utah lost a defensive-zone faceoff and was unable to clear the puck.

Utah knotted the game 2-2 before the third period. The team had gone 0-for-3 on the power play before Nick Sturm was put in the box for hooking and gave Utah its fourth-man advantage of the night.

Cooley, once again, orchestrated a scoring play for his team. He got the puck below the goal line and looked for his options before pushing it up to a net-front Nick Schmaltz who one-timed it in for his fifth goal of the season at 18:52.

“We weren’t really down on ourselves. We were still confident that if we got that next one we were going to score,” Keller said of Utah waiting for the power play to click. “It’s good to see that from our group. We’re trending in the right direction on the power play.”

The Sharks responded with their own goal on the man advantage — from Fabian Zetterlund — to take an early third-period lead, but Carcone’s tally evened things 3-3 at 9:49.

Then came Keller with his third power-play goal in as many games, all of which were scored in dire moments of third periods. Captain Clutch, one might say. Keller slid the puck over from the right circle, selected his shot and ripped it home for the final 4-3 scoreline with 44 seconds on the clock.

Utah, in recent weeks, has found the consistency it had been searching for at the beginning of the season. It has heightened believability within the locker room and shown the resolve of a team battling through injuries with a tough December schedule.

Utah will not allow itself to get comfortable, though, and that’s a good thing.

“They always say you’re never as bad as you thought you were and you’re never as good as you think you are. I think that’s true,” Keller said. “We’re playing the right way right now and we’ve just got to keep it going and not get too high, not get too low.”