At Delta Center, ‘the love is there.’ But Utah Hockey Club wins are harder to find.

It was another packed crowd — this time, with rally towels — at Delta Center. And, for the third time in a week, the fans and their Utah Hockey Club went home winless.

Utah’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday capped off a three-game homestand in which the team collected one of the six points available.

The Club has won seven consecutive matchups on the road and was on a four-game win streak entering its extended stint at Delta Center, but could not find a way to replicate its road success on home ice.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Mikhail Sergachev said. “We’re coming into every game with the same approach to win and to play our best. At home it doesn’t show, on the road it shows. I don’t think we’re changing anything. I don’t know.”

Utah has lost eight of its last 10 games at Delta Center and has not won in regulation in front of its local audience since Nov. 13 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It is not because the team is putting up a bundle of poor performances, though.

Utah had Colorado within striking distance. It was tied 1-1 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. However, a lapse in coverage allowed Artturi Lehkonen to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead before they later scored two empty-net goals to secure the Central Division victory.

Lehkonen’s second of the night was ultimately the game-winner. The Avalanche dashed into the offensive zone off the rush and all five Utah players followed the puck on the right side, leaving Lehkonen wide open on the left doorstep. He knocked in the rebound of Valeri Nichushkin’s shot for the 2-1 advantage.

“It’s unfortunate because when you play against their top line you need to make sure you tune in,” head coach André Tourigny said. “Everybody on that sequence, it was not one guy.”

Utah pulled goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka — who was strong in his 33-save showing — with 2:20 on the clock for the extra skater but could not convert 6-on-5. Instead, Mikko Rantanen and Lehkonen scored on the empty net to bring the game to its final 4-1 scoreline.

Utah fans watched another close contest slip away. The Club blew a 4-1 lead against the Anaheim Ducks to open the homestand, fell by just a goal against the Dallas Stars and failed to find a timely equalizer against the Avalanche.

“I wish we could’ve scored a couple more for [the fans] and get them involved even more. It’s super fun playing here,” Nick Schmaltz said. “We’ve got to do a better job of trying to get some points at home.”

Schmaltz scored Utah’s lone goal of the night. With Rantanen sitting in the box for tripping, Schmaltz tied the game at 3:42. The forward was stationed in front of Colorado netminder MacKenzie Blackwood and deflected Sergachev’s shot from the high slot in for his sixth goal of the season. Half of Schmaltz’s goals this year have been on the man advantage.

Sergachev’s assist on the play was his 27th point of the year and came after he blocked a blast from the point by Valeri Nichushkin with his left leg with 10 seconds remaining in the second period. The defenseman was slow to make his way to the bench and did not put much weight on his leg. However, he entered the final frame and made a difference.

“Toughness,” Tourigny said. “We have those guys who have been there done that, won Stanley Cups. They know how hard it is and what is the price you have to pay to be in those kinds of games. That is gold for us.”

Sergachev and Schmaltz’s connection proved not enough to propel Utah past an Avalanche team it beat 4-1 at Ball Arena in Colorado two weeks ago. Schmaltz, too, could not pinpoint why Utah — despite keeping itself in high-compete games — cannot close out at Delta Center.

“I don’t think there’s a rhyme or reason to it. Might play a little different on the road — simplify a little bit more and try to take the crowd out of it,” Schmaltz said. “We’re putting some good efforts together, it just seems like we’re falling short at the end.”

Utah is now off on a four-game road trip during which it will face the Seattle Kraken, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and — once again — the Dallas Stars. Following The Club’s time away, it will have a seven-game homestand and a season-high nine total games at Delta Center in January.

If Utah is serious about making a playoff push, wins in Salt Lake City are going to have to become more frequent. The team knows that.

“We want to do too much. We get emotional really quickly in the game. The frustration is easier to get under our skin and stuff like that,” Tourigny said. “We would love to be at the level of the energy of our fans. The effort is there, the love is there. Now we need to find a way to stay a little bit more composed, more even-keeled and get the deal done.”