Cord Stroh and Denise Barraza like to celebrate their monthly anniversaries.
The engaged couple usually goes out to dinner for the occasion but, earlier this year, it fell on a Utah Hockey Club game night.
Stroh and Barraza are season-ticket holders so they decided to take their date to Delta Center. They dressed up to make the evening feel special. Barraza wore a dress and Stroh wore a sequined blazer that has become a familiar sight on the JumboTron for Utah fans.
“I always think her dress was so much better than my jacket, but the jacket caught everyone’s eyes,” Stroh said. “We actually did start to win a little bit more, thankfully. It became after that — we’ll wear it for wins.”
Stroh has an array of dance moves that accompany the shiny outfit when he is projected on the Delta Center screen. He will put his hand to his ear to get the crowd louder and wave his arms up in the air to get people on their feet, cheering for the guys on the ice.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans celebrate a goal as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Anaheim Ducks, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.
It has meant a lot to the team, too. Delta Center is guaranteed to be rocking on any given night and it has a trickle-down effect on the players.
“It’s awesome. It was an unbelievable crowd tonight. They were engaged,” said captain Clayton Keller after Monday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “They were super loud and supportive. It means the world to us and it motivates us even more to keep fighting and pushing.”
In the inaugural season — for an NHL franchise without an official name — fans have still found ways to create a Utah Hockey Club culture and in-game experience that feels unique to Salt Lake City. Stroh’s lucky suit has turned into a constant.
“To be part of something new and seeing so many fans, so many others also wearing similar jackets — I like it when the kids do it,” Stroh said. “It’s incredible to be able to make the crowd go crazy. I don’t want it ever to be about me, it’s about the team. I want them to hear us and be able to play better.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Clayton Keller (9) after tying the game against Chicago during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, February. 25, 2025. Utah won 2-1.
For the majority of their relationship, Stroh and Barraza were rooting for different NHL teams. Barraza is from Utah and lived in Las Vegas but the city got the Golden Knights after she moved. It was a Grizzlies game at Maverik Center that turned her into a fan of the sport, she said. Stroh, who is from Maryland, has followed hockey since he was six years old and grew up with the Washington Capitals. He moved to Utah around four years ago and said the state getting a professional team was “the perfect time to change fan bases.”
“We definitely bond a lot over hockey,” Stroh said. “You only get one inaugural season and I’m glad we are a part of it.”
When season-ticket sales opened for the Club, both Stroh and Barraza put in to reserve seats without coordinating. They laugh about it now. It was a season they, evidently, did not want to miss.
“Hockey has always been a big part of our relationship,” Barraza said. “It’s just kind of surreal. That first game against the Blackhawks we were here, the crowd was crazy and I feel like it’s cinematic.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Bear dances with the fans during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
Barraza sits and watches with a smile on her face as Stroh hypes up the audience each night. She has yet to join him in the theatrics, though.
“I’m definitely the more introverted one of this couple so it took me a little bit longer to get used to it than him obviously. Sometimes it just catches me off guard and I’m not ready for it,” Barraza. “It’s becoming easier.”
It seems there is no saying goodbye to the suit — or the attention — this season. Once Utah won with Stroh wearing his glittery get-up, there was no going back. With the consistent use, Barraza has figured out a way to wash the sequin jacket so it is ready to go for every game night at Delta Center.
The lucky outfit has worked so far for the Club; Utah has lost only one game in regulation on home ice in over a month amid the Western Conference playoff push.
“It is the same jacket. I wish it was a size bigger,” Stroh said. “I feel like it has become a must-wear. I’d like to not have to wear it every game. But I’m glad it makes people happy and gets the crowd going. I think it is going to stay.”
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