The Colorado Avalanche and Utah Mammoth took part in a split-squad doubleheader, playing both at Magness Arena and Ball Arena. Delayed a few hours because of issues with getting out of Utah, the Mammoth pushed the games back a few hours, but the opening of the preseason began Sunday night. The Avalanche swept the doubleheader with ease, with some unexpected players making the scoresheet.

Game One at Magness Arena

Covered by Evan Liu

Tons of familiar faces made the trip down I-25, including Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin, and Captain Gabriel Landeskog. This game signaled the first preseason game for Landeskog since the 2021–22 season.

The Swede led the way and faces no restrictions as he expects his first full season since the aforementioned ‘21–22 season. He couldn’t help his team when they fell behind after one period of play, however. Michael Carcone finished his power play chance with Christian Humphreys in the box for interference.

Colorado would respond in the second, however. Three goals in 1:44 propelled them to the lead, two of them coming from Gavin Brindley. The third came from Danil Gushchin, with newcomers showing their potential in the squad. Makar also tallied multiple assists in the timeframe.

Isak Posch came into the game in the second period for starter Scott Wedgewood, and didn’t face his first shot on net until there were five minutes left in the frame. The Mammoth only had four shots in the period, while Colorado had 15 — including one more finding the twine from Tristen Nielsen.

There was a scare in the third when Makar took an elbow to the head from Samuel Lipkin. After being treated, he returned to the game for one shift, perhaps fueled by Landeskog’s later, dominating fight against Lipkin. He then left later on, along with others, once Nielsen added on a fifth in the closing minutes.

Colorado asserted its dominance in the second period and took control for the rest of the game. The Mammoth struggled understandably, just hours after traveling, sitting on a plane, and rushing to get ready. Getting into game action was always going to be tough for Utah. Hence, the Avalanche took the first game of the evening with lots to like, with a final of 5–1.

Game Two at Ball Arena

Covered by Brennan Vogt

The Mammoth had a little more time to prepare for game two of the day with a delay of an hour and a half. The Avalanche lineup came in with a little more weight and took advantage of the long travel day.

In the first period, the Avalanche had a lot of speed despite their size. Martin Necas worked the puck down the wing and forced the puck to the front of the net. Artturi Lehkonen forced the puck in to open the scoring for game two of the night.

Special teams played an important role during the middle frame. Lehkonen would head to the penalty box for a hooking call, but Utah jumped on the opportunity. Daniil But worked his way around Matt Stienburg and whipped a shot past Trent Miner to tie the game. A couple of minutes later, Colorado had just killed another penalty, and Necas stole the puck and took off. Necas snapped a shot in to give Colorado a 2–1 lead.

In the last frame of the night, Colorado played a defensive game. Kyle Keyser replaced Trent Miner in the crease, but saw little action. Zakhar Bardakov boarded Logan Cooley and paid for it later with a fight against Lawson Crouse. The Mammoth fighter would take on Stienburg later in the period with no problems. The Avalanche would walk away with a 3–2 win to sweep the day.


Standouts of the day had to be Gavin Brindley with his pair of goals and Tristen Nielsen. Martin Necas continued to climb the mountain, showing his improvement has not stopped with training camp. And of course Gabriel Landeskog, sticking up for his teammates with a fight of his own.

Up Next

The Avalanche will not play again until September 27 against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena. Puck drop will be at 5 p.m. MT and will only be broadcast on Altitude radio and Victory+ for the Stars.