The Colorado Avalanche had a little bit of everything Sunday night: debut goals, a steady preseason opener from their goaltenders, and enough offense in the last 40 minutes to turn a tight game into a comfortable 4-1 win over the Utah Mammoth at Ball Arena.
Beckett Hamilton and Taylor Makar both scored in their preseason NHL debuts, while Gavin Brindley and Brock Nelson added the other goals for Colorado. Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Brindley and T.J. Hughes each picked up an assist as the Avalanche found their rhythm after a quiet opening period.
Mackenzie Blackwood stopped all seven shots he saw before handing things over to Ilya Nabokov, who made 16 saves on 17 shots in his preseason NHL debut.
Colorado spent much of the first period controlling play without getting the payoff on the scoreboard. The breakthrough finally came at 8:54 of the second when Hamilton finished from the right side of the crease after Necas knocked down a pass from Mammoth defenseman Maveric Lamoureux and quickly turned the broken play into a chance.
Utah answered later in the period, tying the game at 15:27 on a goal from Yegor Borikov at the doorstep. That sent the teams into the second intermission even at 1-1.
The tie didn’t last long.
Brindley put Colorado back in front just 1:52 into the third period, finishing a two-on-one rush with Kadri. Utah then challenged the goal for offsides in a preseason move that backfired. The challenge failed, the Mammoth were hit with a delay of game penalty, and Colorado wasted no time cashing in.
Lehkonen set up Nelson in the high slot, and Nelson hammered home a one-timer at 2:27 to make it 3-1.
Makar finished things off late in the third. Brindley chipped the puck out of the neutral zone, springing Makar on a partial breakaway, and Makar buried it at 17:27 for Colorado’s fourth goal.
The night also gave Alan Roach plenty to call. The longtime Ball Arena public-address announcer was back behind the mic for the first time this season, and the Avalanche gave him plenty to work with once the offense got rolling.
Colorado’s next stop comes Monday night in Winnipeg, where it will face the Jets at 6 p.m. MT. The game can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio 950 AM.
In Other News...
Avalanche Fans Are About To See Ball Arena Change In A Big Way
Ball Arena is headed for a significant makeover, with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment unveiling a $135 million renovation plan for the downtown Denver building that houses the Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth. The project is designed to modernize the fan experience with an expanded East Atrium, wider concourses, new premium club spaces and technology upgrades, all part of a broader effort to reshape the surrounding property.
For Avalanche fans, the changes should gradually show up over the next few seasons rather than in one jarring overhaul, since the work is expected to be phased to limit disruption. Completion is targeted for the 2028-2029 seasons, setting up a future version of Ball Arena that looks and feels different from the one Avs fans have known, even if the details will arrive piece by piece. [Read more 🡒]