Hofer Stops 29 Shots as Blues Defeat Mammoth in Shootout

Hofer Stops 29 Shots as Blues Defeat Mammoth in Shootout

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Joel Hofer stopped 29 shots to help the St. Louis Blues defeat the Mammoth in a double shutout decided by a shootout, NHL.com reported.

The Tight Check

The visiting Mammoth slipped to 10-8-2 overall after dropping their fourth straight game. They previously fell 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Vincent Trocheck and Michael Carcone scored in the shootout for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka stopped everything sent his way through regulation and overtime, recording his second shutout of the season and the 10th of his NHL career.

“Really good game by, no doubt about it. That was good to have at his best,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said, as reported by NHL.com.

“I think on the back-to-back; obviously we wanted the two points. There are no moral victories in the NHL. But we lost in a shootout. We didn’t lose in a 3-on-3, we lost in a skills competition. We wanted the two points, I won’t lie, but I cannot be more proud of our guys.”

Connor McTavish appeared to break the scoreless tie at 14:35 of the second period for St. Louis. The Mammoth challenged the play for offside, and the referee overturned the goal after a video review.

Hofer Stops 29 Shots as Blues Defeat Mammoth in Shootout

Broberg Misses Early Overtime Chance During Shootout Win

St. Louis forward Philip Broberg nearly ended it early when he fired a wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 2:42 of overtime. A video review showed the puck squeaked under Vejmelka’s left arm before hitting the crossbar.

Neither team generated much on special teams. The Blues went 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Mammoth finished 0-for-4.

“I’m pretty happy with the way we played. I thought we played hard, defended really well,” Trocheck told NHL.com. “Obviously, it goes on to a shootout, but the way we responded on a back-to-back with the amount of injuries that we’ve had in the last couple days is definitely a positive.”

Hofer’s shutout performance tied him with Jacques Plante, Manny Legace, and Mike Liut for the ninth-most shutouts in Blues franchise history. Brian Elliott holds the franchise record with 25.

The Mammoth played without forward Nick Schmaltz, who remains day to day following a lower-body injury sustained Wednesday. Forward Logan Cooley also sat out due to an upper-body injury.

Forward Ben McCartney and defenseman Zac Jones each made their team debuts. McCartney played 7:42 in his first NHL game since November 6, 2021, with the Arizona Coyotes, while Jones logged 11:00 in his first appearance since April 17, 2025, with the New York Rangers.

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