(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins center Tommy Novak (18) shoots the puck on net protected by Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Noel Acciari scored the go-ahead goal at the 8:03 mark of the third period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins past the Utah Mammoth 4-3 on Saturday night.
Acciari won a battle for the puck with Nick Schmaltz and scored on a close-range snap shot to help the Penguins complete a rally from an early two-goal deficit.
Stuart Skinner had 26 saves for Pittsburgh. Bryan Rust, Anthony Mantha and Thomas Novak also scored goals for the Penguins.
Dylan Guenther scored two unassisted goals in a 91-second span during the first period for Utah. Guenther, who leads the Mammoth with 33 goals, became only the second NHL player since the 2018-19 season to score two unassisted goals in less than two minutes.
Ian Cole completed the scoring for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 stops for the Mammoth.
Guenther threaded the puck around Skinner’s skate at the 5:06 mark of the first to get Utah on the board. Then he tapped the puck over the line amid traffic, scoring on a power play at the 6:37 mark of the first to put the Mammoth up 2-0.
Pittsburgh erased the deficit late in the second period. Mantha scored the Penguins’ first power-play goal with 5:12 left in the second. Novak then equalized on a wrist shot with 2:34 remaining in the period.
The Penguins took their first lead at the 1:24 mark of the third when Rust snapped the puck home for a second power-play goal.
Utah equalized on Cole’s 30-foot wrist shot at the 4:17 mark of the third.
Up next
Penguins: at Colorado on Monday night.
Mammoth: at Dallas on Monday night.
