Here's Why Utah HC Cannot Be Underestimated

It's been an up and down month for the Utah Hockey Club, but when it was all said and done, they've put themselves in a position where no one thought they'd be after just 11 games.

Yes, a 5-4-2 record may be nothing to sneeze at, but when you consider two of those wins came against top-flight competition in the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins, it makes it that much more impressive.

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All five of those wins are defined by one thing: resilience.

With the exception of opening night against Chicago and Wednesday's domination of the Calgary Flames, Utah has been trailing at some point in every game, and in most situations, they've fought back to either tie or take the lead late.

The battle level this team has is unmatched this year, unlike what we've seen in previous seasons in Arizona, where distractions constantly surrounded the squad.

This is a team that just won't give up, and no matter what you deal them, they'll find a way to make it work.

Newfound depth, with the additions of Kailer Yamamoto (an unsung hero this season, off a tryout contract, no less) and the trade for Olli Maatta, among others, have been seamlessly incorporated into the roster and made this team more dangerous than it looks on paper.

Utah has also shown the ability to play an up-and-down game to outscore you (win over the Rangers) and a tight-checking game (win over Boston), and they're good at it.

Nonetheless, their youth and inexperience has clearly shown; examples include losses to New Jersey, Ottawa, Colorado, and Monday's meltdown against San Jose.

But each time, they've heeded the call of their coaching staff, and it's made a difference.

And yes, the fans have made a huge impact.

Every game has been sold-out, with obstructed seating adding more than 3,500 extra fans to the attendance (officially marked as 11,131), and nowhere was it felt more than the win over Boston on October 19, when 16,007 of them quite literally willed Utah to victory.

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So, here we are -- at 5-4-2, after one month, believe it or not, Utah is in a wild-card spot, and clearly, the win over Calgary was the team's way of exerting a pound of flesh (Andre Tourigny doesn't think of it like that, though).

It's a spot no one outside of the Beehive State expected the squad to be in, and with general manager Bill Armstrong warning of more playoff-pushing improvements to come, it probably won't be long before everyone else sees why Utah believes they can be a force down the stretch.

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