SALT LAKE CITY – Ask any long-time hockey fan and they will tell you that rivalries arise in the playoffs.

But ask a few members of the Utah Hockey Club and they’ll already be referring to the team’s budding relationship with the Colorado Avalanche as a rivalry, even after just three games into the regular season.

“Yes, it is,” Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said when asked after the game if his team’s short history with Colorado constitutes a rivalry. “There is intensity, there is emotion on both sides.”

The game ended in a 4-1 win for Colorado, securing a 2-1 win in the matchup series in the three scheduled games this season. Despite falling behind in the win total against the Avalanche, Tourigny was pleased with his team’s performance against their avowed nemesis this season.

“We did pretty well against them this year if you look at the quality of their team this year,” Tourigny said, adding that Colorado is a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.

Utah forward Nick Schmaltz, who scored the hockey club’s only goal that night, also waived his term.

“Colorado is one of our closest teams, so it’s a fun rivalry game,” he said. “It’s a shame we couldn’t get the win.”

Friday’s story was already building before the puck dropped. Over 14,000 rally towels with the inscription “Let’s Go Utah” greeted the sold-out crowd in an upscale game atmosphere.

A survey of media sitting in press row revealed that the sound system had been turned up a notch or two. Apparently the noises from those present had also become a little louder.

After all, it was a hot ticket. At puck drop, SeatGeek showed a starting price of $133 for the cheapest ticket available – Section 131, Row 9, Seat 7.

For those who couldn’t make it to the Delta Center Friday night, they joined a national television audience on ESPN2. The hockey club’s social media team took to the social media platform

The stage was set. Was it a coincidence that an avalanche warning was issued just hours before the game?

As Tourigny later noted, the emotion was palpable on both sides of the ice and in the arena, drawing many fans in Colorado sweaters.

Just one example came late in the second period when Colorado superstar Nathan Mackinnon dropped the gloves on Utah’s Barrett Hayton. The donnybrook was Mackinnon’s first since 2022 and just the tenth duel he has had in 828 career games. The riot also marked Hayton’s first appearance in 244 appearances.

Trailing 1-0 at the time of the clash, Utah tied the game on Schmaltz’s goal 3:42 into the third period, but three unanswered goals by Colorado, including two empty-net goals, put the game out of reach.

Reflecting on the loss, emotion and energy were evident in Tourigny’s remarks.

“We get emotional very quickly during the game. The frustration gets under our skin easier,” he said. “We would like to always be at the same energy level as our fans. I think the effort is there, the love is there, we just have to find a way to be a little more calm.”

Rivalry games tend to evoke a lot of emotions. But did Friday night’s game find the unofficial technical definition of it?

Again, your long-time hockey-loving buddy probably wouldn’t say no until the teams face off in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But after completing its first year of regular season games with the Avalanche, the Utah Hockey Club would say that is the case. Call it a rivalry.

_Austin Facer contributes to KSL.com’s hockey coverage. He also hosts SLC Puck!, a twice-weekly podcast about the Utah hockey scene. You can subscribe to the SLC Puck YouTube channel here. Additionally, Facer co-hosts NashCast, the Utah Hockey Club’s alternative cast starring NHL comedian Tyson Nash, available exclusively on SEG+ or Utah HC+._