The Utah Hockey Club’s home-ice advantage hasn’t materialized in its inaugural NHL season.
The team has won just six games at Delta Center, the lowest home victory total in the NHL. Utah’s recent 3-1 win over San Jose stands as their only home victory in January, with losses to Florida, Montreal and the New York Islanders following.
“I don’t know why we’ve been struggling at home in front of our fans that have showed a lot of support for us,” forward Nick Bjugstad said. “I feel for them. I just think we’ll find a way, but it’s going to take some digging and looking in the mirror.”
Utah has managed just three wins in their last 14 home games while fighting to stay in the Western Conference playoff race.
The team’s road performance tells a different story. Utah has collected 12 away victories, including a five-game winning streak in December.
Scoring remains the primary issue at Delta Center. The team has averaged 1.8 goals while allowing 3.0 per game over their last four home contests.
“Guys are trying,” forward Nick Schmaltz said. “Sometimes (the shots) go in. Sometimes they don’t. You’ve got to work through it, keep putting the work in on practice days and working on your finishing. It’ll come eventually. Once we see one go in, guys get a little more confident.”
Close Games at Home
One-goal decisions have become routine in Salt Lake City. Seven straight home games were decided by a single goal earlier this season.
Two games against San Jose highlight this trend. The Sharks defeated Utah in overtime on October 28 after scoring twice in 25 seconds late in regulation. Utah reversed their fortunes on January 13 when Barrett Hayton scored the winner with 1:23 remaining.
“It’s part of the growth, it’s part of who we want to become,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “We want to create that relationship with our fans. We want to win, we want to get in the race, climb in the standings and all those things. That comes with a ton of pressure internally and externally.”
Strong Fan Support
Utah has reported sellout crowds of 11,131 for every home game this season. The hockey configuration at Delta Center offers fewer full-view seats than NBA games (18,206) or concerts (13,898) due to partially obstructed views.
The team launched two community ticket programs in January, offering single-goal-view seats for up to 2,000 fans at $10 each per game. One program targets university students, with a college game night scheduled for March 20 against Buffalo.
These initiatives build on Utah’s September program providing 100 partial-view upper-bowl tickets per game at no cost to local nonprofits, schools, and community organizations.
