SALT LAKE CITY — It was 47 degrees with a slight rain outside Delta Center one hour before puck drop before Game 4 on Monday.
It’s mid-April, and yet the weather perfectly encapsulates hockey weather. Playoff hockey weather? Maybe not so much.
Utah Mammoth fans have only had hockey for two seasons, but they’ve fit right at home for playoff hockey.
The buzz was palpable before Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
There’s a sense before a big game that the energy is about to burst. It felt that way watching the proceedings before Utah took to the ice for its first home playoff game.
“It was wild,” Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “It’s a constant buzz. (The fans) certainly showed up.”
Game 4 was slightly subdued, but it carried the “been here before” mentality after one game.
Mammoth fans have embraced playoff hockey. The crowd noise is loud for nearly every shift. The seats of Delta Center behind the nets are sloped in a way where it feels like the noise is on top of the ice.
“Right when we came out, it was electric in the building,” Utah defenseman Mackenzie Weegar said. “It was loud, and I saw the towels going, introducing the starting lineups, and felt it after that. The first five minutes give you goosebumps.”
That energy carried well from before the game.
Utah’s drum line, which later made its way through the concourse inside, put on a show as fans filed in. Those waiting in line took pictures standing between the Mammoth hockey puck adjacent to the Utah Jazz logo near the main entrance.
To the side, three kids wearing Mammoth sweaters played on a makeshift ball hockey rink. One ball flew out of the rink, only for a fan to kindly bring it back to them.
Delta Center is undergoing a second round of renovations when the Mammoth are done for the season. That includes the addition of a press box by the start of next season.
The lack of an official press seating means the Mammoth have tables scattered around the main concourse.
There are some cons — like being obstructed from the benches. You’re not going to know if a player goes down the tunnel because of an injury.
Those are only small details. Being in the middle of the crowd made it impossible to not get trapped in the energy.
The longer the Mammoth stay competitive, it won’t take long before Delta Center rivals other playoff atmospheres, including T-Mobile Arena.
“Vegas is a hell of a building,” Schmidt said. “It’s a loud building. It’s an intense building. These two buildings, tit-for-tat right now trying to go decibel level. It’s loud.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
