SALT LAKE CITY — Four games remain on the regular season schedule for the Utah Hockey Club but that's all that will be played as the team was eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday.
The final dagger came when the Minnesota Wild scored an overtime winner to defeat San Jose.
While failing to make the playoffs is disappointing, the club's inaugural season in Salt Lake City was far from a failure. The team has already bested last season's points total with four games remaining, and equaled the amount of wins.
Perhaps bigger than records or statistics, the Utah Hockey Club played in front of packed houses at Delta Center as fans showed how the NHL could be supported in the Beehive State.
With a new team nickname scheduled to be announced during the offseason, there's practically no concern that the excitement will die down heading into another year in Utah, one in which a playoff appearance should be expected.
The Utah Hockey Club will play it's final home game of the season on Thursday against Nashville before the team hits the road for the final three games of the schedule.
