SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Stefan Noesen and Connor Brown each scored goals, Nico Hischier had two assists and the New Jersey Devils beat the Utah Mammoth 2-1 on Friday night.
Jacob Markstrom had 32 saves for New Jersey, which finished with 25 blocked shots. The Devils won for the third time in four games.
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New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) makes a stick save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Mammoth, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) protects the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
New Jersey Devils center Dawson Mercer (91) passes the puck past Utah Mammoth center Jack McBain (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen scores a goal past Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
Daniil But scored his first NHL goal and Karel Vejmelka had 20 saves for the Mammoth.
Noesen scored on a power play 4:20 into the third period to give the Devils their first lead of the game. Hischier’s slap shot was stopped by Vejmelka but Noesen tapped in the rebound. Luke Hughes also had an assist on the play for his 19th of the season.
The Devils fought off a frantic power play and an empty net — a 6-on-4 Utah advantage — over the final 1:21 to get the victory.
But scored 9:35 into the first period as he lifted a pass from Durzi over Markstrom’s left shoulder for a 1-0 lead
Brown tied it with 8:39 left in the second period, scoring off a nifty short pass from Hischier. Brown scored on his only shot and has goals in three of the last four games and nine on the season.
But is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-5 rookie forward and 2023 first-round pick from Russia playing in his 10th game for Utah this season.
Durzi extended his point streak to four, his longest in Utah.
Alexander Kerfoot played his first game for the Mammoth after missing the first 36 following offseason surgery.
Utah defenseman John Marino played in his 400th career game – the first time a 400-game veteran has skated for Utah.
Devils: Host Buffalo on Sunday.
Mammoth: Host Winnipeg on Sunday.
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/NHL
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) makes a stick save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Mammoth, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) protects the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
New Jersey Devils center Dawson Mercer (91) passes the puck past Utah Mammoth center Jack McBain (22) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
New Jersey Devils right wing Stefan Noesen scores a goal past Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — At midnight on Christmas Eve, the words of the traditional hymn “The Night of Christmas” will ring out in the tiny grotto in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born.
“On the night of Christmas, war is buried, On the night of Christmas, love is born,” a local choir sings each year during the midnight service. As they rehearsed ahead of this year's service, many choir members said the words echoed with deeper meaning following the ceasefire in Gaza.
“It reminds us that no matter the difficulties, the darkness, there is always a light and that hope is always alive,” said Joseph Hazboun, the conductor of the lay choir made up of local Catholics.
For the past two years, as the war in Gaza dragged on, Christmas in Bethlehem has been a somber affair, without the traditional festivities and decorations and music. But this year, families are flocking again to Manger Square, signaling hope about the fragile ceasefire and providing a much-needed economic boost to Bethlehem.
On a recent visit, Manger Square was crowded and buzzing with festive lights, a Christmas market, and music shows for children.
“You can see the town come alive again,” said Zoya Thalgia, a resident of Bethlehem. “Everyone’s happy, everyone’s coming out to celebrate, no matter religion, no matter their stance, everyone is here.”
Christmas and religious pilgrims have always been a prime economic engine for Bethlehem. Around 80% of the Muslim-majority city’s residents depend upon tourism-related businesses, according to the local government. During good times, their earnings ripple out to communities across the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967 that has long struggled with poverty.
But during the Gaza war, the unemployment rate in the city jumped from 14% to 65%, Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati said earlier this month. And in previous years, as an act of protest, some churches created Nativity scenes with Jesus as an infant surrounded by rubble and barbed wire.
Despite the ceasefire that began in October, tensions remain high across much of the West Bank.
Israel’s military has said it is cracking down on militants in the territory and carrying out frequent raids. Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank this year reached their highest level since the U.N. humanitarian office started collecting data in 2006.
Odette Al Sliby, a Bethlehem resident, has sung in choirs since she was seven years old, but she said few things compare to being able to sing in the grotto at the midnight Mass.
“It’s very holy, the place and the atmosphere and the songs and the words,” she said. Singing those songs is a message of hope, she said, and a reminder to Christians of the significance of endurance. “As Christians in the Holy Land, there is a big message of being here,” she said.
Christians account for less than 2% of the West Bank’s roughly 3 million residents, a presence that has been shrinking.
As poverty and unemployment have soared during the war, about 4,000 people have left Bethlehem in search of work, the mayor said. It’s part of a worrying trend for Christians, who are leaving the region in droves.
Across the Middle East, the Christian population has steadily declined as people have fled conflict and attacks.
Hazboun said he will pray this Christmas that the Christian population of Bethlehem and of other areas in the region important to Christianity don’t shrink any further.
The return of Christmas festivities across the West Bank, including a Christmas market in Ramallah thronged with visitors, is a much-needed break for local children, said Hazboun.
While Palestinians in the West Bank are still devastated by the images coming out of Gaza, lighting the community Christmas tree in Bethlehem's Manger Square for the first time in two years earlier this month provided a boost of much-needed holiday joy.
“We continue to pray for peace. This is the land of peace, it’s the land where the Prince of Peace was born, and we continue to pray and hope that one day we all will enjoy peace,” Hazboun said.
Palestinians pose for the pictures with performers in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinians watch performances in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Joseph Hazboun, left, leads the rehearsal of a choir in St. Catherine's Church in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinian vendors wait for clients in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
People pose for a picture in Manger Square in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
