Utah Mammoth fans buzzing about their first NHL playoff home game

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The NHL playoffs are headed to Utah for the first time and the state is buzzing with anticipation.

The puck drops on Friday for Game 3 in the first-round series between the Mammoth and the Vegas Golden Knights. Utah evened the series at 1-1 with a 3-2 win at Vegas on Tuesday night.

The debut of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Salt Lake City has caused a stir in town since tickets first went on sale. Gameday merchandise sales at the Mammoth team store inside the Delta Center, according to team officials, have increased by 18% since Utah clinched a playoff spot. Tickets for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Tuesday have been difficult to obtain, with all but a few seats already sold out.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Utah captain Clayton Keller said. “I think it’s going to blow past our expectations and I can’t wait for it. Everyone’s been talking about it — people I’ve met in the community — saying they can’t wait to come to the game.”

Prices for playoff tickets have surged well past the normal cost for a regular-season game.

According to tracking data from TickPick, the average price for a lower-bowl seat for Game 3 of the first-round series is $481 and the average price for an upper-bowl seat is $217. The overall average price is $266, which is 213% higher than the $85 average for Utah’s regular-season games.

The demand hasn’t lessened with increased prices. If anything, tickets are in scarce supply because fans are eager to be a part of it.

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” said Tyson Enniss, a Mammoth season-ticket holder and owner of a bar that hosts watch parties. “People are really energized about hockey. People come out for the games. They’re really into watch parties. The NBA is kind of fizzled out with what’s going on. I think hockey has kind of reenergized local sports fans.”

Enniss noted the cost of first-round home games represented a 30% increase for him over his regular-season ticket package, but he quickly opted in. Opt-in options for subsequent rounds are also available to Mammoth season-ticket holders should Utah advance.

“As I said to (owner Ryan Smith in March), what’s going to be great for the Mammoth is people are going to experience something different and even better than what they’ve been experiencing the last two years,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "There’s something special about our playoffs: the intensity, the excitement. As good as our regular season it is, and it’s terrific, the playoffs takes everything to the next level.”

For fans not attending in person, there are other ways for them to enjoy a community hockey experience.

SLC Puck!, a Mammoth hockey podcast, organizes watch parties for selected games. Their Game 1 watch party was at A Bar Named Sue — a Salt Lake County bar owned by Enniss — and it drew approximately 75 fans at puck drop. Monthly watch parties organized by SLC Puck! during the regular season averaged 50 fans for the full three hours.

Enniss said hosting watch parties offers a nice boost to his business. He estimated the Game 1 watch party increased his normal Sunday evening revenue by 30-40%.

“It’s a big deal,” Enniss said. “It’s helping out the local community. It’s really helping out the local economy on many levels other than just downtown on gameday.”

SLC Puck!’s next watch party will be held for Game 4 on Tuesday at Flanker — a downtown Salt Lake City sports bar. Watch party organizers hope to offer an option to fans who want to attend pregame festivities at the Delta Center but are unable to get a game ticket.

They expect a heavy turnout given the hype the Mammoth are generating.

“The buzz is getting louder every day,” said Austin Facer, host of the SLC Puck! podcast. “There’s definitely been an appetite for a really competitive sports team and a team that’s going to play games that have big implications in their sport. The Mammoth are just in a good position where they’re catching a lot of hunger.”

Hockey has surged in popularity in Utah with the Mammoth’s success. Minor league hockey teams were a fixture in the area for more than five decades. The Salt Lake Golden Eagles played in Utah from 1969 to 1994 and the Utah Grizzlies had stints in the AHL and then the ECHL from 1995 to 2026. But the Mammoth have elevated hockey from a niche sport.

For fans of those former minor league hockey teams, having an NHL team in the playoffs in their backyard is a dream come true.

“It gives me the chills,” said Codie Jones, whose grandfather played for the Golden Eagles. “It’s so cool to see the NHL come to Utah, but then to have them in their second season go to the playoffs is just huge. All of my family are hockey fans, so it’s a big deal for us and we’ll be watching and cheering them on.”

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jeremy Lauzon (5) battle for the puck during the third period in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Utah Mammoth defenseman Dmitri Simashev (26) checks Carolina Hurricanes left wing Bradly Nadeau, left, into the boards during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) and center Logan Cooley (92) celebrate after Cooley's goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in Game 2 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) skates with the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (AP) — Officers with bomb-sniffing dogs circled cars and searched bags of tourists filing into historic pyramids outside of Mexico City on Wednesday just days after a man opened fire on tourists.

The heightened surveillance was part of a promise by Mexican authorities following the tragedy to beef up security at touristic and archaeological sites across Mexico, less than two months before the country hosts the FIFA World Cup jointly with United States and Canada.

The Monday shooting, carried out by a lone gunman on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids — a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of Mexico's most frequented tourist attractions — killed one Canadian tourist and injured a dozen more.

It also set off a flurry of questions the next morning by reporters to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about what security protocols her government was taking ahead of the sports competition.

About an hour from Mexico City, Teotihuacan was slated to be a key site for visitors during the festivities. Just days before the shooting, local lawmakers even pushed forward an initiative to revive a nighttime interactive light show projected on the pyramids for World Cup visitors, which was previous suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The unexpected act of violence came as Sheinbaum's government has gone to great lengths to project an image of safety ahead of the soccer competition, following a surge of cartel violence February in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.

"Events like this only further magnify the negative images that Mexico has on security issues, undermining the narrative that President Sheinbaum is trying to build that Mexico is a safe country," said Mexican security analyst David Saucedo.

Mexico’s government has sought to turn the page on the attack and reopened the pyramids on Wednesday after closing them temporarily.

That morning, tourists were already climbing up the pyramid still stained by blood to take selfies.

Among those filing into the archaeological site was 76-year-old physician Mark Diamond, who said he was saddened to see the bloodshed but that he wasn't dissuaded in seeing a site he had long hoped to visit. He noted bluntly: “I'm from Baltimore, Maryland. I'm not concerned.”

“It's presumably a deranged individual and it can happen anywhere,” he said. “In the United States, we have plenty of shootings, unfortunately.”

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the archaeological site lacked security filters to prevent the attack in part, she said, because the shooting “was an isolated incident" that hasn't occurred before in such a public space.

While Mexico suffers from cartel violence, especially in strategic and rural areas, mass shootings in public spaces are rare in Mexico compared with the U.S., where it is much easier to legally obtain a gun.

She noted that the shooter appeared to be motivated by “outside influences," particularly the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado.

“Our obligation as a government is to take the appropriate measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. But clearly, we all know — Mexicans know — that this is something that had not previously taken place,” Sheinbaum said Tuesday morning.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, the face of the government's crackdown on cartels, said on Tuesday that security forces had been ordered to “immediately strengthen security" at archaeological sites and major tourist destinations across the country.

He said the government will increase the presence of Mexican National Guard, boost security checks at key sites and fortify surveillance systems to “identify and prevent any threats” against citizens and visitors.

The announcement was an effort by Mexican authorities to assuage ongoing concerns about violence in Mexico ahead of the tournament.

Sheinbaum's government has touted security successes under her leadership. Homicides have dipped sharply since she taken office to the lowest levels in a decade, government figures show. The government has also taken out a number of top capos and highlighted a dip in fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border.

But they have hit hurdles in recent months, namely a burst a violence in Guadalajara in February, triggered by the killing of Mexico’s most powerful cartel boss. The bloodshed was met with a wave of concern by people in and outside of Mexico. Sheinbaum vowed there would be “no risk” for fans coming to the tournament and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had “full confidence” in Mexico as a host country. Sheinbaum later met with FIFA representatives to assess security for the World Cup matches to be played in Mexico.

Mexico’s government doubled down on security measures, which include deploying 100,000 security forces across the country, particularly concentrated in the country’s three host cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Officials said it would deploy more than 2,000 military vehicles, as well as dozens of air crafts and drones, and establish security perimeters around areas like stadiums and airports in key cities.

"As you can see, we are very prepared for the World Cup," Sheinbaum said in early March.

Despite the rare nature of the Monday shooting at the pyramids, the extreme act of violence reignited scrutiny by some about the government's capacity to prevent violence during the soccer tournament, and once again boosted pressures on the government.

FIFA was approached for comment about the pyramid shooting, but the soccer body typically does not address security issues and incidents that happen away from tournament venues.

Saucedo, the security analyst, said that pressures to concentrate security in host cities and tourist areas like Teotihuacan may come at the expense of other more crime-torn areas in greater need of police and military. He said the shooting was sign that “public safety agencies are overwhelmed.”

Others like Maria de Jesús Román, who traveled to see the pyramids from Guadalajara, said while the shooting “might change the perception of tourists that come to the World Cup" she said she feels safe.

“There's a lot of security, this is the safest place you could go in Mexico right now,” she said.

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Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press photojournalist Eduardo Verdugo contributed to this report from San Juan Teotihuacán.

Forensic workers carry the body of a victim down a pyramid after authorities said a gunman opened fire, in Teotihuacan, Mexico, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

National Guard troops patrol the Teotihuacan pyramids, which remained closed a day after a gunman opened fire on tourists at the archaeological site outside Mexico City, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)