The Utah Hockey Club beats the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening game

SALT LAKE CITY – The first game. The first goal. The first fight. Those moments led to another first for the Utah Hockey Club: the first win in franchise history, a 5-2 victory Tuesday night over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Although it took months to reach this point, Utah's introduction to the NHL was quick. It took Dylan Guenther less than five minutes to score the first goal in team history. Nearly 10 minutes later, Utah captain Clayton Keller scored a goal to give the club a 2-0 lead.

“That was pretty cool,” said Günther. “This building was special. That was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun playing in front of that crowd.”

Utah tripled its lead midway through the second period when coveted offseason signing Mikhail Sergachev fired Barrett Hayton to a 3-0 lead.

A three-goal lead in front of a dense crowd gave hope that at least the first game in the team's history would be a success. And it was – but it almost wasn’t.

“I think we were good right from the start once we kind of settled in and got back to our style of hockey and the right way to play,” Keller said. “We had a little lull in the third period, but (Connor Ingram) was great there and he calmed us down. It doesn’t matter how you get the victory, (the victory itself) that’s all that matters.”

Chicago's Teuvo Teravainen, returning to the team that drafted him in the offseason, made the breakthrough, cutting the lead to 3-1 with less than five minutes left in what was ultimately a fairly active second period.

Seconds after the goal, a scrum against the boards broke out, with Keller receiving a two-minute penalty for removing Connor Murphy's helmet, while Murphy and Utah defenseman Sean Durzi each received five minutes for fighting.

After Durzi and Murphy separated, cameras captured Durzi staring at Murphy, causing the Utah crowd to chant “Durzi!” Durzi! Durzi!” shouted.

That elation later turned to terror when Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno scored just 4:48 into the third period to cut the UHC lead to 3-2.

In doing so, Foligno gave Utah fans another first: the feeling of potentially watching their own team blow a three-goal lead at home on opening night.

The Utah crowd watched as reigning Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard attempted but failed to score a lacrosse-style “The Michigan” goal. With about nine minutes left, they watched as Bedard created isolation and opened up a direct chance. Then, with 7:54 left, they saw former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall outrun three Utah players and break away.

All of these tense moments were handled by Utah goaltender Ingram making a save each time.

Ingram finished the game with 24 saves while his teammates combined to block 23 shots in a game that once seemed to be on cruise control. The game ended with Guenther scoring his second goal off an empty net with 42 seconds left, while Lawson Crouse scored 10 seconds later for a 5-2 lead.

“We have to learn to win and finish games,” Ingram said. “It’s a good learning step for us. Of course there were a few chances, but that’s learning.”

The first win in team history crowned an active day. When the team skated for the first time in the morning, construction crews were still at work. As players left the ice, arena staff scurried around, taking care of everything from adding more monitors to other last-minute details.

Hours later, the team arrived at the Delta Center and walked the blue carpet surrounded by screaming fans.

Many fans filled the Delta Center wearing the Utah club's blue and white colors, while there were also a large number of Blackhawks fans. There were even a few fans wearing Arizona Coyotes jerseys.

Utah's Andre Tourigny, who also coached the Coyotes team, said there were a few things about Tuesday that will be remembered for years to come.

At the same time, however, he admitted that he couldn't wait to get back to the normalcy that comes with a regular season schedule.

“Today was special, there’s no doubt about that,” Tourigny said. “One day we will look back. I received text messages from about half the head coaches in the league today. That means something and that’s because it’s special.”