'I got a little goosebumps': Utah's Michael Kesselring beats hometown Boston Bruins in OT

SALT LAKE CITY – Michael Kesselring was a little upset.

The Utah Hockey Club defenseman had beaten Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman cleanly. His rocket from an odd-man rush flew past one of the game's best goalies; It just didn't find the end of the net.

However, most people didn't notice this part. The Delta Center (at least the non-Boston fans) erupted and columns of fog shot up.

There was just one problem: the puck hadn't actually crossed the line. Kesselring's shot bounced off the inside of the post and found its way through the goal area to safety.

“After that I was a little frustrated. You don’t often beat this goalkeeper without making a mistake,” he said of his near equalizer.

But the frustration would soon turn to celebration.

With 2:14 left in overtime, Kesselring took a pass from Logan Cooley and shot from about the same spot. This time there was no post in his way as he led Utah to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at the Delta Center on Saturday. Utah improved to 4-1-1 on the season.

“The most important thing with Kess is to make that shot,” said head coach André Tourigny. “I think he takes two or three shots a night. I think at some point he’ll understand that when you get a shot like that, you don’t just pass on it, you find a way to have more.”

Saturday evening more than proved that. And the win meant some added significance for the defender, who moved up to the top pairing due to injuries. Kesselring grew up a Boston fan and even played hockey at Northeastern University.

If you had told his younger self that he would have scored the winning goal against the Bruins, well…

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I got a little chills out there,” he said. “It was a cool feeling.”

Even better, he managed to silence a large group of Boston fans who had filled the Delta Center.

“Far too many black and gold jerseys in the stands,” he said. “It's okay. Our crowd was loud when we won.”

Kesselring's heroics didn't come until Vladislav Kolyachonok scored the equalizer with 5:09 left – a goal that seemed like it was a long time coming.

First there was Kesselring's near miss in the second third. Then Kailer Yamamoto, playing his first game this season, blocked a missed shot and found the net. However, the euphoria over the late equalizer only lasted for a short time. Boston called for the play and the goal was overturned after a review determined Utah was offside.

“All these moments give us energy and we wanted to push even harder,” said Kolyachonok.

That push paid off when Kolyachonok got behind the defense and beat Swayman with a deft backhand to equalize

This led to another overtime for Utah, which has now played an overtime session in four of its six games (three of which the team emerged victorious).

“We’re fighting, we’re in it,” Tourigny said of the OT games. “I like that. The Bruins are a really good team and we found a way to score the big goal in the third period and hang on.”

And the team celebrated accordingly.

Schaboozey – which quickly turned into a victory anthem – shot out of the team's locker room as the team cheered loudly. Utah has now beaten three of the Original Six teams in the first two weeks of the season. Not a bad start to the first year.

As for Kesselring, he may have to search through some texts to find the celebratory texts.

“I'm sure I got a few angry text messages, but also a few congratulations,” he said. “So we’ll see what happens.”

He may have upset some old friends with his winner on Saturday.