Rookies Final – Kings 3, Utah HC 4 – Jamsen, Greentree, Sturm

The LA Kings pushed back late in the third period to force overtime, though they ultimately fell by a 4-3 final score in Game 2 of the 2024 Rookie Faceoff against Utah Hockey Club on Saturday evening at Toyota Sports Performance Center.

The Kings opened the scoring just shy of five minutes into the game through forward Aatu Jamsen, who picked up the first goal of the tournament both for himself and the team. Off a faceoff won by forward Kaleb Lawrence, linemate Patrick Moynihan gained possession and got a backhanded shot on net, with Jamsen collecting the rebound from a dangerous area and burying it past Utah goaltender Reid Dyck.

Late in the first, Utah equalized at a goal apiece to send the game tied into the first intermission. Shortly after a power play expired for the visitors, forward Owen Allard fed winger Will Gavin in the slot, who made the most of his opportunity from a dangerous area and fired past Kings netminder Kolby Hay for the 1-1 scoreline.

Utah took its first lead of the game in the early stages of the second period, through forward Miko Matikka. After he nearly got on the board seconds earlier, hitting the post off the rush, Matikka got a second chance off a rebound, winning a battle in the low slot and putting his shot past Hay for his first goal of the tournament and a 2-1 advantage.

Midway through the second period, Hay exited the game, with goaltender Jackson Parsons entering in relief. Hay finished with 23 saves on 25 shots, including a spectacular glove save immediately before the change, in a solid showing.

Early in the third period, with the teams skating 4-on-4, the visitors doubled their advantage through forward Noel Nordh. With the Kings close to shorthanded, with a broken stick, Nordh worked his way to the back post and finished from close range for his first goal of the tournament, giving Utah a 3-1 lead.

The Kings stormed back to tie the game with two goals in just over a minute.

First, forward Liam Greentree picked up his first goal of the tournament from close range in front. Jamsen picked up the primary assist on the play, from behind the goal line, as he fed the puck in front where Greentree buried it from close range. Just over a minute from the final buzzer, forward Arvid Caderoth moved his way into the slot and scored the game-tying goal, forcing things into overtime.

In the extra session, the Kings got a penalty kill and Greentree had a good look at winning the game down the right wing, but ultimately it was Utah captain Cole Beaudoin won the game in overtime with a slap shot from the slot off the rush.

Hear from Greentree, Jamsen and Head Coach Marco Sturm following the game.

Liam Greentree
On the feeling of getting his first goal of the tournament
Yeah, I’ve been really trying to grind for one these past couple of games, so finally getting on the board is really nice. Especially in such a clutch moment is huge, so yeah, it’s a really good feeling.

On the resolve shown by the team to get that game into overtime
It was really nice to see. I think we didn’t give up, so that’s obviously good to see going into our next game. I think that was huge for our team.

On how the pace of these games has stacked up to what he experienced in the OHL
It’s a lot faster and a lot different, and obviously a lot tougher. I think for me, it’s just playing with confidence and speed is big for me and I think I’ve been doing that. It’s been a pretty easy transition, but there’s still a lot to work on.

On his involvement over the two games, getting to feature a lot of minutes in multiple situations
It’s really nice getting a lot of ice time and a lot of chances to play power play, PK and 5-on-5. It’s really nice to get those and see how it feels. I think that will be really good, especially going back to Windsor.

Aatu Jamsen
On the team finding a way to comeback late in the third period
Yeah, 3-1 down and four minutes left and we came back. So, that tell you something about this group, that there’s something. Unfortunately, that goal in the overtime [against], so a tough loss.

On his goal early and if that helped to bring him into the game
Yeah, obviously that’s my game, to make those goals and after that, I was myself.

On his involvement over the two games, getting to feature a lot of minutes in multiple situations
It’s fun to play in these games, I know what to expect now, it’s my third time here. It was a long break after the summer so to play these games and get stronger for the season.

On any changes he has to make to his game moving to the smaller rink in North America
I don’t know, maybe just get stronger. I like that smaller rink. It’s like, you have to make faster plays, you get easier scoring opportunities because it’s a smaller rink, but, yeah, just to get stronger.

Marco Sturm
On what he saw from the team, especially late in the game, to force overtime
It’s a little bit unfortunate, but that’s OT, right. We had a good chance, Greener had a really good chance, and hit the knob and goes the other way and it’s in the net. With these, it’s not about getting a point, but just getting the couple goals back there in the third and hopefully it feels better for the boys. They tried, they worked, but I thought Utah was just a little bit better too. They just were quicker, a little quicker, a little faster than us and they played a pretty good, solid game.

On Liam Greentree getting rewarded with a goal after another good game
Again, I liked him game one, I liked him today. It took a little bit, I would say, halfway through the game to get going, but this kid plays the right way. He has something, he wants the puck. He’s got to work a little bit on the finish too, but there’s a lot of good things in his game.

On Aatu Jamsen and the adjustment he faces coming over to North America
It’s definitely a change for him. He’s a guy who, I would say likes a little bit of freedom because of his skill. I mentioned that before and it’s probably going to take him a little bit of time too. Hopefully with playing with us, with good players, hopefully it will help him as well to get everything out of him. It’s definitely going to be a challenge right at the start.

On the performance of Angus Booth tonight and his usage in the game
He was really good, really good. I mean, I think the only one on the power play, he fumbled the puck, but other than that, he’s a really good skater. He trusts his skating, you can tell, he has a good gap, he moves well. So I like him, he’s been very good for us.

The Kings have a practice day tomorrow and are expected to hit the ice at 11:15 AM at Toyota Sports Performance Center.