Nate Schmidt scores twice to help Mammoth beat Kraken 6-3

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nate Schmidt scored two goals and assisted on two others to lead the Utah Mammoth to a 6-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

Lawson Crouse added a goal and two assists to help Utah win its third straight and for the sixth time in seven games. Kevin Stenlund, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton also scored for the Mammoth and Karel Vejmelka made 18 stops.

Jordan Eberle, Matty Beniers, and Chandler Stephenson scored goals for the Kraken, who lost their third straight and are 1-3-2 over their last six. Philipp Grubauer had 24 saves.

Schmidt snapped the puck past Ryker Evans' stick and Grubauer's glove with 5:30 left in the third after the Kraken had erased a two-goal deficit late in the second period to tie it at 3.

Eberle boosted his season tally to 17 goals only 69 seconds into the game, squeezing a backhand shot over Vejmelka’s shoulder to put Seattle up 1-0.

Utah equalized on a short-handed goal at the 2:47 of the first, just 11 seconds into a Kraken power play, when Stenlund tapped in the puck off a feed from Crouse.

The Mammoth took the lead 28 seconds into the second period on Schmidt’s long-distance shot. Schmaltz’s 18th goal of the season made it 3-1 for Utah at 4:31 of the second. He snapped the puck down the middle off a precise pass from Crouse.

Beniers pulled one back with 4:49 left in the second. He dug the puck out while battling two defenders and tapped in a two-foot wrist shot behind an out-of-position Vejmelka. Stephenson leveled the score on another close-range wrist shot with 2:17 to go in the second.

Kraken: host Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Mammoth: host Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

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