Logan Cooley Hat Trick Stuns Penguins in Overtime

Logan Cooley completed a hat trick with one second left in regulation against his hometown team, and Mikhail Sergachev won it 3:27 into overtime as the Utah Mammoth stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins thought they had it. Ben Kindel put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 with 25 seconds to go, and the building was ready to celebrate. Then Cooley batted the puck in from the left side of the net with a second left to force overtime. ESPN Research says it was only the 10th game in NHL history, playoffs included, where teams traded go-ahead or tying goals in the final 30 seconds of regulation, and the first since April 7, 2015.

A Pittsburgh Kid Does It in Pittsburgh

This one has a great backstory. Cooley grew up in Pittsburgh, and at age 5 he took part in Sidney Crosby's first Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey program. Thursday was only his third NHL game in his hometown, and he had never scored against the Penguins in seven tries.

He made up for it fast. Cooley scored twice in the first period for a 2-0 Utah lead, then added the late equalizer for the third hat trick of his career. He is now the third Pittsburgh native to record a hat trick against the Penguins, joining Brandon Saad and R.J. Umberger.

• Cooley: 3 goals, now 6 goals in his last 4 games

• Season total: 7 goals

• Sebastian Cossa: 31 saves

How Overtime Played Out

Sergachev ended it by beating Arturs Silovs on a rebound in front. Silovs made 30 saves for Pittsburgh, and Rickard Rakell (short-handed) and Erik Karlsson also scored for the Penguins, who fell to 5-6-2. Utah improved to 9-5-0 and has won three of its last five, and the Mammoth are now 5-0-0 in games right after a loss.

This was an even game all night, with each team putting 34 shots on goal. Utah still led 2-1 heading into the third after Karlsson's second-period goal, but Rakell's short-handed tally tied it midway through the period and Kindel's goal with 25 seconds left looked like the winner. Cossa kept the Mammoth close enough for Cooley's tip-in, set up by Vincent Trocheck and Clayton Keller, to matter.

Next Up for Utah

The Mammoth visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. Pittsburgh is at Montreal on Saturday night.

Smacktok pick lean: we lean toward Cooley to score again Sunday in Philadelphia. Six goals in four games is not a fluke stretch, and he is clearly the guy Utah is looking for when it needs a goal.