Cooley scores three, Canadiens still win 5-4 after overtime

Highlights

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Three goals, one assist, four points from Logan Cooley — and Utah Mammoth still lost. The Montréal Canadiens took this clash at the Bell Centre 5-4 after overtime, Cole Caufield striking at 61:00 to erase a hat trick.

The first period alone delivered four goals and two five-minute penalties. Cooley needed ten minutes to score twice, Vincent Trocheck setting up the first at 2:00, Nick Schmaltz the second at 10:00, and the Mammoth led 2-0. Nick Suzuki pulled Montréal back at 16:00 with Juraj Slafkovský assisting, then the 18th minute exploded: Arber Xhekaj tied the game and, in that same minute, he and Liam O'Brien both drew five-minute penalties. The teams went to the first break level at 2-2.

Cooley completed his hat trick at 32:00, Schmaltz again the provider. Montréal kept coming — 35 shots to Utah's 20 — and Kirby Dach connected at 42:00 off Lane Hutson's puck movement. Nick Schmaltz put Utah ahead again at 48:00, courtesy of Dylan Guenther, before Adam Engstrom forced overtime at 55:00. The extra frame lasted barely a minute of game time: Caufield from Hutson, 5-4.

Cooley's night defies logic. A hat trick, a fourth point, three shots — and a minus-1 rating, plus a two-minute penalty at 35:00. Sebastian Cossa stopped 30 of the 35 he faced and still lost. Across the ice, Nick Suzuki finished at 1+2, Hutson stacked two more assists, Kirby Dach added a goal and an assist, and the visitors' edge on the power play — 3-for-5 against 1-for-4 — meant nothing for once.

A hat trick usually settles the argument. In Montreal tonight, it merely delayed it.