Utah fans create a playoff atmosphere as they beat the Canucks

And the players are grateful for this support.

A packed house at the Delta Center watched Utah come back from a two-goal deficit to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a thrilling overtime game on Wednesday. Mikhail Sergachev scored the winning goal with 11 seconds left in the extra frame, sending the home fans into an uproar.

“It’s great. This is an incredible crowd tonight. It gives us all goosebumps. That’s what you dream about,” captain Clayton Keller said of the fans’ support. “Playing in front of so many thousands of people and playing the game you love with your best friends. There’s no better feeling.”

Before the game, owner Ryan Smith gave away nearly 2,000 partially blocked tickets to fans for free. The NHL later said 11,131 people attended the game.

Although Utah still averages the fewest fans in the league, the crowds are much larger than what the former Arizona Coyotes were able to draw when they played on the campus of Arizona State University. This idiosyncratic situation was one of the reasons the NHL helped facilitate a trade to Smith, and the Coyotes’ former players and coaches are grateful for the support.

“That means a lot for the players. “You want to be supported, you want to feel like you belong,” head coach André Tourigny said of Smith’s ticket raffle. “The atmosphere and the reaction of the fans tonight from the first period to extra time tells me that wasn’t the case.” Got goosebumps. That was cool.