(0:00) First Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday on the SVI Radio Network. (0:04) Local branch locations in Alpine, Afton, Kemmer, and Mountain View. (0:08) Find them online at gofirstbank.com, division of Glacier Bank.

(0:13) Duke and Dahl here with you, and joining us over the phone this morning (0:15) is the radio play-by-play announcer for the Utah Mammoth, that’s Mike Folta. (0:21) Mike, thank you so much for joining us. (0:23) It’s the first time we’ve had you on the air with us, (0:25) so let’s give you a chance to introduce yourself.

(0:27) Let us know how you got into hockey announcing for radio. (0:30) What led you to take over the Mammoth job? (0:33) Well, thanks for having me, Duke and Dahl. (0:35) This could be just what we need to turn this series around, (0:39) this connection right here.

(0:41) Mammoth heading into Game 6 tonight, Friday night, down 3-2, (0:46) trying to come back in the series. (0:48) But it’s been a really cool experience for me in the postseason, Duke, (0:53) just because I’ve never been in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs before (0:58) as a broadcaster. (0:59) I came up through the minor leagues.

(1:01) I went to Purdue, a college in Indiana, and I got into broadcasting at Purdue (1:08) and even a little before, and then got into hockey broadcasting (1:11) right after college, bounced around the minor leagues. (1:14) Like the players, I got called up, if you will, (1:17) when the team moved to Salt Lake City. (1:19) So grateful for the opportunity, (1:22) and we’re all experiencing this for the first time in Utah, (1:26) and it’s been a ton of fun to do so along with our great Mammoth community.

(1:32) It’s been a really cool opportunity to see this franchise grow (1:38) and kind of flourish in the couple years that it’s been in Utah, Mike. (1:43) But as you look at this run right now, the postseason, (1:46) obviously the last couple games, real heartbreakers. (1:48) What were some of the things that you took away from Game 5? (1:52) Because that was obviously a roller coaster.

(1:56) Yeah, I think takeaways from Games 5 and 4 is that this Mammoth team (2:02) is right there. (2:03) Vegas is a group that’s been to the Stanley Cup before a few years ago. (2:08) They won the whole thing in 2023.

(2:10) They’ve got some more experienced players. (2:12) They’re a very talented team, and the Mammoths are kind of going through this (2:16) as a group for the first time. (2:18) And we’ve seen Utah basically – guys, think about it.

(2:23) We’re a couple plays away from Utah winning this series already. (2:27) If they would have been able to pull out Game 4 at home and overtime (2:30) and then Game 5, they’d be sitting around waiting for the winner (2:34) of Anaheim and Edmonton. (2:36) So this team is right there, and I think back to Game 4 (2:39) when the Mammoths erased a three-goal deficit (2:43) and led the game in the third period.

(2:45) Guys, they’ve led every game in this series in the third period at one point. (2:51) So they’re clearly good enough to do it. (2:53) It’s just a matter of can you make the right plays at the right times, (2:58) and this series has been so close that it just comes down to whoever (3:01) can avoid that one extra mistake or make that one extra incredible play.

(3:07) You know, Mike, like a lot of hockey fans around the Rocky Mountain region (3:12) right now, we’re pretty new to the sport as fans, (3:15) and thanks to the Mammoth for drawing us into it. (3:18) But as we go through this kind of postseason experience with the Mammoth (3:23) and figure out what this is all about, you get into this stage of a series, (3:27) Game 6, obviously an elimination game for Utah. (3:30) They’ve got to win this one.

(3:32) There’s no hidden secrets, right, at this point between these two teams? (3:36) I mean, they kind of know what the other team’s going to do. (3:38) The Knights know that the Mammoth route the speed and vice versa, (3:43) so what do you clean up or what do you do if you’re the Mammoth (3:47) to try and get the victory instead of letting it slip by at this point? (3:52) I think that’s a great point because at this point, as you said, (3:55) there’s no secrets, right? (3:57) There weren’t really any secrets to start the series, (4:00) but now you’ve seen each other four or five times, (4:04) and you know tendencies. (4:05) There’s a couple of tweaks and adjustments to be made, (4:08) but there’s nothing you’re going to see that’s going to surprise you (4:12) on either side.

(4:14) It kind of reminds me of, you know, you watch Braveheart (4:17) or you watch, I don’t know, Chronicles of Narnia, Game of Thrones, (4:21) one of these movies where you have these giant medieval armies lined up (4:26) on either side that just run into each other, right? (4:30) Who can just be a little bit better and take out a few more of them (4:36) than they can take out of you? (4:37) It really just comes down to those one or two plays throughout a game, (4:43) and there’s a few things you can point to from the Mammoth (4:46) where they’d like to be better. (4:47) I think special team is an area where Utah’s going to have to be (4:51) a little bit better. (4:53) They’re only one for 14 on the power play in this series, (4:56) and I don’t think you can win a six or seven game series (5:01) with just one power play goal, (5:03) whereas Vegas, they’ve scored three power play goals (5:06) and they’ve scored a couple of shorthanded goals (5:09) while they’re on the penalty kill as well.

(5:11) So special teams has been an advantage for the Golden Knights (5:14) in this series, even though Utah’s been the better five-on-five team. (5:20) The special team power play and penalty kill can oftentimes (5:23) put one side over the edge. (5:25) So I look for Utah to try and be better in that department (5:29) here coming up in game six tonight, (5:32) and then I also look at Utah’s best players.

(5:35) I think this time of year, more than any, (5:37) it comes down to Jimmies and Joes more than it comes down to Xs and Os, (5:42) and the Mammoth’s top players have been playing like it recently. (5:46) Clayton Keller, the captain, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Kraus (5:49) on their top line, they’ve been scoring a bunch of goals. (5:52) They’ve scored goals in each of Utah’s last three games (5:55) in this series, and all year we’ve seen it.

(5:59) When those guys are clicking along, the team’s usually winning. (6:02) So if the Mammoth can play well on special teams (6:05) and keep getting production from those big guns, (6:07) I really like Utah’s chances in game six. (6:10) Well, Mike, another big element, and of course every hockey franchise (6:14) thinks they have the best home ice advantage, (6:17) but you’ve had a chance to see the Delta Center a couple times (6:20) in the playoff atmosphere, obviously a big one coming up Friday night.

(6:25) What’s been your takeaway there, and what kind of factor (6:28) do you think that the home crowd might have? (6:32) It’s definitely a factor for sure. (6:35) I will say, because this Vegas group is so experienced, (6:38) I don’t think they get as bothered by a home atmosphere, (6:44) but it does make it a whole heck of a lot of fun for all of us. (6:48) Going back to game four at the Delta Center, (6:50) when the Mammoth scored four straight goals (6:54) and tied the game in the third, then took the lead, (6:57) those were out-of-body experiences for me, (7:00) where I’m saying something into my microphone and into my headset, (7:05) but I have no idea what it sounds like because I can’t hear it.

(7:09) The sound is at a level that you don’t just hear it, (7:14) you feel it inside the Delta Center. (7:16) The Golden Knights have a great home ice advantage at T-Mobile Arena. (7:21) They’ve been one of the best home teams in the league (7:23) ever since they joined the NHL in 2017, (7:26) but I think the Delta Center is quickly earning a reputation (7:29) as a place that could turn into a house of horrors in the playoffs (7:34) just because of how rowdy that place gets.

(7:37) Guys, I called a game next to some broadcast cameras for TV, (7:42) and they had trouble shooting the ice during game three (7:47) because fans were waving their rally towels and standing up so much, (7:51) so they had to lift those cameras up on a platform (7:54) so they could have a better angle. (7:57) I was actually going to ask about the growth of this program. (8:01) You mentioned how this is your first time announcing professional hockey, (8:05) but you’ve been around the sport a while, of course, (8:07) and you’ve kind of watched these things happen.

(8:08) When you talk about the job that Ryan Smith has done, (8:12) whether the Mammoth win tonight or not, (8:13) just to get them to the point where they’re at now, (8:16) to get the atmosphere where it’s at now, (8:18) let’s just for a minute appreciate what Ryan Smith has brought (8:22) to the Salt Lake City area, the region, (8:25) and what he is doing with this Mammoth organization (8:28) because compared to where this group was two years ago (8:31) to where it is now, not just on the ice but the fan base, (8:35) I mean, holy cow, what a ride that’s been. (8:39) Yeah, I’m not sure we can put a tangible value (8:44) on the impact that Ryan and Ashley Smith have had (8:48) on this group of players and this group of staff. (8:52) I was not with the team in Arizona, (8:54) but I do know a lot of people that were, (8:57) and from all accounts, it’s night and day, (8:59) the way that they’re treated here in Utah, (9:01) and they’ve been made to feel like Utah is home.

(9:05) And I will say one thing. (9:08) If you’re on Twitter or X (9:11) and you don’t have Ryan Smith’s Twitter alerts on, (9:14) you might be missing out on some tangible benefits (9:17) because it seems like every other game, (9:20) he’s handing out tickets or allowing fans into his suite (9:24) or he’s orchestrating some kind of jersey swap. (9:28) We had 1,000 Vegas Golden Knights fans (9:32) show up to the Delta Center to turn in their old Vegas jerseys (9:36) and swear fealty to the Mountain Blue.

(9:38) That was before Game 3. (9:40) So it’s unbelievable what Ryan and Ashley Smith (9:44) have done for this group. (9:46) And that reverberates. (9:48) I don’t know if I said that right, only public school guy.

(9:51) That echoes from the top down throughout the organization. (9:55) And it’s a responsibility for the rest of us, too, (9:59) because we’ve been entrusted with such an amazing thing, (10:02) and that is Mammoth Hockey. (10:04) And for me, it makes me want to have a great radio broadcast (10:08) when you see the buy-in literally (10:11) from the ownership at the highest level.

(10:14) That’s Mike Folta, radio play-by-play announcer (10:16) for the Utah Mammoth Puck, drops in Game 6 tonight, (10:20) 8 o’clock p.m. in Salt Lake City. (10:24) Thank you so much for your time today, Mike. (10:26) If someone is out driving around tonight, (10:29) maybe would like to tune in to your radio broadcast, (10:32) what’s the best way to listen online to you (10:34) and hear the game? (10:36) Yeah, if you’re not within the range of 97.5 VKSL SportsZone, (10:41) you can tune in on the NHL app.

(10:43) You can listen to every single game for free on the NHL app. (10:46) For us with the Mammoth, you can also listen on the KSL app. (10:50) So those are free.

(10:52) You’ll hear me. Hopefully I’ll be busy. (10:55) I’ll be losing my voice trying to compete with 17,000 (10:58) of my closest friends in downtown Salt Lake City.

(11:01) But it’s been a ton of fun already, (11:02) and it could be a special night tonight at the Delta Center. (11:06) Love it. 8 o’clock p.m. tonight is when the puck will drop.

(11:09) Mike Folta, play-by-play announcer for the Utah Mammoth. (11:12) Mike, thank you. It’s first Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday (11:14) with SBI Radio.