Mammoth's Vitek Vanecek: Takes loss in relief outing

Vanecek stopped 18 of 21 shots in relief of Karel Vejmelka in Monday's 6-3 loss to the Sharks.

Vanecek ended up with the loss since the Mammoth were able to cover the damage Vejmelka left behind in the first period. This was a fifth straight loss for Vanecek (0-4-1), and he's allowed at least three goals in each appearance. On the year, he's 2-5-1 with a 3.11 GAA and an .869 save percentage, numbers that have prevented him from carving out a larger role in Utah's crease even with Vejmelka playing noticeably below his potential. The Mammoth are in Anaheim on Wednesday and then have a back-to-back (Friday in Vancouver, Saturday in Calgary) to close out their current road trip, which should allow both goalies to get game action within the next week.