The Utah Mammoth walked into Rogers Arena on Friday and left with a 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. But unfortunately for the Mammoth, they lost their top centreman in the process.

On Monday morning, the Mammoth announced that Cooley would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Cooley was hurt with under five minutes to go in the third period, when he was racing in on a partial breakaway. Quinn Hughes comes in to pressure Cooley, who protects the puck on the far side from Hughes’s stick. With Hughes drapping all over his back, Cooley attempts to bring the puck to his backhand and slide it past Kevin Lankinen. However, the pressure from Hughes causes Cooley to lose his balance, and his knee connects with the post.

It doesn’t look pretty, as Cooley’s knee appears to bend back the opposite way.

Hughes was assessed a two-minute holding penalty on the play. After a TV timeout, Cooley remained on the bench for the Mammoth’s power play. However, after 10 short seconds, Cooley rejoined his teammates on the power play, logging a 1:20 shift. But that was his last shift of the game.

The 2022 third-overall pick missed Saturday night’s game against the Calgary Flames and has since been ruled out indefinitely.

Cooley, 21, was off to a breakout, goal-scoring campaign. The 6’0″, 191-lb centreman had 14 goals and 23 points in 29 games for the Mammoth – including a four-goal outing against the Vegas Golden Knights on November 24. His efforts this season earned him an eight-year, $80 million extension that kicks in next season, paying him $10 million per season.

With no timetable for his return, the Mammoth will attempt to make the playoffs for the first time in their short two-year existence, and the first time since they were the Arizona Coyotes in the 2019-2020 bubble playoffs. Utah is currently fourth in the Central division, holding on to the second Wild Card spot, tied with the San Jose Sharks.