12/14/18 – Utica Comets vs. Binghamton Devils

2018, December, FARMIES 13 Minutes

Well guys, I’ve peaked…the Farmies was namedropped in Wyatt Arndt’s latest Athletic article where he highlights some of my comments about Petrus Palmu’s return to TPS for the remainder of the season…there’s no reason to continue doing these anymore because as I said, I’ve peaked, my work’s been mentioned in a subscription based sports journalism website…I have to quit while I’m ahead before its too late.

Also I’m now seeing in the article I spelled “NO” as “KNOW” so all of his subscribers are probably wondering why he’s quoting some moron with 3rd grade spelling literacy. But ANYWAYS

Thanks Stanchion for the shoutout! I’m glad what I’m doing here is reaching the Canucks community in many ways and is a constant reminder of why I enjoy writing in my past time!

 

To be completely honest I don’t really want to get into the whole Palmu going to TPS thing because I might end up rambling harder than I did about the Carcone trade, which I hope everyone who checks up on these, forgets about :D. So I’ll try to keep my opinion SHORT.

 

The bottom line is, Petrus Palmu was barely being played, and when he was being played he was being deployed in a 4th line grinder, defensive zone start “Schaller/Sutter/Granlund-esque” type of role, which straight up was never why he was drafted. The guy was a speedy skilled winger capable of driving offense from the wings as he used his low center of gravity to protect the puck and create great looking scoring opportunities with crisp passing. I urge anyone who reads this to second-guess everything Johnson and Cull say about Palmu struggling to adapt to the North American game because that is simply complete bullshit. He was struggling to adapt to a style of play that never earned him success or the rookie of the year title in Liiga, when he was on the powerplay in that ONE game, he looked awesome, crisp passes, creating numerous chances. Its why I struggle listening to Utica media shill out the same shit Johnson and Cull spew like its gospel…anyone with eyes could see that Palmu was hustling every shift he had…the fact that the management thought his inability to “play the boards”as a 5’6” speedy winger was one of the reasons he struggled to adapt is just nonsense. He played his heart out every shift, and when he did retrieve the puck and do what they expected of him, they still fucking benched him for guys like Reid Gardiner and Alex Kile, so shut up about the compete level bullshit guys, I see through it, anyone with a brain can see through it. To quote a fellow R/Canucks user, they were trying to drive a square peg in a round hole, and when it didn’t fit they blamed the peg not the hammer swinging down.

 

Personally, I have this feeling that Palmu is going to return to TPS, a team he had wonderful success with, play with a stellar Finnish lineup with touted 2019 draft prospect Kaapo Kakko possibly on the same line or even on the powerplay…a player touted as the next Patrik Laine…so Palmu is in good fucking hands returning to a team that ACTUALLY knows how to deploy him. My fingers are crossed he lights it the fuck up and the guy gets an immediate chance with a big club, because the g uy is just as creative and crafty as Jonathan Dahlen, but wasn’t given the opportunity. I know it’s a bad comparable, but Palmu looked FUCKING GOOD at the young stars and prospects games this past summer, don’t believe everything you read when people say he’s a bust because he was benched….he was benched cause the coach had no idea how to use him and decided a 4th line plug would be the best deployment.

Ineptitude my friends…that’s all it is….all the best to Palmu, I’m actually upset I wont be able to watch Liiga, because TPS has got a pretty nutty lineup this year. Rambling aside, let’s get into tonight’s game where the Comets face off against the Binghamton Devils! The last time they fought, Eric Tangradi tried to murder Ashton Sautner on the ice and got away with a single game suspension…fingers crossed he doesn’t try to take off his skate and try to stab anybody.

 

Starting Lineup

 

LW C RW
Jasek Kero Boucher
Dahlen Gaunce MacEwen
MacMaster Cameranesi Lind
Archibald Darcy Bancks
LD RD
Brisebois McEneny
Sifers Graham
Blujus Saucerman
G
Thatcher “motherfucking” Demko

 

RE: Benchings

Gadjovich benched once again in favor of Tanner MacMaster who as far as I’m concerned has looked fairly meh the past few weeks. I get that MacMaster is also technically an undrafted “prospect.” But If you’re not gonna sub out MacMaster, then sub out Lind who’s just been absolutely lost out there the last couple weeks. Gadjovich (like Palmu before him) has had a phenomenal couple of games where he looked like he just suddenly hit a switch and was playing well in spite of his skating issues. But its Cull and Johnson so I’m sure it’s a “compete issue” or because Zack MacEwen switched gears this season and has been lighting it up it means they know what they’re doing and thus we (the fans and speculators) don’t.

BENCHED — —
Jagger Dirk Vincent Arseneau Jonah Gadjovich

 

RE: INJURY REPORT

Dylan Blujus returns to the lineup after taking a rest Wednesday; he went down during the game Saturday holding his arm gingerly…not sure what happened but glad to see he’s returned to the lineup. Sitting for him is Jagger Dirk, who unfortunately for him actually had a lights out game on Wednesday playing alongside Saucerman

Johnson made a comment on TSN 1040 earlier today that Chatfield’s broken bone was likely to keep him out for at least a couple more months. So that’s Sautner, Juolevi AND Chatfield out for quite some time with lengthy recoveries. Could be a good opportunity for Saucerman to capitalize on his social media boom and earn himself a permanent slot on the team.

Injury Report — — —
Chatfield Hamilton Juolevi Sautner
lower body concussion knee his fucking faceeeeeee

 

Streamable Clarity Improvement Notice

 

Continuing with last issues theme, going to be Players full name (jersey number) – place in streamable (if not outright obvious) then every sub sequential play featuring that player it’ll be last name(jersey number) – place in streamable (if not outright obvious) I’m also going to reduce the amount of hyperlink in the GOAL streamables, since that’s what I think MOST people are here for and don’t want some gaudy blue taking up the screen.

 

 

1st period

 

Comets in White

 

 

Score at the end of the first period: 1-0 Comets

 

Really bizarre first period, Comets had like 99% of the possession but only managed to get 6 shots actually on net. Binghamton apparently recorded 3 shots total but I find that hard to believe. Good possession from the guys, just need to shore up on their passing game to really dominate if they keep up the possession stats from the first period

 

2nd Period

 

 

The Score at the end of the 2nd period: 2-2 Tie

 

Comets get pretty heavily outshot for the 2nd period; pretty much the exact opposite of the 1st period, where Binghamton led with possession by a wide margin. Coupled with some fairly lazy penalties from the Comets…wasn’t pretty…thank god for Jasek and Darcy combining for a great goal to tie the game.

 

3rd Period

 

 

Final Score: 5-2 Comets

 

Scoresheet

Period Team Goalscorer Primary assist helper type
1st Utica Zack MacEwen Brendan Gaunce Jesse Graham 5v5
2nd Binghamton Eric Gryba Kevin Rooney Blake Speers PPG
2nd Binghamton Eric Tangradi Colton White Blake Pietila PPG
2nd Utica Cam Darcy Lukas Jasek Evan McEneny 5v5
3rd Utica Guillaume Brisebois Reid Boucher Tanner Kero 5v5
3rd Utica Brendan Gaunce Carter Bancks — SHG
3rd Utica Lukas Jasek Reid Boucher — EN

 

Takeaways

  • Not the prettiest game from the Comets…heavily outshot and out-possessed for the 2nd and 3rd period but hey they got the goals when it counted…Mackenzie blackwood has just gotten lit the fuck up in every meeting against the Comets…it’s pretty hilarious
  • Fuck Eric Tangradi
  • If Dahlen is out for some time the Comets are going to hurt pretty bad…Tanner MacMaster and Kole Lind are not nearly ready enough to step up into a Top 6 role and it showed tonight. MacMaster had some moments tonight but generally looked behind the play in most instances and rarely could get anything going offense wise

 

Comets Three Stars

  1. Thatcher Demko – I might have to just make a preface before every one of my three stars ratings and just say that Thatcher is automatically the 1st star, because he steals games for this team every time he starts…the Comets that played tonight should by all means NOT have won…but the guy is just so composed in net its insane
  2. Zack MacEwen – call him up, the guy is ready….provided the guy gets out his nerves in his first call-up game, I don’t doubt he would be able to produce on a line with Granlund or Gaudette, the guy (I hate to use tired hockey phrases) but he plays a 200 ft game and can score 5v5, has great puck and stick handling…the dude has just wowed me everytime he plays man. Call him up. The guys a beauty..stop calling up Boucher…stop calling up Archie….bring up the new blood…Ended the night with 1 goal and a team leading 6 shots
  3. Lukas Jasek – ended the night with a +/- of 3, a goal and an assist, some quality playmaking and passes, the guy was legit tonight, one of the unspoken heroes of the team the last couple weeks…whether Cull notices his game is beyond me though

 

What’s Next?

 

The Comets will be riding a 4 game win streak when they visit the Charlotte Checkers for a 2 game away stint in Charlotte. The Checkers are on a 4 game win streak themselves, with their most recent victory coming in a 1-0 Victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday. The Checkers are 2-0 against the Comets in their season record so far, with the Comets losing their first game 4-3, and their second 3-1. The Charlotte Checkers currently lead the AHL with an absolutely stunning 20-6-1-0 record…a points% of .759 which is just ridiculous. They also lead the league with the lowest goals against, but I don’t say these things to discourage us Utica followers! The Comets have turned around a pretty dismal season and have found themselves in 3rd place in the North Division with 2 points separating them from the 2nd place Syracuse Crunch and 1 point from the 4th place Cleveland Monsters! So Sunday and Tuesdays matchups against the Checkers will be telltale games for the Comets as they see if they can maintain their impressive 5v5 scoring strength against much stronger competition.

 

Cull if you’ve read this far, please play Demko, please play Demko, please play Demko

 

Hope you guys enjoyed this edition of the Farmies, any feedback, improvement suggestions, content or highlights you’d like me to focus/pick out during games, let me know and I’ll do my best to provide during the next Farmies!

Published by Cody Severtson

Published

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