Evening folks welcome to the last Farmies edition before the Christmas break! Coming into tonight’s game at home, the Comets are riding a 7 game point streak; in their last 14 games they are 10-3-1-0 which is incredibly impressive given the shocking number of long-term injuries shaking up their d-core. Their opponent tonight, a familiar one, the Binghamton Devils, have won 3 of its last 5, and are 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games but have lost 4 of their last 5 road games, a staggering 4-10-2-0 on the road…so the odds are in the Comets favor tonight as they look to go into the Christmas break on a high note!
Last nights game against Springfield saw the Comets lose Richard Bachman to injury, and is out indefinitely. He went down after getting clipped in the back of the leg, and appeared to be unable to put any weight or pressure on his leg as he was helped off the ice by his teammates. Joining the ranks of the Comets “all-name team” is PTO goalie Devin Buffalo from the Adirondack Phantoms… the Comets had to call up Buffalo as the Farms Farm the Kalamazoo Wings were last playing Fort Wayne and thus replacement goaltender Ivan Kulbakov could not make it to Utica in time for tonights game.
Returning tonight is Jonathan Dahlen, who had been out with a concussion, after a December 14th game against, who’d have guessed it, the FUCKING Binghamton Devils. The addition of Dahlen back into the lineup will provide some much needed powerplay dynamics as the Comets have struggled as of late with the man advantage…going 0/5 against Springfield and 0/3 TWICE against Charlotte. So here’s hoping the addition of Dahlen back into the lineup see’s a boost to their PP unit. With that lets get into tonight’s game!
Starting Lineup
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Jasek | Kero | Boucher |
| Archibald | Gaunce | MacEwen |
| Dahlen | Cameranesi | Gadjovich |
| Lind | Darcy | Bancks |
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Brisebois | McEneny |
| Dirk | Blujus |
| Sifers | Graham |
| G |
|---|
| Thatcher Demko |
RE: Benchings
Saucerman remains out, and probably will remain so until another injury hits the blue-line or should one of Blujus/Dirk/Graham have a noticeably bad game.
| Benched | — |
|---|---|
| Saucerman | — |
RE: INJURY REPORT
Wacey Hamilton apparently traveled with the team to Charlotte in their last road trip so I assume he’s making strides for a return; he’s yet to play this season after picking up a concussion in training camp.
Brendan Woods also remains out with a lowerbody injury, no timetable either for his return
Jalen Chatfield out a few more months according to GM Ryan Johnson
OJ48 is donezo until summer which blows
Ashton Sautner is out indefinitely as well after having his face butchered by Eric “fuckstick” Tangradi
Apparently Jonah Gadjovich picked up a lowerbody injury after blocking a shot against Springfield
| Injury Report | — | — | — | — | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfield | Gadjovich | Hamilton | Juolevi | Sautner | Woods |
| lower body | lower body | concussion | Out for the season | his fucking faceeeeeee | lower body |
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 their Green/White alternates
- Apparently Eric Tangradi is NOT playing in tonights game so in theory the Comets should come out unscathed from this one. FINGERS FUCKING CROSSED
- Lukas Jasek(#9) holds the puck along the boards and gets a nice saucer pass to Evan McEneny(#2) who dishes to Guillaume Brisebois(#55) for a drive on net
- Dylan Blujus(#8) pins a Devils player on a zone entry attempt which lets Cam Darcy(#11) take the puck away to Kole Lind(#13) who gets a solid shot on goal that gets gloved down by the Devils Cam Johson
- I asked for a Utica 3rd jersey and a home jersey for Xmas…watching tonight’s game I’m praying it’s the former…fuck its good looking.
- Brisebois(#55) with an awkwardly placed pass to Tanner Kero(#10) that leads to a scoring chance for Binghamton
- Lind(#13) with a great burst of speed to negate the icing off a Reid Bouche(#24) dump
- Probably one of the most Real Gud hockey plays I’ve seen since doing the Farmies; great heads up play
- Blujus(#8) calls for the pass from Demko but doesn’t see the approaching Devils player; Jagger Dirk(#4) fortunately is there in time to negate the centering pass off the takeaway
- Lind(#13) with a great “in-theory” back hand pass that would’ve been a great set up if someone was there
- Tony Cameranesi(#27) with a fantastic feed to Jonathan Dahlen(#54) who sauces a pass to Vinny Arseneau(#18) for a shot on goal; no clue how Arseneau was okay after going head first into the boards
- Kero(#10) strips the puck to Boucher(#24) who turns and fires a shot off on net
- Lind(#13) gets a hard feed from Brisebois(#55) into the Devils zone; displays some crafty puck handling along the boards to hold possession in the zone until help arrives
- Cameranesi(#27) with a good stick block to deny a Devils zone-entry and forces the offside
- GOAL – BINGHAMTON – 1-0 Devils: A big oof as Cameranesi(#27) gets dispossessed in the attacking zone, and then on his backcheck has a Devils shot go off his stick and behind Demko to give the Devils the opening goal of the game
- This is the first game in 6 where the Comets do NOT score the first goal of the game
- GOAL – UTICA – 1-1 Tie: Talk about an immediate response, Jasek(#9) loses the puck on the boards, but Boucher(#24) picks it up and sends it on the net where Kero(#10) is there to pick up the rebound and ties the game
- Zack MacEwen(#15) gets tripped up approaching the blue line …no interference penalty is called which is kind of weird as it wasn’t called offside either
- MacEwen(#15) with some really nice work amongst traffic to retain the puck and baits a hooking penalty
- Comets are amazingly an 11% success rate on the powerplay against Binghamton, while Binghamton leads the LEAGUE WORST penalty kill…interesting how that works
- Kero(#10) and Dahlen(#54) combine to test that awful PP% with a wicked one-timer attempt
- also I hope that head grab is cause of the near goal he just had and not concussion related…
Score at the end of the first period: 1-1 Tie
Comets with a pretty decent period, team looks WAY better WITH Dahlen in the lineup; going into the second period with about a minute left on the powerplay COULD lead to a goal, but its pretty amazing how bad their powerplay has been as of late. Really unlucky goal against for Demko too; just a weak shift from Cameranesi there in general that caused that goal. Hope that one doesn’t come back to bite them in the ass.
2nd Period
- A rinkwide pass to Boucher(#24) gets away from him and he doesn’t have the speed to catch Ryan Schmelzer on the back check
- I don’t want to throw out any kind of accusations, but I feel like Lind(#13) needs someone other than Carter Bancks on his line. Here’s Lind(#13) with another feed to Bancks(#34) who has his stick lifted before he can even think about quickly wristing a shot on goal
- Lind(#13) picks up a Demko rebound and breaks into the Devils zone but his shot sails wide of the net; Darcy(#11) was QUITE open for a pass too…shame
- GOAL – BINGHAMTON – 2-1 Devils: Cameranesi(#27) and Jamie Sifers(#26) get mixed up; and instead of Cameranesi following his check and changing directions, the stumbling Sifers is caught flat footed and allows the Devils John Edwards to walk in for an easy backhand goal on Demko who’s too far off his post.
- Boucher(#24) with a nice stick lift to deny a Devils drive that leads to a scoring opportunity for Boucher, Dirk(#4) and Jasek(#9)
- Binghamton gets caught for too many men on the ice as they attempt a line change with a zone entry
- GOAL – UTICA – 2-2 Tie: MacEwen(#15) with a beauty pass to Kero(#10) who sauces it to Boucher(#24) for the one timer and his 30th point of the season and the equalizer
- The ensuing faceoff draw the Comets get called on a Darren Archibald(#25) tripping penalty
- LOL Brendan Gaunce(#16) gets called for tripping after a breakaway attempt goes wrong; puts the Comets on a 5-on-3 penalty kill
- Remember what I said last game about the Comets lacking the stick discipline
- Fortunately, the Devils Kevin Rooney gets called for slashing as well to make it a 4-on-3
- Comets on a brief powerplay; some great chances setup by McEneny(#2) to Boucher(#24) and a Brisebois(#55) shot on goal off a rebound
- GOAL – BINGHAMTON – 3-2 Devils: Seconds after a great Demko pad save, Ryan Schmelzer gets another shot on goal and catches his own rebound which he puts in net to give the Devils their 2nd lead of the night. Not sure why Bancks(#34) is letting Schmelzer just sit open like that
- Gaunce(#1 6)tries to set up MacEwen(#15) but has it blocked, Brisebois(#55) then overskates the still puck, and the team is collectively caught out so far forward that the Devils get a massive breakaway chance. MacEwen(#15) with great stride gets back to help Demko out, but gets caught for slashing as Demko poke checks the puck away…bout 99% sure MacEwen’s stick is nowhere near the Devils players
- I’m sure that Demko would’ve been okay on that one as it looked like the Devils player was losing possession of the puck on his own…but the slashing call seems a bit weak given that MacEwen looks to have missed lol
The Score at the end of the 2nd period: 3-2 Devils
Utica heavily out possessed in this period, and the shots reflect it, getting outshot 10 to 6 across the period…once again bad discipline costs them as they take 3 penalties. Team REALLY needs to get some better shots on net, the chances for them are just so few and far between this game…can’t win off 6 shots a period.
3rd Period
- GOAL – BINGHAMTON – 4-2 Devils: Big OOF as Demko goes to glove down the puck and misses; John Edwards is there to bat the loose puck behind him and for the first time this season, Demko lets in 4 goals
- MacEwen(#15) plays it along the boards to Gaunce(#16) whos shot on goal goes off the bar
- McEneny(#2) has played incredibly solid as of late…but this shit pisses me off…Comets get a penalty called and instead of chasing the loose puck to try and force a delayed penalty and maybe get a 6-on-5 going, he just stands there waiting for the whistle
- One of the mic’s the Comets are using for their feed is picking up the fucking crowd and its absolutely driving me insane
- A great pass from Lind(#13) back to Bancks(#34) but the ensuing pass to Kero(#10) doesn’t generate a shot for the Comets
- Compare where MacEwen( #15)and Archibald(#25) are at the start of this streamable and then watch their efforts on the backcheck; Mac starts BEHIND the Devils net, outraces Archibald and 2 Devils players to interrupt the pass and regain possession.
- Boucher(#24) in front, can’t pick up a great Jasek(#9) rebound
- McEneny(#2) with a long ice feed off the boards to Gaunce(#16) who gets a great saucer pass to Archibald(#25) but he’s hooked in front and the Comets are sent to the powerplay
- Is our team even talking to each other on the ice?
- GOAL – UTICA – 4-3 Devils: A pass from Gaunce(#16) gets picked off, but then Archibald(#25) picks up the puck as its overskated and wires it to put the Comets within 1 with plenty of time remaining
- Lind(#13) gets a stick between the legs and tripped to the ice right in front of the referee but no call
- McEneny(#2 )gets a great long ice feed to Archibald(#25) who drives to the net and has a shot blocked; he then gets crosschecked head first into the boards to cause a delayed penalty
- Demko to the bench on a delayed penalty; some solid sustained pressure with the man advantage; Gaunce(#16) with a great centering feed but Archibald(#25) gets denied by Gryba in front
- Cam Johnson stops a huge scoring chance from Dahlen(#54) while on his stomach
- Comets FINALLY showing some life on this powerplay with REAL chances being generated
- MacEwen(#15) with good presence of mind to move to the blueline to stop any Devil from dumping the puck, good effort to keep it in the zone
- Comets powerplay unit on the ice for almost the entire final 2 minutes
- MacEwen(#15 )with a massive chance to to try and tie it before the end of the game
- worth noting this is MacEwen weaving around the Devils penalty killers after being on the ice for the final 2:50 of the game. Fucking incredible effort after an absolutely insane amount of time spent on both the powerplay and on the man advantage to try and tie the game
Final Score: 4-3 Devils
Well the Comets outshot the Devils cleanly in the third period, but it just wasn’t enough. Not enough high quality scoring chances, abysmal powerplay continues and Demko has quite possibly his worst game I’ve seen out of him in quite some time, poor rebound control cost them two goals tonight and was the difference maker.
Scoresheet
| Period | Team | Goalscorer | Primary assist | helper | type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Binghamton | Conor Riley | Michael McLeod | Brandon Baddock | 5v5 |
| 1st | Utica | Tanner Kero | Reid Boucher | — | 5v5 |
| 2nd | Binghamton | John Edwards | Kevin Rooney | Colby Sissons | 5v5 |
| 2nd | Utica | Reid Boucher | Tanner Kero | Zack MacEwen | PPG |
| 3rd | Binghamton | John Edwards | Kurtis Gabriel | Kevin Rooney | 5v5 |
| 3rd | Utica | Darren Archibald | — | — | PPG |
Takeaways
- Comets powerplay was 2/6 tonight, against the league’s WORST PENALTY KILLING TEAM…that simply isn’t good enough. Cull shortens his bench like fucking crazy on the powerplay and penalty kill, the guy has got to try trusting other players into his special teams, get Lind out there, the kid has great passing, trust him to know what to do…you can’t roll out Tanner Kero and Reid Boucher for both your penalty kill AND powerplay 1st units and expect them to have enough gas to provide even strength scoring
- I URGE everyone to watch that fucking back checking highlight of MacEwen’s where he outraces everyone on the ice to deny the Devils any possession off a zone entry. That was at the END of a long shift…and then again watch that final highlight of the Farmies…I’m not joking…I rewound until I found the start of MacEwens final shift of the game…he was on the ice for the last 2 minutes and 50 seconds of gameplay…and HE STILL HAS THE FUCKING ENERGY TO ATTEMPT THAT SOLO DRIVE THROUGH THE DEVILS PLAYERS TO TRY EVEN THE GAME…the guy is a fucking animal…give him a decent chance with the Canucks at some point…I feel like MacEwen is the embodiment of everything they wanted Tim Schaller to be… call him up…don’t call up Gaunce or Archibald, get this kid up to the big leagues…because the kid is a fucking animal every shift…speed, size, skating, puckhandling, shots, effort, speed, hustle, powerplay, penalty killing, speed net front presence, wristers/slappers, did I mention SPEED? The guy does literally everything for this team and is fucking GOOD at it.
- Demko had an uncharacteristically bad night. Tony Cameranesi single handedly caused two goals against. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that 2 of the goals tonight were completely on Demko’s lack of rebound control on specifically his pad saves. I don’t imagine this is something he would repeat in the future, and I’d expect more discipline from him later in that regards, but this might be the one time where his forwards were left trying to bail out their goalie than the reverse which is a first in a long time.
- Archibald really does seem completely checked out…I know he’s riding a pretty good goal streak, but man does the guy just not put any effort on back checking or anything…
- Trent Cull said after the game that a lot of the goals against were due to plays from youth and inexperience…I legit was baffled by this; the first two goals were legitimately due to errors from Tony Cameranesi, and then the last two goals were BOTH off poor rebound and puck control from Thatcher Demko. Unless he groups Cameranesi and Demko into the youth and inexperience crowd, despite Demkos 103 pro starts and Cameranesi’s 164 pro games? Either way maybe its just a handling the press thing, but I’d hope they addressed that the goals against were caused by easy to fix errors and aren’t just a blanket “it’s the rookies problem” bullshit.
Comets Three Stars
- Zack MacEwen – the offensive side
- Zack MacEwen – the defensive side
- Reid Boucher – 8 shots and a goal and an assist
Honorable Mention: I feel like I don’t clip enough of him, but Evan McEneny(#2) has been so incredibly solid on the Comets blueline in the absence of Sautner/Juolevi and Chatfield. He has easily the best passing game out of any of the current Comets blue liners and quite rarely makes any notable gaffes. Since Sautner went down he has easily been the Comets best defenceman.
What’s Next?
The Comets get a much needed layoff for the holidays and return next Thursday against the Binghamton Devils again. The time off will be welcome as a serious lack of discipline the past couple games has run Cull’s special teams to a level of exhaustion I’ve not yet seen this season. With the loss tonight, the Comets drop to 3rd in the North Division, just 1 point shy of the Cleveland Monsters, who have 36 points with 3 games in hand.
Until the 27th, the Farmies bids everyone adieu and wishes you a merry Christmas and a happy holidays. I 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!
