What’s up Canuckets fans (you see what I did there? If you hated it make sure to mash that like button!) The Comets are back in action tonight against the Laval rocket in what should be an easy two points to further the Comets point streak and solidify their place in the top 4 of the North Division, and with it a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs!
The Laval Rocket come into tonight’s matchup in last place in the North Division, with a 19-22-4-4 record; a points earning percentage of only 46.9%… not a good mark for Canucks legend Alex Burrows who is an assistant coach for the Rocket!
This is however, great news for the Utica Comets as they come into tonight’s game after a brutal triple header weekend, and look for some easy points as they fight the Toronto Marlies for that 3rd place position in the AHL’s North Division!
Some pretty crazy action this past week for the Farm, Zack MacEwen debuted with the Canucks Monday and looked impressive every shift, earning himself his first NHL point, hopefully the first of many in the Canucks Blue and White! Joining him is his fellow rookie Adam Gaudette who fills in for the Canucks injury woes for the third time this season. I look forward to wrapping up this edition of the Farmies edition relatively quickly because I cannot fucking wait to see those two on a line together with the big club!
Looks like the Utica Comets are facing an injury bug of their own, so lets get into tonight’s starting line up and the game at hand!
Starting Lineup
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Gaunce | Darcy | Lind |
| Pyatt | Kero | Boucher |
| Dahlen | Woods | Jasek |
| Arseneau | Hamilton | Gadjovich |
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Sautner | Schenn |
| Leblanc | Sifers |
| McEneny | Chatfield |
| G |
|---|
| Michael Leighton |
Digging that Dahlen Woods Jasek line in theory and I’m glad to see Gadjovich wasn’t benched for some ECHL call-up
TRANSACTIONS
As stated above, Zack MacEwen still remains with the Canucks, while Adam Gaudette joins him for the foreseeable future!
I believe the Comets also recalled forward Reid Gardiner from the ECHL, in the wake of a lingering injury to Carter Bancks and the many call-ups to the big club.
| Benched | — |
|---|---|
| Gardiner | Saucerman |
| 1 | 4 |
RE: INJURY REPORT
| Injury Report | — | — | — | — | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachman | Bancks | Blujus | Graham | Juolevi | |
| Out for the Season | UBI | hand | upper body injury | Out for the season |
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 Blue
- Comets hemmed into their zone for the first 2 minutes, trouble exiting
- funny collisions between Jonah Gadjovich(#22) and Tanner Kero(#10), possibly missing a few chicklets after that one
- Gadjovich may not have the best skating, but I have to give him credit here, whenever he’s being given the puck for a zone entry from the neutral zone he without fail gets it done. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him stripped of the puck or have an awful giveaway
- Comets have a few moments of possession in the Rocket’s zone but don’t manage any shots…5 minutes down in the period
- GOAL – UTICA- 1-0 Comets: After a battle along the boards, Stefan LeBlanc (#3) sauces a pass over to his D-partner Jaime Sifers(#26) who wires one through traffic, and Jonah Gadjovich(#22) gets the last second tip to put it past Charlie Lindgren to give the Comets the lead!
- Nice job by Gadjovich on that last play to help Reid Boucher(#24) win the battle along the boards, setting up his goal to open scoring. I believe that was the Comets first shot on goal as well.
- Lukas Jasek(#9) lays a hit, then ties up his man so Jonathan Dahlen(#54) can strip the puck for a takeaway where he and Jasek combine for a close scoring chance
- 10 minutes down, only 5 shots on goal, 2 for the Comets haha
- decent possession from the Lind, Darcy and Gaunce line as they rattle off some shots from up close on Lindgren
- Jalen Chatfield(#5) with a quick look and quick skates to disrupt a scoring chance for Laval’s Jake Evans
- Stefan LeBlanc takes a a very dangerous hit from behind after dumping the puck; Comets on the powerplay after Pezzetta gets dinged for boarding
- First Unit Powerplay: Dahlen, Kero, Gaunce, Boucher, McEneny
- First Unit has a shot from Dahlen go off a stick high and out,
- 2nd unit powerplay: Lind, Pyatt, Gadjovich, Jasek, Schenn
- Bunch of young guns then two NHL vets lol
- GOAL – UTICA – 2-0 Comets: Brendan Gaunce(#16) wires a shot on goal and the Laval Rocket struggle to clear the rebound out of their zone, leading to Luke Schenn(#23) picking up the puck for a pass to his left side where Lukas Jasek(#9) absolute rifles a laser beam top corner past Lindgren to give the Comets a 2-zip lead
- lol Karl Alzner picks up a brutal holding penalty on Vincent Arseneau(#18) while they battle for the puck along the boards and the Comets are immediately back to the powerplay
- 1st Unit: Dahlen, Kero, Gaunce, Boucher, McEneny
- Crazy passing game from Dahlen(#54) and EvanMcEneny(#2) on the powerplay here, just pure domination and multiple chances off their passes
- 2nd Unit: Pyatt, Lind, Gadjovich, Schenn, Jasek come out but can’t get any chances
- jesus Christ Laval, Wacey Hamilton(#36) catches a Dahlen(#5) rebound along the boards but gets tripped up by Brett Lernout putting the Comets on their THIRD consecutive powerplay
- I sense a very tired Comets coming out for the 2nd and third periods at this pace…
- Boucher(#24) set up on his right circle for the powerplay and uncorks a shot that gets blocked on the first try by Karl Alzner, and then on his second shot attempt sets up Tanner Kero(#10) for the tip-in but Lindgren gets his glove on it
- Comets looking pretty exhausted on this last powerplay in the final minute of play
Score at the end of the first period: 2-0 Comets
Well that was a weird one! After getting controlled pretty hard in their own end by the Rocket, they rattle off three dominant powerplay’s in a row and finish the period up by 2. They definitely looked a little tired in that final 2 minutes, I hope that doesn’t mean the usual Utica power down happens early in the second…hopefully the 15 minute break means the team regroups and continues their dominance over the next period! Comets outshot the Laval Rocket 11 to 4.
2nd Period
- Starting line for the 2nd, Jasek, Woods and Dahlen
- Schenn(#23) gets a stick on his check at the very last second to break up a dangerous scoring chance for the Rocket
- Gadjovich(#22) sauces a pass to Hamilton(#36) who tries to go fancy to set up the trailer Arseneau(#18) but gets it caught in his own feet
- Kole Lind(#13) has his stick lifted as he chases the puck but Gaunce(#16) is there to take it in for a shot on goal that goes off Lindgren’s shoulder
- Alex Belzille gets in behind Jaime Sifers(#26) for the breakaway but absolutely whiffs it high above the net
- Jasek(#9) displaying his skill along the boards as he defends against 2 Rocket players to set up Brendan Woods(#21) who goes cross ice to Schenn(#23) for a shot on goal
- Ashton Sautner(#6) with an active stick to disrupt Morgan Adams-Moisan’s drive down the left wing, then Arseneau(#18 ) follows that play up with a huge block on a shot by Karl Alzner from the blue line
- madness at the front of the net as Leighton drops a stopped shot, and the Comets scramble to clear; great job by Chatfield(#5 )to outmuscle his check out of play
- In the ensuing attempt to clear, Evan McEneny takes a cross-checking penalty putting the Comets on their first penalty kill of the night
- Gaunce(#16 )and Woods(#21) combine for two shorthanded chances against Laval
- Leighton gets called for interference after he steps into a player making a move around his crease…I appreciate his attempt, but he should take a lesson or two from Kulbakov on how to get away with blatant interference as a goaltender! Comets to the 5-on-3 Penalty Kill
- Comets kill the 15 seconds of 5-on-3
- Laval just missing the net over and over again on this powerplay
- Comets kill the penalty, and then Stefan LeBlanc(#3) draws a hooking penalty from Adams-Moisan to put the game at a brief 4-on-4
- Charlie Lindgren not wanting Michael Leighton to feel left out gives Kero(#10) a chop to the leg and the Comets go to the extended powerplay
- GOAL – UTICA – 3-0 Comets: Oh baby, Boucher(#24) with the slick cross-ice pass to Dahlen(#54) who’s shot goes of Lindgren’s pad straight to Kero’s(#10) stick for the easy tap-in goal to make it 3-0 Comets
- LOL Immediately after the powerplay goal, Michael Leighton gets dinged for his 2ND PENALTY OF THE GAME! And the Comets are back on a penalty kill… Jonah Gadjovich serves
- get this goon off the team! No place in hockey for this type of goonery!
- GOAL – LAVAL – 3-1 Comets: Michael Pezzetta tips a shot from Cale Fleury off a cross-ice feed from Nikita Jevpalovs…Leighton, you only have yourself to blame mister!
The Score at the end of the 2nd period: 3-1 Comets
After two periods, the Comets maintain the lead, but are getting a bit sloppy on their back checking game…numerous times that period, the Comets would get caught leaving 3 guys by their own blue line as they’d aggressively try to enter the Laval zone, leading to several odd-man rushes…fortunately the d-core has been quite solid tonight…especially Schenn and Sautner who look like a NHL pairing relative to the offense they’ve been facing off against tonight
3rd Period
- Lukas Jasek picks up a hooking penalty early in the third period to put them on the PK
- Oof, Jake Evans gets a chance up close on the powerplay but puts it off the post and out
- Comets kill the penalty
- Chatfield(#5) sends the puck into a cluster of Laval Rocket playersi n the midst of a line change, forcing them to take a too-many men penalty and puts the Comets on their powerplay
- 1st unit powerplay: Jasek, Pyatt, Gaunce, Schenn, Lind,
- Tom Pyatt(#20) has a shot on goal gloved down by Lindgren while Gadjovich(#22) screens
- 2nd unit rolls out and once again it begins with a perfect cross-ice feed from Dahlen to Boucher for a one-timer on goal…Dahlen looks to have gotten a bit more confidence in himself lately as his passing has gotten MUCH better on the powerplay
- GOAL – UTICA – 4-1 Comets: Some aggressive forechecking from Gadjovich(#22) and Arseneau(#18) that see’s the puck squeak out to Wacey Hamilton(#36) who plays it up to Chatfield(# 5)who just barely holds the line for a cross ice pass to McEneny(#2) who rifles one past Lindgren to regain the 3 goal lead
- Laval immediately takes a slashing penalty and the Comets once again are back on the powerplay
- Dahlen(#5 4) catches a quick pass on the blue line from Boucher(#24) then goes backhand to McEneny(#2) for a shot on goal
- Pyatt(#20) leads the zone entry and then turns to pass through traffic to Gadjovich( #22) for a shot on goal that gets deflected wide by Lindgren
- Ashton Sautner picks up a slashing minor as he defends in the Comets zone and the Comets alternate back to the penalty kill… jeez these special teams are putting in work tonight haha
- Leighton with great tracking through traffic as he gloves down a shot
- Comets kill the Sautner penalty
- Comets caught a bit too agro and slow on the backcheck, but fortunately Leighton is there to make the preliminary save and a follow-up sprawling save on his opposite post
- Jasek(#9) with a great feed on the blue line to Woods(#21) who has a huge scoring chance on Lindgren
- Minute left and it’s just been ALL Utica this game…besides the penalty kill in the third where the Laval had some sustained pressure…it was their ONLY sustained pressure
- lmfao, I can’t even put it into words how great this is; after opening the scoring of the game, Jonah Gadjovich gets in a scrap with Adams-Moisan as the sweet crooning of Neil Diamonds’ Sweet Caroline plays them out, what a game for this kid
- Utica Comets just kills the remaining 40 seconds; they have this one sealed up easily
Final Score: 4-1 Utica Comets
Scoresheet
| Period | Team | Goalscorer | Primary assist | helper | type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Utica | Jonah Gadjovich | Jaime Sifers | Stefan LeBlanc | 5v5 |
| 1st | Utica | Lukas Jasek | Luke Schenn | — | PPG |
| 2nd | Utica | Tanner Kero | Brendan Gaunce | Jonathan Dahlen | PPG |
| 2nd | Laval | Michael Pezzetta | Cale Fleury | Nikita Jevpalovs | PPG |
| 3rd | Utica | Evan McEneny | Jalen Chatfield | Wacey Hamilton | 5v5 |
Takeaways
- Lukas Jasek is really…really good. Seriously underrated prospect in the Canucks system right now, so underrated that I feel like Jim Benning might have forgot that they even drafted him….so clean along the boards, puck control is incredible from that spot, good on the powerplay, decent speed, good vision and awareness…he had an absolute rocket of a shot tonight, that if he shows more confidence in and gets some more goals, could end up earning him some time with the big club down the line…I’m consistently impressed by this kids game, he’s so young but looks like a calm vet out there every shift.
- Michael Leighton once again was very clutch for this team, timely saves, even though he didn’t face that many quality chances; he definitely held the team together through that third as they faced down some of the only real quality possession that Laval had to offer at that time. Really solid PTO pickup by the Comets team while the whole organization struggles with goalie problems
- Jonah Gadjovich, man I just can’t help but love what this guy brings every time he plays…he is a sponge, he soaks up the good aspects of his linemates game, whether it was Palmu, Arseneau, Hamilton, the guy exudes hustle out there, his skating is his weakest attribute, but that doesn’t stop him from backchecking hard, finishing every check, ending his shift with quality zone entries and safe dump-ins, plus he’s solid at the front of the net, he fucking fights! To fucking sweet caroline! I mean…Craig MacEwen if you are reading this, do everyone a favor and get Jonah Gadjovich in contact with Dave (Eli) MacEarhearn and the training regime that put MacEwens explosiveness and skating over the edge …I’m telling you if Gadjovich can improve on his skating, then the rest of his game will begin to click at the AHL level…the fact that many of his draft class peers are still playing in junior bodes well for Gadj’s development…yes I harp on how he’s benched way too often, but that aside, everything he’s learning right now in the games he is playing are going to do great for his development over summer!
- Jonathan Dahlen, oh baby the passing, he’s just such a treat to watch on that powerplay with a cannon like Boucher on his opposite side…watching the two exchange crispy cross-ice passes to each other is just great…I feel like Dahlen is in the same boat as some of these other guys, where if he can improve on his backchecking game (speed) then he could easily overtake Goldobin on the left wing… I know the skill difference between the AHL and NHL is massive…but god damn to have a guy like Dahlen who was posited to be a better goalscorer than EP40 back in Timra, able to feed these cross-ice saucer passes to EP40 on the powerplay, could be absolutely deadly. Fingers crossed the back half of this season earns Dahlen a possible call-up towards the end of the Canucks season if its looking like they’re out of the playoff race just so we can see of whats possible between the former Timra brothers
- I’m digging the fight of this team as of late…I really think that after the trade of Archibald, things started clicking for this team, the lines became a bit more stable, and some chemistry NOW is finally beginning to grow as there hasn’t been too much fluctuation between lines besides the odd man out due to injury or call-up! It also bodes very well for this team that in the wake of guys like Adam Gaudette and Zack MacEwen being gone, they’re still finding ways to win games. But not just win games by 1 goal, but absolutely dominate, and most of the time at even strength. Hell! call up the top 4 D from Utica and plug our non-producing D men back in the minors as a wakeup call, because our Farm’s D is producing like crazy! BLOW IT UP! BLOW IT ALL TO HELL!
Comets Three Stars
- Lukas Jasek
- Jonah Gadjovich
- Michael Leighton
HM: Jonathan Dahlen or Brendan Woods even who is looking pretty solid with Dahlen on his wing, I think Dahlens skill is helping elevate Woods’ game lately and as much as I hated and lamented it at first, Its hard to deny the chemistry that’s brewing between them.
What’s Next?
The Comets look to extend their Pointstreak this weekend when they hit the road to face off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins…what an awful team name by the way…pick a city, don’t put a / in between them like a bunch of jackasses cause you couldn’t pick… Anyways, they face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins farm team Friday night…The Penguins sit 6th in the AHL’s Atlantic division and have the Atlantic Divisions worst home record at 10-12-1-0. These two have yet to face off this season, and only do so twice a year.
Following that, the Comets return home for a Sunday game against the Cleveland Monsters for the 4th and final meeting of the season. The Comets are currently up in the head-to-head 2-1-0-0, having outscored the Monsters 14-5 across those three games. The Monsters are currently sitting 6th in the North Division, 8 points below the Comets and boast an admirable 12-11-1-1 road record. Lets hope the point streak continues for our boys in the Blue and White, and green….oh and silver…and sometimes purple and black!
Until Friday, I Hope you guys enjoyed this edition of the Farmies, and as always 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!
