Whats up R/Canucks, the Farmies is back after a week long layoff! I unfortunately missed last Saturdays game due to personal issues (if you’ve been keeping up with the Farmies, you’ll know I’m in the process of trying to lock down a new place to live before May 31st, so finding time available to recap and review the Farm lately has been tough!).

 

Given that the Comets are FIGHTING for a playoff spot, it felt like a good place to restart the timely recapping…as the Comets wrap up their season with two triple header weekends, with the first match being tonight against the Toronto Marlies.

 

I believe mathematically, all it will take for the Comets to be eliminated is the Cleveland Monsters earning a win in regulation tonight. Essentially, the Comets do need to win all 6 of their upcoming games to have a shot at getting 4th in the division…to be completely honest even if they do get there I don’t know if the current lineup is even capable of making any kind of splash. But regardless it should be a VERY exciting weekend for the Farm as they battle their hearts out to keep their season alive.

 

 

Starting Lineup

 

LW	C	RW
Pyatt	Darcy	Boucher
Vanderlaan	Gaunce	MacEwen
Gadjovich	Woods	Bancks
Jasek	Hamilton	Gardiner

LD	RD
Thow	Blujus
LeBlanc	Sifers
Petgrave	Graham

G
Michael Leighton

 

Looks like Jonah Gadjovich returns from a lengthy IR stint as well as centermen and PK specialist Wacey Hamilton…slotting out of the lineup are a long list of injuries (some which were picked up in the uncovered Saturday game, that will be done LATE tonight!)

 

Also making their debuts tonight are Mitch Vanderlaan, a 5’7” NCAA ATO from Cornell University (ever heard of it?); plus Aaron Thow, another NCAA graduate from Clarkson University on an ATO. So unlike MANY games in the past few months, a lot of prospects in tonights matchup worth watching!

 

RE: INJURY REPORT

 

Injury Report	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Malone	Bachman	Juolevi	McEneny	Chatfield	Lind	Woo	Kero
Arm	Out for the Season	Out for the season	Out for the season	upper body injury	lower body injury	lower body injury	Concussion

 

Joining the season ending injuries list is Seamus Malone who picked up an arm injury in Saturdays game against Syracuse. Also injured in that game was Tanner Kero who slides out into Concussion Protocol. Jett Woo was set to make his debut but had a lingering injury from the WHL playoffs that he’s nursing.

 

Healthy Scratches	—	—	—	—	—
Anselmini	Thomas	Arseneau	Stevenson	Saucerman	Eliot (will not play this season due to expansion draft reasons)

 

Took off the number of days scratched in a row as I missed Saturdays, and retroactive math is hard as fuck…my recap I’m doing tonight for Saturdays game will have a more accurate number though!

 

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

 

• Perennial meathead, Tom “Top Sixtito” Sestito in the lineup for the Marlies tonight
• Starting line is Woods/Gadjovich and Gardiner – they win the draw and enter the zone
• Sestito looks comically massive relative to the majority of the Comets on the ice…that there is a big boy
• Jonah Gadjovich(#22) in his first game back after a 7 game stint on IR with a high shot on Kaskisuo that gets tipped wildly in front by Brendan Woods(#21), almost leading to a goal
• Missed the 20 going on 46 year old, was making huge strides in his game prior to his IR stint hope he’s able to come up big in the final 6 of the season
• Gadjovich continuing his shift after an o-zone draw as he skates for a backcheck, picks up a loose puck and goes cross-ice to Jesse Graham(# 64) who gets muscled off the puck; Gadjovich(#22) stays in the zone and chases the puck and finishes his check
• Boucher gets hooked by Jordan Subban while on a 2v2 rush with Tom Pyatt and the Comets are off to the powerplay
• 1st Unit: MacEwen, Petgrave, Boucher, Pyatt Darcy
• Zack MacEwen(#15) wins the faceoff draw, and Tom Pyatt(#20) pushes it back to Matt Petgrave(#38) who sets up Reid Boucher(#24) for an absolute laser of a one timer
• 1st unit cycles but a bad read leads to them losing the zone and they have to sreset so second group comes out for a rush
• 2nd Unit: Thow, Jasek, Gadjovich, Graham, Gaunce
• Aaron Thow(#40) leads the 2nd unit breakout, passes to Lukas Jasek(# 9)who speeds through neutral ice, draws in a defender then goes to the wing to Graham( #64)for a shot, then crashes the net to try get the rebound, Gadjovich works on his grit/60 around the net
• 2nd unit gets an o-zone draw and highlights some nifty quick cycling until a shot from Brendan Gaunce(#16) gets blocked
• some slick tic-tac-toe from Stefan LeBlanc(#3) and Carter Bancks(#34) to set up Brendan Woods(#21) for a chance in tight on Kaskisuo
• The Comets increasing their backhands/60 with a slick drive to the net setup from Boucher(#24) and Pyatt(#20) along the blue line
• LeBlanc(#3 )displaying a solid transition game with a crafty pass interception on a backcheck, moving into a pass to spring the Comets ahead the other way for a rush followed by some shimmy-shaking of his stick on a second backcheck to defend a 2-on-1
• Jasek(#9) displaying a strong base as he ignores hard checks along the boards to set up Jaime Sifers(#2 6) for a shot on goal with a great cross ice pass through heavy Marlie traffic
• LOL, Tom Sestito gives Tom Pyatt a shove in front of Michael Leighton, and ALL 5 Comets on the ice surround him for shoves, and he easily dwarfs every single one of them haha
• The Marlies with their first bit of sustained pressure and BOTH shots from them on open nets go completely wide of the goal
• Brendan Woods(#21) with a speedy forecheck, unfortunately the puck rolls up his stick and GOES OFF HIS FUCKING FAAAAAAAAAAACE
• Jesse Graham on the ensuing play gets dinged for hooking and the Comets are off to the PK
• Woods(#21) displaying some great speed on the penalty kill with an aggressive forecheck, but appears to lose faith in his ability with a bad drop pass that kills the shorthanded rushes momentum, think if Woods had more faith in his speed being able to drive play he could’ve had a good chance for the Comets on his own here
• Comets kill the penalty, and then Eemeli Rasanen takes a boarding penalty on Cam Darcy to put the Comets on their second powerplay of the game
• 1st Unit loses control on the ozone draw, then cycles a bit on their second try only to again lose possession and have to change off…this unit needs much more skating to be successful – I would argue that putting Boucher on the 2nd unit with Graham, Jasek, Gadj and Thow would be much more dynamic.
• Lukas Jasek goes cross ice to Gadjovich, but the pass gets sent out to neutral ice where Aaron Thow tries to pick up the puck only to be tripped hard, putting the Comets onto a 5-on-3 powerplay 
• Kasiksuo with a great glove save on a rocket from Boucher(#24)
• Petgrave misses a saucer pass on the blue line and the Comets lose the zone and the Marlies are able to kill off tonnes of powerplay time…brutal gaffe from the blueliner

 

Score at the end of the first period: 0-0 Tie

 

Not a bad penalty at all from the Comets! Great periods of play from Woods, Gadjovich, Boucher and LeBlanc! Shots even at 8 a piece; but it really felt like the Comets held control of that entire period from beginning to end

 

2nd Period

 

• Comets start the 2nd with a brief powerplay; 1st unit: Thow, Boucher, Gadjovich, Gaunce, Graham
• Gadjovich(#22) drops off at the blue line then immediately rushes to the front of the net to tie up his check and attempt the tip-in goal
• dammnnnn this play though, Jasek(#9) breaks up the Marlies pressure to lead a 2 on 1 with Reid Gardiner(#14), waits out the defenders slide to his stomach to reach around the D with a pass to Gardiner for the one timer but they can’t complete, Jasek draws the tripping penalty and to put the Comets on their 4th powerplay of the game
• Call this the goal that would’ve saved the Comets season if they end up losing tonight and getting eliminated, Boucher( #24)rips a one timer and the Comets outside the circle somehow can’t get a stick on the loose puck in the crease , its not your computer/phone by the way, there’s a stutter in the stream goofing my streamable recording
• LeBlanc(#3) breaks up his second two on one with the sprawling play, shout out to the camera guys leg
• On a rush lead by new guy Mitchell Vanderlaan, Brendan Gaunce gets dinged for high-sticking to put the Comets on the penalty kill
• After a stoppage in play, Michael Leighton was in some noticeable discomfort in his crease, possibly tweaked/pulled something, and MarekMazanec enters the game
• Boucher(#24) with an aggressive forecheck on the penalty kill and gets a breakaway chance
• Comets at the conclusion of the Gaunce penalty, Jaime Sifers takes a high-sticking penalty of his own to extend the Comets time on the PK with a cold goalie…yikes
• GOAL – TORONTO – 1-0 Marlies: facing his second shot from the Marlies, Mazanec doesn’t have good control of the rebound and it gets easily tapped in by Mason Marchment to open the scoring for the Marlies
• hard to really fault Mazanec here since he’s coming into the game quite unexpectedly while the Comets are in the midst of 4 minutes of penalty kill time
• Andreas Borgman levels Cam Darcy(#11) well before he’s even touched the puck and the Comets go from the PK to the Powerplay
• PP unit getting switched up as Blujus becomes the D point man.
• Brendan Gaunce SOMEHOW takes a slashing penalty 30 seconds into the Comets powerplay….onto 4 on 4 we go

 

The Score at the end of the 2nd period: 1-0 Marlies

 

Wellp, Comets really need to shore up their discipline and get back in this one…they’re picking up loose pucks and doing well to enter the Marlies zone, but their shots on goal are just so predictable…just constantly into the breadbasket or gloveside…switch it up guys! YOUR SEASON IS ON THE LINE HERE!!!! Leighton being out for the rest of this triple header weekend is pretty terrifying for the playoff dream…Mazanec has lost every start, and been pulled twice while with Utica. *something something JB 7th round pick*

 

3rd Period

 

• Mazanec still in net to start the third…if Comets can’t come back and close this one out for two points then the season is doomed. I genuinely have more faith in Kulbakov in net over Mazanec at this point.
• Comets hemmed into their end for the first minute; then, Brendan Woods leads a drive down the wing into the Marlies zone only to end up passing back to Matt Petgrave on the blue line who misses the pass and forces the offside
• LeBlanc(#3) goes rinkwide to Darcy(#11) who sets up Boucher(#24 )with a beauty centering pass but Boucher seems to have it roll off his stick, would’ve been a massive scoring chance for Utica there
• Refs completely fuck over the Comets here, incredibly late blowing the whistle to call Woods(#21) offside after a pass from Gadjovich(#22), huge scrum ensues, and SOMEHOW Woods takes a penalty despite being the receiver of a late as fuck hit…so bloody dumb. Game to 4 on 4
• MacEwen(#15) stretches around his check to set up Gaunce(#16) at the front of the net with a great centering pass but Gaunce is tied up and can’t get the bounce
• Wacey Hamilton and Reid Gardiner attempt to combine for a give and go, and Gardiner is BLANTANTLY hooked to the ice but no call is made…refs completely losing this game
• GOAL – UTICA – 1-1 Tie: great hustle from Gadjovich(#22) to keep the puck in the Marlies zone, as he bats the puck to new guy Aaron Thow(#40) who flips one cross ice to Woods(#21) who drops the puck at his feet and wrists one past Kaskisuo to tie the game at 1! Great shot!
• At the drop of the puck on the ensuing faceoff, MacEwen(#15) goes toe-to-toe with the former Canucks Big Boi, Tom Sestito, Sestito with the WWE belt show at the end haha what a troll
• Both Sestito and MacEwen receive 10 minute game misconducts due to fighting before the puck drop…could be a serious problem for the Comets, without one of their best players
• Figures, after a couple blatant trips in the Marlies end, the Comets face a 2-on-1 rush and Wacey Hamilton gets called for hooking as he gets tied up with Mason Marchment…Comets to the PK
• bahaha…on the ensuing faceoff draw, Mason Marchment takes a faceoff violation/delay of game minor, so we instead go to 4 on 4…mayhaps the refs recognize how badly their calls have been this game, and decide to just keep things even
• Comets holding in the Marlies zone and Subban blatantly goes skate to skate on Boucher to trip him, but no call made
• Jasek(#9) with an overstep while holding the blue line to hold the zone, but makes up for it with quick skates to prevent the odd man rush, and ties up his man at the front of the net to avoid a scoring chance
• Bancks(#34) with a decent effort to hold the blue line, springing Gadjovich(#22) on a drive to the net where his shot goes off Kaskisuo’s shoulder, with Gadj following up on the loose puck
• Petgrave (#38)with a solid rink wide pass to Woods(# 21) who is about to go on a breakaway but gets tripped by Timothy Liljegren to put the Comets on a late powerplay
• Petgrave just before that streamable facing pressure backhanded a pass into a crowd of 2 Marlies players, so while I cannot stand his defensive gaffes, he does pull off SOME good stuff at times…but boy is it sketchy whenever he’s controlling the puck
• No clue wtf the team strategy is, but the Comets 1st unit powerplay’s goal every powerplay is to drive down the wing and then play pass until Boucher can get a one timer…if he isn’t open…then lose possession and retry…its soooooo predictable…they just DO NOT do any controlled entries into setting up on the blue line…its always a dump or drive to the end corner boards and then blindly pass to center.
• GOAL – TORONTO – 2-1 Marlies: The Comets give up their 19th shorthanded goal of the season….Mazanec buddy…I know you came into the game late…but this goal is softer than baby shit….horrible…
• Time winds down and Cull rolls out Jasek, Woods, Boucher, Gaunce, Graham and Thow…

 

Final Score: 2-1 Toronto Marlies

 

Scoresheet

 

Period	Team	Goalscorer	Primary assist	helper	type
2nd	Toronto	Mason Marchment	Michael Carcone	Jordan Subban	PPG
3rd	Utica	Brendan Woods	Aaron Thow	Jonah Gadjovich	5v5
3rd	Toronto	Adam Brooks	Nicholas Baptiste	Jordan Subban	SHG

 

Takeaways

 

• The Cleveland Monsters won in regulation tonight, so with their victory and the Comets loss, they have been mathematically eliminated from Calder Playoffs
• What a heartbreaker to end the Comets season…they absolutely dominated the Marlies, but couldn’t bury their chances when they had them, and the refs certainly didn’t help them either… losing MacEwen with ten remaining….the horrific non calls around the Marlies net that seemingly happened over and over ad-nauseum…just a brutal way to see them lose.
• Like Aaron Thow’s game, looked very competent defensively and offensively, looked to be a better powerplay runner than Graham/Petgrave or any other Comets defenseman the past 2 months. Decent speed as well, I think given more games he could develop some solid chemistry with the guys and produce more
• Brendan Woods had himself a fucking game man, I genuinely feel bad for him, he was playing out of his mind; chances nearly every single period, skating fast, hard, 3 shots on the night, crashing the net constantly…its really too bad every single player on this team has forgotten how to score goals, because on any other normal night, his goal tonight would just be a footnote…but guy was playing great…
• its been an absolutely horrific couple months for the Comets…injuries galore…losing streaks galore…call-ups galore…this is barely a team… I know we praise JB for his ability to draft NHL ready players…but his cupboard building has been godawul… look up the number of draft picks on Tampa Bays farm team and ECHL squad, its actually crazy that we consider Judd Bracket and the JB/JW squad as “draft gods” but really, after 5 years…we finally get 7 draft picks into our farm lineup, 1 is a bonafide NHL centerman stuck behind “heart and soul grinders” that the Canucks MUST have at all times, 1 who the coach doesn’t like and thus leaves for Liiga, 1 blows out his knee early, so we have 4 left and at the end of a season of constant disappointment, we’re left wondering…is this really it? Don’t get me wrong I have faith that one of if not, two of Gadjovich/Lind or Jasek CAN crack an NHL roster…but again after that…there’s just soooooo little. Tampa Bay called up 1 or draft picks this year due to injury so you know what they did, they called up 3 guys they drafted in 2014 and 2015 to fill the void. That’s how much faith they put into their drafting…they plug them into the lineup and build around them…here we just threw them in with our hodge-podge of AHL players and said, “I dunno, the leagues tough…try scoring!” It aint working chief! This aint it!
• I genuinely hope that draft guru JB and co put more concerted effort in creating a farm team that can actually help our draft propsects grow…I don’t want to see Lukas Jasek stuck on the third or 4th lines playing with the Carter Bancks and Reid Gardiners of the AHL/ECHL… surely for a team in a rebuild, they can do better… surely we can do better than trading our U23 players for stop-gaps due to injuries, year-in, year-out…. Carcone, MacMaster, Dahlen net out for a net in of Stefan LeBlanc, Josh Leivo and Linus Karlsson…one guy who’s been OK in the NHL playing with the teams best players, a guy who’ll probably be a depth call up maximum, and a guy projected to most likely be a bust OR A FRINGE NHL player. WE HAVE TO DO BETTER FOR OUR PROSPECTS
• Dude I’m sorry, but please stop playing Matt Petgrave…I bet he’s a great locker room guy and all that … but jesus the guy is a turnover machine, CONSTANTLY…he can’t hold a blue line to save his life either…its like his depth perception changes when he’s in the offensive zone. A majority of those 1st unit powerplays were lost because off poor puck control by Petgrave on the blue line… I keep saying it over and over agin…Cull clearly sees something more in Petgrave than I do…but please for the love of god play Colton Saucerman over Petgrave…I get that he’s smaller stature but he can actually shoot from the blue line, skates hard, fights if he has to, battles along the boards, but more importantly he can actually defend!
• Respect to the Utica faithful for cheering their boys on even as they head down the tunnel…it has been a fucking brutal stretch for this AHL team and I have nothing but respect for the Utica crowd for showing up every night despite the misery… Think they had a better attendance record this past month than friggin Florida for god sakes

 

Comets Three Stars

• Brendan Woods
• Aaron Thow
• Stefan LeBlanc

HM: Jonah Gadjovich and Lukas Jasek

 

What’s Next?

 

The Comets season now over, they head into tomorrow evenings game on the road against the Hartford Wolf Pack with basically zero expectations…I’m kind of hoping we get Petgrave out of the lineup and we see Saucerman out there..I think he’s earned the right to compete for a 3rd pair/7th D spot for next season. We know what we got in Graham and as fast as he is, if he can’t score or defend with his speed then there isn’t much point to seeing him out there…I’d like to see Sauce/Woo/Thow out there with Blujus/Sifers/LeBlanc in any kind of combination…I’m done with Pet/Graham this season I think. Give Aaron Thow more ice time…I think he’s worth a hard look.

 

Despite the way the Comets season ended, It’s been a god damn pleasure doing the Farmies this season for you guys, I hope to continue this into next year as well, Thanks for baring with me as I try to manage recapping games with buying a house, it hasn’t been easy but know I appreciate you guys’ readership and comments! I’ll see you all tomorrow night! (and possibly LATE tonight as I review last Saturdays game)