Well, Canuck Nation, did we ever have a night of hockey in store for us this freezing Wednesday evening! With storylines galore to focus on! The all-junior squad of the Canucks facing off against the surging Penguins, the Goldy/Petey reunion, Stecher back on the first pairing, and lastly, Loui Eriksson, getting scratched for Zack MacEwen on the fourth line.

 

It’s nights like these where I genuinely dislike having a Farm team on the east coast because it is going to be tough to track this Utica Comets showdown with the Syracuse Crunch when that kind of game is going down on my other screen!

 

The Comets aren’t without their storylines either. After a brutal back-to-back weekend against the Laval Rocket, the Comets saw their list of available centers crater even further if such a thing was thought to be possible!

 

After Saturday’s action, the Comets lost Wacey Hamilton, Lukas Jasek, and Vincent Arseneau to injuries. The injuries to Hamilton and Jasek will prove most difficult for this squad to overcome, as there are barely any natural centers remaining on the roster. As it stands, the team has Francis Perron and Carter Bancks floating in the center position for the time being. But their top-six is currently being centered by Carter Camper and Seamus Malone.

 

For those who’ve kept up with the Farm, Malone has missed the last four games with an arm injury. Before that, Malone had been alternating time between the press box and the fourth-line. Tonight he sees the promotion of all promotions when he centers Sven Baertschi and Reid Boucher. I’ve liked Malone’s game since his debut with the Comet’s late last season. In his brief time with the Comets, he’s displayed a decent shot and solid foot speed, albeit a bit undersized. I would not be surprised if he impressed alongside these two, as he seems like the type who would elevate his game to his linemates level.

 

The Comets (by my tracking) have been getting dominated at even-strength as of late, so the additions of Sven Baertschi and Antoine Roussel to the lineup will be a welcome relief to this squad.

 

Tonight, the Comets faceoff against the Syracuse Crunch, as mentioned above. The Crunch come into Wednesday’s matchup on a three-game winning streak. Having spent their last week dominating the Eastern Conference-leading, Hartford Wolf Pack, in back-to-back games.

 

The Comets, by comparison, haven’t won a home game since October 30th. I know what you’re thinking, it’s a spooky curse! But, it might just be that this team has been propped up by incredible goaltending, and the erosion of the team’s top players has caused this, once-hot team to cool off to a concerning degree. For the Utica faithful’s sake, I hope this rag-tag group can put together a win for the home crowd.

 

With that out of the way, let’s get into tonight’s game starting with the night’s lineup!

 

THE STARTING LINEUP

 

LW	C	RW
Baertsch (#47)	Malone (#17)	Boucher (#24)
Roussel (#62)	Camper (#19)	Lind (#13)
Gadjovich (#21)	Perron (#27)	Bailey (#95)
Sorenson (#74)	Bancks (#34)	Stevenson (#26)

LD	RD
Sautner (#6)	Chatfield (#5)
Brisebois (#55)	Rafferty (#25)
Blujus (#8)	Eliot (#52)

G
Michael Di Pietro

 

All-star Rookie Goalie, Michael Di Pietro, gets the start at home. MDP was absolutely phenomenal on Saturday against the Rocket, where he posted an incredible 0.953 save% and a 2.01 Goals-against-average.

Other lineup notes not previously addressed; Tanner Sorenson slides into the lineup for the first time this season. Sorenson picked up three goals and three assists with the Kalamazoo Wings, before getting the call-up as an injury replacement.

Dylan Blujus also slides in for Josh Teves on that third pairing. I can’t complain about that one too much, as Teves hasn’t found a scoring touch yet in his time with the Comets. That and Blujus has the experience advantage, which this team will rely on heavily against the aggressive Crunch.

 

RE: INJURY REPORT

 

Injury Report	—	—	—
Olli Juolevi (not the knee)	Lukas Jasek	Vincent Arseneau	Wacey Hamilton

 

Healthy Scratches	—	—
Richard Bachman	Stefan LeBlanc	Josh Teves

 

1st period

 

Comets in Green/White Alternates

 

• I think I’ve said it before, but the Utica Comets have some of the best jerseys in pro-hockey.
• Also, good-guy Roussel not taking his jersey number from Dyson Stevenson
• Syracuse with two shots on goal early
• Jalen Chatfield (#5) with an early giveaway off a blind backhand pass
• Syracuse gets a two-on-one opportunity with Dylan Blujus (#8) tied up on the Comets blue line. MDP gets a piece of a weak Boris Katchouk shot from in tight
• Comets battle behind the goal line and Brogan Rafferty (#25) gets a reacharound to strip Jimmy Huntington off the puck
• Great hustle from the Comets on this shift to hold the zone and create a couple scoring chances. Comets almost lose the zone to start, but Guillaume Brisebois (#55) steps up into the play for a backhand saucer pass into the right circle. The pass is picked off, but Seamus Malone (#17) immediately steals and turns for a quick shot on goal. Reid Boucher (#24) misses the rebound, but a follow-up blast from Brisebois allows Boucher a second-go at the front of the net. Great play from Brisebois and Malone on this play
• Jonah Gadjovich (#21) wins an offensive zone faceoff back to Justin Bailey (#95), who walks to the center for a blast on net. Wedgewood makes the initial save and the Crunch nearly clear, but a good effort from Mitch Eliot (#52) regains possession for Bailey. Bailey slices around two Crunch players as he moves from right to left, but he skates himself too far out of position for a decent scoring chance
• LOL, Roussel takes his first penalty of the 2019-20 season as he gets dinged for holding on Cameron Gaunce
• First pk Group: Bancks, Chatfield, Boucher, Sautner
• Crunch with an early drive on net, but Boucher clears for the Comets
• 2nd group sees Bailey and Perron on the PK and they clear early as well
• Crunch pressure get a three-on-two rush. Guillaume Brisebois (#55) lays down his stick to break up a centering pass, but almost redirects the puck into the net. Fortunately, MDP makes a clutch stretch pad save. Kole Lind (#13) attempts to float a clearing attempt out of the zone with a backhand, but it gets knocked down by the Crunch at the blue line. Crunch almost get another odd-man chance, but they can’t control the puck well enough
• Sven Baertschi (#47) boxes his check out in the Crunch’s end, allowing Seamus Malone (#17) to pick up the puck from behind the net of Scott Wedgewood. Malone’s centering pass gets deflected out of play
• Brogan Rafferty (#25) makes an aggressive pinch in the offensive zone to prevent a clear, and he pins his man long enough to allow the new guy, Tanner Sorenson (#74), to take the puck off Rafferty’s stick for a drive through center for a shot on goal
• Guillaume Brisebois (#55) with a risky clearing attempt, as he picks up a floating puck at the crease of Di Pietro’s net, and drops it in front of several Crunch forwards while trying to clear the zone
• LOL, Dyson Stevenson (#26) skates towards Luke Witkowski, well after the whistles blown. Witkowski cross-checks Stevenson to the ice
• The two jaw at each-other through the entirety of the next shift, and even more after Otto Somppi takes a slashing penalty.
• Comets 1st peeper: Bailey, Rafferty, Baertschi, Lind, Boucher
• Comets 1st unit with some decent moves, as Rafferty (#25) sets up Boucher (#24) for a one-timer blast. Boucher follows his rocket with a big hit along the end boards. Rafferty hustles to catch a clearing attempt along the right-wing and goes rink-wide to Sven Baertschi (#47) along the left wall. Baertschi surveys his options and attempts to set-up Kole Lind (#13) with a tip-in attempt, but Wedgewood makes the save
• 2nd peeper comes out after the 1st loses the zone. Eliot, Perron, Gadjovich, Roussel, Camper
• powerplay ends, and fourth-line gets sent out
• Tanner Sorenson (#74) gets another chance through center-ice, and the fourth-line draws another penalty on Otto Somppi. Somppi off for hooking, this time.
• 1st Unit Peeper starts
• 1st unit spends majority trying to find a passing lane. Eventually, a cross-ice pass from Boucher is picked off by the Crunch, and the Comets reset outside of the zone
• Sven Baertschi (#47) get muscled off the buck after he chases the Crunch’s clearing attempt. Fortunately, he recovers right after with a steal
• GOAL – UTICA – 1-0 Comets: Comets capitalize on their second powerplay of the night with a blast from Mitch Eliot (#52) on the blue line. Eliot, Francis Perron (#27), and Carter Camper (#19) play tic-tac-toe around a Crunch defender before Eliot winds up for a slapper through traffic. Thought maybe Roussel or Gadjovich got a tip on it, based on the angle, but official credit goes to Eliot on the play
• Syracuse looks to answer immediately, as a misread in the defensive zone between Carter Bancks (#34) and Ashton Sautner (#6) opens up space for Taylor Raddysh to rifle a shot off the shoulder of Di Pietro
• Minute left in the opening frame and Brisebois takes a holding penalty
• Roussel (#62) getting some PK time, and Ashton Sautner (#6), like a light breeze, knocks over his check along the boards

 

The Score at the end of the 1st period: 1-0 Comets

 

Comets looking ok, all things considered. Shots tied at nine apiece! Game looks like it will be getting very chippy eventually. Roussel was mucking it up with a couple of Crunch players after heading to the bench on the PK. Given the team’s dearth of centers, it’s impressive they’ve stayed somewhat competitive at even-strength. Baertschi not doing much of anything tonight so far. Chalk it up to the brutal travel-to Syracuse. Shot attempts just not happening whenever Baertschi is controlling the puck. Seamus Malone has been driving play with Reid Boucher on that line tonight. Baertschi’s fundamentals are keeping him in the play, but he genuinely isn’t bringing much, shot-wise.

 

2nd Period

 

• Comets start with a minute-long penalty-kill
• Comets with a shorthanded odd-man-rush after the puck goes off the stanchion in their favor
• Jonah Gadjovich (#21) finds Francis Perron (#27) through traffic in the offensive zone, but Perron’s shot goes wide of the goal
• Luke Witkowski again makes a late hit on a Comets player, and a scrum ensues
• Ashton Sautner (#6) shoves his man off the puck behind the net of Di Pietro, followed by Roussel showing off some impressive skating early this period
• Tanner Sorenson (#74) with his third penalty drawn of the game
• Comets 1st Unit Peeper out to start
• Scott Wedgewood goes coast-to-coast to make a colossal save on a Reid Boucher (#24) one-timer
• Scrum ensues after a Brogan Rafferty (#25) blast on goal. Daniel Walcott yanks Kole Lind (#13) to the ice from behind while Justin Bailey (#95) takes a slash from Dominik Masin. After the fracas, Lind and Chris Mueller take coincidental Roughing minors
• 2nd Unit comes out, but the Comets can’t get pucks through traffic
• Seamus Malone (#17) picks off a pass in the Crunch’s end as they attempt to lead a breakout. Malone hands off to Jalen Chatfield (#5), who rockets a shot wide of the goal. Reid Boucher (#24) clips Wedgewood in the face with his stick as he looks for the tip-in attempt and the Comets are back to the PK
• Joe Roberts bemoans Wedgewood’s “acting” but it’s pretty clear as day that he got smacked in the face with Boucher’s stick
• Comets penalty-killers go three-for-three, as Jalen Chatfield (#5) wrings the puck around the boards to Reid Boucher (#24) as he leaves the penalty box. Boucher drives in on Wedgewood, who makes a huge 1-on-1 stop
• Rafferty (#25) with a feed to Baertschi (#47) in the offensive zone, but the puck has a bit too much steam on it, as it rattles off Bae’s stick into the end boards
• Nine minutes remaining and Alex Volkov takes a slashing penalty to put the Comets back on the powerplay
• GOAL – UTICA – 2-0 Comets: Comets capitalize on the powerplay for the second time tonight. Play starts after some fantastic aggressive forechecking from Justin Bailey (#95) and Kole Lind (#13). Lind and Bailey are hounding the Crunch for the puck, allowing Brogan Rafferty (#25) to set up Sven Baertschi (#47) on the doorstep for a wraparound. Baertschi wraps around for a pass to Reid Boucher (#24) who ends his four-game goal drought with his first of the night
• Mitch Eliot (#52) gets physical with Ross Colton but gets hit pretty hard in return, Dyson Stevenson (#26) steps in to have his Rookie D-man’s back
• Tanner Sorenson (#74) with another really solid shift. Play starts with Justin Bailey (#95) trying to 1v5 with some slick dancing in the offensive zone. Sorenson attempts to bat-in the rebound of an Ashton Sautner (#6) shot on goal, then steals the puck from behind the net, to give Sautner another try from the blue line. Sautner hands off to Sorenson at center, where he then does a drop-pass fake to get space on the right-wing for a shot on goal. He then picks off a Crunch clearing attempt at neutral ice before changing off
• Oh boy, Comets get another big scoring chance from Justin Bailey, but he stops playing behind the net to cross-check Luke Witkowski after whiffing on a scoring chance. Comets back to the penalty kill
• Comets doing a great job to suppress the Crunch on their powerplay, and Ashton Sautner (#6) draws a tripping penalty on Chris Mueller
• Comets playing this 4-on-4 to start like it’s a PK
• MDP with a big save on Dennis Yan during the 4-on-4
• On the Comets powerplay, MDP makes a big glove save, but plays the puck before the Ref can blow the whistle which leads to a Comets powerplay rush the other way
• oh boy, Carter Bancks gets called for hooking and the Comets are onto the penalty kill, again
• Refs calling everything tonight
• Justin Bailey (#95) with a takeaway on the penalty-kill, only to once again, overplay the puck. Bailey once again displaying the highs and lows of his game as he makes one great play, but his IQ then sees the possible offense created evaporate by meandering around the rink in circles until he takes a low% shot
• GOAL – SYRACUSE – 2-1 Comets: Chaos in the crease, as the Syracuse Crunch’s Nolan Valleau rips a shot into traffic. The puck gets tapped in the crease by Dannick Martel, and despite MDP’s best efforts, the puck crosses the line. Comets lead cut to one.
• Dannick Martel attempts to murder Seamus Malone (#17) with a brutal check from behind. Martel gets two for boarding, and the Comets end the final 50 seconds on the powerplay
• Wow, Luke Witkowski literally holding Lind’s stick along the end-boards as he chases a dump-in. Witkowski then flops to the ice and covers Lind’s stick so he can’t re-engage with the play. Lind takes a roughing penalty on the play incredibly
• I think that earlier cross-check on Dyson Stevenson in the first made the Ref’s weary of this one getting out of hand. But the number of penalties make-up calls is getting a little silly. Lind getting a roughing call here was a joke.

 

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

 

Hard to fault them on the goal that cut the Comets lead, as MDP did his very best to try get a glove on it. Game is getting into bizarre territory with the odd number of penalties being called — 18 minutes worth of penalties, and four minutes of coincidental penalties. Comets outshot the Crunch twelve to ten. Couldn’t even tell you who was edging who at even-strength. So much of this period has been spent on the man-advantage and so little at 5-on-5.

 

3rd period

 

• one minute down and we haven’t had three minutes of pausing to dish out penalties! A good start for the Farm
• Roussel (#62) with a fantastic shift alongside Jonah Gadjovich (#21), showing that he hasn’t missed a single step. Roussel sets up the zone-entry for Gadjovich, then battles the entire Crunch team along the left wall to set up Ashton Sautner (#6) for a blast on goal
• GOAL – UTICA – 3-1 Comets: Dylan Blujus regains the Comets two-goal lead as he notches his third goal of the season on a wrister from the blue line. Play begins with another aggressive shift from Tanner Sorenson (#74). Sorenson begins chasing down a loose puck sent to the front of Wedgewood’s crease by Dyson Stevenson (#26). He then shuffles the puck along the end-boards to Blujus who’s shot goes finds its way through six bodies into the back of the net
• Glad to see Sorenson get rewarded with his first AHL point, he’s looked great every shift
• Syracuse thinks they’ve cut the Comets lead again, but the puck was played behind Di Pietro with a high-stick. No-goal
• Wedgewood denies Boucher (#24) again! This time Camper (#19) sets up Bouch with a picture-perfect centering feed on the doorstep, but a stretch-pad save from Wedgewood keeps out Boucher’s tap-in goal
• Crazy scene in the offensive zone as the Comets miss several shots on goal in a row. Lind almost gets a baseball hit into the net. Better work on that hand-eye, Lind!
• not much here, but just wanted to show that Gadjovich’s skating is radically better than it was last season. This time last year, Gadjovich wouldn’t have caught up with the puck on either end-to-end rush. But here he is getting back, positioning to defend, and then racing up ice to lay a hit. Loving his improvement
• Continuing from above, Justin Bailey (#95) takes a hooking penalty while backchecking, and Jonah Gadjovich (#21) lays out Volkov along the boards before taking out Dannick Martel while battling for the puck.
• Syracuse has the man-advantage with the goalie pulled, and a one-timer blast from Danick Martel goes off the inside of the right-post as MDP sprawls for a save. Brogan Rafferty (#25) attempts to clear the puck, but the Crunch gets it back to one of their own. Jonah Gadjovich (#21), continuing his incredible shift, drops for a clutch block on a Luke Witkowski shot
• At the end of Gadjovich’s brutal shift, Luke Witkowski tries to fight Gadjovich, who obliges. The linesman tie both up, so they cant scrap. Both start laughing and take turns exchanging punches to the face while the linesmen try to break it up
• Don’t show the above to Daniel Carcillo
• Witkowski and Gadjovich take 2 minutes each for roughing plus Game misconducts for “continuing the altercation,” haha
• Comets off to their sixth penalty kill of the game
• Syracuse almost nets a powerplay goal after a shot ricochets off the skate of a Crunch forward but it deflects just wide of the goal
• Comets kill the Bailey penalty
• Jalen Chatfield (#5) pins his man along the boards on a backcheck, and then Tanner Sorenson (#74) leads a breakout and zone entry for the Comets
• Reid Boucher (#24) steals the puck in the neutral zone and leads a zone-entry. Boucher centers for Seamus Malone (#17) who, in turn, tries to set up Sven Baertschi (#47) on the doorstep, but his pass gets deflected wide and out of play.
• Guillaume Brisebois (#55) with a risky pass into the high slot for Justin Bailey (#95). But Bailey hits the afterburners and goes end-to-end for a backhander on net
• Time just flying by through this final frame. Crunch wading in with a few opportunities, but nothing threatening. Comets getting chances but not finishing
• Seamus Malone (#17) with a slick rink-wide feed to Sven Baertschi (#47) who rips a shot on goal. Baertschi catches his rebound along the half-wall and plays it between his legs to Reid Boucher (#24). Bouch sets up a crashing Guillaume Brisebois (#55) who gets a nifty move around a Crunch defender only to get off a weak shot on Wedgewood
• Chatfield (#5) picks off a centering feed then plays it back to Sautner (#6) who sends a clearing attempt down the ice that Antoine Roussel (#62) chases down
• Continued from above, Antoine Roussel (#62) controls the puck around three Crunch players, and hands off to Kole Lind (#13). Lind passes to Carter Camper (#19) at center-ice who wades towards Wedgewood for a scoring chance. Unfortunately, Camper completely blows the golden opportunity as he overplays the puck and loses it into the boards
• Crunch pull Syracuse for the extra-man
• GOAL – UTICA – 4-1 Comets: seconds after pulling Wedgewood, Reid Boucher (#24) steals the puck on the Comets blue line and sets up Sven Baertschi (#47) for the easy empty-netter goal.
• Kole Lind (#13) to Carter Camper (#19) attempt #2, where Camper gets a shot off this time
• Dyson Stevenson (#26) clears a centering feed, then Tanner Sorenson (#74)ties up his man along the boards until Stevenson comes over to clear
• Bit of a dicey move here as Tanner Sorenson (#74) picks up a loose puck in the slot to clear the zone and appears to get slew foot by a Crunch player, after having already knocked Sorenson off-balance
• Time winds down and the Comets win their first home game in nearly a month

 

 

Final Score: 4-1 Utica Comets

 

Scoresheet

 

Period	Team	Goalscorer	Primary assist	helper	type
1st	Utica	Mitch Eliot	Carter Camper	Francis Perron	PPG
2nd	Utica	Reid Boucher	Sven Baertschi	Brogan Rafferty	PPG
2nd	Syracuse	Danick Martel	Nolan Valleau	Otto Somppi	PPG
3rd	Utica	Dylan Blujus	Tanner Sorenson	Dyson Stevenson	PPG
3rd	Utica	Sven Baertschi	Reid Boucher	—	5v5

 

Takeaways

 

• Comets get a clean win over Syracuse despite being quite undisciplined through the first two periods of play. Comets conclude the game having outshot the Crunch, 35 to 24. The third frame was particularly impressive for the Comets as they managed to hold the Crunch to five shots.
• Impressive season debut for Tanner Sorenson. After last seasons revolving door of middling ECHL call-ups, its been a welcome change to see guys like Dyson Stevenson and Tanner Sorenson step into the Comets lineup and be valuable additions to their fourth line. Sorenson notches his first career AHL point after spending the last four years alternating between the ECHL, the VHL (KHL’s version of the A), and the NLB (Swiss version of the A). Props to him on a wildly successful debut. I can’t wait to do the stats-tracking on this one to see if the underlying numbers match my eye test impression!
• Antoine Roussel, when he was playing, was a constant threat. He didn’t have much ice-time tonight, but I think that was mostly because he wasn’t playing 1st unit powerplay time or much PK time. He did play second unit on the right wall, as well as on the PK, but Cull rolled out his main guys for the insane amount of special-teams time as opposed to his NHL vets. Roussel looked solid all-in-all, skating was never a concern, his turning and burst looked unencumbered. Stoked to see this guy two more times before he returns to the Canucks
• Don’t be fooled by Baertschi’s stat line. He may have ended the night with one goal and one assist, but the dude just hemorrhages shot attempts-against. Even before he left for his stint with the Canucks, Baertschi’s control numbers were somewhat suspect during his time with the Comets. Baertschi’s CORSI and FENWICK Off-ice percentages suggest that the Comets are controlling shot-attempts at a much higher rate without him on the ice as opposed to with him on the ice. For someone of his pedigree, that seems like the opposite of what should be happening, especially given Baertschi’s current 1.50 pts per game status. Fact is, Baertschi knows how to position and how to take advantage of the lax defending in the AHL. Perhaps, his natural playmaking allows him to cheat heavily on the defensive side of the game. But if he wants to earn a chance with the Canucks again, he’s going to have to put in way more effort in his defensive side to be useful to this Comets team in a first-line capacity.

Svens stat line based on my own tracking

• A writeup on the data I’ve put together so far after 19 (22 after this weekend) will come out soon hopefully! Just about really making sure I’ve done my homework and am not speaking out of turn when it comes to my armchair-stat-tracking
• Reid Boucher had himself a solid game tonight as he dominated the Syracuse Crunch in the neutral zone with his oppressive takeaway game. Boucher ended his night with one goal and one assist with six shots on net. Guy was a constant threat and looked to have instant chemistry with Seamus Malone as his center.
• Seamus Malone was fantastic in his return game tonight, was aggressively forechecking, solid in his own end, and created numerous scoring chances for his line. His stat line might lead people to think that he was a passenger tonight, but he genuinely was carrying the offensive load with Boucher tonight. A great game overall for him after a brutal string of unfortunate injuries over the summer and this season.
• Jonah Gadjovich continues to impress. Registered just one shot on goal, but his much-improved skating and looks in the offensive zone were a far cry from the guy who struggled last season to generate momentum with his skates. Gadjovich looked sharp against the Crunch, holding his own in the defensive zone just as well as he did as leading his line for zone-entries. I said it already this season, but, most people auto-wrote Gadjovich off after last season but were readying themselves for the “Lind resurgence.” Maybe, folks should’ve been paying attention to what guys like Cory Hergott and myself were saying at the end of last year, that the kid was turning a corner to close out last season and would be one to watch this year.
• Guillaume Brisebois (and all the defensemen for that matter) were solid tonight. No truly glaring errors that stood out above all. There were a few risky passes through the high-slot that could’ve been bad news, but otherwise, I think they all collectively played well tonight. Blujus, Rafferty, Sautner, Eliot, and Brisebois combined for sixteen of the Comets 34 shots on net. Fantastic contribution from the backline tonight. Rafferty tempered his willingness to overcommit in the offensive zone tonight and played a more subdued game. I believe his and other agro defensemen toning back on the offensive aggression contributed to the Comets playing a much cleaner game in both ends of the ice.
• Justin Bailey showed off his speed quite a bit tonight, but boy was he frustrating to watch. The second he gets his motor going, you just know he’s going to skate too far past the goal line to get a meaningful scoring chance. If he starts to do a lap around the offensive zone, you know he’s going to taper off towards the end of his run, and it will lead to an easy save for the goaltender. His speed should provide unpredictability to his opponents that opens up scoring chances. But, somehow, despite his NHL speed, it’s just a matter of letting him tired himself out to turn the play the other way. Somethings gotta get fixed there because it’s a massive waste to see that speed only result in low% shot attempts.
• Mitch Eliot continues to impress at the AHL level. His bomb from the blue line tonight was crisp AF. I think one of my main concerns heading into this season was the lack of d-men who could hit the net from the blue line with a shot. Chatfield and Sautner continue to be MIA in that department, so it’s great to see the rookies, Eliot and Rafferty, step up in such a huge way with their impressive shots.

 

Comets Three Stars

• Reid Boucher
• Mitch Eliot
• Tanner Sorenson

HM: Jonah Gadjovich

 

The Comets Trajectory?

The Comets return this Saturday and Sunday for another roadie double-header when the Comets head north to face off against the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies lead the North Division with 29 points, while the Comets now sit in third with 25. The Marlies currently sit on a six-game win streak, but they will be heading into the weekend double-header after also playing the Rochester Americans on the road Friday night. Utica has to do everything they can to overwhelm, what should be, an exhausted Marlies team.

 

If you want more Comets coverage from yours truly, you can now find MORE of my writing at thesinbin.net