CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: Boucher Sets New Team Scoring Record as Comets Hang On For 4-3 Win Over Belleville

Game #29

Utica Comets at Belleville Senators

Wednesday, December 18th, 2019

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific

77 Nikolay Goldobin – 19 Carter Camper – 15 Zack MacEwen (A)

47 Sven Baertschi – 17 Seamus Malone – 24 Reid Boucher (A)

95 Justin Bailey – 9 Lukas Jasek – 13 Kole Lind

21 Jonah Gadjovich – 34 Carter Bancks (C) – 18 Vincent Arseneau

55 Guillaume Brisebois – 25 Brogan Rafferty

48 Olli Juolevoi – 6 Ashton Sautner

8 Dylan Blujus – 52 Mitch Eliot

31 Zane McIntyre

32 Richard Bachman (backing up)

I will start off by saying that while Francis Perron has been a streaky player this season, I was a little surprised to see him as a healthy scratch with the Comets facing off against one of his former teams. If Trent Cull was sending a message, let’s hope Frankie heard it loud and clear.

There was a pretty good pace to the opening frame as Utica had the edge in the play early before Belleville stormed back to make the period a little bit more respectable from their perspective.

The Comets got some good pressure early from the Carter Camper line before the Jasek line took over to continue. Carter Bancks dished out an early hit near the benches before breaking the other way with Jonah Gadjovich. Bancks called his own number and took the puck to the net, but Joey Daccord was there with the save.

Ashton Sautner followed up with a point shot that was kicked out before former Comets pivot Cole Cassels tried to jump on a turnover but couldn’t beat Zane McIntyre to the puck.

Max Lajoie was dinged for delay of game at the 4:37 mark and Utica had an early power play to work with. Trent Cull elected to go with his second unit first as MacEwen, Goldobin, Camper, Gadjovich, and Olli Juolevi climbed over the boards. They had some nice puck movement, but outside of a Juolevi shot through traffic that was kicked out and a doorstep jam play from Gadjovich that was denied, they came up empty.

The first unit of Baertschi, Boucher, Bailey, Lind, and Rafferty took over and saw former Comets Joe LaBate block a Rafferty offering and the Comets power play came up empty.

A fight soon broke out between Justin Bailey and Hubert Labrie behind the Sens’ net and both men were given five for fighting. I will call this one a draw.

Vitaly Abramov had a chance from in close turned aside by a quick leg from McIntyre before Rafferty wiped out behind his own net on an exit play and the Comets found themselves hemmed in for a shift.

Once they got going again, Mitch Eliot got a shot through from the right side that was denied by Daccord. Lukas Jasek followed up with a chance that was tipped by Carter Bancks, but Daccord gloved it down. At the other end, it was Jack Dougherty having his shot steered aside by McIntyre.

Zack MacEwen was dinged for a high stick at the 10:31 mark and the Comets had a penalty to kill. Jasek and Bancks got things started with Juolevi, and Blujus before Baertschi and Boucher climbed the boards with Brisebois and Sautner.

Sens rookie Josh Norris had a chance turned aside and the Comets had a good kill in the books.

Vitaly Abramov came back for another chance that McIntyre handled and the Comets went the other way. MacEwen worked his way through a pair of defenders before firing a shot off the side of the net. Jonathan Aspirot had his shot shut down by McIntyre when the Sens went back the other way.

Frank Corrado followed up with another chance and McIntyre said no. Once again, the Comets were soon heading back the other way and Jasek used a cross-ice feed to Bailey for a chance but the play was broken up by a defender.

Kole Lind coughed up a puck in the Comets end but he was bailed out by an alert play from Guillaume Brisebois. At the other end, Seamus Malone used a nifty spin and pass play to set up Mitch Eliot off the rush but Daccord was there with another save.

Former Comet Joe LaBate had a backhander turned aside by McIntyre and Carter Bancks followed up with a play to Gadjovich at the other end that was denied by Daccord. Jordan Swarz came back for a chance that was denied by McIntyre.

Zack MacEwen was playing his first game back with the Comets after another brief stint with the big club and he was feeling it in this one. TheBigFella took a nice feed from Carter Camper and turned on the jets before beating Daccord with a backhander for his fourth goal of the season. Camper picked up his 15th assist of the year on the play, while Goldobin grabbed his 16th.

MacEwen was also quickly dispatched to the box for a faceoff violation, so he was credited with a goal at 17:01 and sent to the box at 17:01 as well. Strange world.

Sven Baertschi would get a shorthanded chance that was denied by Daccord and the Comets came up with a good kill.

The Comets showed a lead of 13-9 on the shot clock.

Your first-period shot map:

The middle frame got off to a hot start for the Comets as Camper set Goldobin up for his 10th of the year just 20 seconds in. Camper earned his 16th assist of the year on the play.

That was a pretty nice cross-ice feed from Camper for his 400th point as a pro.

Brogan Rafferty followed up with a long shot that was gloved down and Boucher came right back in and ripped one that Daccord had to squeeze with all his might to keep from getting through.

The Sens poured on some pressure and McIntyre shut down a chance from Carcone before the former Comet beat him for his fourth goal of the season. Alex Formenton grabbed his seventh assist of the season on the play, while Hubert Labrie earned his fourth.

Jordan Murray was sent off for delay of game… that would become a trend in this period for the Sens as they kept firing the puck over the glass, at the 5:16 mark and the Comets had a power play to work with. They started with the second unit and Juolevi set up Camper for a chance that was denied before Goldy had a pass picked off and the Sens took possession until the first unit took over.

Take over they did, as Boucher was soon celebrating his record-setting 76th goal in a Comets uniform and 20th tally of the season. Rafferty picked up his 20th assist of the season on the play, while Kole Lind grabbed his 16th.

I personally love that the goal came from Reid’s office in the right circle.

The game had some good back and forth as Josh Norris and Brogan Rafferty took turns ringing their shot off the iron before Jasek got trucked by Max Lajoie, sending Max Verinneau the other way for a chance that he fired wide. Keep your head up, Lukas.

The Jasek line was hemmed in for the remainder of that shift before the fourth line took over with a physical shift from Arseneau and Gadjovich.

Ashton Sautner tried his luck with a shot from the left side that was swallowed up by Daccord for a whistle.

Olli Juolevi was having a solid game to this point and used a smart stick to break up a play in the neutral zone before Michael Carcone had a chance in close that he couldn’t bury. Rudolphs Balcers tried his luck from in close as well and he too was thwarted by McIntyre.

The Sens kept it coming as Lajoie had a shot tipped by Formenton but McIntyre was equal to the task.

Jack Dougherty was dinged for another one of those delay of game penalties at the 15:41 mark and it was back to the power play for Utica. The first unit started things off and they would need less than 20 seconds to make it a 4-1 game when Kole Lind pounced on a loose puck and chipped it past Daccord for his eighth goal of the season. Sven Baertschi picked up his 20th helper of the season on the play, while Brogan Rafferty earned his 21st.

The puck had barely been dropped after the Lind tally when Abramov sent yet another puck over the glass and it was right back to the kill for the Sens. Kole Lind fired a one-timer wide before Gadjovich was dinged for slashing and it was off to some four aside play.

The teams were battling at four aside when Dylan Blujus took an elbow up high and during the ensuing delayed penalty, Carter Bancks took a stick in the mumbles and headed off to have a new zipper installed in his face. He would return a few shifts into the third period.

The penalty on the elbow to Blujus was called as Formenton was headed off to the box, but somehow, no call was made when Bancks left a trail of blood as he headed off for repairs.

The period ended with the Comets showing a 10-7 advantage on the shot clock.

Your second-period shot map:

We saw another new wrinkle to the power play at the start of the third period as Trent Cull did something that we haven’t seen often from him. He used two defenders on the PP and he was loading up with Juolevi and Rafferty. They were joined by Boucher, Baertschi, and Lind. They couldn’t make anything happen and neither could MacEwen, Goldobin, Camper, Gadjovich, and Sautner.

This period had a slow start compared to the first two but the Sens did apply some pressure before Kole Lind came up with the puck and cleared the zone for the Comets. The Sens came back in and Rafferty came up with a shot block and the Comets went back the other way.

Max Lajoie came back looking for a goal but McIntyre gloved down his long offering.

At the other end, Lukas Jasek was filling in for Carter Bancks on a line with Gadjovich and Arseneau and that trio did nice work on a forechecking shift before Bancks returned on the next shift in Jasek’s spot between Bailey and Lind. The lines would go back to normal for the next shift.

Juolevi snuck a point shot through traffic but was unable to get it past Daccord and Reid Boucher was soon dinged for hooking as he went water skiing at the other end of the ice to stymie a Sens chance.

The Sens made this one count as Abramov was credited with his ninth goal of the season after a point shot bounced off a few legs before finally going in off of Brisebois. Formenton picked up his eighth helper of the year on the play, while Jordan Murray earned his 12th.

Justin Bailey tried to answer back in quick fashion but his chance was swallowed up by Daccord. At the other end, Filip Chlapik let fly with a shot through traffic that was denied, as was the Murray offering from the left side that followed.

At the other end, Brisebois had a chance from the point kicked out before Seamus Malone was whistled for holding at the 10:29 mark. The Comets had another penalty to kill. The foursome of Bancks, Jasek, Sautner, and Juolevi was doing good work to keep the Sens to the outside and the next group of killers did the same until Abramov had a chance gobbled up by McIntyre and the Comets had another good kill.

The Sens were looking like they wanted to keep putting traffic in front of McIntyre and hope for some rebound/garbage goals. Hey, they count too, so why not? McIntyre stayed busy, kicking out another pair of shots as the Sens were outshooting the Comets 10-3 with just 5:25 remaining in the third.

Jordan Murray was sent off for slashing at the 14:35 mark and the Comets were back to the man advantage. Boucher, Bailey, Baertschi, Rafferty, and Juolevi climbed the boards and went to work. Unfortunately, that work was in the Comets end as McIntyre had to come up with a big save as Swarz and Formenton came in on an odd-man rush.

Camper, Gadjovich, MacEwen, Goldobin, and Sautner took over before Brisebois replaced Camper. The coaching staff was using Camper as a faceoff man on both the PK and PP at times in this game.

Frank Corrado had a shorthanded chance gloved down before Sautner had his opportunity swallowed up by Daccord.

Brogan Rafferty has been getting it done offensively in his rookie campaign, but he has also been coughing up his share of pucks to opponents who press him. He did just that again in this game but no harm came from the miscue. There are still some things that Brogan needs to tighten up in his game.

The Comets power play came up empty again.

The Sens coaching staff summoned Daccord to the bench with 3:09 remaining in the game and we saw Boucher try for an empty-net tally. His shot was on target, but there happened to be a discarded stick laying in the path to the goal and Reid’s chance was deflected wide.

Filip Chlapik had a late chance gobbled up by McIntyre before the Sens called their timeout with 2:25 remaining. The net reminded empty as the Sens were looking for a pair of goals to tie the game up.

Guillaume Brisebois used a sweet toe-drag out of his own end to move the Comets up the ice, but Abramov was soon back in the Comets end and banging in his 10th goal of the season to pull his team to within a goal. Former Comet Joe LaBate picked up his fifth helper of the year on the play, while Rudolphs Balcers earned his 13th.

The Sens pressed to the final buzzer, but the Comets held on for the 4-3 win.

Belleville held a staggering 17-4 advantage on the third-period shot clock and a 33-27 advantage for the game.

Your third-period shot map:

Power Play: 2/6

Penalty Kill: 4/5

PP1: Boucher, Baertschi, Bailey, Lind Rafferty.

PP2: Goldobin, MacEwen, Camper, Gadjovich, Juolevi.

PP3: Baertschi, Boucher, Rafferty, Juolevi, Lind.

PP4: Goldobin, Camper, MacEwen, Sautner, Brisebois.

Penalty Killers: Bancks, Jasek, Baerstchi, Boucher, Camper, Bailey, MacEwen, Brisebois, Juolevi, Sautner, Blujus.

3rd Star: Vitaly Abramov. Two goals.

2nd Star: Brogan Rafferty. Two assists.

1st Star: Zane McIntyre. 30 saves.

3rd Star: Brogan Rafferty/Kole Lind. This duo is going neck-and-neck for points this year. Both are up to 24 points in 29 games, putting them on pace for 63 point seasons. The Comets record for points in a single season is currently 62, so that seems pretty good.

2nd Star: Zane McIntyre. McIntyre made 30 saves for the win and faced 17 shots in the final frame to hold his team in the game. McIntyre has had an up and down season so far, but today’s performance should help him build a little bit of confidence for his next start.

1st Star: Reid Boucher. Boucher became the Comets all-time leader for goals scored today with his 76th goal for the team in his 125th game. He is now up to 20 goals in 24 games played this season and has 34 points and counting. He scores, he sets goals up, he kills penalties, he hits, he fights… is there anything that Reid can’t do at the AHL level?

Game #30

Laval Rocket at Utica Comets

Friday, December 20th, 2019

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific