CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: Comets Come Away With A Point In 3-2 Shootout Loss To Rochester

Game #46

At Rochester Americans

Friday, January 25th, 2019

7:05 pm Eastern/4:05 pm Pacific

Richard Bachman, (out for the season) Olli Juolevi, (out for the season) Ashton Sautner, (day-to-day, practicing) Jesse Graham, (day-to-day) Tanner MacMaster, Jonah Gadjovich, Colton Saucerman, Cam Darcy, Jaime Sifers, (Vet) and Brendan Woods.

 

20 Tom Pyatt – 10 Tanner Kero – 24 Reid Boucher (A)

54 Jonathan Dahlen – 16 Brendan Gaunce – 15 Zack MacEwen

34 Carter Bancks (C) – 17 Adam Gaudette – 9 Lukas Jasek

18 Vincent Arseneau – 36 Wacey Hamilton (A) – 13 Kole Lind

55 Guillaume Brisebois – 23 Luke Schenn

2 Evan McEneny – 8 Dylan Blujus

29 Cliff Watson – 5 Jalen Chatfield

31 Ivan Kulbakov

49 Michael Leighton (backing up)

This first period went by pretty quickly as we didn’t see very many penalties in the opening frame. Guillaume Brisebois was paired with newcomer Luke Schenn today and he must have felt like he had the green light offensively as he jumped into the rush early to get in the way of goaltender Jonas Johansson’s way of seeing Tom Pyatt’s point shot. Johansson proved to be equal to the task and the game remained knotted at zero.

Pyatt came right back with another shot that was denied after Ivan Kulbakov made a save at the other end.

It didn’t take Schenn long to make his presence felt when he unloaded with a heavy hit in the Comets end early in the game. I felt that one all the way in Sechelt BC.

Tanner Kero was the first man headed to the box when he was dinged for slashing at the 3:57 mark and the Comets had an early penalty to kill. We saw the dynamic duo of Carter Bancks and Wacey Hamilton out first with Schenn and Brisebois. Schenn came up with a shot block and a clear in order to get a line change for his group.

Gaunce and MacEwen climbed over the boards next, followed by Jalen Chatfield and Dylan Blujus. It was nice to see Chatfield back out on the ice and that his sweet, sweet skating stride doesn’t seem to be hampered after missing time with his broken foot. The Comets came up with a good kill.

Chatfield followed up the kill with a shot through traffic that was denied before Kulbakov whipped out the blocker at the other end to turn aside a Rochester chance. Kulbakov came up with another pair of saves before Tom Pyatt found himself on a two-on-one with Zack MacEwen, but the Rochester defender laid out to block any chance of a pass or shot on the play.

Not to be deterred, Pyatt came right back with a shot from the left side that was gloved down by Johansson. The Amerks came back with a point shot that was kicked aside by Kulbakov before Vincent Arseneau hit Brisebois with a pass in the high slot for a shot that was soaked up by Johansson.

Jack Dougherty was sent off for a high-stick at the 10:35 mark and the Comets had a power play to work with.

When I spoke with Craig MacEwen during the Canucks preseason, he told me about how when his son was smaller, he used to always come out of board battles with the puck and it was often because of the work that he did with his feet during the battle. Well, we saw TheBigFella do just that when his stick was relieved from his hands, but he still kept possession of the puck and came away from the battle with it in his feet. It was a great play from MacEwen, but the Comets came up empty with the extra man.

Adam Gaudette followed up the power play with a slick play to get a shot away that was denied before Wacey Hamilton ripped his shot off the iron with a yawning cage staring him down. Dylan Blujus followed up with a chance that was turned aside as well.

Jalen Chatfield was showing no ill-effects of his broken foot when he jumped into the rush for the Comets. I sure missed watching him skate while he was out.

Dylan Blujus does a good job of putting pucks toward the net and he sent one Johansson’s way that was tipped wide before Gaudette came with more dangles to keep possession for the Comets.

Tanner Kero has been piling up the helpers all season and he nearly had another when he hit Pyatt for a chance in tight that was denied by Johansson. BigVinny jumped on a turnover and sent a heavy shot on net that was denied before Kole Lind had his followup chance turned aside as well.

Kulbakov made a save on a long shot before Boucher got a wrister away from the left side that was denied by the shoulder of Johansson.

The Comets have had a habit of taking penalties late in periods this season and that continued when Lukas Jasek was fingered for high-sticking at the 17:59 mark. We saw penalty killing groups of Schenn, Brisebois, Bancks, and Hamilton, along with another of Gaunce with MacEwen, Blujus and Chatfield.

Kulbakov had to make a save on Rasmus Asplund off the left side before saying no to Alex Nylander on a chance from in close.

Matt Tennyson also took a late penalty when he was dinged for tripping at the 19:53 mark and that was it for the opening frame. The Comets showed a 16-11 advantage on the shot clock.

Reid Boucher was able to get an early one-timer off that was denied by Johansson before the Comets power play kicked in. MacEwen tried a spin and fire move in tight and when that didn’t go, he whipped out his shovel and kept digging until Johansson was able to cover up for a whistle. The Comets came up empty on the power play.

Wacey Hamilton came right back with a chance that was denied before Arseneau unloaded with one of his patented hits. BigVinny brings the pain. He isn’t the only one, however as Jalen Chatfield was no shrinking violet today either, as is his way. The young blueliner was using his body well to push forwards off of pucks in his return.

Reid Boucher was looking to open the scoring with a quick backhander, but Johansson had a quicker leg to come up with the save.

Johansson wouldn’t be quick enough to stop Boucher’s next offering, however, as Tanner Kero hit him with a sweet pass and Boucher made no mistake. The goal was Boucher’s 18th of the season. while Kero earned his 22nd helper of the year on the play.

Adam Gaudette showed some shrewd hockey sense, using his body to shield the puck while coming out from behind the Rochester net with a defender draped over his back. The rookie pivot managed to turn and fire in close, but Johansson was ready with the save.

Jack Dougherty was dinged for delay of game when he put the puck out of play at the 7:01 mark and the Comets had a chance to add to their lead.

The Amerks got a shorthanded chance that was denied by Kulbakov before Gaunce coughed up the puck to Dougherty as he exited the box. Dougherty whipped out his moves, dipsy-doodled himself out of space and couldn’t get his shot away. The Comets came up empty again.

Kulbakov kept the saves coming as he first shut down Nylander with a stick save, before whipping out a poke check on Danny O’Regan on his chance.

Luke Schenn was dinged for holding at the 10:40 mark and the Comets were back to the kill. Wacey Hamilton came up with a shot block for the first PK unit before Gaunce broke up a play and went in for a shorthanded chance that he put wide of the net. Kulbakov followed up by kicking aside a scoring chance and the Comets had another good kill.

Kulbakov had to make another save after the kill and a brief melee ensued. Cooler heads would prevail before anybody had to be sent to the box. The netminder stretched out with the blocker to deny Matt Tennyson before following up with another save and covering for a whistle.

The Comets young netminder can be a bit of an adventure at times when he leaves his net to play the puck and he nearly got caught doing just that before scrambling back into position to make a save.

There are some fans in the Vancouver market who aren’t always happy to look down the roster and see names like Bancks, Hamilton, and Arseneau getting time when names like Gadjovich are sitting in the press box. I understand that sentiment to a point, especially if someone is looking from the outside without the benefit of viewing the games.

Carter Bancks showed just one of the reasons why he is the captain of this team and why his coach continues to deploy him with at least one rookie at his side. Today he had two, in Lukas Jasek and Adam Gaudette. Gaudette was crushed by a big hit from the much bigger Andrew MacWilliam. It took about half a second before the captain was all over MacWilliam in a brief skirmish. If you are unaware, Bancks is roughly five-feet, eleven inches tall and tips the scales at about a buck eighty. MacWilliam is six-feet, two inches tall and weighs in at about 220 pounds.

Bancks didn’t need to be told to stand up for his rookie, heck, I doubt he even had to think about it as he started throwing fists with his much larger opponent. Yes, Gadjovich may well have done something similar had he been in the game, but he would not likely have been riding shotgun with Gaudette at the time of the offence as he hasn’t earned that type of assignment as of yet. The point is, players like Bancks, Hamilton, and Arseneau do play a part in helping these kids develop, whether it is standing up for them in a situation as happened today, or leading by example in the same regard.

Bancks and MacWilliam were each assessed with a five-minute fighting major after the altercation.

Kulbakov stayed active, making a blocker save before swallowing up a tipped shot from the point. The netminder went on another foray behind his net to play the puck and was mowed over by Taylor Leier for his efforts. Kulbakov stayed down long enough to get the attention of the officials and Leier was off to the bin to feel shame for charging.

MacEwen hit Boucher with a one-timer feed that was denied and the period came to a close. Rochester showed a 20-9 advantage on the shot clock for the second period.

Zack MacEwen kept those one-timer passes coming as Tanner Kero was the next recipient of such a feed, but his shot was kicked out by Johansson. The Amerks netminder gloved down another chance and his team came away with a good kill.

The defensive tandem of Brisebois and Schenn looked pretty solid today and we saw them try to bring some offence when Brisebois teed up Schenn for a one-timer that was gloved down by Johansson.

Vincent Arseneau followed up that shot with a stiff hit at the Comets blueline before Kulbakov flashed the leather to shut down a shot through traffic.

By this time Bancks and MacWilliam were back on the ice and Kole Lind followed the lead of his captain and zeroed in on MacWilliam with a solid hit at the Rochester blue line. Did I mention that MacWilliam is roughly the size of a ’59 Buick?

The Comets coughed up the puck again and this time Kulbakov was staring down Wayne Simpson on a short breakaway. Simpson made his move and Kulbakov whipped out the mitt and said, no.

CJ Smith followed up with a shot through traffic that Kulbakov kicked aside before Gaudette did his best Bo Horvat impression with a nifty toe-drag over the Rochester blueline before putting his shot up high. Johansson had trouble with it and juggled the puck with Bancks looking for garbage, but the netminder managed to keep the puck out.

Rochester came back the other way and spent a shift pouring on the pressure in the Comets zone. The Comets were on their heels before Jalen Chatfield grabbed the puck and calmly cleared it out of the zone. Chatfield has missed 27 games with his injury and he did a fantastic job of keeping his game simple and effective today.

Danny O’Regan scored at the 9:34 mark to knot the game at one when he beat Kulbakov for his 17th goal of the season. Brandon Hickey earned the lone assist for his third helper of the year.

Alex Nylander came right back looking for more with a shot that Kulbakov got a piece of and steered out of play.

The line of Pyatt, Kero and Boucher had their way with the Amerks on their next shift before Kero tried a shot that missed and Boucher grabbed the puck and pulled off a turn-and-fire play that beat Johansson for his second of the game and 19th of the season. Kero earned his 23rd assist of the year on the play, giving him 39 points on the season to tie his career-high in the AHL.

We’ve seen TheBigFella make some big improvements in his skating and he showed some wheels to chase the puck down from across the ice, beating two Rochester players to it before ultimately getting a shot away that Johansson was ready for. BigVinny followed up with a chance of his own, only to see Johansson flash the leather to shut him down.

The Amerks weren’t going to lay down in this one as we saw Kulbakov make a save, not knowing where the puck was before it was cleared out of harm’s way and he followed up with another save and steered another long shot over the glass for a whistle.

It was at that time when Rochester called their timeout. There was 2:15 remaining on the clock at that point and Johansson stayed on the bench for the extra attacker.

Adam Gaudette was out late to protect the lead with Bancks and Hamilton, but Matt Tennyson would knot the game at two with just under two minutes remaining. The goal was the third of the year for Tennyson, while CJ Smith picked up his 21st assist of the year on the play and Victor Olofsson earned his 22nd.

Rasmus Asplund was looking to put this one away in regulation with a backhander that was soaked up by Kulbakov and we were off to overtime.

The Amerks showed a 14-10 advantage on the shot clock for the third period.

Kero, Boucher, and Brisebois were the first three over the boards for the Comets, but it was Kulbakov who would be in the thick of it, coming up with a stick save before following up with another save and holding for the whistle.

Gaunce, MacEwen, and McEneny were next up, but it was all Rochester. Asplund had Kulbakov sprawling and looked to have him beat, but Kulbakov got a piece of his shot to keep the game tied at two. The young netminder followed up with another save and we saw Pyatt, Gaudette, and Schenn come over the boards.

Schenn sent Gaudette in for a chance, but Johansson was equal to the task before Kulbakov flat out robbed Nylander for another save.

Kulbakov stopped another shot through traffic before the trio of MacEwen, Kero, and Schenn was sent out. MacEwen went for a stroll into the Rochester zone and unloaded with a clapper that was denied and this one was headed to the shootout.

Rochester showed a 5-2 advantage on the shot clock for the extra frame and a 50-37 advantage for the game.

First up was Danny O’Regan for Rochester and Kulbakov was ready with the save. Jonathan Dahlen was up next and he made no mistake.

I always find it funny when Dahlen scores with the patented move made famous in Vancouver by Alex Burrows…the player that Dahlen was traded for. What a sweet backhander from the young Swede.

Next up was Victor Olofsson and he brought the dirty dangles and beat Kulbakov to even things up.

Adam Gaudette was up next and he managed to just get his shot through Johansson and the Comets were back up.

CJ Smith was up next for Rochester and he made no mistake and we were tied up once again.

Each team sent three more players over the boards to no avail before newcomer Taylor Leier scored for the Amerks to give them the lead. It was up to Carter Bancks to even things back up, but the captain was unable to do so. The Amerks came away with the 3-2 shootout win.

Boucher (18) from Kero (22).

Boucher (19) from Kero (23).

3rd Star: Matt Tennyson. Game tying goal.

2nd Star: Taylor Leier. Game-winning shootout goal.

1st Star: Reid Boucher. Two goals.

3rd Star: Reid Boucher. Boucher picked up another two goals today after going his previous eight contests without one. He did still pick up eight assists over that span, mind you. Boucher is now up to 41 points in 34 games this year. He led all Comets with 46 points in 45 games last season and looks like he will be obliterating those totals shortly.

2nd Star: Tanner Kero. Kero picked up another pair of helpers today and is now up to 39 points in 44 games this year. He has tied his AHL career-high of 39 points that he put up in the 2015/16 season over 60 games. It’s too bad that the pivot didn’t get a look while he was up with the Canucks. He has played well for the Comets this year and it would have been a nice little reward for him. Kero has proven to be a great pickup for the Comets.

1st Star: Ivan Kulbakov. Kulby, as he is known to his teammates put up a career-high 48 saves today for the Comets to pretty much steal a point for them. How he was overlooked for one of the stars in the building is beyond my comprehension. Kulbakov is all kinds of fun to watch when he is throwing himself around to make saves, or when he charges out to play pucks, but his game is more effective when he tones that stuff down a little. Today he showed that he is capable of doing just that and he had one the better games of his young career. I have become very intrigued by Kulbakov and look forward to seeing if he can put himself on the radar for another contract with the team for next season.

Game #47

At Syracuse Crunch

Friday, February 1st, 2019

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific

That’s right, folks. There will be no game tomorrow as the AHL is into their All-Star break. We will also have another Wednesday without Comets hockey and it will be more of the same for the following week as the rest of the teams play catchup while the Comets hold some games in hand.