CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: Comets Drop 3-2 Decision in Overtime to the Bruins

The 21st place Comets were in Providence today to take on the fourth overall Bruins for their 23rd game of the season on “Superheros Night” at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Bruins have been on a run of late, having won five straight games. The Comets were coming off of a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch.

The Bruins record in their previous 10 games was 7-2-1-0, while the Comets had gone 5-4-1-0. Providence has been getting it done with goaltending this season. They have only scored two more goals than Utica this season, but have given up 16 fewer in the same amount of games.

Leading the points charge for Providence was Austin Czarnik with 18 points in 16 games. Tommy Cross was their big gun on the blueline with eight points in 22 games. For the Comets it was Reid Boucher leading the forwards with 22 points in 20 games. Philip Holm was the leader in points from the blueline with 11 in 18 games.

The Comets sat 8th overall on the power-play, scoring 20 goals on 107 opportunities. Their penalty-kill sat 17th, after giving up 19 goals on 110 kills. Providence was 20th overall on the power-play, scoring 16 goals on 98 chances. Their penalty-kill sat 2nd overall, giving up 22 goals on 114 kills.

After the Comets previous game, it was announced that Thatcher Demko and Michael Chaput had been recalled to Vancouver. Demko has since been returned to Utica, while Chaput was lining up for the Canucks in Calgary tonight.

In other roster news, the parent Canucks announced a trade following their game vs the Flyers on Thursday, sending defenseman Jordan Subban to the LA Kings for forward Nic Dowd. Dowd was also in the lineup for the Canucks tonight. I’d like to wish Jordan Subban the best of luck going forward with the Kings organization.

Subban has been all class while with the Canucks organization, and it would be no different from him on his way out of town.

Scratched for the Comets today were: Darren Archibald, (injured), Yan-Pavel Laplante, (injured), Evan McEneny, (injured), Jaime Sifers, (injured), Philip Holm, (injured), Danny Moynihan, Brady Brassart, Michael Garteig, and Mackenze Stewart.

36 Wacey Hamilton (A) – 19 Cole Cassels – 58 Michael Carcone

24 Reid Boucher – 11 Cam Darcy  – 23 Jayson Megna (A)

16 Joe LaBate – 20 Brendan Woods – 17 Alexis D’Aoust

13 Griffen Molino – 34 Carter Bancks (C) – 15 Zack MacEwen

6 Ashton Sautner – 55 Guillaume Brisebois

28 Patrick Wiercioch – 5 Jalen Chatfield

2 Anton Cederholm – 29 Cliff Watson

30 Thatcher Demko

Trent Cull and his staff shuffled up the lines for the game today with a couple of new faces at their disposal. Wacey Hamilton was back in the lineup today after missing extended time with an injury. Brendan Woods was also back in the lineup. Cliff Watson would make his Comets debut on the blueline with Mackenze Stewart taking a seat in the press box.

The first period was a pretty even affair early. Patrick Wiercioch fired a nice point shot at the Providence goal, off of a nice feed from a streaking Cam Darcy but Jordan Binnington was there for the save.

Cole Cassels also had a nice chance early but was stymied by the Bruins netminder. Boucher, Darcy and Jayson Megna also had a really strong shift in the early going, using their speed, the three were able to generate a couple of good chances on one of their shifts.

Thatcher Demko was sharp with a couple of early saves as well.

Jakub Zboril was sent off for hooking at the 9:22 mark, giving the Comets power-play their first opportunity of the day. The Comets would start with a unit of Megna, Darcy, and MacEwen up front, with Brisebois and Boucher manning the points. The second unit consisted of LaBate, Bancks, and D’Aoust up front with Wiercioch and Carcone on the points. Neither unit would be able to put a puck past Binnington.

Roughly five minutes later, it would be Utica on the penalty-kill. Wacey Hamilton took a hooking penalty at 14:48 and the Comets kill went to work. First up were Woods and Cassels up front with Wiercioch and Chatfield on the back end. the second unit featured Carter Bancks with Boucher up front along with Sautner and Brisebois on the blueline. Boucher came up with a nice shot block and got the puck out of danger. Both teams would go 0-1 on the power-play in the first period.

In the final minute of the opening frame, Boucher would set Darcy up with a sweet pass but Darcy put the puck just wide. Jalen Chatfield seems to be shooting the puck a little more and was credited with two shots in the first period.

The shot clock favored the Comets in the first by a count of 14-8.

The second period didn’t start the way the Comets would have liked when Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson potted his eighth goal of the year just 2:03 in. Forsbecka Karlsson took a stretch pass from Rob O’Gara and beat Demko high on the glove side. For O’Gara, it was his third helper of the season, while Jakub Zboril earned his second assist on the play.

The Bruins kept the pressure on in the early going as they had the defensive pair of Watson and Cederholm hemmed in their end for an extended period.

Jordan Szwarz was sent off for high-sticking at the 5:06 mark when he nailed Darcy in the mumbles with his stick.

Darcy would get some sweet revenge when he scored on the resulting power-play, picking up his first goal of the season. It was a nice wraparound goal for Darcy. Guillaume Brisebois earned his second helper of the season on the goal, while Zack MacEwen was awarded his eighth.

Thatcher Demko was doing Demko things again as he made a nice save, stretching out with his right pad to stop a point shot through a screen.

Carter Bancks set Griffen Molino up for a nice one-timer right at the side of the net, but Binnington made the save.

The Comets were getting their chances as Jalen Chatfield hit Boucher with a nice stretch pass, but Boucher fired the puck wide.

Cam Darcy was sent off for hooking with about four minutes remaining in the period and Wacey Hamilton did some nice work early in the kill. Hamilton kept the puck in the Bruins zone for what seemed like 30 seconds or so. The Comets penalty-killers would remain perfect, keeping the home team from picking up a goal with the man advantage.

With the period winding down, the Bruins would take two penalties in the final two minutes. Zboril was whistled for high-sticking. About a minute later, Anton Blidh was also sent off, for roughing. The Comets would finish the period with a brief five on three man advantage that would carry over into the third.

The shots on goal for the second period favored Providence by a 14-11 margin.

The Comets started the third period with a two-man advantage but couldn’t get much going. Carcone had the best chance on the five on three but wasn’t able to beat Binnington.

Wacey Hamilton would be sent off for interference just 2:35 in, but fortunately for him, Colton Hargrove would be whistled for tripping just 12 seconds later to even the skaters to four each. Darcy had another good chance during the four on four, but again, Binnington was equal to the task.

Just after the Hargrove penalty expired, Carcone would put the Comets up 2-1 with a nice toe-drag effort. For Carcone, it was an unassisted goal and number two on the season for the Comets forward.

Just over a minute later, Cole Cassels was sent off for holding. The Comets penalty-killers would be earning their pay tonight, as before the Cassels penalty was over, Ashton Sautner was sent off for slashing. These penalties did not help the Comets carry any momentum over from the Carcone goal, the penalty-killing units of Bancks, Woods, Wiercioch, and Chatfield, along with Megna, Darcy, and Brisebois did manage to kill both of them off though. But not before Demko made another big save.

The Comets were looking like they might be able to grind this game out for a win, especially when Ben Marshall was sent off for interference with just under five minutes remaining in the period. That was not to be though, as Connor Clifton caught Demko mishandling the puck and beat him for his first professional goal. Austin Czarnik picked up his 13th helper of the season on the shorthanded marker.

Neither team could score to end the game in regulation, so off to overtime, we went. Demko made a timely shoulder save early to give the Comets a chance to stay in it. Wiercioch took an untimely holding penalty with two minutes remaining in the extra frame and it took Jordan Szwarz just 19 seconds to end the game. For Szwarz, it was goal number nine of the season. Czarnik with his 13th and Kenny Agostino with his ninth earned the assists on the game-winning, overtime, power-play goal.

The shots on goal for the third period were 11-10 in favor of the Bruins. In overtime, they had a 2-1 advantage in shots over the Comets for a game total of 36-35 in favor of Utica.

The Three Stars in the building today were:

3rd Star: Michael Carcone. One goal.

2nd Star: Connor Clifton. Game tying, shorthanded goal.

1st Star. Jordan Szwarz: Game-winning, overtime goal.

3rd Star: Guillaume Brisebois. Brisebois picked up an assist today, just his third point of the season. I feel like the points will start to come for Guillaume before too long. The rookie defenseman is looking like he is starting to get his feet under him and his confidence level looks to be growing. With Subban traded, and Holm, McEneny, and Sifers out with injuries still, the young defenseman has been thrust into top four duty and he has been handling it well so far.

2nd Star: Jalen Chatfield. I’m going to stick with rookie blueliners here. Just like Brisebois, Chatfield is looking more confident each game. He is being used in a top pairing role with Wiercioch at the moment and has become a staple on the penalty-kill. Also, like Brisebois, Chatfield hasn’t put up a pile of points, having just two assists in 21 games this season, but again, I feel like the points will start to come for Jalen as well. I just like his overall, calm, poised game. The kid can skate too.

1st Star: Cam Darcy. Darcy picked up his first goal of the season today on the power-play. The utility forward has nine assists in 17 games to go along with that goal. Darcy has been getting some penalty-killing time lately as well. He earned his way onto this team after coming in on a PTO and eventually signing a standard player contract with the Comets. Darcy finished the day with his goal, along with seven shots on net. He may not be the most gifted fellow on the ice, but the man works his tail off every time he is out there.

The two teams get right back at it tomorrow at 12:05 pm Pacific.

VS Providence Bruins

12:05 pm Pacific