CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: Comets Lose Boucher And Sautner, But Ivan Kulbakov Is Full Value In Comets 4-3 Win Over Crunch

 

Game #8

At Syracuse Crunch

Saturday, October 20th, 2018

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific

The 16th ranked Utica Comets hit the road to Syracuse today to take on the 20th overall Crunch, (Tampa Bay affiliate) for game eight of the season. The Comets came into the game with six points, while the Crunch had four. Syracuse had a record of 2-2-0-0 coming into today’s contest, while the Comets were showing a record of 3-4-0-0.

Utica’s power play was ranked fifth in the AHL, scoring on nine of 30 chances for a success rate of 30.0%. Their once mighty penalty kill was struggling a bit, sitting 21st overall after giving up six goals while down a man 26 times, for a 76.9% success rate.

Syracuse was ranked ninth on the power play, scoring five times on 20 opportunities for a 25.0% success rate. Their penalty kill sat 24th, giving up five goals while shorthanded 18 times, for a success rate of 72.2%.

The Comets were coming off of a 4-3 loss to Cleveland, while the Crunch last played to a 4-0 win over Binghamton. Utica had a road record of 2-0-0-0 coming into today’s game, while the Crunch were showing a home record of 0-1-0-0.

The Comets had been outscored by their opponents by a 29-25 margin, while the Crunch had given up 12 goals and had scored 11 of their own.

Tanner MacMaster led all Comets rookies with one goal and four assists, giving him five points in six games. Alex Barre-Boulet was the points leader amongst the Crunch rookies with two goals and one helper, giving him three points through four games.

Brendan Woods led the Comets with 34 penalty minutes, ranking second in the AHL. Gabriel Dumont was the penalty minutes leader for the Crunch.

Reid Boucher was still the Comets leading scorer with nine goals and 11 points through his first seven games. Zack MacEwen sat second with two goals and five helpers in seven games, while Tanner Mr. Assist Kero sat third with seven points through seven games, all helpers.

Gabriel Dumont was also the leading scorer for the Crunch with four assists through four games. Andy Andreoff sat second with two goals and three points in four games, while the rookie, Barre-Boulet sat third with his three points.

The Comets had played well on the road so far, while the Crunch had gone 0-1 at home. Would that trend continue? Find out below.

Wacey Hamilton, (injured, week-to-week) Brendan Gaunce, (injured, day-to-day) Jalen Chatfield, (injured) Jonah Gadjovich, Petrus Palmu, Jesse Graham, and Dylan Blujus.

 

24 Reid Boucher – 10 Tanner Kero – 15 Zack MacEwen

58 Michael Carcone – 9 Lukas Jasek – 25 Darren Archibald (A)

18 Vincent Arseneau – 21 Brendan Woods – 13 Kole Lind

54 Jonathan Dahlen – 34 Carter Bancks (C) – 19 Tanner MacMaster

48 Olli Juolevi – 3 Alex Biega

6 Ashton Sautner – 2 Evan McEneny

55 Guillaume Brisebois – 26 Jaime Sifers (A)

31 Ivan Kulbakov

32 Richard Bachman (Backing Up)

The Comets got off to a bit of a tough start in this one as Tanner Kero was whistled for tripping just 32 seconds into the opening frame. That didn’t deter them from trying to score a goal as Boucher and Archibald did great work in the Syracuse zone to get a scoring chance that was denied by Crunch goaltender, Connor Ingram.

Zack MacEwen saw time late on the kill with Boucher at his side. Ashton Sautner continued to show his heavy game with a big hit to set the tone early. The Comets would come up with a good kill.

Guillaume Brisebois has been dishing some nice passes lately and he came up with another great stretch pass early in this one.

Lukas Jasek was playing the middle today on a line with Archibald and Michael Carcone and their line had good pressure in the Crunch zone on many of their shifts.

There was some back and forth as Kulbakov came up with a save on Andy Andreoff before Zack MacEwen popped Dominik Masin with a solid hit that led to a Comets scoring chance.

Carter Verhaeghe was sent off for slashing at the 9:46 mark and the Comets were headed to the power play.

It took just over a minute for a double tip-in goal to put the Comets up 1-0. Olli Juolevi let fly with a shot that was first tipped by Jonathan Dahlen and once again by MacEwen for the goal. It was the third marker of the year for TheBigFella while Dahlen and Juolevi each earned their fourth helper of the year on the play.

There was some more back and forth before Carter Bancks was whistled for tripping and the Comets were headed back to the penalty kill.

Darren Archbald found himself with a break and he let fly with a backhander but was stymied by Ingram. The Comets would come up with another good kill.

Tanner MacMaster hit Jonathan Dahlen with a nice pass and the winger saw his offering shouldered away by Ingram for another save.

The Crunch were penalized for having too many men on the ice at the 16:57 mark and it was back to the power play for the Comets. Juolevi unloaded with another shot and MacEwen went digging for another goal, but Ingram smothered the puck.

The Comets were putting on some nice pressure but were unable to go ahead by a pair.

Kulbakov came up with a nifty poke check in close on a Crunch chance before Jasek was sent off for slashing at the 19:57 mark. Kulbakov would have to come up with a buzzer-beater save, but the Comets came out of the period still up by a goal.

Utica showed an 11-6 advantage on the shot clock in the opening frame.

The Comets would have to kill off the remainder of the Jasek penalty without the services of Ashton Sautner as the blueliner did not come back out for the middle frame. I did not see what happened to him outside of taking and giving a couple of solid hits in the first period.

Ivan Kulbakov was a boss on this kill, coming up with a couple of big saves to keep his team up by a goal, including a one-timer by Danick Martel. The Comets would come up with another good kill.

Lukas Jasek was having another nice game today, doing great work along the boards to regain possession of the puck for his club to help get them going the other way.

Kulbakov kicked out a leg for another save before robbing the rookie Barre-Boulet on a one-timer from in close.

The Crunch were putting on the pressure with a two-on-one that was broken up by Jaime Sifers before Kulbakov smothered the puck for a whistle.

Lukas Jasek would put the Comets up 2-0 with a nice set up from Archibald. The goal was Jasek’s second of the season, while Archibald earned his second assist of the year on the play.

Tanner MacMaster hit Carter Bancks with a nice feed soon after, but Ingram denied the captain’s chance.

Cameron Gaunce was sent off for slashing at the 6:54 mark and it was back to the man advantage for the Comets. Boucher hit Dahlen in full flight with a pass and Ingram whipped out the mitt to stifle the Dahlen chance.

Darren Archibald picked up his fourth goal of the season, and 68th as a Comet to take sole possession of the career goals record for the club. Michael Carcone and Alex Biega were each credited with their second helpers of the year on the play.

The Comets were up 3-0 but Syracuse would get back to within a pair just over a minute later when Gaunce grabbed his first of the year. Barre-Boulet with his second, and Cory Conacher with his first earned the helpers on the play.

Kulbakov followed up with another big save before Cal Foote was sent off for holding. With the Comets on the man advantage, Kulbakov had to come up with a nice save on a Cory Conacher wraparound chance but somehow the Crunch forward was rewarded with a penalty shot for his efforts.

The former Comets forward would score on his free chance and get the Crunch to within a goal.

The Crunch were keeping up the pressure until Dahlen dished to Boucher for a goal into a wide open net. Unfortunately, the net was well off its moorings before the puck went in. No goal.

Kole Lind was dropped by a big hit in the Crunch zone and looked to be shaken up a little, but he stayed in the game.

Guillaume Brisebois has been playing well and he came up with a nice steal in the Crunch zone to set up Brendan Woods for a chance that Ingram turned aside. Olli Juolevi was also having another strong game, but Kulbakov did well to bail the rookie blueliner out after he turned over the puck in the Comets zone, leading to the scoring chance.

Carter Verhaeghe decked Reid Boucher and The Best Goal Scorer In The AHL was forced to leave the game with what looked like a right leg injury. Okay, maybe he isn’t the best goal scorer in the AHL, but the man knows how to put pucks in nets and this could be a huge blow to the Comets roster…and more opportunity for someone else.

I guess it’s a good thing the team has so many extra bodies around after all…I feel like somebody may have written something on this topic very recently…

Kulbakov kept his strong game going, just getting his glove on a shot to keep his team up by a goal.

Kole Lind hasn’t gotten off to a blistering start, by any means, but the rookie forward seems to make a play or two a game that makes me take notice. In this one, he sent a sweet pass to Vincent Arseneau, who’s shot was gobbled up by Ingram. Lind had a great shift, keeping the pressure on Syracuse in their own end of the ice.

Tanner MacMaster saw his chance denied before Jaime Sifers, of all people, put the Comets up 4-3 with his first goal since he played for the Cleveland Monsters in the 2016/2017 season. The goal was set up with a nice dish from Lukas Jasek for his first helper of the season. Jasek is now up to two goals and one assist in three games this year for Utica.

The Sifers tally came in the last minute of the second period, but we saw Darren Archibald get whistled for goaltender interference at the 19:34 mark before Evan McEneny and Danick Martel exchanged pleasantries at the buzzer, earning each of them a roughing penalty to start the final frame.

The shots were tied at 13 apiece in the second period.

The Crunch had good pressure early on, but the Comets would come up with another good penalty kill to get the third period off to a good start.

Andy Andreoff was sent off for tripping at the 2:38 mark and the Comets were back to the power play. We saw Kulbakov playing the puck again on this one. The Comets would come up empty with the extra man.

The Crunch continued to press, and Kulbakov continued to shine, coming up with another nice save. With the puck in the Comets zone, Brisebois showed poise, scooping the puck from between Sifers skates and clearing it out of danger while the veteran was being pressured by a Crunch forward.

With Boucher done for the game, we saw some different line combos, one of which saw Tanner Kero between Jonathan Dahlen and Zack MacEwen.

Hubert Labrie unloaded a hit on Tanner MacMaster and Brendan Woods didn’t like it. The big centre wanted to throw down, but both men looked spent before either could land any real blows. Both received five for fighting, while Woods was given an extra two for roughing.

Kulbakov was strong once again on the kill, gloving down a Barre-Boulet chance before covering for a whistle with a crowd in front. Brisebois was showing a physical side in this game and it continued on the kill. Kulbakov did well to shut down an Andreoff offering with a crowd in front and the Comets had another good kill in the books.

The penalties, they kept coming, though. Jaime Sifers was next off, just as the extra Woods penalty expired. The Comets were back to the kill. In a move that seems to be happening more in the AHL recently, Ingram was summoned to the bench for the extra attacker, very early…like, with 9:13 remaining in the period early.

To compound matters for the Comets, Zack MacEwen was fingered for a high-stick that drew blood, just as Archibald made a diving play from his stomach in his own zone to put the puck into the yawning cage at the other end…no goal and MacEwen was off to the box for a double minor. Ingram was sent back to his net with the Crunch getting their five-on-three.

The Comets had 40 seconds of five-on-three time to kill and Kulbakov made a couple of saves before Andreoff beat him for his third of the season to bring the Crunch to within a goal. Barre-Boulet and Erik Cernak each earned their third helper of the year on the play. We had a 4-3 game with just over seven minutes remaining.

Kulbakov shut down a Martel chance from in close, keeping his team up by a goal before Brisebois showed a nice read and a good stick to grab the puck and get the clear. The Comets came up with another good kill.

Back at five-on-five play, Kulbakov kicked aside an Andreoff chance before Zack MacEwen blew up Dennis Yan with an open-ice hit. Cameron Gaunce took exception to the hit and challenged TheBigFella to a fight. Neither man could get any real shots in during the fight, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. They were both assessed with five for fighting and that was it for their night with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Kulbakov continued to stand tall for the Comets with big saves when they needed them as the game was winding down. Kole Lind, Lukas Jasek, and Jonathan Dahlen were all seeing ice-time late in the game. The coaching staff is giving these kids opportunities to prove that they can handle more minutes.

Evan McEneny showed up with a stiff hit on Andreoff before Connor Ingram was summoned back to the bench with 1:25 remaining in the contest.

Kulbakov would come up with one more beauty before this one was done.

Syracuse showed an 18-6 advantage on the shot clock in the third period and a 38-30 advantage for the game. Ivan Kulbakov came up with 35 saves for the win.

3rd Star: Alex Barre-Boulet. Two assists.

2nd Star: Cory Conacher. One goal, one assist.

3rd Star: Darren Archibald. One goal, one assist.

3rd Star: Darren Archibald. Archibald grabbed a pair of points tonight and now has six points through eight games played. The Mayor also became the Comets all-time leading goal scorer with his 68th marker in a Comets uniform. Archibald put in work on both special teams and showed great second effort on his empty-net goal that wasn’t to be.

2nd Star: Guillaume Brisebois. Brisebois had a solid game today. He was credited with two shots on goal and he dished a handful of nice passes. Brisebois showed physicality and poise in his own end of the ice today and continued to improve on his overall game. The second-year pro has a goal and an assist in his six games played this season.

1st Star: Ivan Kulbakov. Ivan Kulbakov was somewhat of a forgotten man after his signing in the offseason. Brought in to replace Michael Garteig as the club’s number three netminder to play in Kalamazoo, Kulbakov was pressed into action after Thatcher Demko was shut down with a  concussion. He has played in four games now and has won three of them. All of his wins have come on the road for the Comets as well. The netminder has a goals-against average of 3.54 and a save percentage of 0.898%. Those may not sound like world-beater numbers, but the young man has played well.

Vs Charlotte Checkers

Wednesday, October 24th, 2018

7:00 pm Eastern/ 4:00 pm Pacific