CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: Comets Steal Another Point, Lose 4-3 In Overtime

4:00 pm Pacific

The 26th overall Hartford Wolf Pack were in town today to take on the 14th overall Utica Comets. Eight points separated the two teams in the standings with Hartford having 40 points to Utica’s 48.

The Comets’ power-play and penalty-kill both sat eighth overall in the AHL, going 19% and 85.1% respectively. The Hartford power-play sat ninth in the league, showing an 18.9% success rate. Their penalty-kill had gone 83.6%, placing them 12th in that category.

Peter Holland came into the day as the Wolf Pack’s top scorer with 33 points in 36 games. John Gilmour was their leader on the backend with 22 points in 38 games. Reid Boucher was the Comets points leader with 37 in 33 games, while Philip Holm was still the leader on the blue-line with 21 points in 35 games.

Boucher also sat eighth in the AHL with his 37 points, was tied for second with 20 goals, and was tied for fourth with 127 shots on goal this season. Philip Holm, for his part, sat 16th in points by a defenseman and second in power-play goals by a defenseman with six.

The Wolf Pack were coming off a 1-0 overtime win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while the Comets were coming off of a 4-2 victory over Syracuse. Utica had gone 7-1-1-1 over their previous 10 games, while Hartford had gone 4-6-0-0 over the same span.

The Comets had a home record of 8-9-2-2 coming into today, while Hartford’s road record was 8-10-1-3.

Hartford had been outscored 150-116 on the season, while the Comets had outscored their opponents by a count of 121-119.

In other Comets news, defenseman Adam Comrie has been signed to an AHL deal by the Comets for the remainder of the season. Comrie has earned his AHL deal after joining the Comets on a PTO in December. You can read more about the Comrie signing below.

The Comets also found out that they would be getting Michael Chaput back when the parent Canucks announced that they had put the centerman on waivers in order to send him back to Utica. Chaput has since cleared waivers and was on his way to Utica. *Edit, Chaput made it in time to suit up today for the Comets.

In other news, netminder Thatcher Demko was under the weather today, forcing a roster move by the Comets. Utica once again went the PTO route and signed former Chilliwack Chiefs goaltender, Mitch Gillam. You can read more about the Gillam signing below.

Scratched today for Utica were: Carter Bancks, (injured), Yan-Pavel Laplante, (injured), Jaime Sifers, (injured), Jayson Megna, (injured), Joe LaBate, (injured), Griffen Molino, (injured), Brendan Woods, (injured), Alexis D’Aoust, (injured), Evan McEneny, (injured), Cam Darcy, (illness), Thatcher Demko, (illness), Danny Moynihan, Vincent Arseneau, and Brady Brassart.

44 Adam Comrie – 21 Michael Chaput – 15 Zack MacEwen

25 Darren Archibald (A) – 19 Cole Cassels (A) – 58 Michael Carcone

24 Reid Boucher – 27 Tony Cameranesi – 77 Nikolay Goldobin

22 David Dziurzynski – 36 Wacey Hamilton (A) – 82 A. Cherniwchan

6 Ashton Sautner – 8 Dylan Blujus

28 Patrick Wiercioch – 5 Jalen Chatfield

52 Philip Holm – 55 Guillaume Brisebois

32 Richard Bachman

The Comets were the first team to see Hartford rookie, Lias Andersson as he made his AHL debut today and the centerman finished the first period with one shot on goal.

The line of Archibald, Cassels, and Carcone came out with a physical shift, spending an extended period of time in the Hartford zone. The trio was once again bringing a physical, nasty brand of hockey in the opening frame.

The Comets would get the first power-play of the day when Ryan Graves was sent off for boarding at the 2:28 mark.

Nikolay Goldobin had a one-timer chance turned aside by Hartford goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, but that was about all the Comets would muster for chances on their first power-play.

Jalen Chatfield would send a hard shot on net, leaving a rebound for David Dziurzynski, but the winger sent his shot wide.

Filip Chytil had a clean break on Bachman, firing a shot at the netminder, but Bachman was equal to the task and got a pad on the shot to make the save.

Patrick Wiercioch continues to hammer pucks on net, getting a shot off on Georgiev, but the netminder turned it aside.

Wacey Hamilton was whistled for hooking at the 6:14 mark and the Comets penalty-killers would have their first test of the day. Vince Pedrie fired a shot that was redirected in front of Bachman, but the Comets’ stopper was ready with a save.

Just one second after the power-play ended, Cole Schneider picked up his own rebound and buried it behind Bachman to open the scoring. The goal was Schneider’s eighth of the season. Filip Chytil picked up his 10th helper of the season on the play, while Neal Pionk grabbed his 14th.

Philip Holm tried getting his team right back in it when he sent a point shot blast on net, but Georgiev was ready with a save.

Cassels, Carcone, and Archibald were being their belligerent selves again, lighting up Wolf Pack players with big hits every chance they got.

Ryan Graves put Hartford up 2-0 at the 10:10 mark, beating Bachman for his sixth of the season. Adam Tambellini earned his seventh helper of the year on the play, while Scott Kosmachuk picked up his 15th.

Bachman bounced back from the goal with a nice glove save on a Neal Pionk point shot.

The Comets were looking sloppy and the Pack had taken advantage, but these Comets have no quit in them.

Big rookie, Zack MacEwen stole a puck near centre ice and broke in with a deke, beating Georgiev for his fifth goal of the season. The MacEwen marker was unassisted.

Steven Fogarty was sent off for slashing at the 15:35 mark and the Comets took advantage. Once again, it was rookie Zack MacEwen with the goal, this time putting away a net-front scramble opportunity. The goal was number six for MacEwen. Adam Comrie earned his eighth helper of the year on the play, while Michael Carcone picked up his eighth as well.

The period would finish with the shot clock showing 10 shots from each team.

The Comets came out with a good start in the middle frame. Patrick Wiercioch had another big shot turned aside, then Michael Chaput dished to Adam Comrie, but his redirect went wide.

Reid Boucher had a chance, but Georgiev made the save and held on for a whistle.

Philip Holm has been getting high praise up in Vancouver, and rightly so, but you can see that he still needs a little fine tuning in his game. Holm was sent off for holding at the 5:37 mark to send the Comets to the penalty-kill. It’s a small thing, but I would like to see Holm work on taking fewer penalties.

The Comets would kill the Holm minor, largely on some great work by Wacey Hamilton. Earlier in the season, Cole Cassels was glued to Hamilton’s hip on the penalty-kill and you can see it showing up in Cole’s game. He has been learning from a heck of a mentor in Hamilton.

Bachman finished up the kill with a save on a redirected shot, which Jalen Chatfield then cleared out of harm’s way.

Bachman wasn’t just making saves on the penalty-kill, as he made back-to-back saves on Adam Chapie and Ryan Graves when back at even strength.

Darren Archibald sent a puck to Carcone, whose shot was bobbled by Georgiev and sat on the goal-line before being cleared to the corner.

The Cassels, Carcone, Archibald line was creating havoc, and in turn, creating scoring chances. This line is a handful to play against. Carcone had a chance stopped, then Archibald grabbed the rebound, for a chance, but Georgiev was equal to the task.

Bachman was steady again in this one, making a big save on a Filip Chytil offering and holding on for the whistle.

Dylan Blujus was once again doing a good job of putting shots to the net, hammering a point shot through traffic, only to see Georgiev make the save.

Adam Chapie put the Wolf Pack up 3-2 at the 14:27 mark when he put his second goal of the season past Bachman. Filip Chytil picked up the lone assist on the play, his 11th.

Not even 20 seconds after the Chapie marker, Ashton Sautner was sent off for cross-checking. Once again, the Comets would come up with a good kill.

The two teams would go back and forth as the period wound down. Reid Boucher and Nikolay Goldobin each had shots blocked in the final two minutes. The Comets had great pressure late, once again being applied by the Cassels line.

Dylan Blujus fired another bomb on the net, but Georgiev was there with the save.

The middle period wound down with Richard Bachman making a ridiculous series of saves, the last of which was on a beleaguered Chytil, who was looking skyward, muttering to himself after Bachman froze the puck.

The period would finish with Hartford holding a 12-7 advantage on the shot clock.

The third period got off to a quick start but at the wrong end of the ice. The Wolf Pack came out flying and Bachman was forced to stand tall early to keep his team in this game.

First, it was Adam Tambellini with a chance turned aside by Bachman, next up it was Adam Chapie who was robbed by Bachman with a sprawling save. Chapie followed that chance up with another, but once again, Bachman denied him.

At the other end of the ice, Dylan Blujus continued to hammer pucks toward the front of the net, but this time he had a point-blank chance from in close, but Georgiev stymied him.

Trent Cull decided to put Chaput back between Goldobin and Boucher in the third period, which is where I had expected him to be at the start of the game.

Cole Cassels dished a nice cross-ice feed to Darren Archibald, and the big fella let fly with a shot, once again denied by Georgiev.

Archibald impresses me nearly every time he steps on the ice. He is always ready to crush a dude with a big hit, he has some decent hands, and he can get around the ice. I wouldn’t be opposed to Archibald getting a two-way deal from the Canucks so that they can get him into some games down the stretch. The coach knows his game as well as anybody, and if he can come to Vancouver and do this…I think the masses would be onboard.

Reid Boucher came into the game today sitting just three goals back of the Comets single-season record of 23, set last season by none other than Darren “The Gooch” Archibald. Would Boucher get any closer to that record tonight? Stay tuned to find out.

Getting back to the game, Bachman was doing everything in his power to keep this game within reach for the Comets, making a nice save on a Ryan Graves shot.

Cole Cassels would kick off a penalty parade at the 9:03 mark when he was sent off for high-sticking. Just six seconds later, Andrew Cherniwchan joined him in the box after being assessed a double minor for getting a stick into the mumbles of Filip Chytil. Just 50 seconds later, John Gilmour was sent off for interference.

Both teams had chances back and forth, but the Comets did very good work to keep themselves in this game.

With the teams skating with four aside, Patrick Wiercioch ripped a puck on net, but Georgiev was ready with the mitt, flashing the leather to keep his team up by a goal.

Jalen Chatfield turned on the jets to jump up into a three-on-two play with Cassels and Hamilton. Cassels dished to Chatfield, but the first year blue-liner bobbled the pass and was unable to get a shot off. It sure is nice seeing Chatfield use his wheels and vision to identify a seam, and quickly jump into it.

Zack MacEwen was having himself a game today. The Comets have their share of smaller players in their lineup, but Big Mac isn’t one of them. It was something to witness as MacEwen bull rushed his way into the Hartford zone, wearing the 6′, 200lbs Scott Kosmachuk like a sweater and still manage to get a shot off.

Michael Carcone has a play that he has used numerous times this season, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. He carries the puck with a great deal of speed down the right-side boards, cuts hard behind the net, usually pulling a defender or two with him, before coming around the other side of the net and dishing the puck into the crease. He did this in the third and Cassels and Archibald pounced on the loose puck, digging away at it, looking for a garbage goal. Today they would not be able to get it to go.

The Comets would get the chance they needed when Ryan Graves was sent off for tripping at the 17:39 mark. The Comets were looking to load up for that Reid Boucher one-timer, and load it up he did, but Georgiev stoned him.

Bachman was summoned to the bench for the extra attacker at the 1:30 mark. Michael Chaput set Archibald up for a chance, but the big fella couldn’t beat Georgiev. Fifteen seconds later there was a faceoff at centre-ice and Bachman was back in the net.

The Comets would take their time-out two seconds later and Bachman would be back on the bench.

With 40 seconds remaining in the game, Philip Holm dished to Nikolay Goldobin, who spotted his pal Boucher salivating on the other side of the ice, primed and ready for the one-knee-one-timer that we have all come to know and love. Goldobin sent the puck to Boucher and the sniper made no mistake, picking up goal number 21 on the season. That puts Boucher just two goals back of tying Archibald for the Comets’ single-season record. For Goldobin, the assist was his 19th of the season to bring him to 26 points in 23 games this season with the Comets. For Holm, it was assist number 14, to give him 22 points in 36 games.

That was it for the third period, we were knotted at three and heading to overtime with the Comets stealing another point. The period ended with each team once again showing 10 shots on net.

The Comets had a couple of shots in the extra frame. First, it was Archibald ripping a shot which was quickly swallowed up by Georgiev, then it was Goldobin with a hot shot that the Hartford netminder turned aside.

Richard Bachman made a big pad save at the other end on Kosmachuck before Cole Schneider ended the game with his ninth goal of the season. John Gilmour picked up his 17th helper of the season on the play, while Lias Andersson earned his first point with Hartford, collecting his first assist of the season in his first game.

That was it in Utica. The game finished with the Wolf Pack showing a 34-30 advantage on the shot clock.

The Three Stars in the building today were:

3rd Star: Filip Chytil. Two assists.

2nd Star: Zack MacEwen. Two goals.

1st Star: Cole Schneider. Two goals, game winner in OT.

3rd Star: Darren Archibald. Archibald didn’t pick up any points today, but he was a big part of this game. Archibald hits hard, like, drives right through opposing players, hard. He gives the Comets an element that quite frankly, is also missing in Vancouver since Derek Dorsett was forced to retire. Archibald makes room for his teammates by making everyone in an opposing jersey uncomfortable when he is on the ice. Again, something that is missing in Vancouver.

2nd Star: Reid Boucher. Boucher and his linemates were quiet for a good portion of this game. Reid still managed to put four shots on net today, but it was that goal with 40 seconds remaining that landed him the second star today. Boucher is set to crush the Comets’ single-season goals record, along with his own career high in points, which he matched today. I could watch Boucher rip pucks, past goalies, all day.

1st Star: Zack MacEwen. Big Mac scored twice today, bringing his goal total to six, and his points total to 22 in 38 games. The big rookie is still very raw, but he has been improving his game as the season has gone on. I’m not sure if Trent Cull had planned on using MacEwen as much as he has this season, but injuries and call-ups have opened the door of opportunity, and MacEwen has barged through it, his shoulders widening that doorway as he has crashed and banged his way into a prominent role with the club.

Friday, January 26th, 2018

4:05 pm Pacific