CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: The Gentleman Picks Up a Hatty, Rafferty Adds Four Points and Jasek Scores The Winner in Comets 6-5 OT Win Over Hartford

Game #40

Hartford Wolf Pack at Utica Comets

Wednesday, January 15th, 2020

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific

(1st forward line/defence pair listed started the game. The remainder are in no particular order)

77 Nikolay Goldobin – 19 Carter Camper – 24 Reid Boucher (A)

95 Justin Bailey – 9 Lukas Jasek – 13 Kole Lind

21 Jonah Gadjovich – 16 John Stevens – Tanner Sorenson

18 Vincent Arseneau – 34 Carter Bancks (C) – 11 David Pope

6 Ashton Sautner (A) – 25 Brogan Rafferty

48 Olli Juolevi – 5 Jalen Chatfield

55 Guillaume Brisebois – 4 Josh Teves

Mikey DiPietro

31 Zane McIntyre (backing up)

What a period of hockey! The Comets scored early and often en route to a 5-0 opening frame. Justin Bailey had three goals, while Brogan Rafferty had a goal and a pair of helpers.

We had some early back and forth before Darren Raddysh was sent off for hooking at the 1:19 mark and the Comets were off to the power play. As has been the case on many occasions this year, Kole Lind was the Comet drawing the penalty for his team.

Brogan Rafferty has been having a hell of a season for the Comets and the defender let fly with a shot that was turned aside by goaltender Adam Huska before he tried his luck again and saw Justin Bailey redirect his offering past the Hartford netminder for his 17th of the season. Rafferty grabbed assist number 29 of the season, while Nikolay Goldobin picked up his 21st.

My AHLTV feed dropped out for a couple of minutes after the goal, and if the AHL website is to be believed, I missed shots from Sautner and Brisbebois that were denied by Huska. I did get to see Mikey DiPietro shut down a shot from Vincent LoVerde before Justin Bailey put the Comets up 2-0 with his 18th of the year.

This time Bailey took advantage of a Hartford gaff, broke in alone and made no mistake. Guillaume Brisebois picked up his 10th helper of the year on the play as well.

DiPietro wasn’t as busy as Huska, but he was stopping what came his way as Steven Fogarty found out with his shot off the right side.

Newcomer John Stevens was dinged for hooking at the 5:41 mark and the Comets were off to the kill.

We saw Sautner, Bancks, Chatfield, and Jasek climb the boards to kick things off. DiPietro came up with a stop before Danny O’Regan fired a shot off the post. Goldobin and Boucher took over, along with Brisebois and Juolevi before Guillaume was sent off for a high-stick and we had some four aside play for 40 seconds.

Chatfield, Sautner, and Bancks were the trusted three and they went to work. DiPietro got a piece of a Vinni Lettieri chance from the left side before crushing the dreams of O’Regan from in close.

Jalen Chatfield has been known to play a greasy game and that’s what he was doing on the kill. He came up with a heavy hit to take his man off the puck in the corner as Stevens came back on to make it a five-on-four situation.

DiPietro had to come up with another save and the Comets had a good kill in the books.

Not long after, it was Reid Boucher picking off a Wolf Pack play and going in two-on-one with Goldy. The pass was made and the shot was behind Huska for a 3-0 Comets lead. Goldy used a nice backhander to beat Huska for his 13th goal of the season, while Boucher grabbed his 21st helper of the year.

The Wolf Pack wasn’t backing down as Lettieri got a shot away from the right side that DiPietro steered aside before Gadjovich clobbered Vincent LoVerde with a solid hit in the offensive zone.

Tanner Sorenson got a shot away from the right side that was turned aside before Steven Fogarty was dinged for slashing. The Comets were back to the power play.

Huska came up with a stick save on Boucher before he absolutely robbed Goldobin on the rebound chance that followed. The second unit of Juolevi, Brisebois, Gadjovich, Jasek, and Camper took over and while they had some nice puck movement, they were unable to capitalize.

Jalen Chatfield had a chance as the penalty ended but Huska was there with the save.

At the other end, Nick Jones got past Sautner for a free chance on DiPietro, but Mikey D said no. Vinny Arseneau followed up with a heavy hit on Libor Hajek and erased him from the game. *Edit, Hajek reappeared in the third period.

Back in the offensive zone, Kole Lind used a nice second-effort play to get by his man but saw his shot turned aside by Huska. Juolevi followed up with a one-timer that was denied as well.

Joey Keane was sent off for hooking at the 14:07 mark and the Comets were headed back to the power play. Kole Lind set up Goldobin for a chance that was denied before Boucher put a shot off the outside of the post.

It was soon after when Justin Bailey had his arms raised and the hats were raining down in Utica. This time it was Bailey getting a piece of a Brogan Rafferty shot after Kole Lind had already done the same. The goal was Bailey’s 19th of the year, while Lind grabbed his 23rd helper of the season on the play and Brogan Rafferty had his 30th.

The Pack looked to try to answer back quickly but Rafferty came up with a good defensive play on Boo Nieves before DiPietro denied another chance from in close.

Guillaume Brisebois took his second penalty of the game at the 17:28 mark and the Comets were back to the kill. Jasek, Bancks, Sautner, and Chatfield started things off and DiPietro had to swallow up a point shot before Bailey, Stevens, Rafferty, and Juolevi took over.

That was when we saw Juolevi spring Rafferty and the rookie defender went in from his own blueline for a sweetheart of a goal. Brogan grabbed his sixth goal of the year, while Juolevi earned his 15th assist of the season on the shorthanded tally.

Peep those moves by Rafferty!

Stevens had a late shot turned aside and the Comets went into the room with a 5-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 13-9 lead on the shot clock.

The middle frame did not go as well as the first as the Comets gave up three quick goals and failed to register a shot in the period. Yikes! *Edit, by the time the game came to a close, someone, somewhere had accounted for one shot on goal by Utica in the second period.

The scoring came early as Vitali Kravtsov put one off of the glove of DiPietro just 10 seconds in. The goal was Kravtsov’s third of the season, while Steven Fogarty picked up his 15th assist of the year on the play and Vincent LoVerde grabbed his 10th.

Tom McCallum had replaced Adam Huska in the Hartford net after the latter allowed five goals in the opening frame.

John Stevens was doing his best Wacey Hamilton impression when he was sent off for hooking… again, at the 1:26 mark and it was off to an early kill for Utica. It’s tough when one of your team’s better penalty killers is the one spending time in the box.

The Comets rolled through a few groups of killers on this one and they all got the job done. The Comets PK went 4/4 today to help improve that stat for the team after an up and down few games.

Just because their power play was over, it didn’t mean that the Pack were packing it in. DiPietro had to glove down a Lettieri offering before Tanner Sorenson had his chance turned aside by McCollum at the other end as some back and forth broke out. DiPietro had to come up with a pair of saves as he shut down Nieves and Lettieri before the latter pulled his team to within three with his 16th of the season.

Nieves did some nice work here before dishing to Lettieri for the goal to earn his 18th assist of the year.

It took the Wolf Pack just 26 seconds to make it a 5-3 game as the Comets were reeling. This time it was Darren Raddysh burying a Nieves rebound for his fifth goal of the season. Nieves, meanwhile had his 19th helper of the year accounted for.

The Comets were not looking very good on that one.

Trent Cull called his timeout and I would imagine that some words were said to try to wake up what appeared to be a slumbering Comets lineup. It was at this point when the audio dropped out for a good stretch as Hartford started to press.

There was some back and forth as DiPietro fought off a shot from Ryan Gropp off the right side before Vinny Arseneau blew up Darren Raddysh. In my mind, I imagined Vinny telling Raddysh that he would be getting more of the same if he tried to score another.

The audio came back and we saw Olli Juolevi show some nice body positioning to keep Nieves to the outside as he tried to make a play in the Comets’ end before DiPietro got a glove on a Fogarty offering from the left side.

At the other end, Arseneau found himself all alone after Carter Bancks sent him away with the puck, but Vinny fired wide. The Pack went back the other way, but so did the Comets captain with a rabid backcheck to foil a Hartford chance.

The middle frame was full of mistakes from the Comets and one of those was a Jalen Chatfield pass in his own end that ended up on the tape of the wrong player but no damage was done on the play. It wasn’t long after when we saw Brisebois take an uncalled high-stick in the yap and he headed off for repairs. He would return to finish the game.

DiPietro was busy as he managed to get a glove on a shot and a scramble broke out in his crease. He was able to keep the puck out before gloving down a LoVerde chance through traffic. The Pack kept coming as Fogarty undressed DiPietro but ran himself out of room and had to try to wrap around the net with a pass but Mikey D recovered and came up with the save on the resulting shot.

The Comets were under pressure, but Rafferty was able to make a calm play to relieve things a little.

The period wrapped up with DiPietro being run over by Lettieri with some assistance from Chatfield. DiPietro was shaken up, but he stayed in the game after getting some attention from Comets Athletic Trainer Roman Kaszczij.

As mentioned earlier, the Comets were hammered 16-1 on the shot clock in the middle frame.

Buckle up, folks, this game was far from over as these two teams were laying the groundwork for what should be an exciting rematch on Friday.

I have mentioned before how Rafferty has been piling up points, but still has some warts to work out away from the puck. We saw one of those warts when his pass in the defensive zone was picked off and DiPietro had to come up with a save on Nieves. Rafferty would finish with four points today, so maybe we can let some of those warts slide. They are things that he will need to clean up before he becomes an NHL regular though.

Jalen Chatfield finished the day even on the plus/minus front, which isn’t a bad thing in a game where his team gave up five goals. He used some smart feet to stifle a Hartford play in the Comets end.

The Comets went the other way and we saw McCollum deny chances from Lind and Bailey before DiPietro gloved down a Lettieri chance off the right side.

Danny O’Regan pulled the Pack to within a goal with his ninth of the season after his one-timer found the back of the net. Chatfield and David Pope had some trouble with their man in the corner on this play before Arseneau and Bancks played keystone cops with O’Regan in front. Steven Fogarty picked up his 16th assist of the year von the play, while LoVerde earned his 10th.

It was at this point in the game when we saw that Libor Hajek had made it back into action after Arseneau obliterated him in the opening frame.

Kole Lind only picked up the one point today, but he was doing some nice work in all three zones. He let fly with a shot off the left side that went off a stick and wide of the net before Arseneau pancaked Joey Keane in the corner. Arseneau was hitting like a man possessed, as is his way.

The Comets were looking for a goal as Boucher sent a pass to Rafferty for a one-timer that went off the base of the post before Kole Lind used a strong forecheck to regain possession of the puck for his team.

At the other end, Lewis Zerter-Gossage was denied in his attempt at a goal from the side of the net as Hartford was applying some pressure. The Comets were trying to regain control of this game as Lind forced a turnover and dished to Bailey but the speedy winger was tripped up with no call on the play.

Nikolay Goldobin has fired a lot of shots high or wide this year with the Comets and he was at it again after finding himself with time and space to get his shot away.

Mason Geertsen was sent off for slashing at the 11:11 mark and the Comets were making a wish for a good power play. That wish was not granted. Both units had some nice puck movement, but they were unable to capitalize.

Of all the defenders in Utica this year who are playing a regular shift, I feel like Guillaume Brisebois has been the most reliable… for the most part. He did great work to take Gropp off the puck with a physical play in the Comets end before Boucher headed the other way. Juolevi had a shot blockered aside by McCollum before the Pack came back for a Nick Ebert chance from the right circle that was swallowed up by DiPietro.

There was more pressure from Hartford as DiPietro steered aside a Gropp offering with the blade of his stick before getting a blocker on the Nieves chance that followed.

It looked like the Comets might be able to hold off the Wolf Pack as Utica had Hartford hemmed in their end in the late going before the visitors managed to gain control of the puck, summon McCollum to the bench for the extra attacker and evened the game at five with just 14 seconds remaining.

This time it was Lettieri doing the damage with his 17th of the season after hammering home a one-timer from the slot. Gropp picked up his third assist of the year on the play, while Nick Jones grabbed his seventh.

That probably wasn’t what the Comets thought their third period would finish like after going up 5-0 in the opening frame. The good news was that Utica actually put some shots on goal in the third period, finishing one behind Hartford’s 11. The Wolf Pack had outshot the Comets 36-24 to this point in the game.

If you read the lede for this story, you will know how this one ended, but I will tell you anyway.

Trent Cull rolled out a trio of Bailey, Camper, and Brisebois and the Comets defender did great work to stymie a Darren Raddysh chance before the Comets went the other way for a Bailey shot that was turned aside.

Yegor Rykov let fly with a shot that DiPietro stopped and held after trying to dish it off for a teammate. Jasek, Sautner, and Boucher took over and DiPietro had to come up with a big save on Hajek before Jasek came up with a takeaway and the Comets headed the other way.

Rafferty, Goldobin, and Lind took over and once again, Kole Lind sent a nifty feed to Goldobin for a shot that was fired off the target. The Comets kept it coming as Lind sent a shot off the pads of McCollum, the puck went up into the netting but there was no whistle on the play, so the Pack headed the other way and put themselves offside for their efforts.

The Comets had apparently been through the rotation of players that they had planned to use as we saw that first trio of Brisebois, Bailey, and Camper try their luck again. Camper whipped out some moves and got the puck to Brisebois for a Goldy special that missed the net.

DiPietro made one more save before Boucher, Rafferty, and Jasek salted this one away after Rafferty and Jasek hooked up for the winner. Lukas earned his career-high 10th goal of the season on the play, while Rafferty grabbed his third assist and fourth point of the game. Boucher, for his part, picked up his 22nd assist of the year.

That was it for this one as the Comets managed to come away with a 6-5 overtime win after giving up a five-goal lead. The Comets outshot Hartford 4-3 in overtime, while Hartford outshot Utica 39-28 for the game.

Power Play: 2/4

Penalty Kill: 4/4

PP1: Boucher, Bailey, Goldobin, Lind, Rafferty.

PP2: Camper, Jasek, Gadjovich, Brisebois, Juolevi.

Penalty Killers: Bancks, Jasek, Boucher, Goldobin, Bailey, Stevens, Juolevi, Brisebois, Chatfield, Rafferty, Sautner.

3rd Star: Brogan Rafferty. One goal, three assists.

2nd Star: Justin Bailey. Three goals.

1st Star: Lukas Jasek. Overtime winner.

3rd Star: Reid Boucher. Boucher picked up another pair of assists today and has retaken his rightful place atop the AHL scoring heap with 44 points. He has 22 goals and 22 assists in 35 games this season. Reid is currently on pace for a 96 point season. Carter Verhaeghe led the league last year with 82 points while Chris Bourque was the last player to lead the league with over 90 points, (he had 93 in the 2011/12 season. Seems like Reid is having a good year, no?

2nd Star: Justin Bailey. The Gentleman has become known for his proper and polite handshake after a goal and he scored three of those today to bring his total to 19 on the season. Bailey has 13 points in his last 10 games and has two hattricks in his last three contests. Bailey is up to 19 goals and 11 assists, giving him 30 points in 39 games. He is now on pace for a 58 point season. That would represent a new career-high for him. It isn’t just about points for Bailey as he has taken on a role on the team’s penalty kill.

1st Star: Brogan Rafferty. I mean, come on. The man scored a ridiculous shorthanded goal today and added three more assists to his ever-growing pile. He is now up to six goals and 31 assists, bringing him to 37 points in 40 games. He is now just three points away from tying the Comets single-season record for points by a defenceman. His 37 points match what Patrick Wiercioch put up in his 58 game season with the Comets in 2017/18 to place him in a tie for second place on the Comets single-season points list from the backend. Yes, Rafferty is already 24-years-old, but I still see a reason for excitement here.

Game #41

Hartford Wolf Pack at Utica Comets

Friday, January 17th, 2020

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific