CanucksArmy Utica Comets Post-Game: The Gentleman Returns With Three Points En Route To a Comets 6-3 Win Over Division Leading Belleville

Game #54

Utica Comets at Belleville Senators

Friday, February 21st, 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)

95 Justin Bailey – 16 John Stevens – 13 Kole Lind

47 Sven Baertschi (A) – 19 Carter Camper – 24 Reid Boucher (A)

 77 Nikolay Goldobin – 9 Lukas Jasek – 34 Carter Bancks (C)

3 Stefan LeBlanc – 17 Seamus Malone – 26 Dyson Stevenson

55 Guillaume Brisebois – 25 Brogan Rafferty

 8 Dylan Blujus- 5 Jalen Chatfield

22 Matt Petgrave – 52 Mitch Eliot

64 Mikey DiPietro

31 Zane McIntyre (backing up)

The opening frame saw some solid back and forth action and finished with the Comets up 2-1 and on a five-minute power play.

As has often been the case this year, Mikey DiPietro had to come up with an early save and today it was on Rudolfs Balcers before he kicked aside a Michael Carcone chance as well.

At the other end, John Stevens let fly with a backhander that was turned aside by goaltender Joey Daccord. Reid Boucher followed up with a shot from the right circle after he stole the puck, but Daccord was there with a quick leg to make the save.

Lukas Jasek has been having a nice second season for the Comets as he learns a new position and he unloaded with a shot from the point that Daccord denied as well.

Seamus Malone put the Comets up 1-0 after taking a feed off the wall from Stefan LeBlanc and whipping out a spin and fire backhander that fooled Daccord for his fourth goal of the season. LeBlanc earned his fourth helper of the year on the play. Although he didn’t earn an assist on the play, Dyson Stevenson’s forecheck forced the turnover to LeBlanc to get things going.

The Comets had some good pressure early… which was a nice change of pace.

The Sens were not laying down, however, as DiPietro had to come up with an alert stop on an Alex Formenton offering off the right side.

The Comets were running with a defensive pairing of Mitch Eliot with Matt Petgrave and the former did great work to pick up Petgrave’s man and muscle him off the puck in the defensive zone to break up a play. Once again, Eliot was playing a tidy physical game in the opening frame.

Stefan LeBlanc had a shot turned aside as the Comets continued to get great energy from their fourth line.

At the other end, Filip Chlapik ripped a shot off the iron before DiPietro got a piece of a Michael Carcone offering to keep his team up by a goal. Balcers followed up with a chance of his own and was met with a similar result, but the Sens were pressing.

DiPietro denied an Erik Brannstrom shot through traffic before former Comet Joe LaBate taped a loose puck over the line during a scramble for his ninth goal of the season. Carcone picked up his 12th helper of the year on the play, while Jonathan Aspirot grabbed his 11th.

Worry not, Comets fans as Reid Boucher sent a pass across the ice soon after that Carter Camper beat Daccord with for his eighth goal of the season. Boucher grabbed his 29th helper of the year on the play, while Sven Baertschi earned his 28th.

It was nice to see the Comets answer back so quickly.

Jalen Chatfield followed up the Camper marker by charging to the net for a redirect chance that was turned aside before Alex Formenton hit Justin Bailey up high and was whistled for an elbow. The penalty was a major, so the Comets had five minutes of power-play time to work with. What they wouldn’t have was Justin Bailey as he headed down the tunnel with under 50 seconds left in the period.

The teams finished the opening frame tied with 13 shots each.

The middle frame saw four more goals scored and the Comets would be up 4-3 by the time the horn sounded to end the period.

With Formenton still doing time in the box, the Comets power play went to work and it took Justin Bailey just 35 seconds to put his team up 3-1. It was good to see Bailey back out after the hit that he took at the end of the first period. The goal was Bailey’s 25th of the season, while Baertschi earned his 29th assist of the year on the play and Nikolay Goldobin grabbed his 28th.

Lukas Jasek followed up the Bailey goal with a chance of his own that was denied by Daccord as the second unit took over. Unfortunately, as we have seen so many times this season, the Comets gave up a shorthanded goal and the Sens were back to within one. This time it was Balcers doing the damage with his 15th goal of the season. Filip Chlapik earned his 11th assist of the season on the play, while Hubert Labrie picked up his eighth.

The Sens applied some pressure after the Formenton penalty expired as Chlapik had a chance foiled by Chatfield’s defensive pressure and a well-timed save from DiPietro.

Bailey made it a 4-2 game after he wheeled down the right side with all the speed in the world and beat Daccord for his 26th of the season. Lukas Jasek earned his 13th assist of the season as he continues his strong play of late.

Jack Dougherty had a shot redirected DiPietro’s way and the Comets netminder came up with another save and soon after Dyson Stevenson and Christopher Clapperton were sent off with off-setting minors and we had some four aside play.

Guillaume Brisebois was looking to take Bailey’s lead and grab a goal in his return when he let fly with a big shot that blew up his stick. He skated to the bench and grabbed another twig and proceded to take a holding penalty on Formenton and the Comets had a four-on-three disadvantage to kill off.

Dylan Blujus came up with a pair of big shot blocks before DiPietro came up with back-to-back saves on Formenton and Carcone to keep his team up by a pair and the Comets had a good kill.

DiPietro denied a Balcers chance as some back and forth broke out. Boucher had a backhander denied off the rush by Daccord before Brisebois let fly through traffic but saw the same result. At the other end, DiPietro stopped and held a long shot as the Sens started to press.

Alex Formenton was looking to set up a play in the Comets end, but Guillaume Brisebois was having none of it and kept him wide to the outside with nice body positioning before Morgan Klimchuk ripped a shot off the iron.

Darren Archibald… remember him? Well, the former Comets winger came down the left side and used the defender as a screen before ripping his eighth of the season past DiPietro. Erik Brannstrom picked up his 19th helper of the year on the play, while Joe LaBate grabbed his 12th.

Mitch Eliot showed a smart stick in his own end to break up a Sens’ play before Brisebois followed up with a physical play to take Patrick Kelly off the puck. Formenton tried his luck with a spin and fire play, but DiPietro was wise to his antics and was there with the save. Jasek and Chatfield both had late chances denied as the period came to a close.

Belleville showed an advantage of 14-8 on the second-period shot clock.

We saw two more goals scored in this game and they both came off of the stick of Comets players… so that seems good.

We had some good back and forth early on before the Comets applied some pressure. That pressure would lead to a Jordan Swarz high-sticking penalty just 1:56 into the final frame and the Comets power play had a chance to put a stranglehold on the Sens.

The coaching staff started out with their second unit, consisting of Mitch Eliot, Matt Petgrave, Lukas Jasek, Kole Lind, and Carter Camper and they were unable to get any traction before Bailey, Goldobin, Baertschi, Boucher, and Rafferty took over. They didn’t fare any better and the Comets power play came up empty.

The Sens were looking to battle back as Swarz rushed into the Comets’ zone, only to have Jalen Chatfield foil his attempt by riding him off the puck. The Comets defenders were doing a solid job of taking Belleville players out of the play without being dinged for penalties in the process.

One thing that I noticed today was how much quicker decisions seemed to be coming to Guillaume Brisebois with and without the puck. His time spent in Vancouver on his latest recall did not go to waste, even if he didn’t see any game action.

The Sens kept pushing and DiPietro had to come up with a save before Rafferty did great work to stop a net drive by Joe LaBate as he poked the puck off of his stick.

Kole Lind has cooled off a little bit of late, but with Justin Bailey back in the fold, Kole looked to have a little extra spring in his step. He took a sweet feed from John Stevens and broke in with a dandy of a backhander for his 13th goal of the season. Stevens grabbed his sixth assist of the year on the play, while Justin Bailey earned his 17th, and 3rd point of the game.

The Comets kept it coming as Baertschi had a chance denied before Vitaly Abramov was dinged for slashing at the 12:25 mark. The Comets were back to the power play. Jack Dougherty was sent off for delay of game at the 12:54 mark and the Comets had an extended five-on-three advantage to work with.

Sven Baertschi hammered home a one-timer at the 13:43 mark and the Comets were up 6-3. The goal was Sven’s 10th of the season, while Goldy earned his 29h assist of the year on the play and Brogan Rafferty grabbed his 34th to get him to 40 points on the season and tying him with Bobby Sanguinetti for the Comets’ single-season high for points by a defender. Congrats, Brogan.

DiPietro’s night wasn’t over as he had to glove down a Brannstrom offering before denying a Clapperton shot as well. He kept the saves coming with the wave of his blocker on a Carcone shot before denying Dougherty and Brannstrom on back-to-back chances.

As time wound down, we saw Stevenson and LaBate have a brief wrestling match and the Comets came away with the 6-3 win. Utica held a 9-6 advantage on the third-period shot clock, but Belleville held a 33-30 edge for the game.

Seamus Malone (4) from Stefan LeBlanc (4).

Carter Camper (8) from Reid Boucher (29) and Sven Baertschi (28).

Justin Bailey (25) from Sven Baertschi (29) and Nikolay Goldobin (28). PP goal.

Justin Bailey (26) from Lukas Jasek (13).

Kole Lind (13) from John Stevens (6) and Justin Bailey (17).

Sven Baertschi (10) from Nikolay Goldobin (29) and Brogan Rafferty (34). PP goal.

Power Play: 2/5. One shorthanded goal allowed.

Penalty Kill. 2/2.

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

PP2: Camper, Jasek, Lind, Petgrave, Eliot.

PP3: Baertschi, Bailey, Boucher, Goldobin, Rafferty.

Penalty Killers: Bancks, Stevens, Jasek, Boucher, Rafferty, Blujus, Chatfield.

3rd Star: Darren Archibald. One goal.

2nd Star: Sven Baertschi: One goal, two assists.

1st Star: Justin Bailey. Two goals, one assist.

3rd Star: Nikolay Goldobin. Goldy helped out today with a pair of assists and is now up to 19 goals and 29 assists, giving him 48 points in 47 games this year. Goldy has set new career highs for himself in the AHL with 29 assists and 48 points. He is just three goals back of his career-high of 21 as well. If he is still with the club next week, he will be a huge help for the team’s playoff hopes.

2nd Star: Sven Baertschi. Sven picked up a goal and a pair of assists today and now has 39 points in 37 games this season. Sven will tie his AHL high for points in a season with his next one and has already set a career-high for himself in the AHL with his 29 assists. Like Goldy, if Sven is still part of the Comets roster after the trade deadline, he will be a huge help for the team’s playoff hopes.

1st Star: Justin Bailey. I mean, who else was it going to be? Bailey returned to Utica with a vengeance, picking up two goals and an assist in his first game back. TheGentleman now has 26 goals and 16 assists, giving him 43 points in 46 games this season. Those 26 goals are the AHL’s fourth-highest total so far this year… seems good, no? Bailey has 19 points in his last 10 outings for the Comets.

Game #55

Utica Comets at Rochester Americans

Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific