Highlights

Numbers

Quick Hits

• Although the official shot clock won’t show it, Utica definitely played much better tonight compared to Saturday’s performance. They had their foot on the gas early, and were able to control much of the first two periods against Manchester.
• In particular, their cycle game was much improved. For long stretches of the 1st and 2nd, the Comets controlled the puck below Manchester’s goal line, and had success bull-rushing out of the corner to manufacture scrambles off of jam plays. This led to some grade-A chances for guys like Will Acton, who was denied after a Hunter Shinkaruk rebound bounced to him in the slot.
• The problem with this game plan is that barging off the goal line and jamming the puck into the goalie’s pads is only going to get you so far. If they’re going to have success working the puck down low, the Comets also have to be able to move the puck and take shots from higher danger areas. There were too many chances where J-F Berube was already on top of the puck when Utica decided to pull the trigger.
• The Gaunce-Zalewski-Virtanen line was noticeable in the first couple of periods, doing good work low in Manchester’s zone and keeping the puck out of the hands of the Monarchs’ speedy forwards. There wasn’t much in the way of scoring chances though, as they were contained to the end boards and behind the net. 
• Utica’s best line on the night was probably the trio of Alex Grenier, Cal O’Reilly, and Nicklas Jensen. Grenier and O’Reilly were making plays to set up dangerous shots, while Jensen made a a beautiful play himself to pick the puck out of the air and snap it past J-F Berube for Utica’s only goal.
• Jensen was only in the lineup thanks to an injury to C Wacey Hamilton, but after his good night, I have a tough time seeing him come back out of the lineup soon.
• The official scorers had the shots a hell of a lot more lop-sided than I did, but some of the shots credited to the Monarchs were kinda silly. Chip-and-change going a foot wide that Markstrom stops for his D? That’s a shot. Centering pass from the corner that’s going to roll harmlessly through the slot until Markstrom blocks it? That’s a shot too.
• They also missed a couple of pretty obvious shots from Conacher that Berube blockered away, so the official differential favours the home side more than it should.
• Utica outplayed Manchester by a pretty significant margin at even strength through the first two periods, but the Monarchs really started dictating the play late in the 3rd. They out-chanced Utica 11-3 in the 3rd and OT, with 10 of those scoring chances coming at even strength.
• Manchester also looked extremely dangerous on the powerplay, and controlled the special teams battle by a pretty significant margin. The Comets attempted seven shots on their four powerplays, manufacturing no scoring chances and giving up three shorthanded attempts, while the Monarchs went +17/-0 for shot attempts on their five powerplays, out-chancing the Comets 7-0.
• If Utica can’t make the special teams battle tighter, then no amount of Jacob Markstrom heroics are going to save them. Both the powerplay and the penalty kill have to be much better as the series shifts to Utica.