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Utica Week in Review: March 28th – April 3rd
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Jeremy Davis
Apr 6, 2016, 13:45 EDTUpdated:
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Photo credit: Lindsay A. Mogle / Utica Comets
The Utica Comets sure know how to turn it on at the right time, both in games and in their season as a whole. In a week that saw them make two third period comebacks to win three out of four games, the baby Canucks managed to put some distance between themselves and the Syracuse Crunch, the only remaining team that has a realistic chance of catching them in the standings for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Unfortunately, that one loss happened to be against the Syracuse Crunch, allowing their rivals to stay alive a little longer.
One disappointing loss aside, last week’s games held plenty of goals and entertainment, and no Comet had a better week than Alex Grenier, who, like the Comets as a whole, has really turned it on as the season winds down. 
Tuesday, March 29th vs Rochester: 3 – 2 Win
Utica Comets post-game report.
Friday, April 1st vs Springfield: 5 – 2 Win
Utica Comets post-game report.
Saturday, April 2nd at Binghamton: 4 – 1 Win
Highlights from the Binghamton game can be found here.
Utica Comets post-game report.
Sunday, April 3rd vs Syracuse: 7 – 3 Loss
Utica Comets post-game report.

Roster Report

Lines:

Roster Moves:
With the return of Alex Grenier from his NHL call up and the promotion of Curtis Valk a couple of weeks ago, as well some players returning from injury, the Comets have begun to release some of their PTO players. Last week Evan Rankin and Greger Hanson were sent packing. Neither had a point in a combined nine games. Michael Pereira was released, but his PTO was renewed the following day – still, he’s been a scratch in four consecutive games.
Note: Curtis Valk was returned to Kalamazoo this morning, despite putting up four points in six games this call up, and despite the facf that I praise him at various points in this article.
Injury Update:
Mike Zalewski finally returned from his concussion last week, scoring a short handed goal in his first game back. Wacey Hamilton returned for Saturday’s game, though Travis Green has yet to reunite his with his standard linemate Carter Bancks, who has been enjoying success playing in the top six with premier set up centre T.J. Hensick.
John Negrin is considered day-to-day and will likely play this week. Timelines for return have not been set out for Darren Archibald or Kellan Lain. Brandon Prust is done for the season.

The Stats

Skaters:
#
Player
GP
G
A
P
+/-
Sh
PIM
28
A. Grenier
4
2
5
7
+2
11
0
17
T. Hensick
4
1
5
6
+1
14
0
8
A. Friesen
4
2
2
4
-4
6
0
27
T. Fedun
4
1
3
4
-4
13
4
20
J. Landry
4
0
4
4
+3
6
2
34
C. Bancks
4
3
0
3
+1
8
2
16
J. LaBate
4
3
0
3
+3
12
2
5
D. Shields
4
1
1
2
+3
7
0
14
M. Zalewski
4
1
1
2
-1
7
12
38
C. Valk
4
0
2
2
+2
4
2
13
B. Marino
4
1
0
1
-1
4
2
18
K. Jones
4
0
1
1
+1
6
0
7
J. Subban
4
0
1
1
0
13
0
2
T. Ehrhardt
4
0
1
1
+2
8
0
24
C. Cassels
3
0
1
1
+1
3
0
15
R. Kenins
4
0
0
0
-3
7
0
6
A. Sautner
4
0
0
0
-3
4
2
39
M. Bubela
3
0
0
0
-2
2
0
36
†
W. Hamilton
2
0
0
0
-2
0
0
23
M. Pereira
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
21
*
C. Higgins
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
W. Wrenn
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
25
†
D. Archibald
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
37
*
A. Pedan
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
†
J. Negrin
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
26
†
B. Prust
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
*
B. Gaunce
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
† Missed game(s) due to injury/illness; * Missed game(s) due to NHL call up.
Goalies:
#
Goalie
GS
Record
GA
SA
Sv%
GAA
32
R. Bachman
2
2-0-0
3
54
0.944
1.50
35
J. Cannata
2
1-1-0
9
51
0.824
4.50
The rotation continued this week, and Bachman finally outplayed Joe Cannata. Cannata number last week cratered after giving up seven goals to Syracuse in the final 33 minutes. We’ll see in the coming week if he can snap back from a poor performance. Given the rotation, we can expect to see Bachman tonight and on Sunday, and Cannata on Saturday night.
Prospects:
  • Alex Grenier led all Comets players in points last week, scoring twice and adding five assists in just four games. Seems like he’s realized that he needs to take it up a notch if he wants to remind Jim Benning and the Canucks management that he’s ready to take the next step.
  • Alex Friesen had two goals and two assists in four games last week. His unit, positioned between Ronalds Kenins and Milos Bubela, has been one of more stable lines amidst the turmoil lately. Friesen is the only member of the line managing to put up points though, due to the fact that all four points came either on the power play or short handed.
  • Joe LaBate had another solid week, scoring three goals in four games (he shared the team lead in that category). He’s having quite a rookie campaign and has set himself up nicely going into next year. He’s settled in lately on a line with Alex Grenier and Curtis Valk, which has become Utica’s most dangerous line.
  • Mike Zalewski had a goal and an assist in four games following his return from injury. His extended absence has likely cost him an opportunity to return to the NHL for a stretch drive show case, as Benning had intended, but his impressive sophomore professional season has probably earned him a two-way NHL contract for next season. He’d make a decent call up if the Canucks find themselves in injury trouble down the middle in 2016-17.
  • Curtis Valk is not technically a Canucks prospect, as he’s on an AHL deal, but he’s a Canucks Army favourite, and he tallied two assists in four games last week. He’s proving that he can be a solid contributor at the AHL level even with his small stature, and he’s impressed both the Comets coaching staff and play-by-play broadcaster, Brendan Burke. Valk will be in search of another deal at the end of this season, and he shouldn’t have a problem getting one – the question is whether it will be another AHL deal, or if the Canucks will be willing to offer an Entry Level NHL contract.
  • Jordan Subban had one assist in four games last week. He’s cooled off considerably over the past few weeks, though he did manage 13 shots on net, which was second only to T.J. Hensick last week.
  • Cole Cassels also had one assist, though he only played three games. Cassels received a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game against Syracuse. With the returns of Hamilton and Zalewski, two players who regularly play at centre, the Comets were overstocked at the position. With Hensick and Friesen safe, it came down to Cassels and Curtis Valk – and it looks like Valk won out. Cassels had better watch his back, as it looks like Valk is gaining on him on the depth chart – he also trails Cassels by just three point, while having played 54 fewer games.
  • Ronalds Kenins had no points last week in four games. While Kenins’ linemates have been stable for a while, his ice time has likely taken a bit of a dip, as the Comets are rolling four lines that are relatively indistinguishable in terms of offensive prowess, whereas his line was likely the strongest a few weeks ago. He’s also been pushed from the first power play unit, which limits his ability to cash in with some of Utica’s better players.
  • Ashton Sautner also had no points in four games last week. He’s formed a consistent partnership with Taylor Fedun for some time now, functioning as the safety valve when Fedun rushes the puck. Fedun is a consistent point producer, but much of his production comes on the power play away from Sautner. Still, Sautner is getting plenty of ice time in the absence of Andrey Pedan, including penalty killing duty.
Team Level:
The Comets had another one of their weeks where they dominate in possession – this is a trademark of Green’s team no matter the talent level he has playing for him. Utica badly outshot their opponents in each of their three wins, though they were marginally outshot by Syracuse in Sunday’s loss, thanks to a third period breakdown. Over the course of the week, they outshot their opponents 135-105.
Utica’s power play came to life last week, going 5-for-14 over the four games. All five goals came from the first unit, a four-forward set (as Green has used all season) comprised of Alex Grenier, Alex Friesen, T.J. Hensick, Joe LaBate and quarterback Taylor Fedun. Friesen and LaBate each had two power play goals, and LaBate had a hand in almost all of them in some way or another, admirably performing the role of net-front presence. A strong week bumped their power play up a little in the league rankings, but it still sits in the bottom third, converting at a rate of 15.7 per cent, 22nd in the AHL.
The Comets’ penalty killers stifled 11 of 13 enemy opportunities, with one of the two opposing power play goals coming on a 5-on-3. Penalty killing continues to be one of the Comets’ strengths. Their season rate stayed about the same, sitting at 85.8 per cent, good for sixth in the AHL. Their home kill rate remains tops in the league at 90.7 per cent, despite allowing two power play goals in seven opportunities at home last week.
Leaders:

Player of the Week

This edition’s player of the week is none other than Alex Grenier, who has been on a tear since returning from his most recent NHL tour. In six games since since reassignment, Grenier has piled up eight points, of all them on a five-game active point streak (two goals, six assists). He’s playing like a man who knows he’s waiver eligible next season and intends to break camp with the big club.
Whether he’s able to do that is a difficult debate, given the Canucks’ abundance of waiver eligible players and RFAs with unknown futures. Grenier can only focus on himself right now, and that’s what he’s doing. His recent NHL call up left a little to be desired, and now back in Utica he’s showing the traits that endeared him to the management group last season.
This past week, Grenier hit a new career high with 45 points, as well as a new high in assists with 30. His 15 goals are just two off the 17 he scored in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, with a handful of fewer games played. His plus-minus, penalty minutes and shot totals are all down from last season however.
Grenier is running out of time to prove that he belongs at the next level, and at this point it might take an injury in training camp next season to get him there. All the same, if the Comets can stay the course for the next couple of weeks, Grenier will also have the AHL playoffs to continue to impress upper management, and that was certainly a strength of his last season.
(
Check out the size difference between Alex Grenier and Curtis Valk in this clip as they celebrate the goal, it’s hilarious. They are listed at 6′ 5″ and 5′ 9″ respectively.)

Looking Ahead

The Comets have just six games remaining in their 2015-16 regular season. Three of them will be played this week, as they try to hang on to the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference.
I noted last week that all the Comets’ remaining games are against weaker divisional opponents. That begins tonight as they’ll host the Binghamton Senators once again. The Comets have won four of the six matchups between the two teams this season, including winning the last two contests by a combined score of 9-2. That should continue tonight, as Binghamton is the division’s weakest team, and the Comets can’t afford to squander points against lesser opponents.
Once the weekend rolls around, the Comets will head out on a long trip to St. John’s, Newfoundland, where they’ll play the IceCaps, affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, on both Saturday and Sunday. The IceCaps are sixth in the division and are already eliminated from the AHL playoffs. The Comets and IceCaps have split the season series to this point with three wins apiece, though Utica won both the games they played in Newfoundland earlier in the year.
If the Comets were able to sweep the week, they’ll lock up a playoff spot no matter what Syracuse does in their remaining games. Multiple regulation losses for Syracuse this week would do the same, even if Utica lost every game. Basically, they need to win more games this week than Syracuse does. Otherwise, they’ll take this battle into next week, when the two teams face off twice. The Comets have a six-point advantage right now and a game in hand, so they’d really have to drop the ball in order to fall out of a playoff spot at this point.
Assuming they do make the playoffs, the Comets are down to two potential opponents at this point, and neither of them are particularly friendly. The Comets can still technically catch any team in the Atlantic division. If they managed to do so, they would be Albany in the first round. If they stay in eighth in the conference however, they’ll play Toronto in the first round. Both teams are strong, but the Marlies are significantly scarier. Not only have they continued to motor on without many of their more skilled players, but they will still be getting players like William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, and Nikita Soshnikov back by AHL playoff time. Albany is the lesser of two evils here.

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