Comets' Comeback Effort Comes up Short in Springfield
AHL Utica Comets

Comets' Comeback Effort Comes up Short in Springfield

Published on March 14, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


Springfield, MA - The Comets headed to Springfield for their final regular season meeting against the Thunderbirds and lost 6-3.

The teams skated out to a solid crowd on St. Patrick's Day night at MassMutual Center, but the energy of the home crowd was dampened when the Thunderbirds were assessed a five-minute penalty as defenseman Wyatt Newpower was given a game misconduct for kneeing just 2:26 into the game in his Thunderbirds' debut. Jack Malone was the recipient of the hit and unfortunately forced to leave the ice after being shaken up on the play. The Comets had some good looks despite being unable to capitalize on the extended man advantage. The Thunderbirds got some momentum after the successful kill and ramped up the pressure as the period went along. They would eventually get on the board at the 16:16 mark when Jakub Malek made a great initial save on Springfield forward Akil Thomas, but Dylan Peterson was there to pick up the rebound and find the twine for his ninth of the year to give the Thunderbirds the 1-0 lead.

After killing two penalties in the first, the Thunderbirds headed to their first power play of the game early in the second when Colton White was called for cross-checking at 1:42. It didn't take long for Springfield, scoring just five seconds into the man advantage when Alek Kaskimaki found Chris Wagner in the low slot who fired one home upstairs past Jakub Malek to make it 2-0 on Wagner's team-leading 19th goal of the year. The Thunderbirds added to the lead later in the period when a puck was dumped into the Comets' end, and Springfield forward Julian Gauthier swatted home a loose puck in the right circle low blocker side past Malek to make it 3-0 at 12:02 on his sixth of the year and first as a Thunderbird. The Comets responded with some solid shifts in the offensive zone to round out the period but trailed by three heading into the final frame.

The tides started to turn as the Comets brought their skating legs in the third and would head to the power play when Chris Wagner was called for slashing. With 52 seconds left in the man advantage, Topias Vilen dished the puck to Brian Halonen who was parked in the left circle and hammered it home past Springfield netminder Vadim Zherenko to make it 3-1 at 5:07 on his team-leading 19th goal of the season. Just over three minutes later, Xavier Parent carried the puck into the offensive zone, curled to the left circle, and fired a shot that was tipped home by Jonathan Gruden to make it 3-2 at 8:16 for his ninth of the year. Colton White picked up the secondary assist. The Thunderbirds would restore the two-goal lead when Chris Wagner received a drop pass in the right circle from Dillon Dube and beat Malek glove side to make it 4-2 at 11:31 on his second of the game and 20th of the year. The Comets had no quit in them and pulled back to within one when Angus Crookshank redirected a shot from Ethan Edwards past Vadim Zherenko at 12:30 to make it 4-3 on Crookshank's 17th of the year. Austin Strand picked up the secondary assist to extend the point streak to three games. The Comets pulled Malek later in the frame, still trailing by one, but the Thunderbirds were able to pot two empty-netters in route to a 6-3 win. Chris Wagner scored at 18:32 to complete the hat trick, and then Thomas Bordeleau scored at 19:16, his fifth goal as a Thunderbird.

The Comets outshot the Thunderbirds 36-28, while going 1-for-3 on the power play and 0-for-1 on the penalty kill.

The Comets are back home on Friday at 7 pm against the Providence Bruins for Racing Night. For tickets or more information, fans can visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 14, 2026


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