Comets Defeat Crunch in Successful Home Opener
February 17, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
Utica, NY - Jonah Gadjovich scored two goals and Jon Gillies made 17 saves in a 5-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch. Utica started the scoring early in the game after Gadjovich redirected a Will Lockwood shot passed Syracuse goaltender Sam Montembeault at 14:50 of the opening period.
In the middle frame, Utica extended their lead after Steve Santini shot from the blueline fooled Montembeault at 10:08. With the Comets on the powerplay, Sam Anas put a pass right onto the tape of Nathan Walker who extended the Comets lead to 3-0 at 14:00.
Dakota Joshua scored a highlight reel goal on a two-on-one rush as he skated through the Syracuse defense and made a nice move around the Crunch goaltender to slide the puck passed the goal line at 4:13. While the Crunch added goals from Jimmy Huntington and Dmitry Semykin to pull within two goals, it wouldn't be enough and Gadjovich added an empty netter to help the Comets skate away with a 5-2 win. Rookies Tyler Tucker, Will Lockwood and Hugh McGing all tallied their first professional points tonight. Steve Santini, Nathan Walker and Dakota Joshua all scored their first goals as Comets.
Both teams scored one goal on the power play. Utica outshot Syracuse 20-19 on the night. The Comets will head to Rochester tomorrow for a game against the Americans in a rematch from the season opener. The Comets are now 3-1 on the season in four games.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2021
- Crunch Downed by Comets, 5-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- Comets Defeat Crunch in Successful Home Opener - Utica Comets
- Riat's First AHL Goal Gives Bears 2-1 Win in Newark - Hershey Bears
- Gilles Senn Stops 41 in Devils' 2-1 Loss to Bears - Binghamton Devils
- Anaheim Ducks Assign Andy Welinski to San Diego - San Diego Gulls
- Marlies Go Back-To-Back in Winnipeg - Toronto Marlies
- Weather Affecting San Jose Travel Reschedules Thursday Game to Friday at 5pm - Tucson Roadrunners
- Bolduc Leads Sound Tigers to First Win of Season - Bridgeport Islanders
- AHL Reschedules Thursday's Game in Tucson Due to Weather - San Jose Barracuda
- Thursday's San Jose-Tucson AHL Game Rescheduled Due to Weather - AHL
- Griffins to Finish Road Trip Before Hosting Cleveland on Saturday - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Laval Rocket Reach Agreement to Release Forward Sam Vigneault - Laval Rocket
- Game Preview: Condors Take on San Diego Tonight at 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Wild Defenseman Daemon Hunt Returns to WHL - Iowa Wild
- Game Preview: Bears at Devils, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers and Wolf Pack Reignite Rivalry at 1 p.m. Today - Bridgeport Islanders
- Moose Dropped by Marlies, 6-2 - Manitoba Moose
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
