Comets Drop Defensive Battle to Rocket, 2-1 in Shootout
AHL Utica Comets

Comets Drop Defensive Battle to Rocket, 2-1 in Shootout

Published on February 21, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


Utica, NY - The Comets returned home to host the Laval Rocket on 100 Years of Comets Heritage and fell by a score of 2-1 in a shootout.

Strong starts have been a theme for the Rocket this year and that carried into tonight's contest when William Trudeau jammed home a rebound after Jakub Malek made the initial stop on Sean Farrell which gave Laval the 1-0 lead just 1:32 into the game on Trudeau's eighth of the year. Moments later, the Comets nearly tied the game when Xavier Parent ripped one off the post on the glove side of Laval netminder Kaapo Kahkonen, but the score remained 1-0. The Comets would eventually tie the game when Kyle Criscuolo entered the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 and fed Calen Addison whose shot broke off the glove of Kahkonen and in for his third of the year at 12:12. Brian Halonen picked up the secondary assist.

The Comets started the second period on the power play after Laval forward Sean Farrell was called for cross-checking late in the first period and drew another penalty when Laval forward Lucas Condotta was assessed a tripping minor, putting them on a 5-on-3 for 45 seconds, but the Rocket killed it off. Laval's best chance of the period came when Sean Farrell stepped out of the box and skated in on a breakaway, but Jakub Malek made a great stick save to keep it a 1-1 game. The Comets controlled the play for much of the second period, but Kahkonen was solid in net and Laval's defenders did a great job blocking several of Utica's shots.

The defensive battle continued into the third period as the Rocket had the slight edge in scoring chances. They nearly took the lead about halfway through the period when Alex Belzile hit the post on the glove side of Malek, who then made a terrific save on Sean Farrell on the follow-up chance to keep the score tied at one.

After a scoreless third period, the teams headed to overtime for the second time in the season series. Neither team had many grade-A chances, and the five-minute overtime saw just two shots on goal, both of which belonged to Laval. Rocket forward Laurent Dauphin was called for a tripping penalty at the end of the extra session, but the horn sounded and the teams advanced to a shootout.

Sammy Blais scored in the first round of the shootout to give Laval the edge. After both Angus Crookshank and Brian Halonen were denied by Kaapo Kahkonen, Topias Vilen served as the third shooter for the Comets in an attempt to keep them alive but had the puck roll off his stick as he tried to beat Kahkonen and the Rocket prevailed for a 2-1 win.

The Comets were outshot by the Rocket 22-17, while going 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

The Comets are back home tomorrow at 3 pm against the Laval Rocket for Mascot Day. 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 February 21, 2026


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