Comets Throttle Americans, Win 7-3
February 18, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
Rochester, NY. - On Sunday afternoon, the Utica Comets headed to Rochester for a matchup against an in-state and division rival, the Americans. With Utica sitting at the basement of the North Division, they came to the game aware that two points on the line against a team that was ahead of them in the standings were coveted. The unfriendly confines of the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester didn't deter the Comets from starting the game with plenty of passion to skate away with the victory. Despite going down by a goal in the first period, three Comets defenseman were amongst the seven goal scorers in a game where the Comets skated away with the victory after they ended a three game winless streak en route to a victory and two more points in the standings. The final score was 7-3 with Erik Kallgren making his return to the net stopping 31 shots on 34 attempts.
During the opening period, it was Rochester who drew first blood after Tyson Jost fired a backhand shot over the catching glove of Utica goalie, Erik Kallgren at 9:30 putting the Comets down 1-0. It was the only goal scored in the first and the Comets entered the second down by a goal. Utica punched back in the middle frame as they tied the contest after they were on the powerplay and Max Willman took the cross ice pass and slammed the puck home at 2:22 for his 10th goal of the season. Just over a minute later, defenseman Santeri Hatakka scored after taking a perfect pass from Nolan Stevens in stride and rifled the shot blocker side on Devin Cooley for his fourth of the season. The Comets were up 2-1 after those two tallies. The teams played four on four and it was Jeremy Davies who scored backdoor on Kallgren at 5:59 to tie the contest at 2-2. After the Comets were shorthanded later in the period, Justin Dowling moved into the Rochester zone on a two-on-one rush where he placed the puck right to the driving Daniil Misyul who tapped it home for his fourth of the season at 13:44 giving Utica a 3-2 lead. Another Comets defenseman registered a goal and it was Robbie Russo with a bomb that blasted into the Rochester goal at 14:46 for his second of the season assisted by Nolan Stevens and Topias Vilen. The Americans came away with the final goal of the second period after Brett Murray got a favorable bounce on a puck that just squeaked through Kallgren at 16:04. When the smoke cleared on a six-goal period, the Comets left the second up by a score of 4-3.
During the final period, Kyle Criscuolo extended the Comets lead after he scored on a wrist shot at 6:36 which was followed by a goal from Erik Middendorf at 7:07 which spelled the night for Cooley and sent Dustin Tokarski into the cage. It wouldn't matter as Graeme Clarke added another goal for Utica to give them a 7-3 lead for a team leading 19th of the year at 9:17. It was more than enough scoring for the Comets who skated away with the victory.
The Comets are back at home Friday, February 23rd against the Syracuse Crunch for a 7:00 PM puck drop. Tickets are available for both home games inside the Adirondack Bank Center.
Single game tickets are now available for the 2023-24 season. Visit uticacomets.com/tickets for more information. Season Ticket Memberships are also available for the 2023-24 Season. Tickets are still available. Visit www.uticacomets.com/tickets for more information.
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