COMETS SHOCK MONSTERS IN COMEBACK VICTORY, 7-6

Dec 3, 2023

Cleveland, OH — Coming off a road loss the previous night, the Comets stepped back onto the ice in Cleveland to battle the Monsters for the final time away from home during the regular season. With the team in the midst of a four-game losing streak, they were ready to grab two-points against the North Division’s top team. Despite being down by three goals in the game, the Comets scored four unanswered goals and won the contest, 7-6.

In the first period, the Comets got on the scoresheet first after Graeme Clarke scored at 1:09 after a nice pass from Joe Gambardella and Tyler Wotherspoon. It was Clarke’s sixth goal of the season. The Monsters roared back with three straight goals that came off the sticks of James Malatesta, Jake Christiansen and Owen Sillinger putting Utica down 3-1. Later, a Comets defenseman put Utica back within reach after Tyler Wotherspoon capitalized on a goal mouth scramble scoring a backhander at 12:07 assisted by Sam Laberge and Timur Ibragimov. But, the Monsters scored two more goals in the opening frame with tallies from Trey Fix-Wolansky and Owen Sillinger. After the first twenty minutes concluded, the Comets found themselves behind 5-2.

The Comets registered a goal in the middle frame after Timur Ibragimov wristed a shot between the circles in the Monsters zone that sailed passed Cleveland goalie, Paval Cajan at 6:33. The goal was Ibragimov’s fourth goal of the season and it was assisted by Laberge and Michael Vukojevic. The Monsters reacquired a three goal lead after Emil Bennstrom scored on a rebound chance in front of Isaac Poulter at 12:56, who spelled Erik Kallgren after the first period. Later in the frame, Max Willman moved in on a breakaway and slid the puck behind Cajan at 17:48 for his sixth of the season assisted by Xavier Parent. As the second period ended, Utica was down, 6-4.

The Comets’ captain Ryan Schmelzer scored a power-play goal at 7:23 assisted by Max Willman and Cal Foote for his third goal of the season bringing Utica within one goal in a 6-5 game. Later, Sam Laberge tied the game at 6-6 after Sam Laberge rifled a shot off the far post as he drove down the right wing side scoring at 12:50. The goal was assisted by Ibragimov and Foote and it was Laberge’s second goal of the season. Daniil Misyul broke the tie when he sniped high to the blocker side at 15:34 to lift the Comets to victory by a 7-6 score.

The Comets are back in action on Friday night against the Bridgeport Islanders inside the Adirondack Bank Center at 7:00 PM. They will head to Syracuse on Saturday before their first home Sunday game of the season at 3:00 PM in a rematch against the Crunch. Great seats are still available for both Friday and Sunday games.

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.