COMETS DOMINATE IN BELLEVILLE SATURDAY
Dec 3, 2022
Belleville, Ontario. — The Comets left the Adirondack Bank Center after being defeated by Toronto and took a trip to Belleville to battle the top affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. As the Comets looked to erase the memory of a game one night earlier, they would pour on the offense against the Senators and get back into the win column on a total team effort with seven different goal scorers. The team skated away with their seventh victory of the season.
In the first period, after Nico Daws made several spectacular saves, the Comets turned to offense when they struck for a power-play tally. It was Zach Senyshyn who planted himself in front Belleville goalie Kevin Mandolese and took advantage of a rebound off a Nolan Stevens shot. The goal at 8:30 was also assisted by Jack Dugan and it helped Utica to a 1-0 lead. It only took Utica the next shift to extend their lead after Graeme Clarke deflected the Tyler Wotherspoon point shot into the back of the net for the fourth goal of the season for Clarke at 8:57. Wotherspoon wasn’t done putting his name on the scoresheet after his point shot bounced off a Senators defender into the bet at 13:43. The goal gave Utica a 3-0 lead and was assisted by Dugan and Simon Nemec. As the play continued, Nemec fired a shot into the net at 16:04 for his second goal of the year. The goal was scored at 16:04 and it was assisted by Tyce Thompson and Brian Pinho. With less than two minutes left in the period, the Senators finally solved Daws when their leading goal scorer Rourke Chartier’s wrist shot beat Daws off the post and in at 18:47. The period ended with the Comets holding a 4-1 advantage.
When the second period started, the Comets kept the scoring going and it was Joe Gambardella at 1:37 who rushed into the Belleville zone and beat Mandolese for a 5-1 lead. The goal was assisted by Brian Pinho and Tyce Thompson who both registered their second assist of the contest. As the Comets took a penalty, the Senators Angus Crookshank was able to redirect a pass into the net at 11:49 cutting the Utica lead to 5-2. Just over one minute later, an acute angle shot by Egor Sokolov found room to squeeze behind Daws at 12:52 bringing things a little closer to a 5-3 lead as the second period ended.
In the final period of regulation, the Comets got onto the scoresheet another time and it was Nolan Stevens who rifled a wrist shot just under the crossbar and into the net at 9:01. This extended the lead for the Comets to 6-3 and it was Stevens second point of the night and second goal in as many games. Brian Halonen would deposited an empty net goal and the Comets skated away with a 7-3 victory. The Comets continue to play away from home as they head to Rochester and Syracuse next weekend for a pair of games against their in-state rivals.