COMETS HEAD TO BRIDGEPORT FOR FIRST MEETING WITH ISLANDERS
Dec 4, 2021
The Last Game The Utica Comets returned from their two-game road stretch in Charlotte and continued their winning ways on Wednesday night, taking down the Belleville Senators 2-0 on Wednesday night on the strength of goaltender Akira Schmid’s second shutout in as many nights.
Reilly Walsh started the scoring for Utica early, putting the Comets on top just 1:55 into the game. The home side was able to add an insurance goal on the power play later in the period, Brian Flynn netting his second man-advantage goal of the year at 16:14 to make it 2-0 going into the first intermission.
Utica dominated second period shots 14-5, but neither side was able to net a goal, and the two teams would head to intermission two with the score the same as intermission one, 2-0 Comets.
While the offense ran hot for the Comets early in the game, it was the defense that came up big late. Utica was able to kill off four penalties in the third, including a 5-on-3 chance that lasted just under a minute for Belleville and a 6-on-4 opportunity that presented itself after the visitors pulled their goalie with just under two minutes to play. Schmid turned aside all 23 shots he faced while Senators’ goalie Mads Sogaard allowed two goals on 26 shots.
The Goalies Lead the Way: The Comets goaltending tandem of 21 year old Akira Schmid and 20 year old Nico Daws continue their stellar play since the start of the season. Both men are ranked among the leaders in goaltending statistics in the American Hockey League heading into the weekend. Schmid, the Swiss born goaltender who played in the USHL, now leads the entire league in goals-against-average with a 1.24. Third on that list is Nico Daws holding a 2.12. The same rankings apply for both goalies with Schmid leading the AHL netminders in save percentage holding a .956 with Daws at third with a .929.
The Bridgeport Islanders: Heading into Saturday night’s game in Bridgeport, the Islanders are lead in scoring by AHL veteran and former Carolina Hurricane draft pick, Chris Terry with six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 17 games played. Behind him in second is former Calgary Flame, Austin Czarnik who has five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 18 games played. Their current leading point producer from the blueline is Utica Comets defenseman Tyler Wotherspoons younger brother Patrick who has accumulated one goal and six assists for seven points in 19 games played. Bridgeport has a record of 3-6-1 in their last 10 games played and are ranked seventh in the Atlantic Division