COMETS LATE SURGE NOT ENOUGH IN LOSS TO ROCHESTER
Dec 5, 2018Rochester, N.Y. – The Utica Comets generated a late surge in the third period, but they couldn’t overcome the Rochester Americans in a 5-2 loss on Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena.
After exchanging chances in the first period, the Amerks broke the scoreless tie with the period’s lone goal. Creating an odd-man rush, Rasmus Asplund gained the Comets’ line and served up a pass to Victor Olofsson, who zipped a shot over the right leg of Thatcher Demko.
Rochester padded their lead in the second period, generating two more goals during the middle session. Matt Tennyson joined a rush and finished a tic-tac-toe play at the 1:54 mark, and Andrew MacWilliam’s long shot re-directed into the net at 13:35. The two-goal period for the home team put the Comets behind 3-0 after forty minutes.
Down by three and pulling Thatcher Demko with just under five to go, the Comets earned their first goal of the night, courtesy of Reid Boucher from the top of the right circle. The 3-1 score lasted for less than 20 seconds before Rochester found the back of the empty net with Demko on the bench again.
With under three minutes remaining and with the extra attacker on the ice, Jonathan Dahlen fluttered a shot to the net that changed directions in front and slipped past Jonas Johansson and cut the deficit to two for the second time. The game was put away as Wayne Simpson finished into the empty net to cap off a 5-2 victory for Rochester.
The Comets are back at it Friday night when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to use the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV and Facebook Watch.