GREER SCORES THREE AS COMETS FALL IN ROCHESTER

Mar 30, 2022

Utica, NY – It was the 10^th meeting of the season between the Utica Comets and the Rochester Americans when they stepped onto the ice against one another in the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York on Wednesday night. With Utica winning five of the previous nine contests, tonight, the Americans would skate away with the win despite the hat-trick from Comets forward AJ Greer. The game ended 4-3 as the Comets were defeated in regulation ending a three game winning streak. 

 

In the opening period, the red-hot AJ Greer, who was coming off a four-point night in Hartford, scored the game’s opening goal on a slapper through a screen that beat Rochester goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 9:39 with assists from Fabian Zetterlund and Ryan Schmelzer. That would be all the scoring in the initial period. The goal was Greer’s 20^th of the season which is a career high as well as a career high season point total of 45.

 

In the second period, Greer just kept pushing and he and Frederik Gauthier skated in on a two-on-one short-handed opportunity. Gauthier dished to an open Greer who slammed home his second of the night at 1:25 putting up Utica 2-0. The Americans finally got on the board to cut the Comets lead in half after team captain Michael Mersh found the puck in a goal-mouth scramble and shoveled into the net behind Akira Schmid at 2:48. Just a few minutes later the Amerks tied the game, and it was a one-timer by defenseman Jimmy Schuldt that blasted into the Comets net at 5:09. The Americans took their first lead of the game, and it was Mersh who struck again as he sliced the puck on a redirect over the glove of Schmid on a play setup by Mark Jankowski. The Comets trailed the contest 3-2 heading into the final period of regulation.

 

In the final period of regulation, Rochester rookie Jack Quinn put his team up 4-2 on the power-play after winning a faceoff and sniping a shot short -side and in on Schmid at 10:22. As the third period continued, Greer scored his third of the game at 19:22 with the extra attacker on the ice for Utica. But, it wasn’t enough to fully close the gap and the Comets left the game defeated, 4-3 

 

The Comets three game win streak ended as they headed back home for a date against the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night.

 

The Comets head back home to the Adirondack Bank Center at 7:00 PM on Friday night, April 1^st against the Syracuse Crunch. Tickets are still available. You can purchase them by going to uticacomets.com/tickets.