COMETS SUMMER REVIEW
Nov 1, 2017It has been 200 days since the Utica Comets have played a game on home ice. Tonight, the newly remodeled Adirondack Bank Center will once again play host to the boys in blue and green and their devoted fans. As we prepare for the excitement tonight, here is a look back at everything that happened since the final whistle back in April.
-April 14 – Last Comets home game of the 2016-17 season is played
-April 26 – Head Coach Travis Green is promoted to Vancouver head coach
-May 8 – Groundbreaking of Phase I of the West End Expansion Project begins
-May 16 – Layout of the U District is announced (West End Expansion Project, Nexus Center)
-June 7– Asst. Coach Nolan Baumgartner is promoted to Vancouver assistant coach
-June 8– Washington Courts application submitted
-June 14 – Steel begins to go up
-June 22 – Mayor Palmieri, Urban Renewal members support U District
-June 26 – New Team Store in announced to open at the Sangertown Mall
-June 28 – Trent Cull is named the second head coach in Comets history
-July 7 – Comets win AHL Fan Experience Award
-July 9 – A special 5th Anniversary logo is unveiled
-July 11 – Comets resign Darren Archibald, the only player to wear a Comets sweater in all five seasons and announce 2017-18 game schedule
-July 12 – Vancouver Canucks announce Kalamazoo Wings as ECHL affiliate
-July 26 – Zuhaus in announced as a private luxury rental at The AUD, Ryan Johnson is named GM of the Comets and Gary Agnew is named assistant coach
-August 1 – Comets revamp business team and add VP of Corporate Partnerships Alicia Leone-DeSarro
-August 2 – A time capsule is discovered at ADK Bank Center including video footage from the 1950s
-August 8 – Comets announce specialty-themed Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light cans will be sold this fall in seven counties
-August 9 – Utica College President Laura Casamento voices her support for the U District
-August 17 – Comets announce Clinton-native, Josh Gagnon, as team’s first full-time video coach
-August 22 – Comets Team Store opens at Sangertown Mall
-August 23 – Comets announce changes to game operations department, merchandise department, improved sound system, and additions and changes to ORB Food and Beverage
-August 24 – Comets announce preseason series with Thruway rival, Syracuse Crunch
-September 7 – Comets unveil new merchandise logo
-September 18 – Comets announce 2017-18 promotional schedule
-September 19 – Ice goes in at The AUD
-September 27 – Announcement of AUD naming rights sponsor, Adirondack Bank
-September 28 – Governor Cuomo presents a $10.55 million check for West End Expansion Project from Governor Cuomo, announcement of Comets hosting 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.
October 30 – Comets play preseason game at Kennedy Arena in Rome
-October 5 – Comets announce opening night roster
-October 7 – Comets open up 2017-18 season on the road against Toronto
-October 16 – Labatt Blue/Blue Light Cans are released and several area bars host parties
-October 18 – Comets announce details for the fifth Fan Fest to be located in the new AUD Plaza
-October 26 – Release of Utica Comets themed debit cards at Adirondack Bank
-October 27 - Sweet Tooth Concession stand opens offering cotton candy, ice cream and countless other candy options
-October 27 – The Adirondack Bank Center opens to the public for the first time since April for the Utica College Men’s Hockey Home Opener
-October 30 – Two unique paintings are unveiled in Zuhaus paying tribute to AUD architect, Gil Seltzer and Rob Esche’s late brother, Eliot Esche