DELEO SCORES TWO, UTICA FALLS TO CHARLOTTE
Jan 28, 2022The Comets suffered an overtime defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night before they headed out for two road games in the following days.
The Comets jumped out to the lead one minute into the game. Alexander Holtz threaded a pass across the zone to Chase DeLeo who fired a shot past the Checkers goaltender. At 11:18 of the period, Charlotte forward Cole Schwindt evened the score with a goal that was assisted by Henry Bowlby. In the final minute of the period, the Comets regained control of the lead thanks to Chase DeLeo’s second goal of the night. A.J. Greer sent a silky pass to DeLeo who put the puck through the legs of the Checkers goalie.
In the second period, it was the Checkers who got on the board early on. Just over two minutes in, former Comets forward Kole Lind scored to tie things up. At 6:34 of the frame, Charlotte took the lead thanks to Cole Schwindt’s second goal of the game. His goal was assisted by Nolan Kneen and Henry Bowlby. It didn’t take long for the Comets to answer back. A minute later, Comets forward Aarne Talvitie put one in to make it a 3-3 game. The puck took a fortunate bounce from a flurry beside the net and landed on the stick of Talvitie who was alone in front. Samuel Laberge and Brian Flynn recorded assists on the goal.
The third period was filled with back-and-forth action. Both teams traded scoring chances, but the goaltenders stayed strong in net to keep the game tied at three and force overtime.
In the extra frame, Charlotte capitalized on a three on one rush to win the game. Checkers captain Zac Dalpe scored off a pass from Aleksi Heponiemi to secure the extra point for his team.
The Comets will be back in action tomorrow night on road in Rochester at 6:05 PM. They will return home on Wednesday night against the Laval Rocket. Tickets are still available. For more information, visit uticacomets.com/tickets.