HAMILTON’S TWO-GOAL NIGHT LIFTS COMETS PAST PHANTOMS IN OVERTIME
Jan 27, 2018Utica, N.Y. – The Utica Comets defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a score of 3-2 in overtime Saturday night at the PPL Center.
Mike Vecchione netted the game’s first goal with 5:46 remaining in the first period, slipping a puck around the pad of Thatcher Demko. Radel Fazleev and Will O’Neill had the assists.
Wacey Hamilton tied the game at one three minutes into the second period, putting his own rebound past Phantoms goaltender Dustin Tokarski. Alexis D’Aoust picked up the lone assist. Oskar Lindblom regained the lead for the Phantoms at the 16:36 mark of the second period with a shorthanded goal. Fazleev and Travis Sanheim were credited with the assists.
Philip Holm tied the game with 57 seconds remaining in regulation. Michael Chaput and Reid Boucher registered the assists.
Hamilton notched the game-winning goal 1:11 into overtime. Patrick Wiercioch tallied the assist.
Demko finished with 25 saves to improve his record to 17-7-5. Tokarski stopped 30 shots. His record falls to 11-4-4. The Comets power play went 0-2, while the penalty killed did not allow a goal in their only attempt.
The Comets are back in action on Friday, February 2 against the Syracuse Crunch in game seven of the Galaxy Cup series. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.
The 2018 AHL All-Star Classic will be hosted at the newly renovated Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The two-day event includes the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 28, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Monday, January 29 and the 2018 AHL All-Star Challenge later that evening. The Skills Competition and the All-Star Challenge will take place in downtown Utica; all other events during the All-Star Classic will take place at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. For tickets to the two-day event, visit empirestatetix.com.