UTICA HEADS WEST TO BATTLE ROCHESTER
Jan 12, 2022The Last Time on the Ice: The Comets suffered a rare home loss against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday night by a score of 2-1.
In the first period, both teams came with a great deal of energy and traded scoring chances early on. It was Hartford who ultimately got on the board first with a power play goal. At 11:45 of the period, Hartford forward Ty Ronning finished off a backdoor pass to give the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
In the second period, the Comets had several early scoring chances but were unable to tie the score. Instead, Hartford extended their lead to two when Alex Whelan snuck a tough angle shot over the shoulder of Comets goaltender Mareks Mitens at 13:16 of the period. That would be the only goal of the period, so the Comets headed into the second intermission trailing by a score of 2-0. Shots on net were even at 15 each.
In the third period, Frederik Gauthier got the Comets on the board with his second goal in as many nights. Chase DeLeo fed a nice pass to Gauthier who redirected the puck into the back of the Wolfpack net. The Comets pressed hard for the remainder of the period and had a handful of close scoring chances but were unable to tie things up and the Wolf Pack skated away with the victory.
Schedule Update: The Utica Comets, in coordination with the American Hockey League, announced today that the game originally scheduled for December 16th, 2021 against the Cleveland Monsters, will now take place on Sunday, January 30th at 5:00 PM inside the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Roster Additions: The Utica Comets General Manager, Dan MacKinnon, announced that the team has added two players from the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL. Defenseman Joe Masonius has been recalled and forward Nick Rivera has signed a Professional Tryout Contract.
Masonius, 24, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The Spring Lake, New Jersey native played three seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Connecticut before his professional career. This season with the Thunder, the 6-foot-0, 190-pound blueliner played in 24 games logging three goals and 13 assists for 16 points ranking him fourth on the team in scoring and first amongst Adirondack defensemen.
Rivera, 25, hails from Pacific Palisades, California and played collegiate hockey at Minnesota State University- Mankato. This season, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound forward has skated in 23 games with the Thunder scoring five goals and four assists for nine points. Last season, Rivera skated with the Wheeling Nailers for 55 games scoring 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points.
Comets Leading Scorers: The team’s leading scorer heading into the week is Chase DeLeo who has registered six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 17 games played. Following him is defenseman Reilly Walsh who leads all d-men in scoring with four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 24 games. Fabian Zetterlund is tied for second with Walsh with nine goals and 9 assists for 18 points in 18 games played. Tyler Wotherspoon leads the team in plus/minus with a +17.