UTICA LOOKS TO CLINCH PLAYOFFS TONIGHT IN BELLEVILLE
Apr 8, 2022Previously for Utica: The Comets battled the North Division’s Belleville Senators on Marty Brodeur night in Utica inside the Adirondack Bank Center this past Wednesday night. With the Comets winning the previous three contests, the fourth matchup of the regular season resulted in an overtime loss by a 4-3 score.
After Hall of Fame goaltender, Marty Brodeur dropped the ceremonial puck between team captains on Wednesday night, the Comets struck first when forward Chase De Leo put one past Belleville goaltender Filip Gustavsson 7:02 into the first period. The goal was De Leos 16th of the year, assisted by Nolan Foote and Reilly Walsh. Towards the end of the period Belleville forward Cole Reinhardt evened the score at 16:29. After 20 minutes of play the score was 1-1.
In the second period, Belleville forward Logan Shaw put the puck past Comets goaltender Akira Schmid at 3:19 to take the lead. Following the goal, Comets forward Nolan Foote tied up the game at 11:31 in the period. After an offensive faceoff win by the Comets defenseman Michael Vukojevic shot the puck to Foote’s stick where he tipped the puck past the Belleville goalie for his 12th goal on the year. 18:05 into the second Belleville forward Colby Williams gave his team the lead.
In the third period, rookie sensation Alex Holtz netted his 23rd goal of the season at 12:01 on a delayed penalty after taking a pass from DeLeo and lifting it over the glove of the Senators goalie. Regulation ended with the Comets awarded a power-play but despite playing two minutes with a four on three advantage, the Comets didn’t solve the Senators goaltender. As overtime progressed, Senators forward Logan Shaw registered the game winning goal at 3:27 downing the Comets 4-3. The Comets will face off against the Senators tonight in Belleville for a rematch.
Comets Leading Scorers: With the recall of the team’s top two leading scorers (forward Fabian Zetterlund with 24 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 58 games played and AJ Greer with 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points in 50 games) The Comets top point-getter is Chase DeLeo, scoring 16 goals and 33 assists for 49 points in 46 games played. Right behind him is rookie sensation Alex Holtz who has played 45 games with 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points. Leading Comets defenseman in scoring is Reilly Walsh leads all d-men in scoring with seven goals and 30 assists for 37 points in 62 games. Defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon leads the team in plus/minus with a +24 rating.
Special Teams Ranking: Heading into the week, the Comets begin with the 4th ranked power play operating at 23.4%. At home, their power play operates at 19.4%. On the penalty kill, Utica ranks 13th in the league at 81.4%.
The North Division: The Comets have 9 games remaining in the schedule with 63 games played so far this season. They currently hold a record of 39-16-7 -1 which gives them 86 points and a winning percentage of .683. This leads all teams in the North and the Eastern Conference. The team closest to the Comets in winning percentage is the Laval Rocket with a .575. The Comets face Laval tomorrow night on the road.