Utica, NY – The Comets hosted the Amerks on Star Wars Night and were defeated by a score of 5-1.
The Comets applied the pressure early on, forcing the Amerks into a delay of game penalty when Isaac Belliveau cleared the puck over the glass, but the Comets came up empty on their first power play of the game. They continued to rack up scoring chances, among the best coming from Brian Halonen from the high slot about halfway through the period, but Rochester goaltender Devon Levi made a great glove save. The Amerks started to find their stride later in the period. The Comets killed off the Amerks’ first power play of the game, but shortly thereafter, Olivier Nadeau made a nice dish from the left-wing corner to Jagger Joshua who was parked at the top of the crease and jammed one past Nico Daws to give Rochester a 1-0 lead at the 15:45 mark on his seventh goal of the year. A few minutes later, the Amerks would strike again when Rochester defenseman Zac Jones corralled a loose puck after Gavin Bayreuther’s shot was blocked and wristed one through traffic past Daws to give the Amerks a 2-0 lead at 18:08. It was the seventh of the year for Jones which came unassisted.
The Comets put forth an impressive effort in the second period as they worked to cut into the deficit, registering a total of 17 shots on goal. Topias Vilen nearly got the Comets on the board when he walked into the left circle and wrang the post on the stick side of Devon Levi. The Amerks came back the other way with some chances of their own, and it was Zac Jones who clanked one off the iron, but the score remained 2-0. Then at the 10:11 mark, Amerks’ forward Jake Leschyshyn skated to the right corner and found Carson Meyer in the right circle who buried a shot over the right shoulder of Daws to make it 3-0 on his ninth of the year. The Comets poured it on as the period went along, creating several high-danger chances but unable to solve Devon Levi as the Amerks held onto a three-goal lead heading into the final frame.
The Comets had the start to the third period they were looking for, getting their fourth power play of the game when Rochester defenseman Aidan Fulp was called for delay of game. After some sustained pressure, the Comets were able to break through for their first goal of the game when Topias Vilen’s shot from the point deflected past Devon Levi to make it 3-1 at the 4:05 mark. It was Vilen’s third of the year with Kyle Criscuolo and Lenni Hameenaho picking up the assists. The Comets would unfortunately head to the penalty kill later in the period, and the Amerks capitalized when Konsta Helenius wired a wrist shot past Nico Daws to make it 4-1 with nine minutes left in regulation. The Comets pulled Nico Daws late in the third for the extra attacker in an attempt to claw back into game, but Rochester forward Isak Rosen scored an empty netter to make it 5-1 at 16:42 on his 24th goal of the year. The Comets’ loss snapped a seven-game point streak at home.
The Comets outshot the Amerks 35-25, while going went 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
You must be logged in to post a comment.