Springfield, MA – The Comets were in Springfield on Friday night taking on the Thunderbirds for the first time this season and were shut out 2-0.
The Comets had a great opportunity to take an early 1-0 lead after a shot from Mikael Diotte broke through Springfield goaltender Georgi Romanov and hit the post, but then the Thunderbirds marched the other way and it was Leo Loof who snapped one inside the far post past Nico Daws for his second goal of the year to make it 1-0 at the 4:04 mark. The Comets outpaced the Thunderbirds as the period went on and outshot them 8-7 by the end of the first frame. The Comets continued their strong play on the penalty kill, killing off the only penalty they were assessed in the period which went against Brian Halonen for goaltender interference.
The Comets continued to press in the second period and came close to tying the game on multiple occasions, the best chance coming from Mike Hardman who deflected a shot from Calen Addison off the crossbar. Nico Daws was not quite as busy as Georgi Romanov but made one of the saves of the season on Springfield forward Nikita Alexandrov by swatting the puck out of mid-air behind his back to keep it a 1-0 game.
The Comets were assessed a bench minor for too many men at the end of the second period and started the third period shorthanded but were able to improve to 2-for-2 on the kill. The Comets carried the play once again in the third period, registering 13 shots on goal and hitting several posts. They pulled Nico Daws for the extra attacker in an attempt to tie the game, but Springfield’s Calle Rosen scored an empty-net goal from behind his own goal line to make it 2-0 with just over a minute left in regulation.
It was a valiant effort from the Comets who outshot the Thunderbirds 33-21. Georgi Romanov picked up the shutout for his first win of the season. The Comets went 0-for-1 on the power play while going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Comets are back home tomorrow against Rochester at 6 pm. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.