Rochester, NY – The Comets faced the Amerks at Blue Cross Arena for the third time this season and were shut out by a score of 3-0.
It was a defensive-minded opening period without many grade-A scoring opportunities from either side for much of the period. The Comets were assessed the only penalty of the frame when Dmitry Osipov was called for tripping at 10:27, but the Comets held the Amerks at bay on the ensuing power play. Towards the end of the period, Rochester defenseman Nikita Novikov picked up the puck in the left circle and fired a shot through traffic which beat Jakub Malek over the right shoulder to give the Amerks the 1-0 lead at 16:49. It was his sixth of the year from Aidan Fulp and Riley Fiddler-Schultz.
The Comets played with more pace in the second period, testing Rochester goaltender Devon Levi with some quality scoring chances. They went to the power play eight minutes into the second when Rochester forward Olivier Nadeau was called for hooking and despite keeping the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the entire power play, the Comets were unable to capitalize. A few minutes later, Amerks’ forward Isak Rosen broke into the offensive zone, cut into the slot and rifled a shot past the glove of Jakub Malek to make it 2-0 in favor of Rochester at 13:44. It was Rosen’s team-leading 19th of the year which came unassisted. The Comets earned another power play later in the frame, but the Amerks killed it off.
The Comets continued the momentum into the third, registering a total of 11 shots in the final frame and forcing Devon Levi to make some big stops. The Comets found themselves on the penalty kill about halfway through the third as the Amerks found an insurance tally. Defenseman Ryan Johnson snapped a shot from the right circle, which deflected and squeaked through Jakub Malek to give Rochester a 3-0 lead at 10:07 for Johnson’s fourth of the year. The Comets pulled Malek later in the third but were unable to solve Devon Levi, who turned aside all 23 shots he faced in route to his third shutout of the year in a 3-0 final.
The Comets outshot the Amerks 23-21, while going 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
You must be logged in to post a comment.