Ottawa, ON – The Comets headed north of the border to face the Belleville Senators at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa today and were edged 5-4 in a shootout.
It was another solid start for the Comets, opening the scoring for the third straight game when Xavier Parent jumped on a loose puck, walked into the right-wing circle and snapped one past Belleville goaltender Mads Sogaard for his eighth of the year to give the Comets a 1-0 lead at 4:19. The Senators would respond later in the period when Keann Washkurak executed a give-and-go with Carter Yakemchuk and fired one home from the right circle past Nico Daws at 11:36 on his fifth of the year. The Comets pushed back and got a clutch goal late in the first period from Nathan Legare who fired a laser past Sogaard from the left circle to give the Comets a 2-1 lead at 17:20 on his fourth of the year. Shane Lachance picked up the lone assist.
The Comets took a 2-1 lead into the second period, but it was Belleville who came out swinging. Senators’ forward Wyatt Bongiovanni skated onto a loose puck in the left corner and found Tyler Boucher in the low slot who snapped who past Daws to tie the game at two at 2:33 on his fifth goal of the year. The Senators continued to press and after a point shot from Lassi Thomson was stopped by Nico Daws, Belleville forward Xavier Bourgault jammed home the rebound for his 13th of the year at 4:07 to give the Senators a 3-2 lead. Just 22 seconds later, the Senators found themselves on a 2-on-1 rush when Stephen Halliday slid a pass across to Arthur Kaliyev in the left circle, who wristed one past Daws for his league-leading 26th goal of the year to make it 4-2 at 4:29.
The Comets pushed back and had some solid chances throughout the rest of the period, outshooting Belleville 13-6 in the second frame. Their best chance came on the power play when Thomas Bordeleau corralled a rebound, skated to the top of the right circle and fired a shot on net but was robbed by Mads Sogaard who was down on the ice and kicked his left pad in the air to keep it out and preserve the lead.
The Comets trailed 4-2 entering the third period but got an early goal when Nathan Legare pounced on a rebound off an Ethan Edwards shot to make it a 4-3 game at 2:04 of the third for his second of the game and fifth of the year. The Comets played well defensively, holding the Senators to just four shots in the third. Later in the period, Mads Sogaard played a puck behind his own net, but the Comets stole it and Sogaard scrambled back to stop the initial wraparound bid, but Brian Halonen jammed it home on the second effort to tie the game at four with just 1:56 remaining. It was Halonen’s 11th of the year, extending his goal streak to three straight games.
The teams headed to overtime for the second time in the season series. The Senators carried the play in the extra session, testing Nico Daws with seven shots who made some terrific saves.
The game went to a shootout after a scoreless overtime. Wyatt Bongiovanni scored in the second round to give the Senators the edge, but Xavier Parent tied it in the third with a beautiful backhand shot that beat Sogaard over the glove. The AHL’s top scorer, Arthur Kaliyev, would ultimately win it for the Senators in the third round, snapping a wrist shot past Daws to give Belleville the 5-4 victory, but a well-earned point for Utica.
The Comets were outshot by the Senators 30-23, while going 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
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