The Utica Comets (AHL) had another winning week as they took two of three. As a result, they stayed within six points of the final playoff spot in the North Division. Unfortunately, the team they are chasing, the Rochester Americans, have two games in hand.
On a positive note, Xavier Parent scored a goal in Wednesday’s game which broke a franchise record for most consecutive games with a goal (seven).
For last week’s review click here.
Weekly Results
Utica 4, Rochester 1; Mar. 11
Arguably the biggest game of the Comets’ season resulted in a strong victory. Chasing Rochester in the standings, if Utica wanted any chance at catching them, a win to begin the week on Wednesday was a must.
Xavier Parent got the scoring started, setting a franchise record with a goal in a seventh-straight game. Rochester did answer back to tie the game briefly in the second period, but Utica struck twice, both on the power play, late in the period to take a 3-1 lead to the second intermission. Brian Halonen got his 18th followed by Matyas Melovsky scoring his fourth. Angus Crookshank and Melvosky factored into each goal.
In the third, defenseman Austin Strand got his second of the season shorthanded. Kyle Criscuolo picked up his second point of the game on the tally. Utica’s lethal attack shorthanded has been on display all season long as Strand’s goal was the Comets’ 10th shorthanded of the season which leads the league.
Jakub Málek started for Utica and stopped 30-of-31 in the 4-1 victory. Strand, Crookshank, Criscuolo, and Melovsky all had multi-point efforts. Utica was 2-for-5 on the power play while the Comets held Rochester 0-for-5 on theirs.
Utica 5, Laval 2; Mar. 13
Utica tallied back-to-back wins to begin the week when they defeated the North Division’s best team, 5-2, on Friday.
The Comets actually found themselves down 2-1 at the end of the first period. Kyle Criscuolo scored the game’s first goal, but Laval scored two straight to end the frame, including a shorthanded goal. Following the first intermission, Utica scored four unanswered goals en route to the 5-2 victory.
Criscuolo scored the first two, notching the hat trick. Melovsky (power play) and Crookshank (empty net) then added the final two. Outside Criscuolo, Brian Halonen was the only other Comet to have multiple points in the game. Nico Daws started the game and stopped 22-of-24 in the victory.
Springfield 6, Utica 3; Mar. 14
The quest for a perfect week for the Comets came up just short as they dropped the week’s final game, 6-3, against a below-average Springfield Thunderbirds team. Utica was behind from the get-go as Springfield scored three goals between the game’s first two periods taking a 3-0 lead into the game’s final frame.
The Comets fought back, hard, striking twice early in period three to get the game to a one-goal deficit. Brian Halonen scored on the power play and Jonathan Gruden struck just three minutes after that. The team’s then traded goals, as after Springfield extended the lead back to two, before Angus Crookshank got his 17th to make it 4-3. However, Springfield scored two empty-net goals to end things resulting in the 6-3 defeat for the Comets.
Crookshank was the only Comet to have two points. Halonen extended his team-lead in goals to 19 with his third-period tally. Jakub Málek started the game and was not at his best as he allowed four goals on 26 shots. Utica actually outshot Springfield by a decent margin, 36-28.
Statistics Update
Veteran Kyle Criscuolo had a big week and continued his underrated season. Criscuolo had a hat trick against Laval on Friday and had five points overall during the week. On the season, the New Jersey native has 30 points in 48 games. The 33-year-old ranks third on the team in points.
Brian Halonen just keeps on scoring at the AHL level. He scored two goals this past week and had four points overall. Over his last 15 games he has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) as the known goal-scorer has been showcasing a playmaking ability as of late. Halonen leads the Comets in points and points-per-game with 32 in 42 games.
Lastly, as a team, the Comets are still confusing from a shot general standpoint. Despite being in the basement of the league for most of the year, the Comets have had strong shot differentials all season long. Utica is allowing the seventh-fewest shots against per game. As a result, their overall shot differential ranks 11th in the league.
Standings Update
Another winning week has the Comets remaining at least in striking distance of the fifth and final playoff spot in the North Division. Their 22-28-5-4 record has them six points back of the Rochester Americans in fifth. Belleville had themselves a strong week and retook sixth from Utica and are now three points up on the Comets. Utica has one less game played than Belleville and two more games played than the Americans. Utica sits 28th in the league.
Upcoming Schedule
The Comets only have two games the upcoming week, each coming on the weekend and each against the Providence Bruins. The Bruins will visit Utica on Friday before the Comets travel to Providence for a contest on Saturday. Providence is one of three AHL teams to have already clinched a playoff berth as their 45-12-1-0 record is the best in the AHL.