The Utica Comets (AHL) had a big week as they won each of their three games, one of which came against the top team in the North Division. With the wins, the Comets are back within six points of a playoff spot and once again surpassed Belleville for sixth in the North Division standings.
A noteworthy occurrence this past week was Nico Daws becoming the franchise’s winningest goaltender on the back of a superb performance on Wednesday. It was his 56th career win with Utica.
For last week’s review click here.
Weekly Results
Utica 2, Laval 1 (SO); Mar. 25
To begin the week, the Comets tallied a slim 2-1 shootout victory over the top team in the North Division. Nico Daws was terrific in the game, as the Comets were heavily outshot.
Laval scored on the power play late in period one. Utica was not able to answer back until later in period three as Calen Addison got his fourth of the season. After the teams were held scoreless in overtime, both Angus Crookshank and Topias Vilén scored on their chances and Daws held both of the Laval shooters at bay.
Utica was outshot 34-21 in the shootout victory. Daws stopped 33 of those 34 shots in arguably his best start of the season. The victory also moved him into first in franchise history in victories. It was his 56th win with the franchise.
Utica 5, Cleveland 3; Mar. 28
Utica ended their week with a back-to-back against the Cleveland Monsters. In the first game on Saturday they posted five goals en route to a two-goal victory.
Cleveland scored a mere 56 seconds into the game. Nathan Légaré got his ninth of the season a little more than halfway through the frame resulting in the 1-1 score at the first intermission. The second period was much, much busier as Utica outscored Cleveland 3-1. Matyas Melovksy, Cam Squires, and Ryan Schmelzer all scored even strength goals. Topias Vilén assisted on two of those three goals and found himself with a three-point game just a minute over the halfway point of the game.
In the third, Cleveland scored a shorthanded goal early on, but Utica iced things with an empty-net tally with just over a minute left. Marc McLaughlin picked up his fifth goal of the season in doing so.
Jakub Málek started the game and stoped 25-of-28 in victory. Cleveland outshot Utica 28-25 in the game. Both Schmelzer and Vilén had three-point games. Melovksy and Légaré had two points apiece.
Utica 4, Cleveland 1; Mar. 29
The Comets posted a back-to-back sweep over the Monsters on Sunday via another multiple goal victory. This time a 4-1 decision.
Utica scored the game’s first three goals, one in the first and two more in the second. Marc McLaughlin got things started. In the second, Jonathan Gruden (11) and Calen Addison gave Utica the 3-0 lead through two periods. In the third Cleveland made it a 3-1 game before Nathan Légaré got his 10th, an empty-net goal, to ice things.
Schmelzer was the lone Comet with multiple points in the game. Nico Daws played terrifically again, stopping 26-of-27 in victory. Utica was outshot by the Monsters on consecutive days, 27 to 23. The Comets went 0-for-4 on the power play.
Statistics Update
The captain, Ryan Schmelzer, had a big week. He had a three-point game on Saturday and added two more points on Sunday. He now has 12 points across his last 10 games. On the season, he has 24 points in 58 games. With that being said, he is on pace for only 27 points which would be his lowest output since 2020-21.
A pair of defenseman also had strong weeks. Calen Addison scored a goal on Sunday. He now is riding a four-game point streak (two goals, two assists). Meanwhile, Topias Vilén had a three-point game on Saturday. Addison leads Utica defensemen in points at 25 in 57 games while Vilén trails him closely with 24 in 58 games. They rank sixth and seventh, respectively, on the team in scoring overall.
In net Nico Daws made history this past week as his first win of the week was No. 56 with Utica, becoming the franchise’s winningest goaltender. He made two starts, winning both, and stopping of 59-of-61 overall. However, his season 0.890 save percentage would be tied for the lowest in any season of his AHL career.
Standings Update
With the three wins this past week, Utica now sits at 25-30-5-4 on the season. Their 59 points are six back of the Rochester Americans for the fifth and final playoff spot in the North Division. Utica has only eight games remaining while Rochester has 10. Based off points percentage Utica has moved into 26th in the league.
Upcoming Schedule
Utica only has two games this upcoming week. They play Wednesday at home against Providence, the best team in the AHL with 99 points and a 49-14-1-0 record. Utica then ends the week on Saturday against Belleville. The Senators currently sit last in the North Division based off points percentage but have an identical amount of points as the Comets.
The team the Comets are chasing, Rochester, play three times this week. The Americans play Wednesday against Charlotte before ending the week against Belleville and Providence on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Both Charlotte and the previously-mentioned Bruins have locked up playoff spots.