December 20, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets For the fourth time this season, the Utica Comets shutdown the Adirondack Flames, this time with a final score of 4-1 at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Saturday evening.

Jacob Markstrom didn't disappoint in his first game back with the Comets since Nov. 21, saving 19 out of 20 shots taken by the Flames all while improving his goals-against average to a remarkable 1.69. Four different Comets players scored goals in the victory, including Brendan Gaunce, who scored his second goal in as many nights.

The Comets started with a bang in the opening minutes of the first period after quite the individual effort by Gaunce, the Comets rookie left-winger. After breaking up a pass at the blue line, Gaunce rushed down the boards and lifted a shot right over the glove side of Joni Ortio to net his third of the season for the 1-0 lead at 2:13.

Just 18 seconds later, Hunter Shinkaruk received a stretch pass from one blue line to the next from Henrik Tommernes. Shinkaruk made his way all the way to the left dot before he released a shot towards Ortio. The Finish goaltender made the initial save, however Wacey Hamilton was on the doorstep to promptly backhand in the Comets second goal of the game and his third of the season to make it 2-0.

After the penalty extravaganza that was the first period, play tamed down a bit in the second with only three penalties awarded, compared to the eleven handed out in the first.

It wasn't until almost literally the last possible second at 19:56 in the second when the Flames found their first goal of the night to cut the Comets lead in half. After a pass to Ben Hanowski from Bill Arnold, Hanowski wristed a shot off that immediately bounced off of Markstrom's right leg. David Wolf was waiting next to the blue paint for the re-bound and knocked the puck into the net before Markstrom could make a follow-up save. Wolf's fifth of the season set the score at 2-1 just prior to heading into the third period.

Frustration continued to mount for the Flames after a hard fought third period on both ends. At 13:02 the Comets found their third of the night on a power play just after Flames defensemen Mike Cundari took a high-sticking penalty. With a quick series of offensive zone passes, the puck found its way to Corrado, who then ripped one past Ortio to make it a two-goal game once again for a score of 3-1. Cal O'Reilly and Nicklas Jensen were both credited with assists on the play.

With just over two minutes left, Adirondack pulled Ortio to try and make a comeback with the extra man. It didn't take long for the Comets to upset their effort as Friesen interfered with the Flames offensive attack at the blue line. Friesen then skated down the left wing and popped the puck into the open net for a final score of 4-1.

After Saturday night's win against the Calgary Flames affiliate, the Utica Comets have gone eight games without losing in regulation and have secured a total of 43 points to keep them a top the American Hockey League standings.

After taking a little break to enjoy the holidays, the Comets will return to The Utica Memorial Auditorium one day after Christmas on Friday, Dec. 26 to once again take on the Adirondack Flames for a 7 p.m. re-match. This will be their fifth meeting of the season.

More:

Comets Continue to Dominate Flames