Comets Defeat Wichita and Remain Undefeated

November 22, 2014 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Missouri Comets INDEPENDENCE, MO - The Missouri Comets (4-0) continued their hot play and remained undefeated after defeating the Wichita B-52s (1-3) 13-3 at the Independence Events Center on Saturday night.

The Wichita B-52s were not able to contain the Comets' offense who scored two goals in less than a one-minute span in three different occasions. Defender Brian Harris was elected Man of the Match with four goals. A total of seven different players scored for the reigning MISL Champions.

Halfway through the first quarter, Alain Matingou found the back of the net for the third time this season. The Paris, France native left former Comets goalkeeper Boris Pardo with no chances to stop a short range shot, which made it 1-0.

Moments later, defender Brian Harris blasted a rocket from outside the box to the top left corner and made it 2-0 for Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski's team before the end of the first quarter.

The Comets came out stronger in the second quarter and scored four straight goals before the B-52s notched their first tally of the evening.

Coady Andrews, Bryan Perez and Max Touloute twice, scored for the Comets before Daniel Sack scored for the Wichita B-52s to end the half with a score of 6-1.

Head Coach Jeff Kraft's team tried hard to contain ball possession but the Comets' pressure was too much for Wichita in the third quarter, which saw Harris tally two more goals along with Perez' second goal to end the quarter 9-1.

The fourth and final quarter saw a total of six goals, three for each team. Travis Pittman and Brady Bryant converted two defensive mistakes but Harris with a wild line scored his fourth of the night before Leo Gibson tallied his eleventh and twelfth goals of the season in addition to a Andre Braithwaite goal to end the game with a final score of 13-3.

Next up, the Missouri Comets will try to earn their fifth consecutive win as they visit the Harrisburg Heat next Saturday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m.

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Comets Defeat Wichita and Remain Undefeated

Comets Tripped up in the Carrier Dome

November 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets With 30,715 packed into the Carrier Dome for tonight's Toyota Frozen Dome Classic, it was a night to remember for all in attendance, regardless of the Utica Comets 2-1 loss on Saturday night.

Alex Friesen scored the only goal of the night for Comets. Jensen also found his way on the scorer's sheet with an assist to bring his point total to nine on the season. Syracuse's goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky was the source of Syracuse's success and stopped 26 of the Comets 27 shots and was named the first star of the game.

It didn't take long into the first period for the Comets to grab the lead. Just 3:12 into the game Ronalds Kenins entered the attacking zone with Friesen on a 2-on-1 rush. After a quick pass between the hashmarks, Friesen took control of the puck for a quick release and sent it rifling by Andrei Vasilevskiy's for an early 1-0 lead. This was Friesen's second goal and his fourth point in three games.

The Crunch ended up finding their first of the night with exactly four minutes left in the first stanza. After Tanner Richard played it hard along the boards, the puck found it's way to Eriksson's left goal post. In the midst of some confusion in the crease and an unintentional screen by Tommernes, the puck slipped by Eriksson's left pad after Joe Vermin whacked at it.

The final goal of the night was scored just 49 seconds into the second period after a fortuitous bounce that was dumped in by the Crunch's leading goal scorer, Yanni Gourde. Jonathan Marchessault, Syracuse's point leader and Nikita Nesterov were both credited with assists on the play.

If you couldn't get enough of the rivalry tonight, you can catch the Comets and the Syracuse Crunch in a follow-up re-match this Wednesday night at the Utica Memorial Auditorium for a 7 p.m. puck drop.

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Comets Tripped up in the Carrier Dome

Lady Comets get win, tie and loss at Jamboree

The Fatima Lady Comets got a little taste of everything in Friday nights Jamboree at Helias.

Dustin Hays squad picked up a win, a tie and a loss, in that order, in three 12-minute scrimmages.

In the first game of the evening, Helias and Fatima were neck-and-neck throughout. Fatima held the games biggest lead at 18-14, but the Lady Crusaders bounced back to take a 19-18 lead on a 3-pointer by Molly Light and a putback by Darcy Baird.

There were three lead changes in the final minute. Leah Kesel gave Fatima a 20-19 lead with a shot in the paint, and Annie Bock sunk the go-ahead bucket from the free-throw line with 25 seconds remaining. The Lady Comets held on for a 22-21 win when Helias potential game-winner was off the mark.

Fatima was paced early by Morgan Brandt, who scored the Lady Comets first eight points. An all-state player last season, Brandt will be a focal point of the offense, but Hays said other players must contribute as well.

Weve got to have somebody else step up and score, and we didnt see that a whole lot tonight, Hays said. It cant just be what I always call the Michael Jordan effect. You cant go watch somebody play 1-on-1. Youve got to go out and youve got to want the basketball, and the other four have got to want to score for us to be successful and for us to get where we want to go.

Fatima jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on Jefferson City, but the Lady Jays surged back with a 15-4 run. Fatima regained the lead at 19-17 but was unable to hang on, thanks to a Megan Foster layup that produced the games final points and tied it at 19.

The Lady Comets started strong with a 8-2 lead against Blair Oaks, but the Lady Falcons battled back to a tie with a Macyn Wilbers 3-pointer with two minutes remaining. Fatima would only score once more, a Bond layup off an offensive rebound, and Blair Oaks held on for a 16-13 win.

Going out against this type of competition, the size of Helias, the athleticism of Jeff City, the overall shooting ability with Blair Oaks, those are things that you cant simulate in practice, Hays said. To be able to see that here in short spurts is definitely a benefit for us.

All three games involved tight finishes, which Hays said was good experience for the Lady Comets.

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Lady Comets get win, tie and loss at Jamboree

Comets Fall to Amerks 7-4

November 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Brandon DeFazio scored twice but it was not enough as the Utica Comets lost to the Rochester Americans 7-4 Friday night at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The loss snapped the Comets three-game winning streak.

Brandon DeFazio (2-0-2) netted two goals en route to third star honors. Tim Schaller (2-3-5) picked up first star honors with a five point night for the Amerks. Andrey Makarov picked his fifth victory of the season stopping 24 of 28 Comets shots.

The Americans scored early and often in the first period, and struck for the first time just 29 seconds into the game. Tim Schaller dug out the puck from a boardside scrum just inside the Comets blue line. Schaller feathered it over to Mark Pysyk who quickly fired a wrist shot on goal. The puck snaked its way through a crowd in front of Jacob Markstrom and found the back of the net for Pysyk's first goal of the year. Matt Ellis picked up the secondary assist.

Just over four minutes later the Amerks doubled their early lead. Hunter Shinkaruk wiped out a Comets power play after he picked up a slashing minor. The ensuing face-off, all the way back in the Comets zone, was cleanly won back to Joel Armia by Schaller. Armia slid the puck over to Matt MacKenzie who fired a wrist shot that pinged off the post and across the goal line.

With just 52 seconds left in the first period, the Amerks again upped their lead over the Comets. With the Amerks on the power play, Jake McCabe took a feed from Pysyk let loose a shot from the point that went wide. The puck ricocheted off the end boards and into the feet of Armia. Armia collected the puck, spun, and fired a shot over the shoulder of Markstrom.

The Comets cut the Amerks lead to two with a power-play goal in the second. Dustin Jeffrey unleashed a shot from the hashmarks. Makarov made the save, but the rebound settled at the top of the crease. Hunter Shinkaruk and Jeffrey each took whacks at it before it squirted loose and onto DeFazio's stick. DeFazio all alone, buried it into the gaping net.

With the Comets set-up with another power play, and looking to cut the lead to one, a fortuitous bounce led to an Amerks short-handed goal. Dustin Jeffrey one-timed a cross ice pass into the shin pads of an Amerks defender. The rebound rocketed all the way back to the Comets blue line. A streaking Nick Petrecki picked up the puck, skated it into the Comets zone and wristed a shot on goal. Markstrom turned aside the Petrecki shot, but Schaller was there to put in the rebound.

Under a minute later DeFazio cut the Comets deficit to two once again. DeFazio niftily sliced his way through two Amerks defenders, as he drove to the net. Makaraov denied DeFazio's first shot, but DeFazio cleaned up his own rebound and tapped the puck through Makarov's legs, for his second power-play goal of the night. Peter Andersson and Henrik Tommernes recorded assists on the play.

The Comets cut the Amerks lead to one in the third period. At 11:11 of the third period Alex Friesen one-timed a pass from Ronalds Kenins for his first goal of the season, and his third point in the last two games.

It did not take long for the Amerks to re-establish their two-goal lead. Just 16 seconds to be exact. Schaller won the draw cleanly back to his defenseman, Jerome Leduc. Leduc blasted a slap-shot on net. Markstrom stopped the Leduc blast but Schaller tapped home the rebound for his third point of the night.

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Comets Fall to Amerks 7-4

AHS falls to high-powered Cuthbertson

WAXHAW The Asheboro High School Blue Comets knew they were facing a team Friday night that loved to throw the ball.

In the second round of the state 3-AA playoffs at Cuthbertson High School, the Cavaliers showed the Blue Comets first-hand why the ball is in the air so much.

Cuthbertson quarterback Austin Kendall threw for 312 yards and six touchdowns as the Blue Comets saw their season come to an end with a 49-14 setback.

AHS (9-4) led 14-13 midway through the second quarter before the Cavaliers scored the final 36 points of the game.

Kendall, a junior who has already committed to Tennessee, connected on 21 of 34 passes and now has 43 scoring passes on the season.

Hes a very polished high school quarterback, AHS coach Owen George said. They are very, very good. Very explosive. If you are going to beat a quality team in the playoffs, you have to be near-perfect and we were far from that tonight. We can play better and that is whats disappointing.

The Blue Comets commited four turnovers in the contest, including one on the very first play from scrimmage.

The Cavaliers took advantage, driving 35 yards for a score, a touchdown pass to JT Cauthen at the 9:40 mark.

In the first quarter, the Blue Comets were able to respond for the most part as they tied the game on a short scoring run from Terry Richmond. Richmond finished with 147 yards rushing as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau for the season.

Cuthbertson answered with a 69-yard scoring drive with Kendall finding Brian Muckelvene for a 40-yard scoring strike for a 13-7 lead.

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AHS falls to high-powered Cuthbertson

Random Rants: Wren vs Feminism 7 – Comets and Shirtstorms, A New Discovery – Video


Random Rants: Wren vs Feminism 7 - Comets and Shirtstorms, A New Discovery
Yes, I know, a second video for the day, but I really owe it to Dr. Taylor and the Rosetta team to offer my support for their astounding achievement, as well as chastise the feminists that...

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Random Rants: Wren vs Feminism 7 - Comets and Shirtstorms, A New Discovery - Video

Boys basketball: Comets' strength in frontcourt after graduating four guards

For the third consecutive year, the Newman boys basketball team has lost at least three starters to graduation. For the third consecutive year, the Comets seemed poised to absorb those losses and still compete for a conference title, and maybe more.

As usual, Newman has a strong nucleus to build around. Unlike the last couple of seasons, however, most of that nucleus will play in the frontcourt instead of the backcourt.

With the loss of four guards from last years squad which won a second sectional title in 3 years, the focus of this years team turns to the big guys inside.

Its definitely not going to be one player replacing the scoring and defense of those guys, senior forward Nolan McGinn said, but weve got a lot of height and athleticism, and we should be pretty deep.

Rather than being a guard-oriented, outside-shooting team, this year were going to be more post-oriented. We want to get the ball inside, play good defense, and use our athleticism to get out and run some.

The Comets will be without the scoring and ballhandling prowess of A.J. Sharp (scoring and assist leader); the shooting ability of John Payan; the slashing style and shutdown defense of Nate Terveer (second in steals); and the shooting and defense of Micah Trancoso (steal leader).

But 6-foot-7 junior Noah McCarty, who led the Comets in rebounds and blocks and was second in scoring last year, is back to man the middle, and hell be joined by the 6-3 McGinn, the 6-foot Trevor Bolin, and the 6-4 Jacob Barnes the top three guys off Newmans bench a year ago.

These are the guys who wanted a more prominent role last year, coach Ray Sharp said, and theyve got the opportunity now. Thats what you really hope from your juniors: they give you some good minutes in their junior year, then their senior year, theyre the leaders who step into the starting roles.

Sophomore Eli Leffelman will man the point guard position, and will join senior Shayne Allen as the two main shooters. Senior Dillan Heffelfinger will also handle the ball at times, and senior Drew Rosengren is the versatile guy who can play anywhere on the court and serve as the defensive stopper.

Bolin likes the eagerness he sees from his teammates, who all want to step up and earn more playing time than they had a year ago.

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Boys basketball: Comets' strength in frontcourt after graduating four guards

Comets claim provincial football title

Just like a couple of prize fighters stepping into the ring the MUCC Comets and Warman Wolverines were each vying for the SHSAA provincial 9-man football title.

Both teams took a couple jabs early in the game before a flurry of touchdowns and in the end the Comets took the title 46-20.

It was a struggle for both teams at the beginning. Both teams came out pumped up and both teams wanted it. It is obviously the result we wanted, said Mattland Riley, a Grade 12 offensive lineman.

The Wolverines scored first, a 75-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.

Riley said some teams would have been concerned about that, but not the Comets.

There is a lot of stats about scoring first but we just had to play our game. I know the defense has always been there for us the entire season.

Melforts next possession they settled for a 17-yard field goal to trail 7-3.

However early in the second quarter they took the lead. After marching from midfield quarterback Lee Taylor capped off a 9-play drive with a two-yard touchdown push. The conversion missed leaving the Comets ahead 9-7.

It was a great game for both offense and defense. We are just happy that we got it done, Taylor said.

The Comets defense held the Wolverines deep in their own end and forced a two-point safety to go up to 11-7.

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Comets claim provincial football title

Strange Visitors From the Edge of the Solar System

TIME Science space Strange Visitors From the Edge of the Solar System Sometimes a comet isn't a comet Art Montes De Oca; Getty Images A pair of sort-of comets pose a puzzle for astronomers

The term Oort Cloud may be obscure for many people, but its familiar terrain for astronomy buffs. Its a giant spherical swarm of trillions of proto-comets, lurking at the outer fringes of the Solar System, so far away that it may stretch a quarter of the way to the nearest star. Theyre proto because theyre not technically comets unless they get knocked out of orbit and fall toward the heat of the Sun, whose warmth turns their long-frozen ices into a halo of dusty gas and, sometimes, a tail as well.

A pair of very unusual objects announced at last weeks Planetary Science Meeting in Tucson, however, have complicated this seemingly straightforward story. The first, found in 2013, has an orbit that clearly shows it came from the Oort Cloudbut while it resembles a comet in some ways, it didnt light up like one even after it warmed. The second, found just this past September, also came from the fringes of the Solar System. This one doesnt even resemble a comet, let alone act like one: it looks more like a rocky asteroid.

Except asteroids arent supposed to live in the Oort Cloudand that creates just the sort of mystery scientists love. Were all very excited, admits Karen Meech, of the University of Hawaii, who led the discovery team. But while both objects surprised researchers, both turn out to confirm two pieces of cosmic wisdom, one from a half-century ago and the other much more recent.

The old wisdom comes from Jan Oort himself, the mid-20th-century Dutch astronomer the Oort cloud is named for. He theorized that long-period comets, with highly elongated orbits lasting more than 200 years, came from a distant, spherical cloud that surrounds the Solar System. He figured this out based on just 13 comets, says Meech. Its really amazing.

The idea is that the comets formed closer in, along with the rest of the Solar System, but that many were flung outward in gravitational interactions with Neptune and other giant planets. That notion was reinforced long after Oorts time, when planetary scientists realized that the giant planets might have changed their orbits significantly soon after they were born; that motion would have ejected icy bodies in vast numbers.

Oort also suggested that the objects that eventually fell in again would be especially bright the first time around, since theyd have lots of ice on their surfacesprecisely what happened when Comet Hale-Bopp showed up in 1997. On their very first passage through the inner Solar System, says Meech, all of that sublimates away, so after that you just dont see them.

The object discovered in 2013, she says, which is known as (deep breath) C/2013 P2 Pan-STARRS, fits the profile of what an Oort cloud comet should look like on a second or later return to the inner Solar System, and, says Meech it may be proof at last that Oort was correct.

Even as the astronomers were trying to figure out what they were seeing, though, the second object, C/2014 S3 Pan-STARRS, showed up (in both cases, the objects were found by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope, atop Mauna Kea, in Hawaii). It didnt act like a comet either, but unlike the first object, it also didnt much resemble one, as a close look at its composition revealed.

And that seems to support an idea advanced back in 2011 by Kevin Walsh, of the Southwest Research Institute, along with several colleagues. Their computer models of the newborn Solar System found that the giant planets should indeed have migrated from their original positions, moving first in toward the Sun, then out to where they are today. As they moved out, says Meech, they would have dragged about fourteen Earth masses worth of material with them and thrown it outward.

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Strange Visitors From the Edge of the Solar System

Bancks, Hamilton and Ehrhardt Signed to AHL Deals

November 18, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the Comets have signed forwards Carter Bancks and Wacey Hamilton, and defenseman Travis Ehrhardt to standard player contracts (SPC). All three had been with the Comets since training camp on professional tryout contracts (PTO).

In addition, the Comets have announced that forward Curtis Valk has been returned on loan to the ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings.

Bancks, 25, has appeared in 14 games with Utica and has accounted for four points (three goals, one assist) and a plus-3 rating. The Marysville, BC native had spent his entire AHL career with the Abbotsford Heat prior to this year. Over his five professional seasons, he has posted 56 points (18 goals, 38 assists) in 238 games between Abbotsford and Utica. Undrafted, Bancks played two games with the NHL's Calgary Flames during the 2012-13 season.

Hamilton, 24, is tied for third on the team with five assists to go along with a goal and 21 penalty minutes. In 188 career AHL games, between Utica and Binghamton, the Cochrane, Alberta native has 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) and 157 penalty minutes.

Ehrhardt, 25, joined the Comets this season after an injury shortened season split between the St. John's IceCaps and the Stavanger Oilers (Norway). In 9 games with Utica, Ehrhardt has registered a goal and two assists. The sixth-year pro previously played with the Manitoba Moose and Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL and has totaled 155 career games.

Valk, 21, made his AHL debut with the Comets on Nov. 12 against Chicago and recorded no points. With Kalamazoo, Valk scored four goals and assisted on six others in the first six games of the season and was named the ECHL Player of the Month for October. He currently has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in nine games which ranks second among all rookies.

For a complete schedule of Utica Comets games, as well as ticketing information, visit http://www.uticacomets.com.

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Bancks, Hamilton and Ehrhardt Signed to AHL Deals

ESA Rosetta Mission – Why are we traveling to comets? | Kathrin Altwegg | TEDxBern – Video


ESA Rosetta Mission - Why are we traveling to comets? | Kathrin Altwegg | TEDxBern
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. After ten years of waiting for data from space, you would develop a sense of humor, too. Kathrin Altwegg...

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ESA Rosetta Mission - Why are we traveling to comets? | Kathrin Altwegg | TEDxBern - Video