Comets Fall to Toronto 3-2

April 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets were unable to rebound from last evening's defeat in Syracuse, as they dropped a tight 3-2 decision to the Toronto Marlies on Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. With the loss, Utica dropped to 31-30-5-4 and will sit five points out of eighth place at days end.

Center's Pascal Pelletier and Cal O'Reilly each scored for the Comets, while winger Alexandre Grenier collected two assists. Sam Carrick led the way for Toronto with two goals, while defenseman Eric Knodel had two assists. Joe Cannata took the loss despite a 33 save effort, while Garret Sparks was victorious with 23 saves on 25 shots.

This afternoon's contest started off slowly for the visitors, as Sam Carrick beat Cannata just 3:06 into the game. The third time proved to be the charm for Carrick, who saw his first two shots turned aside by Cannata, before he found the back of the net on his own rebound. Defenseman TJ Brennan collected the primary assist on the play, while Knodel had the secondary helper for his first career AHL point.

Toronto doubled its advantage just 1:43 later as Kenny Ryan scored for the home side. Ryan capitalized on a Yann Sauve turnover in his own zone, and went to the backhand to beat Cannata. The goal, which went down as unassisted, was the fifth of the season for Ryan.

For the fourth game in a row, the Comets made good work of their power play, as Pelletier found the back of the net from the right side to make it 2-1. Grenier made the final pass to Pelletier, who beat Sparks for the third time in their past two meetings. Brandon DeFazio also collected an assist on the play, which set a career high of 15 this season for the winger. Pelletier's goal gave him the team lead in power-play goals, with eight.

Toronto got the goal back, however, on a power play of their own midway through the third period. Carrick got his second of the night as a redirected shot from Korbinian Holzer found him at the back post with an open net. Carrick's goal was his third in three games against the Comets. Knodel also had an assist on the play.

Utica was able to pull back a late one inside the last minute, as O'Reilly finished off a pass from Grenier in front to cut the score to 3-2. With the helper, Grenier collected the third multi-assist game of his AHL career. With his fifth goal of the season, O'Reilly extended his scoring streak on the road to seven games.

Utica continues its five game stead away from The AUD this week upcoming, as they travel to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for a two game set with the Lake Erie Monsters on Thursday and Friday. The Comets and Monsters meet for the final two times this season, with puck drop set for 8:00 p.m. in both games.

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Comets Fall to Toronto 3-2

Comets Dropped in OT

April 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets suffered a gut wrenching loss at the hands of their rivals, the Syracuse Crunch, 6-5 in overtime on Saturday evening at the War Memorial Syracuse. The Comets held a three goal lead late into the third period, but three Syracuse goals in a span of just 46 seconds sent the game to overtime, before Brett Connolly won it for the Crunch.

Alex Friesen led the Comets offensively with two goals an assist, while Jeremy Welsh (1-1-2), Cal O'Reilly (1-1-2) and Alex Biega (0-2-2) also had multi-point games for Utica. For the Crunch, Jonathan Marchessault had two goals, while Vlad Namestnikov had three points (1-2-3). Joacim Eriksson took the loss for the Comets, with 25 saves on 31 shots, while Kristers Gudlevskis was victorious with 20 saves for the home team.

Syracuse opened the scoring 7:16 into the first period, as Philippe Paradis snuck behind the Utica defense and beat Eriksson over the glove hand. The feed from Namestnikov sprung Paradis loose and the winger went backhand, forehand on the Utica netminder for his fifth goal of the season. Defenseman Joey Mormina also had an assist on the play.

The Comets evened things up with a power play goal from O'Reilly at the 12:26 mark of the opening period. A scrum in front caused a bouncing puck, which skittered to O'Reilly at the left point, who fired a slap shot past Gudlevskis. The goal was the fourth of the season for the Utica center, who moved into sole possession of third place on the Comets with his 37th point. Biega picked up the lone assist on the play, with a touch in front.

A power play the other way swung the lead back to the home side, as Yanni Gourde beat Eriksson with a slap shot of his own, this from the right point. Blue line partner Dmitry Korobov sent a cross-ice feed to Gourde, who settled and fired past Eriksson. Winger Jon DiSalvatore also collected an assist on the play, his 15th of the season.

Once again, the Comets evened things up, this in the form of the red hot Friesen at the 11:39 mark of the second. After a grinding shift in the offensive end, Friesen took the puck out of the corner and avoided two Syracuse defensemen, before he slotted a shot past Gudlevskis on the glove side. Kellan Lain picked up the lone assist on the play, Friesen's fourth goal of the season.

Friesen did it again just under seven minutes later as he got on the end of a Biega rebound at the right post and put the rebound past Gudlevskis. The goal was the second of the night for Friesen, who now has 13 points over his past 13 games played. Center Jeremy Welsh also collected an assist on the play, which extended his scoring streak to five games.

The Comets expanded their lead to 4-2 at the 9:44 mark of the third period, courtesy of Patrick Kennedy's first career AHL goal. The winger took a feed from O'Reilly on the right post and put it past Gudlevskis. The helper extended O'Reilly's assist streak in away games to six games, while for Kennedy, it was his third point of the season in 33 games.

It appeared the rout was on for the visitors, as Jeremy Welsh scored just 65 seconds later to make it 5-2. After Friesen walked down the left wing and fired a slap shot that was shrugged off by Gudlevskis, Welsh was on hand in front to bury home the rebound and give the Comets a three goal lead. Friesen picked up his first career three-point game in the AHL with the helper. Defenseman Yann Sauve also had an assist on the play.

The Crunch, however, had other ideas about tonight's ending as Namestnikov scored with 99 seconds on the clock to cut the Utica lead to 5-3. The Russian's goal, off of assists from Paradis and Cedric Paquette, was his 18th of the season.

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Comets Dropped in OT

Comets rally to take down Trojans

April 6, 2014 Comets rally to take down Trojans

BY GREG FLINT sports@dancomnews.com The Commercial-News The Commercial-News Sun Apr 06, 2014, 01:57 AM CDT

OAKWOOD The visiting Covington baseball teams scored first, but in the end, Oakwood scored the most as the Comets defeated the Trojans 17-7 in six innings.

Covington got on the board with three consecutive walks and a hit batsman to take a 1-0 lead and force Oakwood coach Bob Sermak to change pitchers.

He brought in Skyler Slade who immediately got the Trojans to ground into a double play, but a run scored. The visitors added a third on a single by Brandon Simmons before Slade got the third out.

Oakwood answered quickly as Cameron Cawley and Landon Turner both hit bloop singles over the shortstop to put runners on first and second.

Kyle Girton walked to fill the bases for Slade. Covington coach Troy Bever found himself in the same situation as Sermak and he, too, changed pitchers, bringing in Gage Hegg.

A passed ball allowed Cawley to score then Slade hit a sacrifice fly to send Turner across the plate. A combination of a walk and a wild pitch allowed Girton to score to tie the game at three-all.

Covington managed only a walk the second inning, but Oakwood sent ten batters to the plate in their half. It led to the Comets scoring five runs to lead 8-3.

The Trojans had a small rally in the third as Peyton Cutrell led off and singled. Halen Noble singled and Simmons walked. A ground out and an error gave Covington two more runs to make it 8-5.

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Comets rally to take down Trojans

Carrick helps Marlies top Comets, clinch North Division title

TORONTO -- Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott challenged his leadership group following an embarrassing 4-3 loss Saturday afternoon to the Rochester Americans.

The Marlies responded Sunday, as Sam Carrick led the way with two goals in a 3-2 win over the Utica Comets that clinched Toronto's third straight North Division title.

"I think if it's necessary, we can take the criticism, we can live with that," said alternate captain Korbinian Holzer. "I think that's part of the business. I'm fine with it. We're all grown ups."

Kenny Ryan had the other goal for the Marlies (42-22-6). Rookie defenceman Eric Knodel picked up his first two AHL points.

Garret Sparks made 23 saves for his 10th win of the season, helping ensure the Marlies will finish no lower than the third seed in the Western Conference.

Toronto became just the sixth team in history to clinch a division title in three consecutive years.

"I'm very proud of our whole staff," Spott said. "All of my support staff, the coaches, obviously Piero (Greco) our goaltending coach, our trainers, our equipment people. Everybody's worked so hard.

"Not a lot of people gave our hockey club much of an opportunity to make to even make the playoffs, nonetheless win the division. Very proud of our group."

With goaltender Joe Cannata pulled for an extra attacker, Cal O'Reilly got Utica to within one with 43.5 seconds remaining. But Toronto held on for the win this time.

On Saturday, Toronto allowed two goals in a 15 second span during the final minute of play to fall to the Rochester Americans 4-3.

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Carrick helps Marlies top Comets, clinch North Division title

Crunch Rally Past Comets in OT, 6-5

April 5, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Syracuse Crunch Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Crunch scored three goals in 46 seconds in the final two minutes of the third period then added an overtime tally to rally past the Utica Comets, 6-5, tonight at the War Memorial Arena.

Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 20 of 25 shots in victory, while Comets goaltender Joacim Eriksson stopped 25 of 31. Syracuse was able to convert on one of three power-play opportunities. The penalty kill unit shut down three of five Utica man advantages.

The victory moves the Crunch to 29-30-4-7 on the season and 2-1-1-0 in the season series with the Comets. Despite tonight's win, the Comets have taken the Galaxy Cup.

The Crunch led the Comets, 2-1, after the first period. Philippe Paradis put the Crunch on the board with a breakaway goal 7:16 into the period. Vladislav Namestnikov passed ahead to Paradis, who faked right and beat Eriksson on the glove side. Joey Mormina was credited with the secondary assist. The Comets evened the score five minutes later. Cal O'Reilly found the back of the net with a power-play goal at the 12:26 mark. O'Reilly put the puck top shelf with a slap shot from the left circle off an assist from Alex Biega. Syracuse went up 2-1 with a power-play goal by Yanni Gourde. With 3:16 remaining, Gourde netted a slap shot from the right point. Dmitry Korobov and Jon DiSalvatore each earned a point on the go-ahead goal.

The Comets took a 3-2 lead in the middle frame with two goals from Alex Friesen. Friesen netted a shot at the 11:39 mark with an assist from Kellan Lain to tie the Crunch at two. Utica took the lead with 1:33 left in the period. Biega fired from the left circle, but was stopped by Gudlevskis. Friesen picked up the rebound and scored the power-play goal. Jeremy Welsh picked up his first point of the game for the assist.

The Comets built up a three-goal lead with the first two goals of the third period. O'Reilly passed across the crease to Patrick Kennedy, who one-timed it for a 4-2 lead 9:44 into the period. Welsh extended the lead a minute later when he picked up the rebound of Friesen's shot from the left circle. Yann Sauve earned a point with the secondary assist.

The Crunch scored three times in 46 seconds at the end of the third to force an extra frame. Paradis passed across the slot to Namestnikov, who began the Crunch's late rally with 1:39 left in regulation. Cedric Paquette was credited with the secondary assist. Jonathan Marchessault cut the Comet's lead to one 31 seconds later with a shorthanded tally from the slot. Brett Connolly and Gourde earned points with the helper. Marchessault evened the score with another shorthanded goal 15 seconds later. Mike Angelidis won the faceoff in the right circle. The puck got pushed to Paquette's stick and out to Marchessault at the left point, where he blasted it past Eriksson.

Brett Connolly scored at the 2:36 mark of the overtime frame with the help of Korobov and Namestnikov to give the Crunch a 6-5 victory over the Comets.

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Crunch Rally Past Comets in OT, 6-5

Comets Storm past Toronto with Big Second Period

April 5, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets used a team record five-goal second period to surge past the visiting Toronto Marlies on Friday evening in front of a sold out and rambunctious Utica Memorial Auditorium. With the victory the Comets move to within five points of eighth place in the Western Conference and sit a season best two games over .500, at 31-29-4-4.

Pascal Pelletier once again led the way with two goals, while Alex Friesen (1-1-2) and Kellan Lain (0-2-2) also had multi-point evenings. Winger Brandon DeFazio and defenseman Frank Corrado also scored for Utica, which evened its series against the Marlies at two games apiece. Joacim Eriksson turned aside 21 of 22 shots, as he earned his 22nd victory of the season.

Toronto struck first at the 9:36 mark of the opening stanza as Peter Holland redirected a point shot past Eriksson to make it 1-0. Defenseman TJ Brennan uncorked a shot from the blueline and Holland, camped out in front, tipped home. The point was Brennan's 64th of the season, the most amongst all defenseman in the AHL. For Holland, the goal was his tenth of the season over just 18 games. Kevin Marshall had the secondary assist on the play.

The Comets evened things up at the 5:05 mark of the second period, as Corrado let a point shot go that snuck through Toronto goaltender Garrett Sparks' legs and knotted the score at one. Friesen and Lain picked up the assists on the play, which gave Corrado his second marker of the season.

Utica took their first lead of the evening just over two minutes later as it capitalized on a 4-on-3 man advantage to make it 2-1. Henrik Tommernes unleashed a shot wide of the net that hit the back wall and came to DeFazio, who banked it off of Sparks and into the net. For DeFazio, the goal was his 16th of the season, with Alex Biega collecting the secondary assist.

It took only 4:25 for the home team to strike again, as Friesen buried a feed from Jeremy Welsh at the left post to make it 3-1. For Friesen, the point was his 11th over his past 12 games, with Welsh now riding a four game point streak. Lain also picked up his second assist of the evening on the play.

The Pascal Pelletier show took over at the 15:40 mark of the second period, as the center redirected a bid from Alex Grenier to make it 4-1. The goal was Pelletier's 16th of the season and Utica's second of the evening with the man advantage. Grenier and Cal O'Reilly had the two assists on the play, which chased Sparks from the net after 12 saves on 16 shots.

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Comets Storm past Toronto with Big Second Period

Canucks Reassign McEneny to the Comets

April 5, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the Vancouver Canucks have reassigned defenseman Evan McEneny (MACK-uh-nen-ee) to the Comets from the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.

McEneny, 19, and the Frontenacs were eliminated from the OHL playoffs on Tuesday in a loss to the Peterborough Petes. He split the season between Kitchener (15 games) and Kingston (46 games) and finished with 42 points (seven goals, 35 assists) and 78 penalty minutes. He added another goal and assist in seven playoff games.

The 6'2=80", 213-pound defenseman has played in 172 OHL games over his five-year career. He registered 82 points (13 goals, 69 assists) and 138 penalty minutes. A native of Hamilton, ON, McEneny went undrafted but was signed by the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 13, 2012.

Utica Comets season tickets are now on sale for the 2014-15 season for as low as $390. Lock in your seat with a deposit of just $100 and enjoy all the benefits of being a Comets season ticket holder. Call the Comets office at 315-790-9070 or stop by the Utica Memorial Auditorium to pick out your seat today.

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Canucks Reassign McEneny to the Comets

Comet Tales: Behind Enemy Lines with Cedrick Desjardins

April 5, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Syracuse Crunch goalie Cedrick Desjardins knows what to expect on Saturday evening, as the Comets and their traveling fan base make their way to the Onondaga County War Memorial.

In reflecting on the last meeting between the both AHL clubs, separated only by 54 miles along the New York State Thruway, Desjardins is anticipating much of what he witnessed first-hand back on February 21.

"I could tell that there were lots of fans from both cities at that game. The fans were waiting for something to break during that intense time," says Desjardins, who for a fifth consecutive year will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1. "It's a shame that we (Comets/Crunch) aren't in the same division. There's so much energy in just a few games."

An eight year pro who has logged a half dozen NHL contests to his resume, all with Tampa Bay, Desjardins further impresses with a sharp memory, when recalling contests involving the Comets. Syracuse has skated 65 games off of this season's schedule, and their top netminder easily remembers an earlier meeting in Utica.

This past October 25, just the fifth game of the season, and the first visit of the Crunch to The AUD, Desjardins remembers the 2-1 shootout win over the Comets. "The first game with Utica, the fans were right into the game, right away,"the native of Edmundston, New Brunswick tells. " They (Comets) were looking for their first win, and the crowd was doing all they could to help the team."

From October, when skaters legs are stronger and passes are more crisp, the AHL's 76-game schedule does challenge its players physical attributes. Goalies, too, at this time of year must find ways to motivate their bodies to perform to the best of their abilities. With Syracuse trailing the Hershey Bears for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference by 13 points, Desjardins sounds optimistic for this weekend's games.

"Our coaches do a very good job in keeping us motivated. By the spring time, younger guys are brought in and we feed off of them." Desjardins, 28, said.

Having played for seven teams, since turning pro in 2006, Desjardins was prepared well during his four years of juniors in the QMJHL. Coming from Canada's Maritimes region, Desjardins hometown of Edmundston is uniquely positioned. Located about three hours from Quebec City and less than two miles from Madawaska, Maine, living in Edmundston offered Desjardins much opportunity to pursue his love of hockey.

First, Rimouski Oceanic, then the Quebec Remparts molded Desjardins into the pro that he is today. While with Oceanic, at 16-years old, Sid Crosby was the talk of the team. "You already knew, even at that young age, Sid was special. He was so fast,"Desjardins said of his former teammate. "Sid always worked hard and acted like a veteran."

In the off-season, Desjardins was traded to the Remparts. In 2006 Quebec won the Memorial Cup, and he was the most valuable goalie in the tournament. Patrick Roy was Cedrick's coach. "Patrick has the passion and desire to win every night. He said to me that season, "Cedrick D, you will be my guy every night'. He knew how to take pressure off of you."Desjardins recalls of the current Colorado Avalanche bench boss. "He (Roy) helped me through a lot of injuries, and when I was tired."

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Comet Tales: Behind Enemy Lines with Cedrick Desjardins

Thruway Throwdown Concludes Saturday

April 3, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets When the Comets make the short trip up the Thruway to Syracuse on Saturday, it will mark the end of the first chapter of Thruway Throwdown. What an exciting chapter it was.

With the Galaxy Cup up for grabs, it's Comets and Crunch for the final time this season. The two teams have battled each other through three meetings already this season with Utica currently holding a 5-3 point advantage. A win or an OT game clinches the series win for the Comets and ensures that the Galaxy Cup finds a home in the Mohawk Valley.

The Comets first trip to the War Memorial in Syracuse was one of the most memorable games of the season to date. Utica pulled through tense moments, tight defense and even a bit of controversy, as they claimed a 2-1 victory in overtime courtesy of a Brandon DeFazio overtime winner. What made the evening so special was the support that came with the Comets from Utica. Comets fans followed their team in droves, with a rowdy supporters section right behind the Utica entrance way.

"I thought there would be a lot of fans there, but we had no idea that we would have that man," Comets Head Coach Travis Green said after the win. "What a night. People cheering us on, and with that level of excitement and passion, it was amazing to see."

A team saluting its fans after a victory isn't uncommon, but seeing it on the road was a sight to be held. DeFazio even sent a lucky fan back to Utica with the game winning lumber after the Comets left the ice to a standing ovation.

"Great Comets fan turnout in Syracuse. You guys were as loud as ever," defenseman Frank Corrado added on twitter after the victory.

The first two meetings between the two teams were also memorable for the Comets. Back in October, the Comets fell in a shootout but picked up the first point in franchise history in the process. When they met again in January in front of a sold out crowd at The AUD, the Comets celebrated Pink The Rink night, where they donated over $35,000 to the fight against breast cancer after they donated an exciting victory to their fans.

The buzz that the Comets and Crunch have created was expected, but was it expected to be this big this quickly? The rivalry that has generated between the two teams has already escalated into talks about a game on the biggest stage in the area.

The Carrier Dome in Syracuse has played host to the NCAA and Big East Basketball Tournaments, even Bruce Springsteen, but hockey would be a new venture. Crunch owner Howard Dolgon recently revealed that the game is close to a go, with the Comets-Crunch rivalry at center stage.

With potential college hockey games between Utica College and Oswego, as well as a Syracuse women's contest on the agenda, the fan base of central New York would be treated to a full slate of unique hockey.

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Thruway Throwdown Concludes Saturday

Comets Add Princeton's Andrew Calof

April 3, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the Comets have signed forward Andrew Calof (KAY-loff) to an amateur tryout contract (ATO). In a separate transaction, forward Ludwig Blomstrand has been reassigned by the Vancouver Canucks to the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL.

Calof, 20, recently completed his senior season at Princeton University. Despite an injury limiting him to 22 games, Calof tied for first on the team in scoring with 21 points on four goals and 17 assists.

The 5'10, 175-pound forward was the team's leading scorer in each of his first three seasons and finished with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) in 117 career games. He was a three-time All-Ivy League selection and twice was named to the All-ECAC team. A native of Nepean, ON, Calof burst onto the collegiate scene in 2010-11 and was selected the 2011 ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year, Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year, and was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team.

Blomstrand, 21, appeared in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Iowa Wild. Overall the Upsalla, Sweden, native has appeared in seven games, without recording a point, in two separate stints with the club. He has recorded 23 points (12-11-23) and 12 penalty minutes in 40 games with Kalamazoo in 2013-14.

Blomstrand was selected by Vancouver in the fourth round (#120 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Utica Comets season tickets are now on sale for the 2014-15 season for as low as $390. Lock in your seat with a deposit of just $100 and enjoy all the benefits of being a Comets season ticket holder. Call the Comets office at 315-790-9070 or stop by the Utica Memorial Auditorium to pick out your seat today.

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Comets Add Princeton's Andrew Calof

Comets, new coach win baseball opener

KINGSTON Crestwood broke a tie with five runs in the top of the seventh to earn a win in the WVC debut for coach Tony Caladie, a 7-2 triumph over Wyoming Valley West on Wednesday.

Brian Markowski, Brett Chupka and Anthony Caladie (2-3, three RBI) combined to hold the Spartans to three hits. Sophomore Derek Distasio homered for the Comets (1-0).

Evan McCue doubled and drove in both runs for Valley West (0-1).

Wyoming Seminary 10,

Northwest 9 (8 inn.)

After going winless in league play a year ago, the Blue Knights won their 2014 WVC opener in dramatic fashion, rallying from deficits of 8-0 and 9-7 before winning with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Blue Knights (1-0) scored seven in the sixth and two in the seventh to force extras, where the winning run came home on an error. Roy Phillips had a triple and two RBI.

Eric Gurzynski went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI for the Rangers (0-1).

Berwick 7, Coughlin 1

Jorden Stout went g 3-for-3 with two double and three RBI for the Bulldogs (1-0). Sophomore Jordan DiValerio sparkled on the mound, scattering seven hits and striking out six.

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Comets, new coach win baseball opener