March 15, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets are in the middle of a playoff stretch run, but perhaps their most important hockey game this season came just last Monday, on a bit of unfamiliar grounds.

The Comets were at the Jewish Community Center on Oneida Street in Utica, for a chance to play floor hockey with members of the local community. All benefits from the evening went to the Kelberman Center, which is dedicated to the advancement of individuals with autism, a regional food bank.

Each parent or adult was asked to pay five dollars upon entry, with all proceeds going to the two charities. Parents were also asked to bring a canned food item, which went towards stocking a local food bank in Utica.

"I'd like to thank the Utica Comets for coming out and providing support for the Jewish Community Center so we can help rise money for two very important causes in our community, the local food bank and the Kelberman Center for autism," Victor Pearlman, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center, said.

The evening began with Utica Comets Chairman of the Board, Frank DuRoss, on hand to say a couple of words about the support the community has given the Comets and how much it means to the organization to give back. Afterwords, DuRoss, whose grandchildren had attended the Jewish Community Center, became the recipient of thanks from many adults in attendance, just thankful to have a hockey team back in Utica.

Alex Friesen, Ray Kaunisto, David Marshall and John Negrin represented the Comets, as they showed children both from the Kelberman Center and JCC Preschool, as well as Comets fans from around the Mohawk Valley, a few moves in the street hockey scene. The four players were amidst the cluster of many children who came out to play with a few of their favorite Comets.

"I had fun today, it's always nice to get out in the community and play some hockey with these kids," Comets center Alex Friesen said. "Obviously it's for a good cause and we try to do it as much as we can and we enjoy doing these kinds of things."

Despite the massive turnout, each child present got the chance to play with the Comets. We saw that Joacim Eriksson had taught his teammates well, as each of the Comets took their turn "between the pipes". David Marshall even left with a couple bruises on his shin, due to the aggressive stick checking you'd expect to find more at the AHL level.

"It's good for us right now, especially while it's busy and we have a lot of games, to come out and give back," Utica Comets right winger David Marshall said. "It's good for us to come out and play and realize where we first started out when we were kids and see how far we've come and hopefully these guys can realize it too and start idolizing [hockey] also."

The Comets are currently on their final trip of the season to Abbotsford, before they return to the Mohawk Valley next week for six of their next seven games at home. The team also has a full slate of community appearances on the agenda, with visits to both Hughes and LV Denti Elementary, as well as the Dunham Public Library.

Read more:

Comets in the Community: the Jewish Community Center