Last Week in Review: The Utica Comets picked up three points with a 1-1-1-0 record in their first three-in-three weekend of the season. On Friday the Comets won a high-scoring affair 7-5 against the Binghamton Senators. The following night the Albany Devils scored three third period goals en route to a 6-1 victory. Sunday night held quite possibly the wildest finish you will see as an official’s review determined the final outcome when the referee waved off the Comets “goal” in overtime, giving the Bridgeport Sound Tigers a 3-2 win.
Business Side of Things:
The Streak: The Comets have sold out 18 straight home dates, including the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs, dating back to Friday, April 10 of last season. A limited number of tickets remain for the Comets home dates this week. Those games are scheduled for Nov. 4 (Portland), Nov. 6 (Toronto), and Nov. 7 (Providence).
Friday, October 30: Utica Comets @ Binghamton Senators – W 7-5
An offensive explosion ended 7-5 in the Utica Comets favor versus the Binghamton Senators Friday night at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. Hunter Shinkaruk’s two goals on the night gave him six goals in six games this season.
Shinkaruk (2-0-2), Blair Jones (2-0-2), Linden Vey (0-2-2), and Andrey Pedan (1-2-3) enjoyed multi-point nights for the Comets, while Ashton Sautner (0-1-1), Cole Cassels (0-1-1), and Joseph LaBate (0-1-1) all recorded their first points in the professional ranks. Jordan Subban (1-0-1) scored his first goal as a professional.
Saturday, October 31: Utica Comets @ Albany Devils – L 1-6
The Utica Comets fell to 0-7 all-time as a franchise vs. the Albany Devils when they lost by the score of 6-1 Saturday night at the Times Union Center.
Defenseman Taylor Fedun (1-0-1) scored the lone Comets goal, his second goal in as many games. Forward Hunter Shinkaruk (0-1-1) extended his point streak to three games with an assist in the contest. Goaltender Clay Witt, in his first start for the Comets, made 18 saves in the loss.
Sunday, November 1: Utica Comets @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers – OTL 2-3
The Utica Comets completed their three-in-three weekend with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday evening at the Webster Bank Arena. The game came to an odd conclusion when it put the on-ice officials in a position where the results of a reviewed play in overtime would decide who won the contest. Ultimately, the referees waved off a potential Comets goal, which awarded the Sound Tigers the win.
Travis Ehrhardt (1-0-1) and Alexandre Grenier (1-0-1) scored for the Comets, while Joe Cannata made 25 saves in the loss.
A Look Ahead:
The Comets return home for a three-game home stand starting on Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 4: Utica Comets (3-4-1-0) vs Portland Pirates (3-4-0-0)
Where: Utica Memorial Auditorium
When: 7:00 pm ET
NHL Affiliate: Florida Panthers
Season Series: 0-0-0-0
Comets vs. Pirates: This will be the first games played between the franchises.
About the Pirates: After winning three straight games from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23, the Pirates have lost three straight leading up to their contest in Utica on Wednesday night. Leading the way in points for the Pirates is Wayne Simpson (0-8-8), and central, NY native Rob Schremp (5-2-7). Schremp’s five goals paces all Pirates players. Former Comets’ defenseman Yann Sauve will make his return to The AUD. Sauve spent the 2013-14 season in Utica as an assistant captain for the club. Sauve’s 13 assists were the third most by a Comets defenseman that season. In net, Mike McKenna has backstopped the club to a 2-2 record in four games. He has posted a 3.54 goals against average along with a .867 save percentage.
Friday, November 6: Utica Comets (3-4-1-0) vs Toronto Marlies (7-3-0-0)
Where: Utica Memorial Auditorium
When: 7:00pm ET
NHL Affiliate: Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Series: 0-0-0-0
Comets vs. Marlies: This is the first meeting between the North Division rivals this season. The Comets are 7-5-2-0 all-time vs the Marlies.
About the Marlies: Through 10 games, the Marlies possess 14 points and a points percentage of .700, best in the North Division. The high-scoring Marlies (3.5 goals per game) have won three out of their past four games, and four out of six. William Nylander (5-4-9), Josh Levio (2-4-7), T.J. Brennan (2-5-7), and Richard Panik (0-7-7) lead the way in scoring for the Marlies thus far. Antoine Bibeau has taken the lion’s share of time in net and has played in six of the club’s 10 games on his road to a 5-1 record. His 2.17 goals against average is the seventh best mark amongst goaltenders that have played in at least six games.
Saturday, November 7: Utica Comets (3-4-1-0) vs Providence Bruins (3-4-3-0)
Where: Utica Memorial Auditorium
When: 7:00pm ET
NHL Affiliate: Boston Bruins
Season Series: 0-0-0-0
Comets vs. Bruins: This game will be the first game between the franchise’s. The last time the Providence Bruins played in The AUD was February 28, 1993, a 9-4 win over the Utica Devils.
About the Bruins: Featuring two of the league’s top four point-getters, the Providence Bruins are off to a 3-4-3 start. 2011 second round draft pick, Alexander Khokhlachev (4-9-13) is tied with Bridgeport’s Joe Whitney for the league-lead in points, with 13. Undrafted rookie Frank Vatrano (10-2-12) leads the league in goals with 10 of them, in just 10 games. Last season’s Comets leading goal-scorer and assistant captain Brandon DeFazio, will make his return to The AUD with the Bruins on Saturday. This season he has two goals, and four penalty minutes in eight games. In net, rooke Zane McIntyre has been the go-to guy this season. In seven games he has posted a 2-2-3-0 record, a 3.12 goals against average, and a .887 save percentage. Malcolm Subban, brother of Comets defenseman Jordan Subban, has appeared in net twice for the Bruins, and has recorded a 1-1-0-0 record, a 4.02 goals against average, and a .871 save percentage.
Shooting Star of the Week: Linden Vey and Andrey Pedan
With a solid weekend played by both, it was impossible to narrow it down to just one player.
Linden Vey, currently on a four-game point streak, recorded an assist in every game over the weekend. His four-point weekend was highlighted by a two-assist game on Friday at Binghamton.
The Wakaw, SASK native spent the 2014-15 season with the Vancouver Canucks. With the Comets’ parent club he scored 10 times and added 14 assists to go along with 18 penalty minutes. The LA Kings fourth round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Level Draft has a goal and five assists on the season for Utica.
Andrey Pedan enjoyed a four-point weekend that included a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” Friday night vs the Binghamton Senators. In that game he scored an empty-net goal, tallied two assists, and sat for five minutes for a fight with Binghamton’s Mark Fraser.
Comets Leaders
Goals: Hunter Shinkaruk (6)
Assists: Linden Vey (6)
Points: Hunter Shinkaruk (8)
Power Play Goals: Hunter Shinkaruk, Taylor Fedun, Blair Jones (2)
Penalty Minutes: Alex Friesen (16)
Shorthanded Goals:
Shots On Goal: Alexandre Grenier (27)
Plus/Minus: Nicklas Jensen (+2)
GAA: Joe Cannata (2.15)
Save Percentage: Joe Cannata (.915)
Wins: Joe Cannata (3)
Milestone Alerts:
Travis Ehrhardt is 9 games away from his 200th AHL game.
Linden Vey is 1 games away from his 200th AHL game, and 8 away from his 300th career professional game.
Carter Bancks is 11 games away from his 200th AHL game, and 9 away from his 300th professional game.
Wacey Hamilton is 19 games away from his 200th AHL game.
Rapid Fire
We’re Going Streaking!: Comets forward Linden Vey is riding a four-game point streak that dates back to Oct. 24 vs the Syracuse Crunch. In that span Vey has collected five points (1-4-5). Defenseman Taylor Fedun has recorded a point in three-straight games with two goals, both on the power play, and an assist.
As the Hunter Goes: Hunter Shinkaruk has six goals in eight games for the Comets. All three Comets victories this season have come when the sophomore forward tallies a goal. Friday night in Binghamton, Shinkaruk recorded his second multi-goal game of the season with a two goal performance. The Vancouver Canucks’ 24th overall draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Level Draft enjoyed a 31-point rookie season with 16 goals in 74 games.
Going, Going…Gaunce: On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Brendan Gaunce was recalled by the Vancouver Canucks for the first time in his young career. Just a day later he made his National Hockey League debut against the Dallas Stars. He scored his first career NHL goal on Friday, Oct. 30 against the Arizona Coyotes with a first period goal against Anders Lindback.
A Man Up: The Comets power play unit currently sits in 12th place in the AHL with a 18.9% conversion rate. On Friday the team scored two power play goals in the game, tying a franchise mark for power-play goals in a game.
Early Lead: When the Comets escape a period, any period, with the game’s lead, they are 3-0. The team is 1-0 when leading after one period, and 3-0 when leading after two. As a franchise the team is 54-0-4 all-time when leading after two periods of play. Conversely, when they exit a period losing, the Comets have failed to win a game. The team is 0-2 when trailing after the first period, and 0-3 when trailing after two.
Bye-Bye Biega: This past Wednesday the Vancouver Canucks recalled Comets captain Alex Biega. Last season Biega served as an assistant captain during the team’s run to the Calder Cup Finals. Biega, no stranger to being a captain, also served as the assistant captain of the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans during the 2011-12 campaign. During his senior season with Harvard during the 2009-10 season, Biega was named the 116th captain in the school’s history. A veteran of 336 games in the AHL, Biega is entering his sixth as a professional.
After being a healthy scratch for Thursday and Friday’s games, Biega is expected to play for the Vancouver Canucks tonight.
The Power of J: Goaltender Clay Witt started Saturday’s game vs the Albany Devils. It is just third time in the franchise’s history (183 games) that the Comets net was occupied by a goaltender who’s first name did not start with the letter “J” (Joacim Eriksson, Joe Cannata, Jacob Markstrom). In such games the Comets are 0-3 all-time. Mathieu Corbeil, Pat Nagle, and Clay Will each suffered a defeat in their lone starts.
A Hat Trick of Medicine: Three of the top five point-scorers for the 2010-11 Medicine Hat Tigers are on the Comets roster. Linden Vey (116 points), Hunter Shinkaruk (42), and Wacey Hamilton (73) paced the Tigers to a third round exit in the WHL. Curtis Valk also played in 56 games for the Tigers, and recorded 17 points.
