2022-23 Utica Comets and ECHL thread

[Bad Goalie]

12:21 to go in the 3rd.
Blujus gets the puck quickly up ice to Gambardella and the Comets keep it in. Stevens gets it back to Groleau at the point. He wires it on net and Bussi can't hold on to it. Clarke grabs it crosses in front of the crease and throws it up into the top of the net over a sprawling Bussi.

3-2 Bruins.

 

[Bad Goalie]

6:27 to go and Senyshyn is called for tripping.

Daws one brilliant stop and the Comets killed it.

 

[Bad Goalie]

4:30 to go and Providence filling up the ice. Comets can't find any space. When they do gain possession they lose it before they can get a shot.

1:19 and they finally get Daws off. battling along the wall and can't gain possession.

TO Comets with :43 to go.

Win the draw and lose possession anyways.

Now they get back in, but can't set up any kind of offense.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Comets lose it 3-2 and the streak ends at 12.

2 back to back humongous bad breaks.
1 - Comets score with a second remaining on the clock at the end of the 2nd. It ends up being ruled no goal because time had run out.

2 - Early in the 3rd a bouncing shot from center ice takes a ridiculous sideways bounce in front of Daws and goes in. Every keeper who has spent a lot of time between the pipes has had one of those kind of impossible to predict bounces that he has no chance on and surrenders the impossible to believe goal.

Those 2 plays completely changed the complexion of the game.

SOG:
Utica - 10 15 12 = 37
Bruins - 17 7 13 = 37

PP:
Utica - 0/3
Bruins - 0/3

Scoring:
Tyce Thompson (7) None
Graeme Clarke (14) from Jeremy Groleau (4) and Nolan Stevens (14)

Daws 34/37

3 Stars
1 - Marc McLaughlin (Providence Bruins) 1 G/1 A
2 - Justin Brazeau (Providence Bruins) 1 G
3 - Graeme Clarke (Utica Comets) 1 G

Quick bus ride to Bridgeport. Gat some sleep. Go back at it tomorrow at 7 pm EST.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Comets lose it 3-2 and the streak ends at 12.

2 back to back humongous bad breaks.
1 - Comets score with a second remaining on the clock at the end of the 2nd. It ends up being ruled no goal because time had run out.

2 - Early in the 3rd a bouncing shot from center ice takes a ridiculous sideways bounce in front of Daws and goes in. Every keeper who has spent a lot of time between the pipes has had one of those kind of impossible to predict bounces that he has no chance on and surrenders the impossible to believe goal.

Those 2 plays completely changed the complexion of the game.

SOG:
Utica - 10 15 12 = 37
Bruins - 17 7 13 = 37

PP:
Utica - 0/3
Bruins - 0/3

Scoring:
Tyce Thompson (7) None
Graeme Clarke (14) from Jeremy Groleau (4) and Nolan Stevens (14)

Daws 34/37

3 Stars
1 - Marc McLaughlin (Providence Bruins) 1 G/1 A
2 - Justin Brazeau (Providence Bruins) 1 G
3 - Graeme Clarke (Utica Comets) 1 G

Quick bus ride to Bridgeport. Gat some sleep. Go back at it tomorrow at 7 pm EST.

The positives are players with possible NHL future potential like Thompson , Clarke and Daws had good games. Clarke stays somewhat hot with another goal. Daws letting in 3 on 37 shots isn't bad.

I should be there tomorrow to watch them in Bridgeport. Hoping they have a bounce back win and to see Nemec again live for the 2nd time in a week.

 

[tailfins]

The positives are players with possible NHL future potential like Thompson , Clarke and Daws had good games. Clarke stays somewhat hot with another goal. Daws letting in 3 on 37 shots isn't bad.

I should be there tomorrow to watch them in Bridgeport. Hoping they have a bounce back win and to see Nemec again live for the 2nd time in a week.

Really sounds like 2 goals on 36 shots discounting the wacky bounce. Good for Daws.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Geertsen has two goals?!

 

[Mgd31]

Big daddy Geertsen

 

[OmNomNom]

wow schneider

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

wow schneider

It was former Devil great Ken Appleby actually...

Islanders swapped goalies after it was 3 to 0 and the goalie aho replaced Appleby wasn't Schneider either

Geertsen has two goals?!

I'm glad I witnessed it live in person. If he scores a hat trick I'll buy everyone on this board a beer at a Devils game.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Nemec is a +3 with a secondary assist so far after 20 mins. His asist was nothing crazy and he is the only player on Utica to be +3 right now. One thing I noticed watching him was he really likes to switch points in the offensive zone. Will swap sides with his d partner alot on the cycle.

 

[OmNomNom]

It was former Devil great Ken Appleby actually...

Islanders swapped goalies after it was 3 to 0 and the goalie aho replaced Appleby wasn't Schneider either


I'm glad I witnessed it live in person. If he scores a hat trick I'll buy everyone on this board a beer at a Devils game.

oops! mistook the 39 for 35

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Nemec just scored

 

[Bad Goalie]

1/14/23

Utica Comets at Bridgeport Islanders

Comets look to start a new streak.

Forwards:
15 Gambardella/ 21 Stevens/ 92 Clarke
11 Johnsson/ 28 Pinho/ 12 Thompson
18 Rivera/ 26 Schmelzer/ 10 Dugan
55 Geertsen/ 77 Talvitie/ 90 Senyshyn

D-Pairs:
75 Groleau/ 8 Blujus
5 Russo/ 7 Nemec
2 Vukojevic/ 22 Walsh

Goal - 93 Schmid

Scratches:
Daws (BU)
Wotherspoon (H)
Halonen (H)
Hutchison (H?)
Laberge (I)

Final Score -
Utica Comets 5 Bridgeport Islanders 1

SOG:
Utica - 14 11 6 = 31
Bport - 7 13 14 = 34

PP:
Utica 1/1
Bport 0/1

Scoring:
Geertsen (2) from Dugan (10) and Talvitie (6)
Geertsen (3) from Senyshyn (3) and Talvitie (7)
Johnsson (7) from Russo (14) and Nemec (11)
Senyshyn (6) from Groleau (5) and Blujus (3) - 6 on 5/delayed pen.
Nemec (4) from Dugan (11) and Gambardella (10)

Schmid 33/34

3 Stars:
1 - Mason Geertsen (Utica Comets) 2 G
2 - Simon Nemec (Utica Comets) 1 G/ 1A
3 - Jack Dugan (Utica Comets) 2 A
(I'd give the 3rd to Akira Schmid. 33 saves on 34 shots against. Many all alone and multiple 2 on 1s. This could have been a barn burnere without Akira)

2 Point nights for:
- Geertsen
- Talvitie
- Senyshyn
(All 3 on the same line tonight.)
-Nemec
- Dugan

Comets get a happy bus ride home, a good night's sleep tomorrow, and off to Syracuse for a 1 pm start on Monday (1/16).
That's 4 games in 6 days.
Also played 4 in 6 days last week finishing with 3 in 3 on the weekend.
Crazy schedulers in the AHL.

 

[My3Sons]

1/14/23

Utica Comets at Bridgeport Islanders

Comets look to start a new streak.

Forwards:
15 Gambardella/ 21 Stevens/ 92 Clarke
11 Johnsson/ 28 Pinho/ 12 Thompson
18 Rivera/ 26 Schmelzer/ 10 Dugan
55 Geertsen/ 77 Talvitie/ 90 Senyshyn

D-Pairs:
75 Groleau/ 8 Blujus
5 Russo/ 7 Nemec
2 Vukojevic/ 22 Walsh

Goal - 93 Schmid

Scratches:
Daws (BU)
Wotherspoon (H)
Halonen (H)
Hutchison (H?)
Laberge (I)

Final Score -
Utica Comets 5 Bridgeport Islanders 1

SOG:
Utica - 14 11 6 = 31
Bport - 7 13 14 = 34

PP:
Utica 1/1
Bport 0/1

Scoring:
Geertsen (2) from Dugan (10) and Talvitie (6)
Geertsen (3) from Senyshyn (3) and Talvitie (7)
Johnsson (7) from Russo (14) and Nemec (11)
Senyshyn (6) from Groleau (5) and Blujus (3) - 6 on 5/delayed pen.
Nemec (4) from Dugan (11) and Gambardella (10)

Schmid 33/34

3 Stars:
1 - Mason Geertsen (Utica Comets) 2 G
2 - Simon Nemec (Utica Comets) 1 G/ 1A
3 - Jack Dugan (Utica Comets) 2 A
(I'd give the 3rd to Akira Schmid. 33 saves on 34 shots against. Many all alone and multiple 2 on 1s. This could have been a barn burnere without Akira)

2 Point nights for:
- Geertsen
- Talvitie
- Senyshyn
(All 3 on the same line tonight.)
-Nemec
- Dugan

Comets get a happy bus ride home, a good night's sleep tomorrow, and off to Syracuse for a 1 pm start on Monday (1/16).
That's 4 games in 6 days.
Also played 4 in 6 days last week finishing with 3 in 3 on the weekend.
Crazy schedulers in the AHL.

It certainly appears that after the lull the goalies have rebounded well. Schmid and Daws giving the Comets a chance most games lately. Makes such a difference to play with confidence in front of a good goalie .

 

[OmNomNom]

Delete

 

[UticaHockey]

It certainly appears that after the lull the goalies have rebounded well. Schmid and Daws giving the Comets a chance most games lately. Makes such a difference to play with confidence in front of a good goalie .

From my observation the Comets are much more successful when they have both Schmid and Daws available and splitting games. Neither has been as good when being asked to carry the full workload of the primary goalie. It was the same thing last season.

 

[FromChaos22]

Is there a clear gap between the two goalies, other than schmid getting the call up? Going into the year I thought daws was the guy so just curious

 

[Bad Goalie]

Is there a clear gap between the two goalies, other than schmid getting the call up? Going into the year I thought daws was the guy so just curious

A simple answer to your question. It was apparent after last season that Daws was the Devils 1st choice.They had used both of them and Schmid had flunked the test. From their play in Utica I saw Schmid as the better of the 2.

This season at the start neither stood out as impressive, but both were adequate and the offense starved Comets were not winning many games. Schmid went up and lit a fire. That fire may have changed some minds in NJ.

Daws kept up as adequate with a lot more pressure in Akira's absence. Since Akira came back the 2 have picked things up and now, in alternation, they keep pitching very good games. They are both giving the Comets a chance to win every night. The Comets have for most of the season found it difficult to win when the opposition scores more than 2 goals in regulation. The last 14 games have seen the goaltenders limiting the opponent to 2 or less on most given nights and the Comets have been winning or getting to OT most of those games.

Daws just turned 22 and Schmid turned 22 last May making him about 7 months older. Very young for highly successful professional goalies. The NHL right now is in a transitional period with the successful net minders of the past decade all aging out at once and the goalie pool right now is weak. Young keepers are the norm among most NHL prospects. These 2 are prime contenders to make it to the show. That's just my opinion, but without their game in and game out excellent net minding for a good part of this season the Comets would be nowhere near their current 2nd place position in the AHL North Division.

I get the feeling that NJ is biding their time and waiting for one of these guys to really take off. It's quite possible that both will continue on an upward growth development chart and the Devils couldn't hope for more. Both able to play here again next season could be something special. I don't believe either is capable of being very good for a whole season as the NJ backup. Another year or 2 in the AHL and you might see both of them move into NJ for a long while.

 

[FromChaos22]

A simple answer to your question. It was apparent after last season that Daws was the Devils 1st choice.They had used both of them and Schmid had flunked the test. From their play in Utica I saw Schmid as the better of the 2.

This season at the start neither stood out as impressive, but both were adequate and the offense starved Comets were not winning many games. Schmid went up and lit a fire. That fire may have changed some minds in NJ.

Daws kept up as adequate with a lot more pressure in Akira's absence. Since Akira came back the 2 have picked things up and now, in alternation, they keep pitching very good games. They are both giving the Comets a chance to win every night. The Comets have for most of the season found it difficult to win when the opposition scores more than 2 goals in regulation. The last 14 games have seen the goaltenders limiting the opponent to 2 or less on most given nights and the Comets have been winning or getting to OT most of those games.

Daws just turned 22 and Schmid turned 22 last May making him about 7 months older. Very young for highly successful professional goalies. The NHL right now is in a transitional period with the successful net minders of the past decade all aging out at once and the goalie pool right now is weak. Young keepers are the norm among most NHL prospects. These 2 are prime contenders to make it to the show. That's just my opinion, but without their game in and game out excellent net minding for a good part of this season the Comets would be nowhere near their current 2nd place position in the AHL North Division.

I get the feeling that NJ is biding their time and waiting for one of these guys to really take off. It's quite possible that both will continue on an upward growth development chart and the Devils couldn't hope for more. Both able to play here again next season could be something special. I don't believe either is capable of being very good for a whole season as the NJ backup. Another year or 2 in the AHL and you might see both of them move into NJ for a long while.

Much appreciated!

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Is there a clear gap between the two goalies, other than schmid getting the call up? Going into the year I thought daws was the guy so just curious

In terms of being NHL prospects - Daws was probably more highly regarded at the time he was drafted and is the younger of the two.

He was either the first or second ranked North American goalie in the 2020 NHL Draft (though it was his second year of being eligible).

Schmid on the other hand was a fifth-round pick two years earlier (2018) in a draft that to this point has not really produced an NHL starter - Anaheim prospect Lukas Dostal and Harvard goalie Mitch Gibson (Washington) are two of the more promising goalies selected that year (Colorado's Justus Annunen also shows promis in the AHL).

 

[Bleedred]

Schmid has stopped 96 of 100 over his last 3 games since that pretty bad game against St. Louis he had for the NHL Devils, on top of the pretty nasty skid he was on in the A before that.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Schmid has stopped 96 of 100 over his last 3 games since that pretty bad game against St. Louis he had for the NHL Devils, on top of the pretty nasty skid he was on in the A before that.

I think being sent down rocked his confidence a bit

 

[Billdo]

A simple answer to your question. It was apparent after last season that Daws was the Devils 1st choice.They had used both of them and Schmid had flunked the test. From their play in Utica I saw Schmid as the better of the 2.

This season at the start neither stood out as impressive, but both were adequate and the offense starved Comets were not winning many games. Schmid went up and lit a fire. That fire may have changed some minds in NJ.

Daws kept up as adequate with a lot more pressure in Akira's absence. Since Akira came back the 2 have picked things up and now, in alternation, they keep pitching very good games. They are both giving the Comets a chance to win every night. The Comets have for most of the season found it difficult to win when the opposition scores more than 2 goals in regulation. The last 14 games have seen the goaltenders limiting the opponent to 2 or less on most given nights and the Comets have been winning or getting to OT most of those games.

Daws just turned 22 and Schmid turned 22 last May making him about 7 months older. Very young for highly successful professional goalies. The NHL right now is in a transitional period with the successful net minders of the past decade all aging out at once and the goalie pool right now is weak. Young keepers are the norm among most NHL prospects. These 2 are prime contenders to make it to the show. That's just my opinion, but without their game in and game out excellent net minding for a good part of this season the Comets would be nowhere near their current 2nd place position in the AHL North Division.

I get the feeling that NJ is biding their time and waiting for one of these guys to really take off. It's quite possible that both will continue on an upward growth development chart and the Devils couldn't hope for more. Both able to play here again next season could be something special. I don't believe either is capable of being very good for a whole season as the NJ backup. Another year or 2 in the AHL and you might see both of them move into NJ for a long while.

I was high on Schmid going back to Omaha, I've been happy with how he's shown so far as well. As you said, they're both only 22 so hopefully their development keeps going the way it has so far. Can't have enough good goalies in the system.

 

[barriers]

Just curious, What do y'all think about Reilly Walsh's future? Despite playing well he seems to be dropping down the Devils' defensive depth chart as they draft very promising D-men and the likes of Okhotyuk and Bahl get more opportunity at the NHL level as they bring a different element in their game.

Does Walsh have a future as a Devil? Could he be used as trade bait in the near future? or do you think he will likely be a quality AHL defenseman with the odd call-up depending on injuries?