2022-23 Utica Comets and ECHL thread

[Bad Goalie]

Forwards:
Gambarderlla/Schmelzer/Hawryluk
Geertsen/Talvitie/Friedman
Laberge/Engaras/Thompson
Parent/Stevens/Clarke

D-pairs:
Wotherspoon/Nemec
Hayes/Russo
Groleau/Walsh

Goal - Poulter

Scratches:
Daws (BU)
Holtz (Medical)
Halonen (Medical)
Vukojevic (Inj)
Hutchison (Inj)
Hatakka (Inj)
Pinho (H)
Foote (H)
Filmon (H)
Ibragimov (H)
Gourley (H)

 

[Bad Goalie]

Comets started this one as they have so many others surrendering a goal in the opening minute.

Simon Ryfors, who scored 4 goals when these 2 met last on Wednesday, scored at 1:13.

Walsh hit a post.

At 8:17 the Comets get a PP. They come up empty.

Thompson gets a shot and hits Lagace's chest. Daniel Walker down on his knees in the Uica end when Thompson got hat shot. Whistle to deal with Walker. He is helped off the ice and doesn't put any weight on his right leg.

Comets have been as good as the Crunch since the opening goal. Have missed the net on several occasions and had several shots blocked. They are trying at least.

Comets back to the PP as Koepke is called for hooking.

That doesn't last long as Parent gets called for tripping.

4 on 4 for 1:24.

Now the Crunch are on a short PP, 36 seconds.

Comets kill that.

1 minute to go.

!st ends

1-0 Crunch.

SOG
9-7 Crunch

 

[Bad Goalie]

2nd about to get under way.

Nemec skates into the zone and loses the puck on his own.

Hayes whips a wrist shot from the point and it's in!

G_______O_______A_______L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1-1
1:52

Talvitie alone in front on the backhand and Lagace is down. He can't lift it and hits Lagace on the ice. Blown huge opportunity.

Now Thompson off for hooking.

Lose the draw and the shot goes in. Took 2 seconds.

2-1 Crunch
5:42

TV TO
13:08 to go

Nemec shoots stopped, rebound stopped, and 2nd rebound is batted away.

Syracuse called for too many men.

Comets to the PP.
A 2nd PP wiped out by a Comets penalty!
Walsh for holding.
A breakaway from the blueline and he grabbed him from behind by wrapping his stick around his waist. Shaya says it's not a penalty.

4 on 4 for 1:48.

Barre-Boulet shoots and is adamant that he scored.

Refs checking in the box.

It's a goal.
3-1 Crunch
11:20

Comets may regret not having started Daws. Even if it would have been back to back.
Poulter has not played well at all against the Crunch in previous outings.

Rochester has lost and if the Comets beat Syracuse, it would put them in 2nd place.

Comets have gone dead. 4 on 4 to the Comets is a PK. The Crunch blew 2 open nets or it would be 4-1.

Walsh misses an open side. He knows it and shakes his head.

Clarke will not shoot the puck unless there is nothinmg between him and the net. By holding on for mthe extra seconds until he gets that ideal situation he ends up losing the puck. Just had a cjance from 10 feet but held on and held on and then a sliding Crunch defender took the puck off his stick.

Final minute of the 2nd.

It's over.

3-1 Crunch after 2.

SOG
11-9 Crunch
2-period total 20-16 Crunch

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

what a comeback for Utica

 

[Emperoreddy]

Loving seeing both Devils teams ending their regular season on high notes

 

[Bad Goalie]

3rd is under way. Last chance to avoid the best of 3 play-in between the 4 and 5 seeds.

Comets get an early PP. YES! a PP goal.

STEVENS
3-2 Crunch
3:39

Right off the ensuing faceoff Laberge is called for slashing.
EL STUPIDO!

Comets in 3 on 1 short handed and Schmelzer's 1-timer is stopped on an amazing save by Lagase.

PK is successful. Another Crunch down and unable to get up on the Comets end boards. Whistle goes and he is tended to. Finally goes off assisted by 2 mates.

TVTO
13:49 to go.

Comets stand around as the Crunch ramble around the Comets end.

Crunch score. Balcers behind the D as a turnover allows a pass to him and he scores all alone.

4-2 Crunch
7:48

The Comets in Syracuse is a recipe for a loss.

Finishing anywhere in the seeding doesn't favor the Comets. All of the potential opponents have handled the Comets all season.
Crunch 8-3-1-1
Amerks 7-3
Toronto 5-1
Laval 4-1

Comets a PP
It was a dismal performance.

The Comets are giving up incredible chances and Poulter is keeping them in it.

Playoffs are a bad idea for the Comets. They can't exert a full all out effort 2 games in a row. They were lights out last night and tonight they are skating in mud and mishandling the puck in all 3 zones.

2 on 1 for the Crunch and Poulter again.

Another solo rush by the Crunch and Poulter stops it.
Another save by Poulter.
Another on a wraparound.

TV TO
4:12 to go

Poulter has to leave pretty soon.

There he goes 3:15

Nemec scores on a rebound off a wraparound by Laberge forcing himself to the net front. Nemec was in the low slot.

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEMEC

4-3 Crunch
16:51

Well, what have we here. The Comets did this in the 6-4 loss on Wednesday. They came back from 5-1 with 10 minutes left and got it to 5-4 with Daws on the bench. An ENG ended the comeback.

There goes Poulter.

Thompson has it going down the left side. Sends it cross ice AND.................................................................CLARKE hits the open side.

G_______________________O____________________A__________________L

COMETS TIE IT UP 4-4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4-4
18:12

2 seconds left and Poulter sits for the faceoof in the Crunch end. Comets gatr a shot on and Nemec's rebound try is after time runs out.

OT
Crunch control the puck 40 Seconds gone.
Schmelzer gets possession.
Turnover, but Stevens rides him off from behind.

Breakaway by the Crunch but he overskates it.

Gambardella is stopped and the Crunch gather it up again.

Pouter a huge save. Comets the other way 2 on 1 and Clarke is stopped by an equally huge save by Lagase.

Here come the Crunch. Parent forces a turnover from behind.

Schmelzer moves up the ice and weaves to the lefright side of the rink and then casually hits Walsh in full flight skating into the zone. Walsh goes left and then swings into the high slot slot and lets fly................................................
The Puck is in. It's IN. It's IN!

WALSH SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WALSH SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5-4 Utica in OT

Walsh
3:15

 

[Bad Goalie]

Let's recap this one.

final score:
Utica Comets 5 Syracuse Crunch 4 (OT)

Soring 1 2 3 OT
UTICA 0 1 3 1
SYRAC 1 2 1 0

SOG:
UTC - 7 9 14 2 = 32
SYR - 9 11 13 1 = 34

PP
UTC 1/5
SYR 1/4

Scoring:
Period 1
Syracuse - Ryfors (27) 1:13

Period 2
Utica - Hayes (1) from Russo (22) and Talvitie (11) 1:52
( It was Hayes's 3rd of the season but 1st as a Comet)
Syracuse - Goncalves (13) PPG 5:42
Syracuse - Barre-Boulet (24) 11:20

Period 3
Utica - Stevens (15) from Schmelzer (28) and Parent (2) PPG 3:40
Syracuse - Balcers (8) 7:48
Utica - Nemec (12) from Laberge (8) and Thompson (18) 16:51
6 on 5 Poulter on the bench
Utica - Clarke (25) from Thompson (19) and Stevens (18) 18:12
6 on 5 Poulter on the bench

OT
Walsh (9) from Schmelzer (29) and Parent (3)

The comeback game of the year for these guys and 1 of the most memorable in the 10 years of the Comets. What a punctuation point on the last game of the 10th anniversary season!

2 Syracuse 81 points
3 Utica 80 points
4 Rochester 79 points
5 Laval 76 points
Rochester still has 1 game left tomorrow vs Cleveland at 3 pm tomorrow in Cleveland after losing to them today in Rochester.
Rochester will finalize the seeds and Cleveland has the hammer.
Come on Cleveland!

 

[swiiscompos]

@Bad Goalie Your game reports are so exciting to read, it’s as if I see the action developing in front of my eyes, gets my heart racing.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Syracuse loses and gets all three stars?

Media bias?

TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

theahl.com

 

[Clam Jensen]

Let's recap this one.

final score:
Utica Comets 5 Syracuse Crunch 4 (OT)

Soring 1 2 3 OT
UTICA 0 1 3 1
SYRAC 1 2 1 0

SOG:
UTC - 7 9 14 2 = 32
SYR - 9 11 13 1 = 34

PP
UTC 1/5
SYR 1/4

Scoring:
Period 1
Syracuse - Ryfors (27) 1:13

Period 2
Utica - Hayes (1) from Russo (22) and Talvitie (11) 1:52
( It was Hayes's 3rd of the season but 1st as a Comet)
Syracuse - Goncalves (13) PPG 5:42
Syracuse - Barre-Boulet (24) 11:20

Period 3
Utica - Stevens (15) from Schmelzer (28) and Parent (2) PPG 3:40
Syracuse - Balcers (8) 7:48
Utica - Nemec (12) from Laberge (8) and Thompson (18) 16:51
6 on 5 Poulter on the bench
Utica - Clarke (25) from Thompson (19) and Stevens (18) 18:12
6 on 5 Poulter on the bench

OT
Walsh (9) from Schmelzer (29) and Parent (3)

The comeback game of the year for these guys and 1 of the most memorable in the 10 years of the Comets. What a punctuation point on the last game of the 10th anniversary season!

2 Syracuse 81 points
3 Utica 80 points
4 Rochester 79 points
5 Laval 76 points
Rochester still has 1 game left tomorrow vs Cleveland at 3 pm tomorrow in Cleveland after losing to them today in Rochester.
Rochester will finalize the seeds and Cleveland has the hammer.
Come on Cleveland!

That was an emotional roller coaster to catch up on! Thank you as always for the detailed updates, BG.

 

[UticaHockey]

A pretty big deal for our little city.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Solely based on numbers (since he spent most of the year in the ECHL before being traded to the Devils) but anything to see in Timur Ibragimov?

On the downside a player in the third year of his ELC playing in the ECHL doesn't usually suggest NHL potential. At the same time he is still just 22-years-old.

Anything noteworthy or was it just a contract to balance the finances of the deal?

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

A pretty big deal for our little city.

Any chance former Utica Pioneer Melissa Lomanto is coaching the USA team?

 

[Bad Goalie]

@Bad Goalie Your game reports are so exciting to read, it’s as if I see the action developing in front of my eyes, gets my heart racing.

Thanks. Nice to know my posts are appreciated.

That was an emotional roller coaster to catch up on! Thank you as always for the detailed updates, BG.

Welcome

 

[Bad Goalie]

Rochester leading Cleveland 1-0 early in the 2nd.

Cleveland ties it up late in the 2nd.

33 seconds later the Amerks take back the lead 2-1.

Amerks score early in the 3rd. It's now 3-1. 1st AHL and Amerks goal for Josh Passolt.

Amerks win 4-1.

Comets remain in 4th and will open the playoffs in the best of 3 play-in at Laval on Wednesday. Game 2 will be in Utica on Friday. I f a 3rd game is needed it also will be in Utica. I haven't seen the date for that one.

 

[Guttersniped]

Syracuse loses and gets all three stars?

Media bias?

TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

theahl.com

Last home game thing.

It was an OT loss too, so it’s not particularly crazy.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Duplicate post

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Looks like it is Utica and Toronto in the first round. This might make some of the games available to those of us in Canada.

 

[UticaHockey]

Looks like it is Utica and Toronto in the first round. This might make some of the games available to those of us in Canada.

Not yet anyway. The AHL expanded the number of teams that make the playoffs last year. The 4th and 5th teams play a best of three series with the winner playing the first place team in a best of five. The Comets start on Wednesday in Laval then return home on Friday. Game three if necessary will be Saturday in Utica.

 

[Guttersniped]

No one discusses the ECHL but



The Adirondack Thunder trailed the NYI’s affiliate Worcester Railers by 1 point with 2 games left.

Then…

Boom. (Like Thunder bitches.)



They tied it up late.



You don’t see a goalie pulled in a tie game too often (to say the least) but the Railers needed a regulation win.



(Yes, that’s our old pal Ken Appleby.)

The Thunder beat the Worcester Railers in bunch of games late in the season, so they basically stole that playoff spot from them with a late run. (With these last two wins ADK is 6-1-1 vs WOR in their last 12 GP.)

So the NYI Org had one team make the playoffs (barely).



And the production value on this video is like a time machine (it’s not good lol).

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Not yet anyway. The AHL expanded the number of teams that make the playoffs last year. The 4th and 5th teams play a best of three series with the winner playing the first place team in a best of five. The Comets start on Wednesday in Laval then return home on Friday. Game three if necessary will be Saturday in Utica.

Well I get to watch all their games on RDS so there is that.

 

[Guttersniped]

Discovered the NYI’s ECHL affiliate had done this at the start of the season.



That 9-0 streak was part of an overall strong 16-2-1 start to their seasons.

Unfortunately for them, they went 18-32-3 the rest of the season, causing them to miss the playoffs, because they’re a bunch of pathetic f***ing losers just like their parent organization.

 

[UticaHockey]

This is good news.

 

[Nubmer6]

This is good news.

Of course. Keep them out until the playoffs for cap circumvention purpo... Wait what?

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Discovered the NYI’s ECHL affiliate had done this at the start of the season.



That 9-0 streak was part of an overall strong 16-2-1 start to their seasons.

Unfortunately for them, they went 18-32-3 the rest of the season, causing them to miss the playoffs, because they’re a bunch of pathetic f***ing losers just like their parent organization.

I swear every year more than half the ECHL teams are teams I've never heard of. I guess Worcester couldn't get a new AHL team when the AHL Sharks left.