2024-25 Utica Comets and ECHL thread

[Bad Goalie]

1/3/2025 Lehigh Valley Phantoms @ Utica Comets

Final score _
Lehigh Valley 4 Utica Comets 2

Another loss for the Comets.
Record now stands at 7-16-3-2. 18 points in 28 GP. Only Henderson with 16 and Manitoba with 15 are worse.

Comets have only won 1 game at home. Have to wonder just how long the fan base can hang in there.

There just doesn't look to be any more this team can do. They fight hard every game, but there just isn't enough talent to make things any better. Team averages just a hair over 2 goals/game having scored 60 in 28 games. That's tied with Manitoba for worst in nthe league. The losses will continue to pile up if that's the best they can do offensively.

Scoring:
Beckman (7) from Stillman (3)
Schmelzer (4) from Vilen (4)

SOG:
LV - 13 6 4 = 23
UTC - 8 4 10 = 22

PP:
Both teams 0/4

Next up for the Comets are the Belleville Senators at Utica 7 pm tomorrow (1/4/25).

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Utica f***ing sucks lol

 

[Bad Goalie]

1/4/2025
Belleville Senators at Utica Comets

Forwards:
(25) Foote (26) Schmelzer (20) Willman
(39) Hardman (67) Parent (34) Beckman
(15) Bowers (61) Stillman (11) Legare
(5) Gambardella (13) Malone (24) Halonen

D-Pairs:
(93) Misyul (44) Osipov
(3) MacKinnon (83) Vilen
(6) White (17) Nemec

Period 1
Parent goes for Hooking
1:33
Osipov shoots it out of play.
Osipov Delay of game 2:15 Comets down 5 on 3.

Wyatt Bongiovanni scores.
3:29
5 on 3 PP goal.
1-0 Belleville

Hayden Hodgson scores at 16:56
2-0 Belleville

Ist is over.
2-0 Belleville

SOG
9-5 Belleville

Period 2
Comets start the period on the PK.
Osipov is still in the box for 1:51

Wyatt Bongiovanni scores.
It's a PP goal and his 2nd PP goal of the game.
1:24
3-0 Belleville

Jan Jenik scores
6:18
4-0 Belleville

That's it for Poulter.
Brodeur up from Adirondack will replace Isaac. Not an easy thing to do. He's cold and unprepared. He backed up last night and Poulter was very good. I am sure he had no expectations of actually playing tonight, but welcome to the Aud. Good luck!

That didn't take long. 1:26 after Brodeur took the crease Angus Crookshank scores goal #5 for the Sens.

Angus Crookshank
7:44
5-0 Belleville

Comets can't escape the 2nd without giving up another. Guenette is allowed to walk off the right wing and score unimpeded.

Maxence Guenette
18:51
6-0 Belleville

The Comets have done very little to defend in their own end and both Poulter and Brodeur have been left up to their own devices.

Well the Comets at least won't be shut out as Gambardella works hard and earns one for himself. A backhander while crossing in front.

Joe Gambardella
19:49
6-1 Belleville

The 2nd period mercifully comes to an end. It has to be one of if not their worst period of the season. I don't mean just because they gave up 4 goals against, but by the way they have played.

SOG:
14-8 Belleville
2-period total 23-13 Belleville

Period 3
I have no fantasies of the Comets coming back to make a game of this one. I also don't see the Senators doing much more than shutting the Comets down and taking their 2 points. I'm not sure what their plans for the rest of tonight are, but the weather is pure S**T and maybe it 's safer to go to a hotel and take the bus ride tomorrow.

Period 3
Here we go. 20 more minutes have to be completed.

Shaya says the same thing I have already stated. He thinks they will "Muddy it up" and just take their game out of here.

First 5 minutes have seen 1 shot and that was from the Comets.

Comets are pressing and getting no results. This team can't score to save their lives. Maybe they'll get one more to keep up top their avg of 2 goals per game.

Misyul drops 'em with Hayden Hidgson. Daniil landed a big one to start it up, but then Hayden got his left free and landed maybe 5 good ones. 3 were uppercuts after Daniil tried to get his face out of range. He left the ice bloodied.

One Senator has not received the message to shut down the Comets and leave it at that. Wyatt Bongiovanni wanted his hattrick and he just got it.

Bongiovanni the hattrick
9:01
7-1 Belleville

Building is basically empty. No reason to fight a traffic getting out of the parking lots and backonto the bad snowy roads

Game going nowhere except running time off the clock for roughly 5 minutes before we get another attempted tilt Between Angus Crookshank and Colton White. Whte leveled Stephen Halliday with an open ic check in the neutral zone in front of the benches. Crookshank came to object. They never got anything going as players and zebras broke it up. Interestin that both Crookshank and Halliday were wearing full face sheilds.

Both get 2 for roughing and 10 minute Misconducts-Unsportsmanlike conduct.

Back to listless hockey for a little over 3 minutes and Jan Jenik gets called for Holding at 18:50. He doesn't like it and has bad words withthe ref and getsa a 10 minute Misconduct.

Comets to the PP. Big F**Cking Deal!!!!!!!!!!!

Halonen scores at 19:49. A PPG.

Halonen
19:49
7-2 Belleville

After the Halonen goal Pilon voiced his anger for the penalty that allowed the goal and he got 10 at 19:50.

SOG for the 3rd
8-7 Utica

SOG for the game 30-21 Belleville

Comets goals:

Joe Gambardella (2) from Vilen (5) and Beckman (12)
Halonen (12) from Nemec (6) and Gambardella (2) PP

Comets record is now 7-17-3-2.
Their record at home is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1-8-1-2. To state it honestly, it's 1W-11L.

Next outing Wednesday 1/8 vs the Syracuse Crunch at the Adirondack Bank Center/Utica Aud. Another home game.

 

[Bad Goalie]

1/3/25 - NONE

1/4/25 - NONE

1/5/25 - NONE

 

[Bad Goalie]

Utica Comets are a bad hockey team.
Offensively they average 2 goals/game.

Defensively
- they give up 3.6 goals/game.

- their PK is #30 in the AHL

- Nico Daws' 3.30 GAA is #46 in the AHL.
- Isaac Poulter's 3.34 GAA is #47 in the AHL. (interestingly tied with Henderson's Akira Schmid)
- Thus, neither goalie is playing better or worse than the other. The Forwards in particular do not play good D.

- The Comets' D has been a mess for most of the season.
Vilen didn't play here until 10/29 because of an injury in NJ training camp missing the 1st 6 games. Of the 22 games he has been here for he has only played 16.

Casey played 17 and was injured in the 17th. He has missed the last 11 and is still listed as week to week.

Hatakka who was labeled for Utica is styill recovering in NJ due to a preseason injury.

Andy Welinski was signed to a PTO. After playing a total of 8 games out of the Comets first 15 his agent found a better gig for him the DEL with Lowen Frankfurt.

DeSimone opened the season with Utica and was recalled to NJ, returned, recalled, returned, and recalled playing a total of 12 games. Yesterday he was waived in order to be returned to Utica. TODAY he was claimed off waivers by the Utah Hockey Club.

Colton White was recalled to NJ on 12/12. NJ then assigned him to the Canadian National team to play in the Spengler Tournament. He returned to NJ and wasre assigned to Utica on
1/1.

Over the course of the last few games the Comets acquired Dmitri Osipov in an ECHL trade for Jace Isley on 11/29. He has played in 13 games of the Comets 14 games since he arrived mainly due to the absence of Casey coupled with the movements of DeSimone and White.
The Comets have played with 2 actual right side D-men 6 times since his arrival and one for them with only 5 D-men.

Signed ECHL D-man Kurt Gosselin to a PTO on 12/26, who played 1 game, was missing from the next when Utica only played 5D-men, and then released on 1/2.

Signed ECHL D-man Matt Anderson on 12/30 and played him 1G. He's still on the roster.

They have carried Jackson van de Leest on and off as the 6th ot 7th D-man and actually played him in 6 games. He has no businees on nAHL ice.

Today they acquired a RD, Austin Strand, in a trade with the AHL Central Division 5th place Rockford IceHogs for future considerations. A player you trade for future considerations is not exactly one you hold in high reagard.

Today they also reassigned Jackson van de Leest to Adirondack.

The Comets currently have 9 D-men on their roster, one of whom is Matt Anderson, a PTO on loan from the Toledo Walleye. Seamus Casey is out injured. Which really means they have 7 D, but until it happens Anderson will be #8.

For the 1st time in a while 3 of them will actually be right shot D-men. 1 would be considered a high level AHL D-prospect in Nemec.

However, though I haven't seen it yet, I would think NJ will come calling very soon unless Hatakka is healthy and they plan to keep him or they will consider MacDermid their #7D. I don't think either will, be the case. Thus, the Comets stand to lose one of White or Nemec. Since that guy will be #7 and watching, I belive White will be recalled once again.

Utica's Current D
Right side:
Nemec
White
Strand
Osipov

Left side:
Misyul
Vilen
MacKinnon
Anderson

UP front they are healthy carrying 14.. The same that have been on the roster all season with a few minor injuries and a couple callups causing the lineup to get jockyed around. These are the guys who have accrued the state of affairs the Comets find themselves in.

1/6/25 - NONE