JR. COMETS MITE RED WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
Feb 14, 2017The Utica Jr. Comets Mite Red team coached by Adam Kernan and Kris Smith went 4-0 in route to win the championship at the Cortland Fire on Ice Tournament this past weekend. The Jr. Comets team showed a tremendous amount of effort and teamwork throughout the whole tournament. The Jr. Comets Mite Red team drew an unusual schedule on Saturday, February 11, as they were the only team to play three games in one day. The first game of the day saw the Jr. Comets facing off against Ithaca and winning 16-0 with goaltender Rocco Smith posting the shutout. In the second game of the day, Rocco Smith collected his second shutout of the tournament with the Jr. Comets defeating Whitestown by a score of 6-0. For the third and final game of Saturday, the Mite Red team continued their high scoring effort and great defense by beating Binghamton 6-1.
In addition, every team taking part in the tournament participated in a skills competition on Saturday. The Jr. Comets Mite Red team had a great showing in the skills competition as they claimed three of the four events. Nick Syrontynski won the shootout event, Rocco Smith won the fastest skater event as well as the goalie competition.
On Sunday, the Jr. Comets continued their effort to win a championship as they faced off against a familiar opponent in Binghamton. Great defense, good goaltending and a high powered offense led the Mite Red team to a 5-1 victory of Binghamton in the championship game.
Coach Kris Smith commented on the weekend, “It was a great team effort. The team played outstanding offense scoring 33 goals but even better defensively by only allowing two goals in four games.”