Comets Remain in Playoff Hunt with 3-0 Win in Belleville
Apr 15, 2026Belleville, ON– The Comets headed to Belleville for their final regular season meeting against the Senators and came away with a 3-0 win.
In their biggest game of the season, the Comets came out with a solid pace in a first period that featured very few whistles. Jackson van de Leest had the first great chance of the game when his shot from the left point sailed through traffic and beat Belleville netminder Kevin Reidler on the stick side but clanked off the post and stayed out. The Comets would eventually get on the board on a highlight reel maneuver when Angus Crookshank knifed past three Belleville players and beat Kevin Reidler high blocker side to make it 1-0 at 13:02 on his 22nd goal of the year from Lenni Hameenaho and Austin Strand. The Senators had a good chance to tie the game moments later when Arthur Kaliyev powered towards the crease, but Jakub Malek made a great stick save to preserve the Comets’ lead.
The Comets had another strong start to begin the second period and carried the play for much of the middle frame. They would make it a 2-0 game at the 7:36 mark after a solid shift in the offensive zone when Matyas Melovsky corralled a loose puck along the goal line and banked his shot off Reidler and into the net from nearly an impossible angle for his ninth goal of the year from Colton White and Xavier Parent. The Comets would add to the lead later in the period when Angus Crookshank darted into the offensive zone and snapped a shot glove side past Kevin Reidler to make it 3-0 at 14:15 for his second of the game, 23rd of the season, and 100th of his AHL career. Austin Strand picked up the lone assist. The Sens manufactured a few chances later in the period, their best coming from Arthur Kaliyev who was set up in the right circle, but Jakub Malek made a great glove save to keep Belleville off the board.
The teams started the third period skating 4-on-4 after Ethan Edwards and Carter Yakemchuk were assessed offsetting roughing minors at the end of the second period, and then just 21 seconds into the third, Ryan Schmelzer was called for slashing which put the Senators on a 4-on-3 man advantage, but the Comets came up with a huge penalty kill to keep the Sens off the board. Jakub Malek made some big stops while the Comets were shorthanded, facing a total of four shots on Belleville’s power play. The Sens threw 11 shots at Malek in the third period and a total of 25 in the game, but Malek turned aside all of them as he picked up his third shutout of the year and the fifth for the Comets this season. It was also the third time for Utica shutting out Belleville this season. The Comets prevailed 3-0 in a must-win situation to claw within four points of Rochester for the final playoff spot.
The Comets outshot the Senators 29-25, while going 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
The Comets are back home on Friday at 7 pm against the Providence Bruins for Fan Appreciation Night. For tickets or more information, fans can visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.