COMETS HOST SANTA AND CLEVELAND FRIDAY NIGHT
Dec 10, 2021The Last Time We Played: The Comets battled their division rival, the Rochester Americans on Wednesday night inside Blue Cross Arena and dropped the contest in overtime by a 4-3 score.
In the first period, it was Marian Studenic who gave the Comets a 1-0 lead after he took a great pass from Nathan Schnarr and fired the puck past goaltender Mat Robson at 5:47.
During the second period, it was Chase DeLeo who slammed the puck home on a pass from Arne Talvitie during a two-on-one break. The goal by DeLeo was his third of the season and team leading 15th point as he gave his team a 2-0 lead at 8:58 of the middle frame. Alex Holtz was credited with the secondary assist on the goal. The Americans would get on the board when Mattias Samuelsson blasted a shot over the glove of Comets goalie Nico Daws at 14:07. This cut the Utica lead to 2-1.
In the final period of regulation, just 23 seconds into the frame, Michael Mersch waited on the far post for a pass that he immediately Daws. To tie the game at 2-2. But, later it was AJ Greer feeding the puck to a streaking Fabian Zetterlund who lifted a backhander into the net at 4:47. This gave the Comets a 3-2 lead. Later, as Nico Daws made a great save, he left the game as a result of an injury and backup netminder Akira Schmid stepped into the game with just over half the period remaining. The Americans tied the game on a the power-play after a Sean Malone’s backhander found its way over the glove of Schmid and in the net at 11:43. The game went to overtime and during the extra session where Payton Krebbs struck for a power-play goal game winner in the last minute of play to lift Rochester to a 4-3 victory.
Mareks Mitens Recalled to Comets: Utica Comets General Manager Dan MacKinnon announced today that the team has recalled goaltender Mareks Mitens from the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.
Mitens, 23, has suited up for the Thunder for 13 games garnering a record of 7-4-1 with a 3.12 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. He played four seasons at Lake Superior State University before signing an amateur tryout contract with the Binghamton Devils last seaosn. In four appearances with Binghamton, Mitens went 1-3 with a 2.81 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. Mitens, born in Ventspils, Latvia, finished his senior year with a WCHA Championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound goaltender was named to the WCHA Second All-Star Team during the 2020-21 campaign.
More Roster Moves: The New Jersey Devils announced today that goaltender Akira Schmid has been recalled from the Utica Comets.
Schmid, 21, has skated in 10 games for the Comets this season with a record of 8-0-2 holding a 1.60 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. A 2018 draft pick of the Devils in the fifth round, Schmid hails from Bern, Switzerland. His save percentage is ranked best in the AHL with his goals against ranked second.
In another roster move, Utica Comets general manager Dan MacKinnon announced today that the team has signed goaltender Corbin Kaczperski to a PTO from the Worcester Railers of the ECHL and has reassigned defenseman Michael Vukojevic to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.
The Comets are back at home on Friday, December 10th against the Cleveland Monsters at 7:00 PM inside the Adirondack Bank Center. Tickets are still available. Please visit www.uticacomets.com/ticketsfor more information.