UTICA MOVES TO 8-2 WITH WEEKEND SWEEP
Nov 7, 2026Utica, NY – The Utica Comets faced off against the Rochester Americans on Saturday night for the third time this season and came away with a 4-1 win.
Strong starts have been a theme for the Comets this year, and that was the case again in this contest. Despite not scoring in the first period, the Comets played with an aggressive pace and were able to test Rochester netminder Matt Villalta with some quality chances in the opening frame.
As they did in their first meeting of the season against the Amerks, the Comets struck early in the second when Jack Malone swatted home a rebound at the top of crease for his second of the year at 2:30 to give the Comets a 1-0 lead with Ethan Edwards picking up the assist. The Amerks responded not long after when Conor Sheary broke into the offensive zone and fed Aidan McDonough in the right circle who snapped one low blocker past Jakub Malek to tie the game at one on his sixth of the year at 4:22. The Comets would regain the lead later in the period on the power play when Stefan Noesen fed Xavier Parent back door and snuck a shot inside the near post to make it 2-1 at 14:14 for his second of the season. Colin White picked up the secondary assist.
The Comets killed off the balance of a Rochester power play to start the third period to preserve the lead and would get another power play opportunity later in the period. This time, it was Matyas Melovsky who deflected home a shot from Eamon Powell past Matt Villalta for his first of the year at 8:01 to make it 3-1. It was the Comets' fourth power play goal in the past two games. Stefan Noesen added an empty-netter for his first goal ss a Comet at 17:43 to seal the 4-1 win for Utica.
The Comets outshot the Amerks 27-18, while going 2-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The Comets are back home on Veterans Day this Wednesday, November 11th against the Belleville Senators at 6 PM. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.