Criscuolo Strikes Twice, Comets Fall 4-2
Dec 19, 2025Utica, NY – The Comets hosted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday and were edged 4-2.
It was quite the start for the Comets as Jonathan Gruden and Kyle Criscuolo found themselves in on a 2-on-0 opportunity just 30 seconds into the game, but Penguins netminder Sergei Murashov came up with a big stop. Not long after, however, Kyle Criscuolo would not be denied a second time as he stole the puck at center ice, skated in on a breakaway and beat Murashov on the backhand for his third shorthanded goal of the year which came unassisted at the 2:13 mark to make it 1-0.
The Penguins would go on their first power play and right after it expired, Joona Koppanen fired a shot through traffic past Nico Daws to tie the game at one at the 3:40 mark for his second goal of the year. Later in the period, Ryan Schmelzer took a big hit from Wilkes-Barre defenseman Matt Dumba who was assessed a five-minute major for interference, and on the ensuing power play, Lenni Hameenaho set up Kyle Criscuolo who saw the puck deflect off his skates and in for his second of the game and fourth of the year to give the Comets the 2-1 lead at the 13:38 mark.
The Comets were buzzing to start the second period and had extended zone time, but Sergei Murashov made a few big stops to keep it a 2-1 game. The Comets penalty kill got some exercise in the second period and came up big, killing off three Wilkes-Barre power plays. Nico Daws was phenomenal, making nine saves in the second period and facing several net-front scrambles while the Comets were shorthanded. The Penguins did manage to tie the game in the second period on a flukey goal where Seamus Casey tried to make a pass behind his own net, but it deflected off the skate of Joona Koppanen, off Nico Daws and into the net to tie the game at two at the 6:06 mark of the second. Gabe Klassen missed a back-door tap-in goal at the end of the second period which would’ve given the Penguins the lead, but fortunately for the Comets, it stayed out and the teams exited the ice in a 2-2 tie.
The Penguins continued their momentum into the third period and struck just 51 seconds in when Boko Imama broke down the left-wing side and fired a shot that deflected past the glove of Daws to give the Penguins their first lead of the game for his fourth goal of the season. The Comets ramped up the pressure and had some good looks on their third power play of the game, but were unable to beat Sergei Murashov. Tristan Broz added an empty-net goal at 19:14 for his team-leading 10th of the season to make it 4-2 and that was the final.
The Comets registered 10 shots in the third period and outshot the Penguins 25-24 in the game, while going 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Comets are back home next Saturday, December 27th against the Toronto Marlies at 6 pm. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.