UTICA DOMINATES SYRACUSE, WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT
Dec 10, 2023Utica, NY — The Comets ended their three-game set over the weekend against the same team they defeated fewer than twenty-four hours earlier, the Syracuse Crunch. The Comets skating away with a victory the previous night looked to carry that momentum into the Adirondack Bank Center in an afternoon game in front of a friendly crowd of thousands. The Comets did win on Sunday afternoon. They won the first two games of the weekend, their second in a row against the Crunch and their fourth consecutive win which is a season high win streak after a 4-1 victory over the Crunch.
In the first period, the Comets used a powerplay to their advantage after Ryan Schmelzer blasted the puck passed Matt Tompkins at 15:07. The goal was his fourth of the season and it was assisted by Joe Gambardella and Xavier Parent putting Utica ahead, 1-0.
During the middle frame, there was no scoring but the third period proved to be intense. The Crunch tied the game after Devante Stephens scored at 8:00 on a wrist shot through traffic that beat Comets netminder, Isaac Poulter tying the game at 1-1. But, the Comets retrieved the lead again after Graeme Clarke found room over the shoulder of Tomkins from inside the left circle at 13:07. It was Clarke’s ninth of the year and it was assisted by Schmelzer to give Utica a 2-1 lead. Sam Laberge extended the Comets after he scored on a wraparound putting Utica up, 3-1 at 15:48. The goal was Laberge’s third of the year assisted by Filip Engaras and Clarke. Shane Bowers added an empty net goal at 18:42 for his sixth of the season and it was assisted by Gambardella. It was more than enough to secure the 4-1 victory.
The Comets are back in action on Friday, December 15 against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at 7:00 PM. Great seats are still available for Sunday afternoon.
Single game tickets are now available for the 2023-24 season. Visit uticacomets.com/tickets for more information. Season Ticket Memberships are also available for the 2023-24 Season. Tickets are still available. Visit www.uticacomets.com/tickets for more information.