UTICA LOOKS TO TIE AHL RECORD IN ROCHESTER
Nov 17, 2021The 10th Straight Win: The Utica Comets continue to roll during the 2021-22 season as they won their 10th straight game of the campaign on the road in Belleville last Sunday afternoon.
In the first period, the captain started the scoring as he did the day before when he found a loose puck in front of Senators netminder Kevin Mandolese and fired it just under the crossbar and in at 13:51 giving the Comets a 1-0 advantage.
During the middle frame, Comets’ defenseman Reilly Walsh scored his first goal of the season when he wristed a shot past Mandolese at 13:18. The goal assisted by Nathan Schnarr was his second assist of the game and helped extend the lead to 2-0 after forty minutes of action.
In the final period of regulation, Fabian Zetterlund helped the team to a 3-0 lead at 2:03 after he sliced through the Senators defense and wristed a shot behind the Belleville goalie. Nikita Okhotiuk and Marian Studenic. The Senators added a goal with their netminder on the bench, Pontus Åberg scored to put Belleville on the board when the puck just slid past Comets netminder Akira Schmid at 16:55. But, later on, Comets forward AJ Greer struck for an empty net tally and finished the game off with a 4-1 win for Utica.
Zetterlund Goes Up: The New Jersey Devils announced today they have recalled forward Fabian Zetterlund from the Utica Comets.
Zetterlund, 22, hails from Karlstad, Sweden and skated in 10 games for the Comets this season scoring three goals and six assists for nine points. At the time of his recall, Zetterlund ranks second in team points. Over three seasons in the AHL, Zetterlund played 90 games tallying 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points.
Tonight’s Opponent: While the Comets hold the top stop in the North Division of the Eastern Conference, the Rochester Americans are right behind them. Utica has a six-point lead in the North with 20 points to the Americans 14. While the season has been a perfect one thus far for Utica, the Americans have won seven of their last three games and two of their last three games. The last time out, the Americans were at home against the Cleveland Monters and won a 4-0 decision on the strength of a shutout by stellar goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukonen’s 32 saves and a game winning goal by JJ Peterka. If the Comets win tonight they tie the AHL record for the most consecutive wins to start a season.