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Comets Slip in Shootout

by Mark Caswell, Jr.

Jan 13, 2016

The Comets surrendered the first goal of the game for fourth straight game when the Marlies struck 9:54 in the first period. Nikita Soshnikov scored his 12th goal of the season when he ripped a breakaway slap shot past Bachman.

It looked like the Comets would head to the locker room down by 1 but with just 17 seconds left in the period the power play came to the rescue. Friesen was able to connect with Shinkaruk, who made the pass to Jon Landry at the top of the slot. Landry wound up and fired a slap shot that snuck through traffic and evaded the glove of Bibeau for his third goal.

The next goal of the night came when penalties were called on both teams that led to 4-on-4 hockey for 24 seconds. Ryan Rupert jammed a loose pack into the net at the 9:14 mark of the second period for the 2-1 lead.

With seven minutes left in the third period of the game, the Comets were able to tie the game once again. As Darren Archibald fell to the ice he was able to successfully whack a Hunter Shinkaruk rebound past Bibeau’s foot.

A high-energy, fast-paced overtime proved to be fruitless as neither team could score on a plethora of chances.

After Soshnikov scored in the first round of the shootout, neither goaltender would allow another goal to give the Marlies the 3-2 shootout decision.

With the shootout loss, the Comets record falls to 16-15-3-3.

The Comets head to Syracuse for a 7pm Galaxy Cup showdown on Friday before returning home to host the Albany Devils on Saturday at 7pm at The AUD.

UTICA COMETS (16-15-3-2) vs TORONTO MARLIES (29-7-2-0)
Utica Memorial Auditorium 7pm
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: Radio: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile

Tonight’s Game: The Comets will return home from a three-game weekend tonight to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Game time at the Utica Memorial Auditorium is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Comets are looking to snap a season-high six game losing streak against the AHL’s top-ranked team.

The Comets are currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference’s North Division with 37 points, while Toronto sits atop the North Division and the entire league with 60 points.

Scouting the Marlies: The Marlies have scored 145 goals this season that is the second-most in the league behind the Texas Stars who have scored 148. The Marlies 145 goals is 24 more goals scored than the third place team, the Penguins, have. They score – a lot. Combine that with their 89 goals allowed, the fourth fewest in the league, and their ridiculous record of 29-7-2-0 no longer looks so shocking. The Comets catch somewhat of a break with the Marlies top scorer, and third-leading league scoring, William Nylander (14-20-34) currently on the Marlies. In fact, Josh Leivo (11-19-30) the Marlies third-leading scorer is also with the parent club. Leaving defenseman T.J. Brennan (14-20-34) and forward Mark Arcobello (12-16-28) as the team’s leading active scorers.

Welcome, and Welcome Back: Two Comets are slated to be making their Utica Memorial Auditorium debut tonight, and two will be returning. Michael Pereira, of the Reading Royals, and Brandon Marino of the Brampton Beast, signed PTO’s with the Comets recently. Curtis Valk was recalled by the Comets yesterday, and Andrey Pedan was reassigned to Utica by the Canucks as well.

Lucky Number 3: When the Comets fail to reach the three-goal mark in a game, the team is 0-12-3-1 this season. When they successfully strike three times, the team is 16-3-0-1.

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