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Comets in the Community: the Jewish Community Center

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March 15, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets are in the middle of a playoff stretch run, but perhaps their most important hockey game this season came just last Monday, on a bit of unfamiliar grounds.

The Comets were at the Jewish Community Center on Oneida Street in Utica, for a chance to play floor hockey with members of the local community. All benefits from the evening went to the Kelberman Center, which is dedicated to the advancement of individuals with autism, a regional food bank.

Each parent or adult was asked to pay five dollars upon entry, with all proceeds going to the two charities. Parents were also asked to bring a canned food item, which went towards stocking a local food bank in Utica.

"I'd like to thank the Utica Comets for coming out and providing support for the Jewish Community Center so we can help rise money for two very important causes in our community, the local food bank and the Kelberman Center for autism," Victor Pearlman, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center, said.

The evening began with Utica Comets Chairman of the Board, Frank DuRoss, on hand to say a couple of words about the support the community has given the Comets and how much it means to the organization to give back. Afterwords, DuRoss, whose grandchildren had attended the Jewish Community Center, became the recipient of thanks from many adults in attendance, just thankful to have a hockey team back in Utica.

Alex Friesen, Ray Kaunisto, David Marshall and John Negrin represented the Comets, as they showed children both from the Kelberman Center and JCC Preschool, as well as Comets fans from around the Mohawk Valley, a few moves in the street hockey scene. The four players were amidst the cluster of many children who came out to play with a few of their favorite Comets.

"I had fun today, it's always nice to get out in the community and play some hockey with these kids," Comets center Alex Friesen said. "Obviously it's for a good cause and we try to do it as much as we can and we enjoy doing these kinds of things."

Despite the massive turnout, each child present got the chance to play with the Comets. We saw that Joacim Eriksson had taught his teammates well, as each of the Comets took their turn "between the pipes". David Marshall even left with a couple bruises on his shin, due to the aggressive stick checking you'd expect to find more at the AHL level.

"It's good for us right now, especially while it's busy and we have a lot of games, to come out and give back," Utica Comets right winger David Marshall said. "It's good for us to come out and play and realize where we first started out when we were kids and see how far we've come and hopefully these guys can realize it too and start idolizing [hockey] also."

The Comets are currently on their final trip of the season to Abbotsford, before they return to the Mohawk Valley next week for six of their next seven games at home. The team also has a full slate of community appearances on the agenda, with visits to both Hughes and LV Denti Elementary, as well as the Dunham Public Library.

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Comets in the Community: the Jewish Community Center

Comets lost at Abbotsford

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March 15, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Comets fell to the Abbotsford Heat 3-1 Friday night, for the first time at the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Center. With the victory, the Heat snapped Utica's four-game winning streak, and dropped the Comets record to 26-27-3-4.

Alex Grenier scored for the Comets, while Pascal Pelletier and Cal O'Reilly each picked up an assist. Goaltender Joacim Eriksson turned aside 33 of the 35 shots he faced.

12:25 into the game the Heat opened the game's scoring. On the power play, after turning away two short-handed Comets chances, the Heat settled into the offensive zone. Reinhart, from behind Eriksson's net, centered the puck to the slot to an awaiting Josh Joorish, who netted his 10th goal of the season. Lafranchise picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

The one-goal lead would stand until the 19:49 mark of the second period. Eriksson stopped Locke's blast from the point, and then stonewalled Smith's backhanded shot on the rebound. The rebound shot, from just below the faceoff circle, skittered to the far faceoff dot to an unmarked Connolly who buried the puck into a gaping net.

On their sixth power play chance of the evening it would be Grenier who finally get the Comets on the board. Pascal Pelletier found Grenier all alone on the backdoor. Roy was there for Grenier's first shot, and then turned away the second. The third rebound bounced over his shoulder, where Ben Street accidently swatted the puck into his own net as he tried to clear it from the crease. Cal O'Reilly picked up the secondary assist.

Derek Smith added an empty net goal with 28 seconds left to seal the victory for the Heat.

The Comets do not have to wait long for retribution, as these two teams clash again Saturday night in Abbotsford. Puck drop is set for 10pm EST. The Comets return home the following week with a game on Friday, vs. Adirondack, and another Sunday afternoon against the Milwaukee Admirals. Both of those games at The AUD are set for 7pm puck drops.

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Comets lost at Abbotsford

Comets Claim Game 1 of MISL Championship Series

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March 14, 2014 - USL PRO (USL PRO) INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The Missouri Comets set a new MISL Playoffs record with five 3-point goals, and captain Vahid Assadpour set an individual MISL Playoffs record with a hat trick of 3-pointers, as they took a 15-8 victory in Game 1 of the MISL Championship Series on Friday night in front of 4,524 fans at the Independence Events Center.

Game 2 of the MISL Championship Series is set for Sunday evening at 5:05 p.m. ET at the Baltimore Arena, with all of the action available live on YouTube. Should it be required, a Game 3 mini-game would be played to decide the series following the conclusion of Game 2.

Assadpour led a run of five consecutive 3-pointers for the Comets after the Blast took an early lead with two goals in the first five minutes. J.T. Noone, who also had a hat trick on the night, opened the scoring with a volley 4:01 into the game. Less than a minute later, Max Ferdinand took a good pass from Tony Donatelli and slid home a finish to make it 4-0 for the Blast.

Baltimore would then be held scoreless until the two minutes as the Comets mounted their historic run. Missouri was able to take advantage when the Blast were called for too many men on the field just past the halfway point of the first quarter as Assadpour collected a pass on the left, and drilled home a finish from 3-point range to cut Missouri's deficit to one.

The game was physical throughout the first half, and came to a head midway through a scoreless second quarter as both Baltimore's Adriano Dos Santos and Missouri's John Sosa were sent to the penalty box for misconduct after an altercation at midfield. The heated feelings lingered between the two players, and both were ejected during halftime after fighting as the teams left the field.

The Comets grabbed hold of the game to open the third quarter, as they scored back-to-back 3-pointers through Assadpour and Stefan St. Louis inside the opening five minutes to take a 9-4 lead. The Blast tried to hit back, but Comets goalkeeper Danny Waltman made an excellent save to deny Noone a reply as Missouri held its five-point lead going to the fourth.

That lead would be extended just over five minutes into the final quarter as Assadpour struck again from 3-point range with a ferocious blast from beyond the yellow line that set a new MISL Playoffs record. Brian Harris would then get in on the action, putting home a 3-point finish into an empty net to make it 15-4. Noone would strike twice late on for the Blast as the Comets briefly let their guard down, but Missouri held on to take a comfortable victory.

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Comets Claim Game 1 of MISL Championship Series

Comets Take Game One of Championship Series

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March 14, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Missouri Comets INDEPENDENCE, Missouri - The Missouri Comets start off the 2014 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Championship Series with a thrilling 15-8 win over the Baltimore Blast. Missouri's Vahid Assadpour set a MISL playoff record with a hat trick consisting of only 3-point goals and led all scorers on the night. J. T. Noone had a hat trick of his own for the Blast, scoring two goals late in the game. A crowd of 4,524 were on hand to see the Comets take a 1-0 series lead.

Baltimore started the game off with two goals from Noone and Max Ferdinand worth two points each. The Blast would routinely take an early lead like this in the regular season and rely on their stout defense to bring home the win. Tonight, the Comets were not intimidated and kept up their attack.

Assadpour answered the Blast's scores with his first three-point goal of the night. With seven minutes remaining in the first quarter John Sosa found a waiting Assadpour outside the yellow line and without hesitation, the captain buried a shot past Baltimore's goalkeeper, Troy Hernandez.

The second quarter would not see a score change, but the players kept the fans on the edge of their seats as the intensity level rose on the field. As the teams headed off the field, Baltimore holding a slim 4-3 lead, several players were involved in a skirmish towards the player tunnel. After everything was sorted out, Missouri's John Sosa and Baltimore's Adriano Dos Santos were each shown a Red Card and ejected from the game.

Fired up coming out of the break, Assadpour netted his second three-point goal on a restart play. Not even a minute later, Stefan St. Louis collected a distribution from goalkeeper Danny Waltman and blasted home a shot from just outside the arc. The goal was St. Louis' second and Waltman's first assist of the playoff season.

With a 9-4 advantage, Comets head coach Vlatko Andonovski encouraged his team to keep up their offensive pressure. Assadpour finished his hat trick five minutes in to the final quarter, unassisted, with a shot that Hernandez never even saw. With this strike, Assadpour set an MISL Record for three-point scores in a playoff game that had held since the 2012 playoff season.

The Blast brought Mike Lookingland on as a sixth attacker with minutes left in the game, down 12-4. Lucas Rodriguez cleared a pass out of Missouri's defensive zone where defender Brian Harris ran onto it. Smartly, he tapped the ball towards goal outside of the three-point arc and walked the ball into the net for the Comets fifth straight three-point score.

Noone scored two more times before the final whistle for the Blast, both worth two points, but it was too little and too late for Baltimore. The Comets were able to take a 1-0 series lead on the back of five three-point scores, and a 15-8 victory.

The series now moves to Baltimore on Sunday, March 16 at 4:05 p.m. CT. A win would claim the first MISL Championship in Comets history. Should the Blast win Game Two, an immediate 15 minute Mini-Game would be played to decide the winner of the series.

Fans are encouraged to join the Comets Nation Fan Club at Coach's Bar & Grille on 103rd and Wornall on Sunday for the Official Watch Party. The game will be shown LIVE on the Comets website at CometsIndoorSoccer.com/Live-Feed.

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Comets Take Game One of Championship Series

Workington Comets legend Stonehewer to appear at Rusty Harrison testimonial

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Last updated at 11:40, Friday, 14 March 2014

Workington Comets legend and all-time record appearance holder Carl Stonehewer will make a special appearance at Rusty Harrisons testimonial.

Carl Stonehewer

The 41-year-old has been invited as a guest at Harrisons aptly named Rustys Didgeri Do at Derwent Park on April 5.

It is understood that Stonehewer will not be riding.

Harrison, 32, said: I rode with Carl for many years. He was a well respected rider, person and a Comets legend.

It will be great to get him up. It should be a good night.

Harrison is the Comets second all-time record appearance holder. He has competed in 325 races for Workington 36 behind Stonehewer.

Stonehewer rode for Comets from 1999 to 2005 and then returned for a year in 2007.

Harrison added: When I first started with Comets, Carl was more or less on the top of his game. He was someone I really looked up to.

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Workington Comets legend Stonehewer to appear at Rusty Harrison testimonial

Chery Comets make their last stand

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CHERRY The eighth-grade recognition night for the Cherry Comets volleyball team held an extra special meaning on Thursday evening.

Along with honoring its eighth-grade players, the night marked the end of an era and another last as the Cherry Comets played the last match to be held in Anton Demichelis Memorial Gymnasium. The Cherry students will be attending a new school at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year.

Cherry Grade School is being deactivated pending the referendum in Tuesdays primary election. If it is approved, the Cherry students will go to neighboring Dimmick School.

We look forward to wherever we will land, said Deb Brokaw, the Comets head coach and former Cherry School board member. There is a sense of small school pride here. Its a family.

Along with two eighth-graders, Courtney Kobold and Morgan Soldati being recognized, the program also recognized Brokaw and assistant coach Jaquelynne Hendricks. Brokaw has been the head coach of the program for the past seven years while Hendricks has been helping the program for the last five years after wearing the red and white.

Its bittersweet, said Brokaw about the last match being held in the gymnasium. We have had some very good teams who practice hard.

The Cherry Comets have not quite made their last stand. They will enter Prairie Conference tournament play this week at Dalzell Grade School.

The history of the previous four years in the conference is recognized on a banner with four A team conference championships, and three B team conference championships.

According to Brokaw, her A team this year includes the two eighth-graders, one seventh-grader and three sixth-graders including her daughter, Hayleigh, and have filled some big shoes over the years.

They are tiny but mighty, said Brokaw. I couldnt be prouder of the team.

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Chery Comets make their last stand

Workington Comets legend Carl Stonehewer returns

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Published at 15:12, Friday, 14 March 2014

WORKINGTON Comets legend and all-time record appearance holder Carl Stonehewer will make a special appearance at Rusty Harrisons testimonial.

The 41-year-old has been invited as a guest at Harrisons aptly named Rustys Didgeri Do at Derwent Park on April 5.

It is understood that Stonehewer will not be riding.

Harrison, 32, said: I rode with Carl for many years. He was a well respected rider, person and a Comets legend.

It will be great to get him up. It should be a good night.

Harrison is the Comets second all-time record appearance holder. He has competed in 325 races for Workington 36 behind Stonehewer.

Stonehewer rode for Comets from 1999 to 2005 and then returned for a year in 2007.

Harrison added: When I first started with Comets, Carl was more or less on the top of his game. He was someone I really looked up to.

The field for Rustys testimonial also includes Peter Kildemand, Ty Proctor, Rory Schlein, Kauko Nieminen, Josh Grajczonek, Rene Bach, Simon Stead, Richard Lawson, Kenneth Hansen, Aaron Summers, Ricky Wells, Stuart Robson, Theo Pijper and Adam Roynon.

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Workington Comets legend Carl Stonehewer returns


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