Comets Outlast Heat 1-0 in Overtime

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January 25, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets extended their winning streak over the Abbotsford Heat to five games with a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. The Comets have also won three in a row overall and improved to 14-20-2-3 with the win.

Benn Ferriero's game winning goal 2:22 into overtime sent the Comets home victorious. Joacim Eriksson put in a standout performance, as he turned away all 36 shots he faced. Eriksson currently possesses a shutout streak of 123:18 against the Heat, spanning back to the third period of Utica's 4-2 win on Dec. 18 at The AUD.

Eriksson stole the show during the first period after he turned aside each of the 13 shots that came his way. The Utica netminder's performance featured a highlight reel glove save on Markus Granlund midway through the frame to keep things scoreless. Joni Ortio made seven saves for Abbotsford.

The goaltender's duel continued through the second period as neither team was able to find the back of the net yet again. Eriksson continued to shine, as he made 11 more saves for a two-period total of 24. The Galve, Sweden native found the highlight reel yet again as he dove to his left to rob Sven Baertchi of an open net with a paddle save. Ortio once again matched his counterpart with a zero, with nine saves for a total of 16 through two periods.

Despite the lack of a noteworthy save for Eriksson as there had been in each of the first two periods, the Swede remained perfect during the third period with nine saves. Ortio also turned aside nine shots during the final stanza and for the first time in franchise history, the Utica Comets would head to overtime without a goal.

Ferriero ended the game as he scored his first overtime goal of the season to give Utica the 1-0 victory. The winger took the puck off the halfboards and fired a wristshot past Ortio's blocker side to end the game. The goal extended Ferriero's point streak to seven games, which is tied for the longest active scoring streak in the AHL.

Utica improved to 2-2 in games decided in overtime this season, with both victories coming in Abbotsford. Pascal Pelletier scored the franchise's inaugural overtime game winner on Nov. 30, to complete a 4-3 victory over the Heat.

With the win, Eriksson evened his record for the season at 10-10-1-1. The Utica goaltender has now won two consecutive games and six of his past seven starts. Eriksson has saves 198 of 209 shots over the seven game span, good for a .947 save percentage.

The Comets and Heat will face-off in a rematch tomorrow evening. Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. EST.

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Comets Outlast Heat 1-0 in Overtime

Westchester beats Fairfax, 69-60

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The clear favorite to win a 13th City Section Division I basketball championship is Westchester High, and the Comets' depth and talent finally wore down Western League rival Fairfax on Friday night during a 69-60 victory.

Fairfax (12-6, 2-2) unveiled junior guard Lorne Currie in his season debut. He scored 23 points and helped the Lions keep pace into the third quarter. The game was tied at 31, 33 and 36.

But Westchester (17-4, 4-0) has many players to turn to, and senior guard Layon Gooden contributed 10 of his 16 points in the second half to ignite the Comets.

"I got the ball on the wing and shot the ball with confidence," said Gooden, who made two three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

As if Westchester wasn't strong enough, the Comets picked up an impact transfer this week when junior guard Ellis Salahuddin, a starter last season at Gardena Serra, became eligible after moving into the area. He had been at Garden Grove Orangewood Academy. He made two key baskets in the third quarter.

"It's a blessing to have another guard on the team," Gooden said. "He fits in perfectly."

Westchester turned the game around by giving Fairfax a dose of its own medicine switching to a 2-3 zone defense in the second half. The Lions, who played their own zone defense, went cold from outside.

As for Currie, he played for the Lions as a sophomore, scoring 29 points in one game. Then he became academically ineligible and transferred to Bellflower St. John Bosco. He hadn't played in more than a year until Friday after returning to Fairfax.

"He gives us a player who knows how to play the game," said Coach Harvey Kitani. "He has outstanding skills. He can play like an old-school player."

Akil Hall Reese had 12 points for Westchester and Elijah Stewart 11. Olisaemeka Nwachie had 15 points for Fairfax.

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Westchester beats Fairfax, 69-60

Comets Win Big on Retro Night

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January 24, 2014 - Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Missouri Comets INDEPENDENCE, Missouri - The Missouri Comets hosted the St. Louis Ambush at the Independence Events Center one last time this season and put on a show for the 4,748 people in attendance. The Comets Annual Retro Night brought back some of the legends from franchise history to watch the best in the current team. The Comets beat the Ambush 26-2 after all four quarters. St. Louis' Kory Dowell had the first goal of the game, and ultimately the only goal for the Ambush. Stefan St. Louis and Brian Harris led the way for the Comets with seven and six points respectively.

The first quarter had the Ambush starting it off early; Kory Dowell slid a shot past Danny Waltman on a pass from former Baker University standout, Odaine Sinclair. The Ambush held their first lead against the Comets in franchise history, but it would not last long.

Harris started off the Comets 26 point scoring streak with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Missouri's Stefan St. Louis provided the assist on Harris' goal, then followed up with one of his own before the quarter ended. Leo Gibson and Vahid Assadpour pitched in with the two goals in the second quarter to give the Comets a commanding 8-2 lead at the break.

During halftime, notable franchise alumni such as Alan Mayer, Jim Schwab, Kim Roentved and Ryan Junge laced up their boots for a friendly exhibition. Both teams played hard and old friendships were rekindled as they battled it out in a tradition that has quickly become a fan favorite.

The third quarter has been a problem at times for the Comets, as they have struggled to maintain intensity after the halftime break. That was not the case tonight. Robert Palmer scored 13 seconds in to the third quarter after stealing the ball from an Ambush defender and going the length of the floor to beat the goalkeeper.

The dynamic duo of Gibson and Assadpour once again connected during a power play before Harris would get his last two goals, both of them short-handed.

The second half was the best offensively for the Comets. The frontline notched 9 shots on goal each quarter of the last half. Gibson played a ball to St. Louis to start off the final 15 minutes of play. After a goal from Alex Megson, St. Louis would score one more and a final goal from Coady Andrews would finish this high scoring game.

The Missouri Comets victory over the St. Louis Ambush moves the series record to 4-0 for the season and clinches the I-70 series, sponsored by Independence Tourism, for Missouri.

Next up for the Comets is Baltimore's only visit to the Independence Events Center on February 9th for Military Appreciation Night. The Comets will be wearing special military-themed jerseys and paying special tribute to service members at halftime. For tickets and information call 855.4KC.GOAL (855.452.4625).

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Comets Win Big on Retro Night

Comets finish off Buffaloes

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DANVILLE The Oakwood Comets were in a position to beat the top-seeded Bismarck-Henning Blue Devils earlier this week, but they didnt finish strong enough.

In the fifth-place game of the Vermilion County Tournament against the Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes on Saturday, Oakwood went on a 18-3 run in the final eight minutes to secure a 48-30 victory.

Im excited because this is the team that Ive wanted to see a team that can finish ballgames, Oakwood coach Doug Robinson said. Weve had a rough go of it recently, losing a close one to Salt Fork and losing an even closer one to Bismarck.

They fought hard even when things werent going our way.

According to Oakwood junior Landon Turner, the turning point for the Comets was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Brian Rice at the end of the third quarter giving Oakwood a 30-27 lead

Turner then got a layup and a 3-pointer as part of the Comets 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

We picked up the intensity a lot in that fourth quarter, Turner said. When Brian hit that buzzer-beating 3-pointer, it really motivated us for the fourth quarter.

We just had a slow start in this game and we really struggled offensively, turning the ball over a lot.

According to Robinson, it was about time that Turner came up with a few big baskets.

He is a kid that will do anything you say, without question, Robinson said. He works hard and he gets results. He gave us a spark, especially with that big 3-pointer. Im really proud of him.

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Comets finish off Buffaloes

Comets hot on the ice

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Others at Mason High School are slowly learning something that the top area high school hockey teams in Cincinnati are finding out.

The Comets have a pretty good hockey team.

Our challenge, still is visibility, Mason coach Seth Knudsen said. Some people are not aware we are an option. We have to make sure we keep marketing it the right way that we are a good team. Not just with wins and losses, but we set good examples by doing things the right way in the classroom and the community as well.

The wins have piled up for the Comets so far.

Mason is off to a 15-3-2 start in their fourth year as a club team, a bit of a surprise, considering they lost seven seniors from last season.

The seniors we lost were very skilled, Knudsen said. From where we thought we would be starting out to now, we are very happy with where we are at and how hard they have been working. It is a credit to the new kids they have really stepped up.

Mason also recorded a school first when they claimed the Elder Oblinger Holiday Hockey Tournament with a 7-4 win over St. Xavier.

Not only did it mark their first title at the tournament, but it marked the first win in school history over the Bombers.

Mason led St. Xavier 6-1 heading into the third period before hanging on for the win,

St. Xavier is always a good team, Knudsen said. We have played them close, but we just had never been able to get over that hump. It was a big win for us and made winning the tournament even better.

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Heat Lose to the Comets 4-3 in OT

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January 26, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Abbotsford Heat Abbotsford, BC - The Abbotsford Heat fell to the Utica Comets (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks) 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC). The Heat are now 26-15-2-1 on the season and currently sit second in the West Division.

Max Reinhart and Markus Granlund each had a goal and assist on the night. Recent ECHL call up Evan Trupp also earned his first AHL assist for Abbotsford.

Utica opened up the scoring at 2:05 in the first period with a goal from Brandon DeFazio. The Heat responded with a goal from Granlund at 7:42. Granlund's goal was assisted by Reinhart and Trupp. The first period ended with the Comets outshooting the Heat 13-8.

At 7:51 in the second period, Alexandre Grenier scored to give the Comets a 2-1 lead. However, Reinhart came back to score a shorthanded goal and tie up the game 2-2 at 10:52, assisted by Granlund.

Brett Olson gave the Heat their first lead at 7:18 of the third period, but Grenier quickly tied the game at 3-3 with a goal at 11:13 after Joey MacDonald mishandled the puck.

After Chris Breen broke his stick in the Comets' zone, Utica's Benn Ferriero scored his second consecutive OT winner at 1:10.

Abbotsford was one for four on the power play while killing off all six of the Comets man advantages.

Joey MacDonald made 35 saves on 39 shots, while Joacim Eriksson stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced.

Next weekend the Heat will host the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadians) on Friday, January 31st and Saturday, February 1st. Friday will feature the next Legends of Hockey night with Frank Mahovlich, who will be available for autographs on the concourse of the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC) on a first come, first served basis. Friday will also be the second $3 $2 $1 Brew Dog 'N Pop Night of the season. On Saturday night the Heat will be giving away free zamboni coin banks to the first 1,500 fans, courtesy of Vedder Transportation. For tickets please call 1-877-452-HEAT (4328) or visit us online at http://www.abbotsfordheat.com.

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Heat Lose to the Comets 4-3 in OT