February 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets won for the fourth straight time away from home in a truly wild finish, as they defeated the Iowa Wild 3-2 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. <\/p>\n
Alex Biega won the game in the ninth round with his first shootout goal this season. Goaltender Joe Cannata put together a career high 43 saves as he earned his fifth victory as a Comet. Nicklas Jensen and Colin Stuart each found the back of the net for Utica, which moved to 17-22-2-4 on the season. Jeremy Welsh and Patrick Mullen also scored in the shootout for the Comets. <\/p>\n
The visitors got off to a shaky start as Iowa center Carson McMillan scored his team leading 11th goal of the season to put the Wild ahead by one, 6:17 into the game. McMillan put a backhanded deke through Cannata's legs off of a nice feed from defenseman Jon Landry. Jon Blum also picked up an assist on the play, his 18th of the season. <\/p>\n
Utica knotted the score at one as Jensen found the back of the net for the second straight game, with a power-play marker at the 14:44 mark of the first. Jensen buried a nifty feed from Benn Ferriero, who moved to within three of team leader Pascal Pelletier, with his 36th point of the season. Mullen also picked up an assist on the play. <\/p>\n
A series of firsts gave Utica its only regulation lead of the evening with just 42 seconds left in the first period. Colin Stuart deflected a shorthanded Jeremy Welsh shot past Iowa netminder Jonas Gustafsson to make it 2-1. The tally was also the first shorthanded goal Utica has scored this season that hasn't come on an empty net. Welsh's assist was his first point in a Comet jersey. <\/p>\n
Iowa had a golden opportunity to knot the score at two 4:24 into the second period, as McMillan was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked by Peter Andersson. Cannata was huge with a pad save and Utica remained on top for the time being. <\/p>\n
The Wild would tie the game just over 90 seconds later, however, as Zach Phillips scored a power-play goal from the slot. Defenseman Steven Kampfer recorded the primary assist, his eighth of the season, while Landry netted his second point of the night on the play as well. <\/p>\n
A back and forth third period did not result in any goals and the Wild would head to overtime for their sixth straight game and fourteenth overall, with the Comets playing bonus hockey for the eleventh time this season. The overtime session saw eight shots fired between the two teams, but neither could break the deadlock. <\/p>\n
The Comets took an early lead in the shootout as Jeremy Welsh converted on his first attempt of the season in the opening round. After a Phillips goal in the third round and a Connolly goal in round seven, Patrick Mullen's shot trickled across the line to keep the Comets alive. After the two team's traded misses, Biega ended the game in the ninth round as he snapped a shot past Curry to secure the two points. <\/p>\n
The Comets continue their road swing when the visit Milwaukee on Friday evening to face off with the Admirals. Puck drop is slated for 8:00 p.m. from the BMO Harris Bradley Center. <\/p>\n
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Comets Rebound for 3-2 Shootout Win at Iowa<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 6, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets won for the fourth straight time away from home in a truly wild finish, as they defeated the Iowa Wild 3-2 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Alex Biega won the game in the ninth round with his first shootout goal this season. Goaltender Joe Cannata put together a career high 43 saves as he earned his fifth victory as a Comet Continue reading