October 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets returned to the Utica Memorial Auditorium for the first home game of the 2014-15 season and blanked the Adirondack Flames with a final score of 3-0. <\/p>\n
Jacob Markstrom was a big story heading into the game, and an even bigger one after the game finished. He stopped all 29 Adirondack shots, which led to his second shutout in three games with the Comets. Following tonight's game, he has played 172:33 minutes without letting a goal into the back of the net. The last goal scored on Markstrom was at the 7:27 mark of the first period of the Comets first game. <\/p>\n
The Comets went almost the whole first period without scoring a goal but that all changed when Hunter Shinkaruk took advantage of a screen in front of Joni Ortio's net. Just after defenseman Sena Acolatse went to the box for a delay of game at 16:40 in the first, Shinkaruk snapped it in towards Ortio and scored his first goal of his professional career. Dustin Jeffrey and Travis Ehrhardt were credited with the assists. <\/p>\n
After an uneventful second period, the Comets decided one was just not enough for the fans at The AUD. It didn't take long after the third period started for Nicklas Jensen to find himself wide open for a slot pass from Cal O'Reilly. Once Jensen had it on his stick, Ortio had little time to react as he buried on his glove side for his first goal of the year. Along with O'Reilly, Ryan Jones also notched an assist. <\/p>\n
The goal that put the game away for the Comets was started as a giveaway by Adirondack at center ice as they tried to set up for a power play. Brandon DeFazio intercepted the pass and was left alone as he rushed in on the right side of Ortio to score an unassisted shorthanded goal on his short side. <\/p>\n
The Comets power play continues to be a driving force and a main reason why they are keeping leads. They are now 18 for 18 on the penalty kill. The Comets power play went 1 for 7 on the night. <\/p>\n
The Comets are back in action Friday night as they face the San Antonio Rampage at the Utica Memorial Auditorium at 7 p.m. EST. The Comets beat the Rampage 3-0 in San Antonio on October 17.All fans in attendance will receive a Comets magnetic schedule, courtesy of Assist2Sell. <\/p>\n
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Comets and Markstrom Shutdown the Flames<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" October 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets returned to the Utica Memorial Auditorium for the first home game of the 2014-15 season and blanked the Adirondack Flames with a final score of 3-0. Continue reading