Utica, NY. – On Friday night inside the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, the Comets stepped onto the ice against one of the hottest teams in the AHL, the Laval Rocket. Currently placed atop the North Division, the Rocket entered Utica for the final two games of the season series against the Comets. Thus far, Utica has only one victory against the affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens in the six games this season. On Friday, Utica was determined to pick up the second win in the penultimate game of the regular season series. However, during the game, the Rocket three goal advantage was too much for Utica to overcome as the Comets couldn’t find their way back and dropped the contest by a 4-1 score.
In the first period, Laval’s Sean Ferrall scored a powerplay goal to put Utica down 1-0 at 5:41. In the second period, Florian Xhekaj extended the Laval lead at 4:45 as he deflected a shot passed Comets goalie Isaac Poulter putting Utica down 2-0. Laurent Dauphin scored another powerplay goal at 11:38 put the Comets down 3-0. Utica finally got on the scoreboard and send the crowd into a frenzy after Brian Halonen split the Laval defense and skated around goalie Cayden Primeau for his team leading 21st of the season at 17:03.
In the final period, Xhekaj scored at 16:17 into the empty net to score his second and put Utica down 4-1. The Comets were unable to mount a comeback and the game ended with a 4-1 loss.
The Comets host the Rocket again tomorrow. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting www.uticacomets.com/tickets.
