The Utica Comets (5-9-1-0) have their first two game winning streak of the season, defeating division rivals Rochester Americans (7-8-0-1), 2-1, tonight at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
The Comets have won three of their last four games on their current homestand (3-2-0-0), with one remaining on November 23, with a visit from the Syracuse Crunch.
The previous two wins were in overtime, 3-2 and 5-4.
Utica keeps pace with Binghamton, who won 6-3 tonight against Albany, as the Comets continue to be tied for 6th place, with the Senators, with 11 points after 15 games.
Richard Bachman started the game, being replaced in the 3rd period by Thatcher Demko, when he got injured.
The Comets outshot the Americans, 27-20.
Cole Cassels scored the winning goal, shorthanded in the second period. Curtis Valk scored his 7th goal of the season for Utica in the first period. Joseph LaBate, with an assist on the Cassels goal; Jake Virtanen and Darren Archibald with assists on the Valk goal, had other points in the game.
Virtanen’s assist was his first point in 4 games with Utica this season.
VANCOUVER, BC – NOVEMBER 2: Jake Virtanen #18 of the Vancouver Canucks hits Brayden Schenn #10 of the Philadelphia Flyers during their NHL game at Rogers Arena November 2, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver won 4-1. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
Nov 13, 2016
Written by Don Laible
15 games into the NHL season, and the Vancouver Canucks dispatched Jake Virtanen to Utica for a two-game stint. Two years ago, as the sixth overall pick in the NHL draft, Virtanen was seen as a vital part to the organization’s future.
Q: Last year you were with the Comets for two games. What was it like making a return to where you made your pro hockey debut?
A: The fans here are great. What a great atmosphere. I had a nice welcome back.
Q: Does knowing you’re in Utica for two games only, and then heading back to Vancouver, make it easier in how you approach your stay here?
A: I take every game serious. I just want to be ready for the team at all times.
Q: When did you get the word that you were Utica-bound?
A: We (Canucks) were in Detroit. I wasn’t getting a lot of minutes. I came back to find my mojo.
Q: You’re 20-year-old, playing in the NHL, for one of six Canadian-based franchises. Do you get to feel like like a 20-year-old?
A: We’re (NHL players) not your ordinary 20-year-olds. We’re kids away from home, and everyone notices you.
Q: How do you keep the pressure off of you?
A: There’s good pressure and there’s bad pressure. You have the the responsibility to do what’s right, and battle the bad. There will always be adversity in hockey.
Q: When you knew you were coming to Utica, did you seek advice from your family?
A: For sure. My parents are really supportive. I speak to my dad everyday. My brother, he used to play hockey. I talk with him. They tell me that the key, right now, is to do good down here. I have to get my minutes in here Utica and take what I learned back to Vancouver.
Q: How do you sum up this year’s Canucks team?
A: We have a good leadership group. Everybody stays positive. Wille (Desjardins) is a great coach. You have great leadership here (Utica). Carter Bancks, you can’t get better.
Q: Two years ago, during the Calder Cup run, you and Jared McCann (Canucks’ other first-round selection in ’14) were here. He’s with the Panthers now, and you Vancouver. Do you two talk?
A: No, not much. I heard he scored his first goal and had his first assist recently. Congratulations for him.
By Andrew Chernoff