Utica, NY – The Comets were welcomed by a great home crowd on Opening Night at the Adirondack Bank Center, but were unfortunately eliminated 1-0 by the Cleveland Monsters.
The chances came early for Utica, starting with a power play in the first period when Brian Halonen forced a shot off the post to nearly give the Comets a 1-0 lead. Shane Lachance had a breakaway later in the period after intercepting a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone, but was stopped by Cleveland goalie Ivan Fedotov and nearly buried his own rebound that went off the side of the net.
The Comets hit another post in the second period, coming off Shane Lachance’s stick after a nice layup by Colton White. However, Cleveland began to find their stride and finally found the back of the net at the 13:35 mark of the second period when Caleb MacDonald’s shot was blocked by Calen Addison and bounced right to Roman Ahcan, who backdoored James Malatesta to give the Monsters the 1-0 lead.
Utica hit one more post in the third period when Mike Hardman nearly beat Fedotov’s high blocker side, but the Cleveland netminder got another fortuitous bounce off the iron. The Comets pulled goaltender Nico Daws late in the third, but couldn’t find the tying goal.
The Monsters defeated the Comets 27-21, with both teams going 0-for-3 on the power play. Nico Daws made 26 saves, earning the third star of the game. Ivan Fedotov earned the first star in the 21-save shutout effort.
It’s a quick turnaround for both teams, as the second game of the weekend series is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. The pregame festivities will include a red carpet event at 72 Tavern & Grill from noon to 2 p.m., where fans will have the opportunity to get photos and autographs from Comets players, coaches and New Jersey Devils staff. For tickets, visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.
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