Utica Comets 'build some character' and are ready for tests with busy schedule
The Utica Comets’ morning meeting this week had a different sort of feel.
For various reasons, the team’s gathering ahead of on-ice practice recently had seemed to be short on at least a few faces. As the Comets head into a busy stretch of the schedule, this meeting appeared to include more players on the team’s roster.
“You just have to stay flexible,” said Comets coach Kevin Dineen, whose team has had to navigate through some COVID-19-related struggles since December and injuries as well as the considerations for their NHL affiliate, the New Jersey Devils. “I was excited (at the meeting). I said, ‘It looks like we’ve got our usual number of bodies compared to what we’ve had.'”
That’s a positive for the Comets, who set an AHL mark with 13 consecutive wins to start the 2021-22 season, but have since cooled off. While the Comets are 2-2-1-0 in the last five games, the team’s 20-4-4-0 overall record (and .786 points percentage) still ranks as the best in the AHL entering Wednesday. While there still is half the schedule left to play, playoff position will be decided by points percentage this season.
The Comets – who have had seven of the last eight games decided by a goal – will try to improve on that mark with games Wednesday at Laval followed by another home-and-home series Friday and Saturday with the rival Syracuse Crunch. It is part of a stretch in which the Comets play seven games over 11 days to close out the month.
“At the end of it, we don’t spend a heck of lot of time looking at the standings. We just worry about our next day and next week in front of us. It is nice when you keep on banking points,” Dineen said. “We understand that things weren’t going to go hunky-dory like they did for the first couple months. … We feel like that does build some character for our group.”
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The Comets are coming off an interesting week in which they played with a shorthanded lineup at Rochester and fell behind 7-2 lead before scoring four unanswered goals to put a little jolt into their North Division rivals.
Against visiting Syracuse on Friday, Utica never led before Nate Schnarr tied the game late and then helped set up Fabian Zetterlund’s winner quickly into overtime. The next night in Syracuse, Schnarr and Nolan Foote scored late third-period goals to help rally the Comets before falling overtime.
“(The pushback) is a great reflection on our personnel. I’ve said it a lot this year, but I think our mix of veterans and young prospects is really strong, and I think they’ve done a really good job of understanding what our situation is. We play our best when we are not in a situation where we are pushing so hard and our risks versus reward is higher,” Dineen said.
The rotating lineup recently allowed players and the team to be put in situations that helps build a template for success the rest of the season, Dineen said. Zetterlund (2 goals, 3 assists in the last four games) and Schnarr (3 goals, 2 assists in back-to-back games) are two players who are seizing opportunities.
While the Comets have been without forwards A.J. Greer and Marian Studenic and defenseman Colton White on recall to New Jersey, the team did get back its standout goaltending duo of Akira Schmid (1.60 goal-against, 8-0-2 record) and Nico Daws (returned Saturday after being out since Dec. 8). Mareks Mitens (3.84 GAA, 4-3-1) held down the goaltending duties in their absence, making eight consecutive starts.
Dineen said the team has some things to work on.
“It starts with our structure on the defensive side of the puck. We’ve lost our mindset a little bit of how we have to play,” he said. “It is understanding that we are a team that plays hard on the defensive side, and that drives our defensive game. We’ve lost a little bit of that.”
Utica at Laval
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Place Bell, Laval, Quebec.
Broadcast: KROCK 94.9 FM; AHLTV (go to watchtheahl.com; subscription needed.)
Records entering Wednesday: Utica 20-4-4-0 (1st in North), Laval 14-11-2-0 (tied for fourth).
Good to know: Utica is 2-0-0-0 against Laval this season. ... Utica is 8-2-3-0 on the road this season. ... Laval is 4-0-1-0 in its last 5 road games. ... Reilly Walsh's 21 points are third-most among defensemen.
Utica vs. Syracuse
When: 7 p.m. Friday; 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Upstate Medical University Arena (Friday); Adirondack Bank Center (Saturday);
Broadcast: WPNY (channel 12 for Spectrum subscribers in the Utica area) for Saturday's game in Utica; KROCK 94.9 FM; AHLTV (go to watchtheahl.com; subscription needed.)
Records entering Wednesday: Utica 20-4-4-0 (1st in North), Syracuse 13-11-3-1 (tied for 4th in North)
Ben Birnell is a sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Ben Birnell at bbirnell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Utica Comets ready for tests as AHL schedule gets busier
