Utica versus Rochester 10-17-21. Photo credit: Kristy Kinville.
by Scott Kinville
The Adirondack Bank Center will be rocking once again tonight, October 22nd, when the Providence Bruins visit to take on the Utica Comets. This will be the second game of the season for the Comets after an impressive 6-2 victory over the Rochester Americans on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins enter the game with one win and one shootout loss.
If Sunday’s game was any indication, Comets Head Coach Kevin Dineen looks to have implemented an aggressive and opportunistic style into his team. The Comets also appear to have a good mixture of younger players and veteran players. Youngsters like Nolan Foote, Graeme Clarke, Alexander Holtz, Tyce Thompson, and others, will benefit from the leadership provided by veterans like Joe Gambardella, Tyler Wotherspoon, Brian Flynn, and Robbie Russo.
Offensively, Reilly Walsh leads the team in points with three (all assists). Alexander Holtz’s two goals pace the team in that department, with Tyce Thompson, Brian Flynn, and Fabian Zetterlund each registering two points as well. Nico Daws is the lone Comets goaltender of record so far, and he has one win to go with a 2.01 GAA, and a .926 save percentage. Either he or Akira Schmid should be in goal for Utica on Friday night.
The Comets special teams also had a good showing on Sunday against the Americans. They scored on one of their three power-play opportunities while blanking Rochester on all five of their opportunities with the man advantage.
Utica versus Rochester 10-17-21. Photo credit: Kristy Kinville.
Providence, who is the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, is currently in third place in the AHL Atlantic Division. The Providence offense is led by Jack Studnicka, Boston’s highly touted twenty-two-year-old center has one goal and one assist through two games. Left-wing Jakub Lauko has two assists thus far as well. Seven other Bruins have one point.
Both of Providence’s games this season have gone to the shootout, where they have won one and lost one. Defense appears to be the calling card of Head Coach Ryan Mougenel’s team so far, as they have given up only four goals in their two games. Goaltender Kyle Keyser has played all but one period in the net for the Bruins so far. He has one win and one shootout loss to go with a 1.64 GAA and a .932 save percentage. He is backed up by veteran Troy Grosenick, who has given up one goal in his twenty minutes played.
Friday night’s game between the Comets and Bruins starts at 7:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on television on WPNY and on AHLTV. Radio coverage will be on WKLL 94.9 KROCK, with Comets play-by-play broadcaster Jason Shaya on the call across all three platforms. For Comets team and ticket information, visit https://uticacomets.com. To learn more about the Providence Bruins, go to https://providencebruins.com.
Kinville lives in Little Falls and is a fireman for the Little Falls Fire Department.
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