Saturday, November 2, 2019
Utica Jr Comets (5-8-3) – 6
Boston Bandits (5-5-4) – 5
Comets come up big in a physical and exciting scoring frenzy on Saturday. The Comets traveled east to Bridgewater facing off against the crafty Boston Bandits.
Bandits jumped on the board first with a goal by Kyle Mandleur at 6:49 in the first. Comets answered back with top goal scorers Donny Borgula and Kevin Sadovski finding the back of the net and claiming the lead in the first.
The second period proved to be a crowd pleaser, filled with scoring, heavy hits and powerplays. With twelve penalties, the period became a battle of will. Boston took the lead early in the second, while Utica saw goals from Aleksei Monakhov and Radek Prosek. The tipping point in this game came when Boston’s Erik Larsson viciously charged Utica netminder Connor Close, drawing a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for abuse of the officials. Close finished the remainder of the period (18 saves), but turned the reins over to his partner Isak Johannson in the third.
Penalties continued to be the story in the third, ultimately the Comets proved to be the more determined team. A second goal from Radek Prosek and an unassisted rifle by Lucas Kucera put the finishing touches on the road victory for the Utica Jr. Comets. Isak Joahnnson stood tall coming in to relieve the injured Close with eight saves on nine shots to post the win.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Utica Jr. Comets (6-8-3) – 4
Boston Bandits (5-6-4) – 1
Sunday’s match proved to be a more disciplined contest with Utica commanding the lead at 12:35 in the first with the only scoring in the period from Aleksei Monakhov assisted by Andy Antiles. Comets decisively extended the lead into the second with two more goals from Mikey Giampapa and Conor Canterbury. Isak Johannson put on a clinic stopping all of Bandits attempt to get on the board in the second.
Comets defense locked down the defensive zone throughout the contest, making the Bandits pay for any forward motion with explosive body checks from Ole Henrik Arneson, and Colin Mehren. Defenseman Andy Antiles, Kevin Sadovski and Conor Canterbury proved to be too much for the Boston Bandits offense. Isak Joannson earned the win allowing only one goal in the contest.
Comets head coach Paul Kelly stated “Great weekend for us as we had a short bench both games. The guys played hard and did what the coaches asked of them. We got timely goals in the first game and were very opportunistic in the second game. The defense stood out for us all weekend as well. We are proud of how we played”.
TOP PERFORMERS
Aleksei Monakhov - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
Andy Antiles - 3 Assists
Radek Prosek - 3 Goals
With the sweep the Comets move past the Bandits in the standings, climbing to the eighth position overall. NCDC will host the South Shore Kings next weekend at the Adirondack Bank Center.
