Lineup
Forward lines and defense pairings:
[one_half]Hudon – McCarron – Holloway
Bozon – Dumont – Gregoire
McNally – MacMillan – Fournier
Pither – Miceli [/one_half]
[one_half_last]Tinordi – Ellis
Hanley – Didier
Barbeiro – Lernout
Dietz[/one_half_last]
Goaltenders:
Pasquale
Tokarski
Scratches: Dalton Thrower, Mac Bennett, Eric Neilson, Michael Bournival (concussion), Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Jacob De la Rose (lower-body), Nikita Scherbak (undisclosed), Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed)
Injured reserve: Ryan Johnston (back surgery)
Game Report
The Aud in Utica is a small, quaint historic barn. Packed to the rafters it was buzzing with energy all game long. And the Comets treated 3860 boisterous fans to a dominating performance. Shots were 31-15 for Utica.
When speaking to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, Comets coach Travis Green said, “I thought our team played a hell of a game. We were in their end 70 percent of the game.”
But Sylvain Lefebvre’s ‘bend-not-break’ defence held and Eddie Pasquale was outstanding, fully deserving of the game’s first star. Pasquale and Dustin Tokarski have been superb in two straight games as the IceCaps have been outshot a combined 69-33 against Albany and Utica. Despite the lopsided shot disadvantage in games this week, St. John’s has picked up three of a possible four points.
The IceCaps have now earned points in 10 straight games. On the current road trip, Lefebvre’s crew has picked up eight points in five games with the coach crediting strong team play.
St. John’s easily won the special teams battle. The Comets enjoyed five power-play opportunities but the IceCaps penalty-killers were perfect. Jarred Tinordi’s lane-clogging reach and Josiah Didier’s shot blocking were particularly effective. The overtime winner scored on the power-play.
It was Andrey Pedan who was in the box when Bud Holloway drifted a wrister past goaltender Joe Cannata. Pedan received two minutes for boarding when he enthusiastically took Tinordi’s head into the glass. Trying to resurrect past grudges, Pedan hurt his team while Tinordi displayed discipline.
Following the game the IceCaps headed to Binghamton where they will close out their six-game road trip against the Senators on Saturday night.
▲ Eddie Pasquale, Jarred Tinordi, Josiah Didier, Darren Dietz
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