The Belleville Senators were back in Utica to take on the Comets to start off another home-and-home series, falling in a 5-2 effort.
It was almost a scoreless first frame, though the Comets were able to just squeeze one by. With 0.6 seconds left on the clock, Shane Lachance centred the puck for Xavier Parent for a power-play tally, making it a 1-0 game.
The second period saw the Senators even up the scoreboard just past the fourteen-minute mark. A pass from Tyler Boucher led to a point shot from Landen Hookey, tipped in by Garrett Pilon for a 1-1 tie.
The third saw the Senators get an early power play; however, the Comets took advantage. While killing the penalty, Utica went on the attack with a two-on-one, with Ryan Schmelzer setting up Jonathan Gruden for a backhand redirection and a 2-1 score. Utica would net a similar goal just over two minutes later, as Parent set up Brian Halonen for his seventeenth of the year and a 3-1 lead. The Comets widened the gap a couple of minutes later. Pressure in the Belleville zone had Ethan Edwards throw a puck on net, which was deflected off the body of Schmelzer for a 4-1 contest. The Senators were able to pull one back. A puck carried in by Landen Hookey saw him drop it off for Tyler Boucher, whose long shot found a way past Jakub Malek, cutting the deficit to 4-2. The Comets added an empty-net goal off the stick of Topias Vilen to restore their three-goal lead to make it a 5-2 final.
See the game highlights here.
The Senators will have some deja vu as they take the same trip as last week, right back to CAA Arena to cap off this four-game set and home-and-home series versus Utica Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. for the eighth meeting of the season.