Vancouver Canucks: Utica Comets Back in Calder Cup Finals After 3-2 Win (ahl)

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Vancouver Canucks: Utica Comets Back in Calder Cup Finals After 3-2 Win

By Carol Schram

Jun 11, 2015 • 1:46 pm

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The Utica Comets will have a chance to tie up their series with the Manchester Monarchs on Friday after a 3-2 win in their first home game of the series on Wednesday.

In addition to having Canucks brass on hand, Vancouver's Twitter-master Derek Jory has also made his way to Utica to document the experience of having the farm team competing for the AHL championship.

After having been badly outshot for the first two games of the series, the Comets came out strong in Game 3, with raucous support from their sold-out home crowd.

Utica got 17 shots in all of Game 1, but matched that total in the first period on Wednesday as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Cal O'Reilly and Alex Grenier.

Here's O'Reilly's opening goal:

I can't find a GIF of Grenier's goal, but it's included in this highlight package:

The other big news from the first period—an injury to Manchester's starting goaltender Jean-Francois Berube at the 7:51 mark of the first period, with the score 1-0 and the Comets holding a 9-2 edge in shots at that time.

There was no contact with Berube when he was injured, but he looked to be in severe pain when he went down.

Backup Patrik Bartosak went the rest of the way in a solid effort—especially considering that he hadn't dressed in the first two games of the series due to an injury of his own.

The Monarchs also lost another key player, 2014-15 AHL MVP Brian O'Neill, when he was hit awkwardly into the boards by Utica's Alex Friesen early in the first period. I'm not so sure I'd call this "vicious boarding" but a penalty probably should have been called on the play:

This is hearsay, so don't take it as gospel:

Berube was at the rink today, but didn't take to the ice as the Monarchs worked with their three other goalies.

I'm not seeing an update on O'Neill, except that he didn't take part in Manchester's optional skate today.

Here's the update from the Comets' infirmary:

Shinkaruk did finish the game and DeFazio has been spotted at practice today, so it looks like they should both be good to go for Game 4. Also worth noting—Jake Virtanen was scratched for Game 3 due to illness. No report yet on whether he'll be available on Friday.

All the scoring was complete by the 7:22 mark of the second period. Eighteen-year-old Adrian Kempe, who was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2014 draft, scored both goals for the Monarchs and Nick Jensen was credited with Utica's game-winner at 6:18 of the second—a goal that was originally credited as Cal O'Reilly's second of the night.

A one-goal lead is a dangerous thing, but the Comets were able to hang on through the second half of the game. The edge in play gradually shifted as the game wore on, with the shots tied at 14-14 in the second period and Manchester holding the 11-7 edge in the third, but Jacob Markstrom and his team were able to grab their first win of the series—in regulation time, no less.

If both Berube and O'Neill are knocked out of action for Manchester, that changes the lay of the land considerably in a series where the Comets were looking like the underdog, but only being beaten by the slimmest of margins in the first two games.

Nick Jensen has impressed in his first two games back after a stretch in the press box as a healthy scratch. He has goals in consecutive games and posted a team-high six shots on goal on Wednesday.

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