11/8/17
Charlotte Checkers at Utica Comets
Charlotte 5 Utica Comets 2
Forwards:
Goldobin/Chaput/Archibald
Bancks/Darcy/Rodin
LaBate/Megna/MacEwen
Molino/Cassels/D'Aoust
D-Pairs:
Sautner/Chatfield
Holm/Brisebois
Sifers/Subban
Scratches:
Carcone (ill)
Hamilton (inj)
Woods (inj)
McEneny (?)
Laplante
Garteig
Goal - Bachman SA/23 Svs/19
1-3-0-0 GA/15 GAA/3.70 SV%./850
Goldobin (6) from Bancks (6) and Sifers (1)
MacEwen (2) from Chaput (4) and LaBate (3)
SOG:
Charlotte 10 7 7 = 24
Comets 9 12 14 = 35
PP:
Charlotte 1/3
Comets 0/6
3 Stars:
1 - Andrew Miller (Charlotte) 1G/1A
2- Lucas Wallmark (Charlotte) 1G/1A
3 - Zack MacEwen (Utica) 1G
Consecutive Sellout - 96
Some might wish to start right in on Bachman, but he was not to blame. This was by far the weakest defensive coverage by a Comets team in their existence.
I have never witnessed an AHL hockey game in which the imaginary box created by drawing a line to connect the two face off circles at the inside inside hash marks and then from each hash to the end boards was literally unguarded. Charlotte was able to move around in that box virtually unmolested from one shift to another.
One goal resulted from a player coming off the end boards behind the net out along side of the post, turned and went right to the goal, deked Bachman, and then stepped to the right post and slid the puck into the net. He was not touched and all ten players were in the Comets zone and the Comets were supposedly matched up defensively.
The point men were open most of the night as close as the middle of the face off circles in to the center of the slot. There was always an uncovered man in that prime scoring box and the passes easily went right to the man's stick. The goal at :50 seconds of the second period involved a single player working his way to the net through Comets to the doorstep and an unassisted goal.
It was outright preposterous.
Green insists on defensively responsibility. He won't get that from a single one of these guys.
Goldobin is supposed to be learning his defensive game so he can go up and "never be seen here again", that quote coming from GM Johnsom. He was on the ice for 4 goals against last night 2ES, 1 on the PK, and one EN. I know +/- is not a valid way to judge a player's efforts but this was unacceptable especially since the players out with him on the goals varied from goal to goal. You can't call the goals the work of hard work and extra effort. The Comets did not make them work for any of them.
Molino showed up, but it was just several bursts of speed without a given plan. He wants the long stretch pass. He has to know that pass can't come through several bodies. His work up the ice in such situations has to be a part of rush comprise of himself and a couple other guys. When he did get that pass he was driving for, he fumbled it anyways. He is not strong on his skates and seems to suffer from an ailment displayed by a few other bottom dwelling Comets, frequently falling down. He joins Cassels and Carcone with this hockey anomaly.
I have previously mentioned that this team is predicated on the offense of 5 or 6 players and the rest just battle to keep the other team off the board while anxiously trying to show some offensive talent.
Goldobin, Boucher, Bancks, and Chaput with Arhibald and LaBate chipping in a peripheral few points each (5). Now Boucher and his 10 points are in Vancouver. Archibald left in the first with what looked to be a serious injury.
They have also been the beneficiaries of some good contributions by 2 of the D, Holm (8) and McEneny (6), but Holm's 8 points are misleading considering that most of Holm's points are in conjunction with Goldobin, Boucher, and Chaput and 3 of Evan's were in 1 game.
This group has 19 of the Comets 30 goals. Gaunce and Wiercioch have 3 more goals and they are not playing for the Comets now. That's 22. The remaining 16 Comets have scored a collective 8 goals and the rookies D'Aoust and MacEwen have 4 of them! So the other 14 have 4!!!
8 of those 16 Comets have just 1 point and 5 more have 0. That's 13 players.
So, the number is reduced to Goldobin and his 13 points. In the team's 4 home games Goldy has 3 points and misses on two breakaways in 2 of those games, but won the Shootout game scoring the only goal. Chaput has 3 pts. Archi has 3, but all were in the shootout game, the only one that Goldobin was shut out. Labate has 2 assists and Bancks has one assist. This is not exactly a prolific offensive output and the Comets have lost 3 of the 4 games.
Thus, with only Goldobin and Chaput actually driving some offense and Archi and Boucher not in the lineup, the Comets are right back to being a typical Comets team, goal starved. The difference with the past 4 teams is that they could turn 2 goals into points on a lot of occasions because they were so strong defensively. This group is not displaying a propensity in that vein.
This team has a whole lot of hard work ahead of it to become the "good team" Cull says he envisions. They have miles to go to become a solid defensive team. Key will be whether significant offense can be extracted from those 16 guys hardly contributing at all.
