Griffins fall to the Comets

The Griffins open a three-game road trip in Utica with a loss to North Division-leaders Comets, 4-2....
Nick Jensen (14) battles with a Comets player during Wednesday's loss. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins

Nick Jensen (14) battles with a Comets player during Wednesday’s loss. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ead Coach Jeff Blashill would have rather seen his Grand Rapids Griffins begin their three game road trip with a win over the top team in the North Division, but his team fell 4-2 to the Utica Comets Wednesday night.

After a scoreless first, Utica got on the board first when forward Dustin Jeffrey beat Jared Coreau on his own rebound to make the score 1-0 early in the first second.   Jeffrey was back at it again, when 19 seconds later, he pounced on another loose puck in the crease and picked up his second goal of the contest.

The Griffins cut the Comets lead in half with a power play goal by Defenseman Alexey Marchenko, which was just the youngsters’ second goal of the season. Scott Czarnowczan assisted on what was Grand Rapids’ 26th power play goal of the season.

Utica doubled their lead right back up just 61 seconds into the 3rd period, when Alexandre Grenier tipped in a shot just below the crossbar. Less than a minute later, the Griffins made it a one goal game once again, on a beautifully executed fake shot/pass by Ryan Sproul. Andy Miele was the beneficiary of the perfect pass by Sproul to pick up his 13th goal of the campaign.

After Grand Rapids pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, Utica was able to put the cherry on top of the contest, as Carter Bancks slid the puck into the empty twine to complete the 4-2 victory for the Comets.

Jeffrey was named the first star of the game with his 3 point night. Jacob Markstrom’s 26 save performance was enough to earn him the second star of the night honors. The thrid star of the game was Grenier, who finished with a goal and an assist.

Utica, who leads the division, now sits at 24-8-5-0 after the action. Grand Rapids falls to 19-13-3-1 on the season. The Griffins head up to Hamilton to wrap up their road trip with two games against the Bulldogs. Puck drops at 7:30pm on Friday January 16.

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