Every week, AHL author Patrick Williams takes you across the AHL with notable information, notes, evaluation and extra. This week, Williams examines the early-season struggles for the Utica Comets and Ontario Reign, a veteran scorer becoming a member of the Rockford IceHogs and a possible continuation of the goalie carousel in Belleville.
Utica Comets Nonetheless Looking For First Win
Maybe a 5-0 loss at house to Syracuse on opening night time signaled difficulties on the horizon for the Utica Comets. If not, a 4-1 setback an evening later to Rochester needed to spark concern.
The Comets dropped a pair of 4-3 choices in final weekend’s home-and house set with Laval. Together with a pair of highway losses to Belleville and Toronto, all of it provides as much as an 0-6-0-0 begin for the Comets. Utica stays the one crew within the AHL nonetheless seeking its first win.
It’s solely October, however Utica runs the chance of this early slide rising into one thing way more threatening to their season. After the Comets missed the Calder Cup Playoff reduce final season, they’d come into this season needing to re-establish themselves. They’ve seen what a skid like this may do to a season after going by a 16-game stretch in 2023-24 during which they solely picked up 4 wins. They managed to maintain themselves in playoff rivalry effectively into April, however they ended up falling 5 factors quick and going house early.
And key items of that 2023-24 crew are now not in Utica. Veteran ahead Justin Dowling has been known as as much as the New Jersey Devils after enjoying Utica’s first six video games. Graeme Clarke’s 25 objectives went to the Minnesota Wild in a deal for Adam Beckman, who started this season injured and simply made his season debut this previous weekend. Xavier Guardian is one other absence up entrance; he has but to play this season after a 45-point marketing campaign positioned him third in crew scoring. Ahead Kyle Criscuolo (Charlotte) together with blueliners Robbie Russo (Tucson), and Tyler Wotherspoon (Laval) all departed. So did defenseman Michael Vukojevic, who took a Liiga deal at simply 23 years outdated. In internet, Akira Schmid (Henderson) and Erik Kallgren (SHL) are gone.
And look who’s again on Utica’s schedule this week – Laval. After Wednesday’s highway rematch with the Rocket, the Comets are again house for a two-game go to from the Amerks on Friday and Saturday.
2024 Utica Comets vs Laval Rocket
Belleville Senators Goalie Carousel Might Proceed
Stability in internet has generally been a problem for the Belleville Senators.
With the dad or mum Ottawa Senators having been seeking goaltending solutions in current seasons, these points have discovered their method right down to Belleville. In 2022-23, the B-Sens cycled by 10 totally different goaltenders. Final season introduced extra normalcy with simply 4 names in internet.
However the early season had introduced one other ominous look. Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg are nonetheless attempting to get on monitor in Ottawa. Belleville incumbent Mads Sogaard has not performed since leaving the crew’s house recreation in opposition to Syracuse on Oct. 20 with an undisclosed damage. Leevi Merilainen continues to be attempting to ascertain himself on the AHL stage. Kevin Mandolese had been dealt to Colorado within the offseason. Ottawa had introduced two-time Calder Cup champion Dustin Tokarski to coaching camp on an expert tryout; the 35-year-old had spent final season with Rochester, however he didn’t follow the Ottawa group.
On condition that image, the group ran a really actual danger of getting to show to on-the-job auditions in Belleville as they’d carried out two years in the past.
So as an alternative Ottawa administration turned to Malcolm Subban for assist, inking the 30-year-old to a one-year AHL deal to open this week. Like many AHL veteran netminders, Subban had encountered a tough job market this previous summer time and needed to take a tryout alternative with Grand Rapids. However it is a goaltender with 206 video games of AHL expertise with Windfall, Rockford, Rochester, Springfield, and Cleveland to go together with one other 87 video games on the NHL stage. And Subban has had current success, too, having taken Rochester to the Japanese Convention Finals in 2023.
The transfer brings Subban again to town the place he performed for its former OHL membership, the Belleville Bulls as did his brothers P.Ok. and Jordan. However it additionally eases a few of the burden on Merilainen. It additionally implies that rookie Michael Simpson, who gained back-to-back OHL titles with London, can go to the ECHL and play there somewhat than having to tackle an excessive amount of too quickly in Belleville.
2024 Windfall Bruins vs Belleville Senators
Penalty Bother Biting Ontario Reign
“It’s just about the identical film that we noticed the opposite day.”
That’s how Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm described a 5-1 house loss to Henderson final Sunday afternoon by way of the membership web site. Two nights earlier, the Reign had been dealt with by Coachella Valley, 5-2. At 1-4-0-0, the Reign are final within the Pacific Division.
Ontario surrendered 9 power-play alternatives to Henderson in that loss. Furthermore, the Reign energy play is simply 1-for-24 (4.2 %) to this point this season.
They’ll see extra of the Silver Knights this weekend as effectively. They go to Henderson on Friday earlier than the Silver Knights are again at Toyota Enviornment the next night time.
Rockford IceHogs Add Veteran Scorer
It was somewhat greater than two years in the past that Gerry Mayhew had gave the impression to be near breaking by as full-time NHL ahead.
All the time somebody who might produce, Mayhew had earned a promotion from Lehigh Valley throughout the 2021-22 season and finally completed with 11 objectives in 40 NHL video games break up between Philadelphia and Anaheim. That summer time he took a two-year contract with Florida. Nonetheless, he by no means did see motion with the Panthers, spending the subsequent two campaigns in Charlotte. After which this summer time he went with out a contract because the months handed alongside, coaching camp arrived, after which opening night time got here and went.
It wasn’t as if Mayhew’s play had dropped off since that prolonged NHL time. His 24 objectives had tied him for the Charlotte crew lead in 2022-23. Final season he had one other productive output during which he completed with 19-18-37 in 68 video games. Lastly the telephone rang for the 31-year-old Mayhew. The Rockford IceHogs had an AHL contract on provide, and Mayhew took it. The AHL’s most precious participant in 2019-20 with Iowa, it is a participant who rang up 39 objectives in 49 video games for the Wild that season.
The IceHogs are 2-3-0-0 after taking a weekend highway break up in opposition to Manitoba and have a highway date with the red-hot Grand Rapids Griffins Friday. Additionally, Rockford shall be a part of FloHockey’s AHL Recreation of the Week, streamed totally free on social platforms Saturday night time in opposition to rival Chicago Wolves.
2024 Chicago Wolves vs Rockford IceHogs
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