Utica Jr. Comets goalie Cameron Manley held the Twin City Thunder scoreless in a 4-0 win in a USPHL NCDC New England Division junior hockey game Friday at the Nexus Center in Utica, New York.
“He played well, but we couldn’t get a bounce,” Thunder coach Dan Hodge said of Manley. “We didn’t work hard enough to win the game. We had some opportunities, we had some breakaways. It was tough to get going today, but we will have to get back at it tomorrow.”
Manley made 26 saves to earn his second shutout of the season.
Robert Gatewood, Cam Lowe and Seth Ferguson each scored a goal and had an assist for Utica (19-13-3, 41 points).
Hodge said the Comets were without some of their usual players due to suspensions.
“They played well, and they were hungry. And they had some suspensions,” Hodge said. “They had some different players in the lineup that aren’t regulars trying to make an impression to their coaching staff. They worked hard, and they deserved to win because they outworked us.”
Lowe scored the only goal of the first period to give Utica a 1-0 lead. Riley Joslin scored on a power play in the middle frame.
Twin City had three power plays in the first, but Hodge said Utica did well at killing the penalties by clearing their defensive zone.
“We had some good looks, but we got outworked on the power play,” Hodge said. “We were getting pucks down the ice on us. We weren’t tracking down loose pucks.”
The Thunder were 0 for 4 on power plays in the game.
Gatewood scored his 22nd goal — tied for third in the NCDC — six minutes into the third period. Ferguson scored on the man advantage later in the period.
Utica went 2 for 6 on the man advantage.
Jeffrey Kreidler made 36 saves in the loss for the Thunder (8-19-2, 18 points).
The teams meet again on Saturday in Utica at 1:30 p.m. They were supposed to play Thursday, but bus troubles for the Thunder postponed the game. Hodge said the contest will probably be rescheduled to some time in February.
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