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Calder Cup Finals: Who were gritty, grinding 2015 Utica Comets? Where are they now?
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The Comets simply ran out of gas against the juggernaut Manchester Monarchs in five games of the 2015 championship series. However, their long slog of five playoff overtime outings — including a four-overtime marathon in a seven-game Western Conference final series — is not forgotten.
Ten members of the Monarchs advanced to the NHL, while just five from the Comets made it to and stayed in The Show. Maybe that's why Comets fans couldn't contain themselves from what was happening in 2015. There was a frenzy in upstate New York.
'It's kind of a legacy how the Utica Auditorium turned into a place,' then-Comets bench boss Travis Green told Postmedia. 'When we landed after clinching the conference final against Grand Rapids, we had a police escort, and fans waiting for us at the Aud.
'Pretty special in that league.'
That Comets roster also included Sven Baertschi, Jake Virtanen, Alex Biega, Brendan Gaunce, Alexandre Grenier, Frankie Corrado, Nicklaus Jensen, Andrey Pedan, Adam Clendinning and Jacob Markstrom. Some advanced to the NHL, but many only had a cup of coffee.
