A taste of home cooking got the Utica Comets back in their North Division semifinal series on Wednesday night.
Reid Boucher scored in his return to the Comets lineup, sparking a three-goal first period that sent Utica to a 5-2 win over Toronto in Game 3 at a sold-out Adirondack Bank Center.
The Marlies still lead the best-of-five series, 2-1, with Utica hosting Game 4 on Friday.
Boucher, who landed on the injured list while finishing the regular season with the Vancouver Canucks, was less than eight minutes into his first game with the Comets since Mar. 4 when he converted on a power play to give Utica a 1-0 lead.
Wacey Hamilton and Cole Cassels extended the Comets lead to 3-0 and chased Garret Sparks (2-1) at the 13:59 mark of the first period. Tyler Motte scored later in the third period, and Cassels added an empty-netter with 1:40 to play.
Calle Rosen and Colin Greening scored for the Marlies, who dropped to 1-8 in their last nine road playoff games.
Thatcher Demko (1-2) made 35 saves on the night for Utica. Calvin Pickard stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced in relief for Toronto.
North Division Semifinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Utica Comets
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 21 – TORONTO 3, Utica 2 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 22 – TORONTO 5, Utica 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – UTICA 5, Toronto 2
Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 27 – Toronto at Utica, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., Apr. 29 – Utica at Toronto, 4:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
