With Ryan Miller healthy enough to wear the ballcap on the Vancouver Canucks bench, the club’s third-string goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, has been free to make highlights in the American Hockey League.
And did he ever.
In a wild, brawly, 83-penalty-minute affair versus the Binghamton Senators Wednesday, Markstrom skated the length of the ice and squared off with Peter Mannino in the first goalie fight of his career.
The scrap was a second-period beauty, worthy of the butt pat and hair tussle Mannino gave Markstrom after the blows ceased:
The Senators would go on to defeat the Comets 6-5 in overtime.
Markstrom collected five different penalties for his actions: two minutes for leaving the crease, two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, five minutes for fighting, a 10-minute unsportsmanlike conduct, and a second 10-minute game misconduct.
Utica leads the AHL’s Western Conference with 99 points. Two games remain in the Comets’ regular season.