The Utica Comets faced off against the Providence Bruins on Friday night, falling to a 5-1 defeat. Providence's Georgii Merkulov opened the scoring with a backhand shot, adding to his impressive tally of 41 points this season. Utica answered back in the second period with a power play goal from Ryan Schmelzer, but the Bruins quickly regained control with two goals in the third, including a quick strike from Riley Duran.

Tyler Pitlick sealed the game with a goal shortly after, followed by an empty-netter. The Comets are set to return home for a sellout crowd against the Rochester Americans, hoping to bounce back from this loss.