Xavier Parent Scores in Seventh Straight Game, Utica Tops Rochester 4-1

Seven straight games with a goal. That's the new Utica Comets franchise record, and Xavier Parent is the one who owns it.

Parent collected the puck near center ice, raced down the right wing, and flipped a backhand shot over Devon Levi's left arm with 4:41 remaining in the first period Tuesday at Blue Cross Arena. It was his 18th goal of the season, a career best in a single campaign with Utica, and it gave the Comets a lead they would never fully surrender in a 4-1 victory over the Rochester Americans.

The goal was the cleanest summary of what Parent has become over the last two weeks. He has 53 career goals across four seasons with Utica, and 18 of them have come this year. He's on a pace that would surpass the 15 goals he posted last season, and the streak that produced this record started quietly before catching fire.

Rochester tied it 4:05 into the second period when Zac Jones converted a give-and-go with Ryan Johnson, with Konsta Helenius picking up the second assist. The sequence started when Johnson fired wide and Helenius, a Finnish forward who has 13 points (5+8) in his last 12 games since returning from his first NHL recall on Feb. 6, retrieved the puck and fed it to the right point. Jones, who moved to within one point of 50 for his pro career with the goal, sent a long-range shot past Jakub Málek to level it.

Utica's response was swift and systematic. The Comets killed a four-minute double-minor sticking infraction, then cashed in on the ensuing power play when Matyas Melovsky dropped the puck to Brian Halonen, who scored from the right circle for his 18th goal of the season, tying Parent for the team lead. Halonen's goal was the game-winner. Two minutes and 32 seconds later, Halonen put a shot on net, the rebound kicked out front, and after Kyle Criscuolo and Angus Crookshank each had chances, Melovsky tapped it in for his fourth of the year to make it 3-1.

Austin Strand, a former Amerk, put the game away in the third. Criscuolo sent a cross-ice feed to Strand, who ripped a shot to the far side over Levi's stick with 10:41 remaining. Strand and Criscuolo each finished with a multi-point night, as did Crookshank and Melovsky. The first star went to Melovsky, followed by Parent and Strand.

Málek earned his third straight win and 10th of the season, stopping 30 of 31 shots in his 24th appearance. Levi, who made his 40th appearance of the season, more than any AHL netminder, was sharp with 38 saves on 42 shots but couldn't keep Rochester in it. Utica's power play finished 2-for-5; the penalty kill was perfect at 5-for-5.

The Comets sit at 14-20-2-2 with 32 points in the North Division, still chasing a playoff spot but gaining ground. Three weeks ago, Utica was 19 points back of fifth place. Utica's penalty kill has climbed to 11th in the AHL at 82.5 percent, and the Comets face the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the league at .633, with 13 of their final games coming against teams currently in a playoff position. The margin for error is razor-thin, but Parent's streak is the kind of momentum that forces the standings conversation to keep updating.