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It’s clear that the injection of skill up-front has been the secret to Utica’s early success. The Comets haven’t just prevailed in every game they’ve played — they’ve done so decisively, winning each of their last three contests by a margin of four goals or more. Utica’s 29 goals for are tops in the league.

Three of Utica’s forwards now occupy the top 10 for AHL scoring: as usual, Reid Boucher is up there. The scoring machine leads all AHLers with 10 points, including a mind-boggling 8 goals in just five games. But Goldobin and Baertschi aren’t far behind, with nine and eight points, respectively, in just four games apiece after missing the season opener.

In the Comets’ second showing of the season, a 4-3 overtime victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the pair made all the difference. Goldobin picked up an assist on the club’s second goal — yet another tally by Boucher — and Baertschi took over in the final minutes of regulation, setting up captain Carter Bancks’ game-tying tally with under three minutes remaining before assisting on Lukas Jasek’s overtime winner.

Three days later, Goldobin and Baertschi contributed four assists to Utica’s third straight win in their home opener, and this weekend, they combined for 10 points in consecutive routs as Utica outscored their opponents by 14 goals.

At times, the pair has made AHL defenders look silly. Goldobin, for instance, dropped jaws during a two-on-one in the home opener by deking his defender straight into the goalmouth before feeding The Big Fella, Zack Macewen, for a tap-in. That highlight-reel goal can be seen at 1:50 of the package below.