UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – The Utica Comets were set to defend their home ice for the first time on Monday night, hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in front of a sold-out crowd at the Adirondack Bank Center. That is, until the 17:17 mark of the second period when power was lost at the rink, sending it into darkness, only to be illuminated seconds later by hundreds of cell phone flashlights that were surprisingly effective at providing light onto The Aud’s surface.

The game was not resumed and teams departed, the league announcing that it was just a postponement and that the game would be finished sometime in the future without providing a date for when that would actually be.

The Comets had the lead with goals from Nick Hutchison and Robbie Russo in the first period, allowing just one to Ty Smith of the Penguins in the second.

Official statement from the organization regarding the blackout

More details on the incident will be reported when they come available.