UTICA — Utica Comets captain Ryan Schmelzer has signed a two-year AHL contract to return to the team.

The team also re-signed fellow forward Samuel Laberge and goaltender Mareks Miten.

Schmelzer, 28, is a native of Buffalo. Last season, with 64 games played for Utica, he totaled 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points seventh in scoring on the team and fifth in goals scored. During the post-season, Schmelzer scored one goal and one assist. In 197 AHL games played in his career, the Canisius College product totaled 41 goals and 46 assists.

Laberge, 25, hails from Chateauguay, Quebec and split last season between the Comets and the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL. With the Comets, he scored five goals and eight assists in 53 games. Playing in 150 AHL career games, Laberge totaled 13 goals and 22 assists.

Mitens, 24, played last season with both Adirondack and the Utica signed a two-way deal with the Comets. The Ventspils, Latvia native played in 17 games for Utica holding a 3.31 goals against average with a .888 save percentage totaling a record of 7-8-3.