COMETS END 2017 WITH GALAXY CUP MATCHUP AGAINST SYRACUSE
Dec 30, 2017UTICA COMETS (13-13-6) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH (16-12-3)
Onondaga County War Memorial Arena, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsSYR
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets battle the Syracuse Crunch in game four of the Galaxy Cup series. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets fell to the Providence Bruins by a score of 3-1 Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Connor Clifton netted the first goal of the game five minutes into the first period. Kenny Agostino and Zach Senyshyn were credited with the assists. Austin Czarnik extended the lead to 2-0 with nine seconds to go in the second period. Jordan Szwarz and Agostino had the assists. Zack MacEwen brought the Comets to within one with 1:09 to go in regulation. Cole Cassels and Philip Holm tallied the assists. Anton Blidh scored the empty net goal with six seconds remaining to secure the win. Richard Bachman finished with 26 saves and his record falls to 2-7-2.
Head-to-Head: Utica leads the season series 2-1-0 and won the most recent matchup 2-1 on December 23. The Crunch are outscoring the Comets 9-6 through three games this year. The Comets lead the all-time series 18-12-2-3.
Scouting the Crunch: Syracuse comes in with a record of 16-12-3 and sits in third place in the North Division. Matthew Peca leads the offense with 25 points, followed by Anthony Cirelli with 21 points. Louis Domingue is the leading goalie with a record of 9-4-0, a 2.39 goals-against average, and a .911% save percentage.
20/20: The Comets’ penalty kill continues to stay hot. Utica has killed off 20 straight penalties and has only allowed one goal in their last seven games. The Comets’ kill ranks eighth in the AHL at 85.3%.
Polar Opposite: Unlike the penalty kill, the Comets' power play has been ice cold. The Comets’ man advantage is 0-12 and has tallied a power play goal in four straight games. Utica’s power play ranks 14th in the AHL with 17.5% conversion rate.
White Hot: Cole Cassels has been a point machine as of late. Cassels carries a four-game point streak into tonight, which is a career-high. The forward has also collected points in seven of the last eight games. The Hartford, CT native has totaled nine points (2-7-9) in 26 games this season.
Next Man Up: With all the injuries to the Comets this year, there have been a number of roster moves to accommodate. Coming into tonight, 43 players have suited up for at least one game with the Comets through 32 games this season. For comparison, 39 players played at least one game with Utica all last season.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Friday January 5 as they host the Laval Rocket. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.