COMETS BEGIN FOUR-GAME ROAD SWING IN SYRACUSE
Feb 14, 2020UTICA COMETS (28-18-3-2) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH (23-21-3-4)
Upstate Memorial University Arena, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsSYR
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets battle the Syracuse Crunch in Game Seven of the Galaxy Cup series. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: Utica went 2-4 on the power play as the Comets fought their way to a 3-2 win over the Laval Rocket Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Jonah Gadjovich, Sven Baertschi, and Reid Boucher were the goal scorers. Mikey DiPietro made 28 saves in the win.
Head to Head: This is the seventh meeting between the North Division rivals this season. Utica leads the season series 4-2-0-0 and won the most recent contest 5-4 in a shootout this past Saturday. The Comets have outscored the Crunch 23-16 through six games this year.
Scouting the Crunch: Syracuse comes in with a record of 23-21-3-4 and sits in fifth place in the North Division. They most recently topped the Binghamton Devils 1-0 Wednesday night. Alex Barre-Boulet leads the offense with 44 points, followed by Cory Conacher with 37 points. Scott Wedgewood is the top goaltender with a record of 10-6-2, a 2.94 goals-against average, and a .895 save percentage.
Battle of the Streaks: The Galaxy Cup always brings an intriguing matchup, but there is more on the line tonight than usual. Both teams carry point streaks into tonight. The Comets have picked up points in three straight game, while the Crunch have points in four straight. There is a good chance one team will lose their streak tonight as the rivals have only gone to overtime or beyond once through six games this season.
Riding High: Jonah Gadjovich has come alive on offense recently. Gadjovich is riding a three-game point streak, picking up a goal and two assists during that stretch. He also has four points (2-2-4) in his last seven games and has racked up three goals in four games against the Crunch this season. The second year forward has 16 points (12-4-16) in 34 games.
Red Hot: Reid Boucher continues to pile up points. Boucher has five points (3-2-5) in his last three games, including back-to-back two-point efforts. Boucher has also collected 13 points (5-8-13) in his last 10 games and leads all players with nine points (7-2-9) in five games against Syracuse. The forward has 55 points (27-28-55) in 44 games this season.
Power Surge: The Comets power play is heating up. Utica has scored at least one power play goal in five straight games, going 7-22 during that stretch, which includes a 2-4 performance Wednesday against Laval. The Comets are also operating at 20% on the man advantage against the Crunch this season. Overall, Utica’s power play ranks fourth in the AHL at 22.3%.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Sunday afternoon when they take on the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at Blue Cross Arena is at 3:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.