COMETS AIM TO EXTEND ROAD POINT STREAK AGAINST ROCHESTER
Jan 15, 2018UTICA COMETS (17-14-7) vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS (23-9-7)
Blue Cross Arena, 1:05 p.m.
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Today’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Rochester Americans. Puck drop is at 1:05 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets downed the Binghamton Devils 3-2 in overtime Saturday Night at the Floyd L. Maines Veteran’s Memorial Arena. The Devils struck first as Bracken Kearns deflected a shot past Richard Bachman two minutes into the game. Adam Comrie tied the game at one with a power play strike at the 12:56 mark of the opening frame. Dylan Blujus tallied the assist. Tim Kennedy regained the lead for the Devils four minutes into the second period. Comrie’s second of the night tied the game at two with 3:51 to go in regulation. Reid Boucher and Zack MacEwen picked up the assists. Regulation was not enough to find a winner and the game would head to overtime. With Brian Strait in the box for interference, Philip Holm scored the game-winning goal with 33 seconds to go in overtime. Comrie and Boucher collected the assists. Bachman finished with 31 saves to improve his record to 4-7-2.
Head-to-Head: This is the eighth meeting between the Comets and Amerks this season. Utica leads the season series 4-1-1-1, but Rochester won the most recent contest by a score of 3-2 in overtime on December 16. The Comets are outscoring the Amerks 18-14 through seven games this year.
Scouting the Americans: Rochester comes in with a record of 23-9-7 and sits in second place in the North Division. They most recently suffered a 4-0 loss to Syracuse this past Saturday night. C.J. Smith leads the offense with 33 points, followed by Sahir Gill with 25 points. Linus Ullmark is the leading netminder with a record of 17-6-3, and 2.33 goals-against average, and .926% save percentage.
Barnstormers: The Comets will look to continue their stellar play on the road heading into today’s game. Utica has collected at least one point in five consecutive road games. Overall, the Comets are 11-5-3 away from the Adirondack Bank Center this season.
White Hot: After picking up assists Saturday night, Reid Boucher and Dylan Blujus continue to stay hot. Boucher and Blujus both carry four-game point streaks into this afternoon’s contest. Blujus has collected four points (0-4-4) and Boucher has registered eight points (4-4-8) during their respective streaks.
Power Surge: After going 0-8 on the man advantage Friday night against Syracuse, the Comets rebounded nicely with a 2-4 outing Saturday at Binghamton. The Comets power play is 8-26 (30.7%) in their last five games and has netted at least one goal in four of those five games. The Comets’ power play ranks ninth in the AHL with a 19.3% conversion rate.
Settling In: After going pointless in his first six games with the Comets, Adam Comrie is beginning to settle into his place in the lineup. Comrie has tallied six points (4-2-6) in his last three games with the Comets. The defenseman has collected nine points total (5-4-9) in 18 AHL games split between Lehigh Valley and Utica this season.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Wednesday night for a rematch with the Americans. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.