COMETS BATTLE AMERKS FOR SECOND TIME IN A WEEK
Mar 4, 2020UTICA COMETS (31-21-3-2) vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS (31-18-4-5)
Blue Cross Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsROC
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets hit the road to take on the Rochester Americans. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets spotted Laval a 5-0 lead before falling 5-2 to the Rocket Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Dyson Stevenson and Jonah Gadjovich scored for Utica. Michael DiPietro got the start in goal, making five saves on nine shots before being replaced by Jake Kielly, who made 11 saves.
Head-to-Head: This is the eighth meeting between the North Division rivals this season. Utica leads the season series 4-3-0-0 and won the most recent matchup 3-2 in a shootout last Wednesday. The two teams have scored 21 goals apiece through seven games.
Scouting the Americans: Rochester comes in with a record of 31-18-4-5 and sits in second place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Syracuse Crunch 4-2 this past Saturday. J.S. Dea leads the offense with 37 points, followed by Zach Redmond with 30 points. Andrew Hammond is the top netminder with a record of 15-11-3, a 2.53 goals-against average, and a .908 save percentage.
Torching Rochester: Sven Baertschi has lit up the Amerks throughout his career. Baertschi has nine points (2-5-7) in five games so far this season and 19 points (9-10-19) in 18 career games against Rochester. The veteran forward has 43 points (12-31-43) in 40 games this season.
Red Hot Reid: Reid Boucher continues to pile on points this season. Boucher is riding a three games point streak, picking up seven points (3-4-7) during that stretch. He also has 13 points (7-6-13) in his last eight games. The veteran forward leads the Comets with 63 points (31-32-63) in 49 games.
Power Up: The Comets power play has been heating up. Utica has scored at least one power play goal in three of their last four games, going 4-18 (22.2%) overall in those games. They are also operating at 18.5% against the Amerks this season. The Comets power play ranks fourth in the AHL at 22%.
Under the Radar: Carter Camper is quietly putting together a strong season. Camper has three points (0-3-3) in his last two games and 10 points (2-8-10) in his last 10 games. Additionally, he has not gone more than three games without registering a point this season. The forward has 36 points (8-28-36) in 44 games this year.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Friday night on the road against the Charlotte Checkers. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.