COMETS BATTLE DEVILS WITH CHANCE TO CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT
Mar 25, 2018UTICA COMETS (32-24-10) vs. BINGHAMTON DEVILS (22-33-11)
Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena, 5:05 p.m.
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Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets will do battle with the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena is at 5:05 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets fell to the Syracuse Crunch by a score of 2-0 Saturday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena. Thatcher Demko and Crunch goalie Connor Ingram kept the game scoreless through the first two periods, stopping 20 and 17 shots respectively. Mitchell Stephens broke the deadlock with 7:39 remaining in the third period. Gabriel Dumont and Dominik Masin had the assists. Erik Cernak scored the empty net goal with two seconds remaining to seal the win. Demko finshed with 35 saves and his record fell to 22-12-6.
Head-to-Head: This is the seventh contest between the Comets and Devils this season. Utica leads the season series 4-2-0, but Binghamton won the most recent contest 7-2 on March 4. The scoring in the season series is even at 14.
Scouting the Devils: Binghamton comes in with a record of 21-33-11 and sits in sixth place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 5-4 in a shootout last night. Jacob MacDonald leads the offense with 49 points, followed by Nick Lappin with 46 points. Mackenzie Blackwood leads all active goaltenders with a record of 7-17-5, a 3.40 goals-against average, and a .882 save percentage.
Hamming It Up: Wacey Hamilton has been one of the most effective players for Utica while playing on the road this season. Hamilton has collected 12 points (4-8-12) in 21 games away from home, including two multi-point efforts. The veteran forward has totaled 16 points (4-12-16) in 37 games this year.
Got The Power: The Comets power play is slowly clawing its way back up the league rankings, and tonight could help. The Comets power play has converted on 20% of their opportunities on the man advantage against Binghamton. The power play is 3-11 (27.3%) on the road against the Devils. The Comets power play ranks 13th in the AHL at 17.8%.
On A Roll: The Comets penalty kill has put together a nice streak. Utica has gone four straight games without giving up a power play goal and have only allowed one power play goal against Binghamton in six games. In addition, they have killed off 17 straight penalties. The Comets kill ranks second in the league at 86.3%.
Making A Name: Tanner MacMaster is starting to make a name for himself in Utica. Since signing an ATO on March 16, MacMaster has tallied three points (1-2-3) in four games with the Comets. He notched his first professional goal on March 18 against Toronto and his first multi-point game on March 23 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The rookie forward amassed 150 career ECAC games with Quinnipiac from 2014-2018 totaling 84 points (30-54-84).
Magic Number: The Comets have a chance to punch their ticket to the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs today. With their magic number at two, a win in any fashion will clinch a playoff spot.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Wednesday night as they battle the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at Blue Cross Arena is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.