COMETS BATTLE MARLIES IN SATURDAY MATINEE
Nov 30, 2019UTICA COMETS (12-7-1-0) vs. TORONTO MARLIES (14-2-2-1)
Scotiabank Arena 1:30 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsTOR
Today’s Game: The Utica Comets battle the Toronto Marlies for the first time this year. Puck drop is at 1:30 p.m.
Last Game: The Comets jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back as they rolled to a 4-1 win over the Syracuse Crunch Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Mitch Eliot, Reid Boucher, Dylan Blujus, and Sven Baertschi found the net for Utica. Michael DiPietro made 23 saves in the win.
Head to Head: This is the first of four meetings between the Comets and Marlies this season. Toronto claimed last year’s season series, going 4-2-0-0 against Utica. The Comets went 2-1-0-0 on the road against the Marlies last year, outscoring the Marlies 15-13 in those games.
Scouting the Marlies: Toronto comes in with a record of 14-2-2-1 and sits in first place in the North Division. They most recently beat the Rochester Americans 3-2 in overtime last night. Pontus Aberg leads the offense with 22 points, followed by Kenny Agostino with 19 points. Joseph Woll is the top active goaltender with a record of 4-1-2, a 3.09 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage.
Ruling the Six: Reid Boucher has played extremely well against the Marlies during his career. In 10 career games against Toronto, Boucher has tallied 13 points (4-9-13). Boucher had seven points (2-5-7) in six games last season alone against the Marlies. Overall this season, Boucher has 21 points (14-7-21) in 15 games this season.
Power Surge: The Comets power play has been lights out as of late. Utica has scored a power play goal in seven straight games, going 11-34 (32.3%) during that stretch. Additionally, the Comets have three games with more than one power play goals during that time span. Utica’s power play ranks sixth in the AHL at 20.8%.
Like He Never Left: Sven Baertschi wasted no time getting back on the scoresheet in his return to Utica. Baertschi recorded a goal and an assist in Wednesday night’s win and is riding a three-game point streak coming into tonight. He also has tallied at least one point in all but one game he has played in Utica. Overall, the forward has 12 points (3-9-12) in eight games this year.
Streaking: Carter Camper has been on a roll since returning from injury. Camper is on a four-game point streak, collecting seven points (1-6-7) and two multi-point games during that stretch. Overall, the veteran forward has 11 points (2-9-11) in 12 games this season.
Next Game: The Comets are back at it tomorrow afternoon for a rematch against the Marlies. Puck drop is at 4 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.