COMETS BATTLE ROCKET FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY
Nov 25, 2017UTICA COMETS (7-9-1) vs. LAVAL ROCKET (9-8-3)
Place Bell, 3 p.m.
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsLAV
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Laval Rocket for the second straight day. Puck drop at Place Bell is at 3 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets defeated the Laval Rocket by a score of 3-2 Friday night at Place Bell. Alexis D’Aoust drew first blood for the Comets, putting a rebound in front of the net with seven minutes to go in the opening frame. Griffen Molino and Joe Faust picked up the assists. The assist was Faust’s first point as a Comet. Yannick Veilleux tied the game at one halfway through the second period, stealing a pass in front of the net and squirting a shot through Richard Bachman. Nikolay Goldobin put the Comets back up by one four minutes later with a power play goal. Jordan Subban and Joseph LaBate tallied the assists. Veilleux struck again two minutes later to tie the game at two. Brett Lernout had the lone assist. Michael Chaput extended his road point streak to four games with a goal at the 8:06 mark of the third period. Reid Boucher and Zack MacEwen collected the assists. The Comets quelled Laval’s late flurry to secure to victory. Bachman finished with 19 saves and his record improves to 2-4-0.
Head-to-Head: It is the third matchup of the season between Utica and Laval. The two teams have split the season series so far, with Laval winning 4-3 on November 15 and the Comets winning 3-2 last night.
Scouting the Rocket: Laval comes in with a record of 9-7-3 and sit in third place in the North Division. Matt Taormina leads the offense with 19 points followed by Daniel Carr with 18 points. Zachary Fucale is the leading goaltender with a record of 4-2-0, a 3.54 goals-against average, and .879% save percentage.
Cooling Off: The Comets penalty kill has struggled considerably since their amazing start to the year. The Comets have surrendered at least one goal against in seven of their last eight games. Utica’s penalty kill is 12th overall in the AHL at 83.5%.
Unstoppable: Reid Boucher has been unstoppable over the last few games. Boucher has netted four goals in his last five contests. The forward has racked up in seven goals and nine assists in 15 games this season.
Welcome Holm: Prior to last night’s game, Philip Holm was reassigned to the Comets from Vancouver. Holm leads the Comets defensemen in scoring this season, recording 10 points (2-8-10) in 15 games played.
Picking It Up: Zack MacEwen has stepped up his game through the last few matchups. MacEwen has six points in his last eight games. The Charlottetown, PEI native has collected six points (2-5-7) in 11 games played to start his rookie season.
Next Game: The Comets return to the ice Wednesday night as they battle the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.