COMETS BEGIN 2019-20 SEASON AT BINGHAMTON
Oct 5, 2019UTICA COMETS (0-0-0-0) vs. BINGHAMTON DEVILS (0-0-0-0)
Floyd L. Maines Veteran’s Memorial Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsBNG
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets open up the 2019-20 campaign on the road against the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.
In honor of Creedence Clearwater Revisited coming to the Adirondack Bank Center on October 20, we’ve categorized each quick hit with a CCR song title.
Door To Door: The Devils topped the Comets in last year’s season series, taking five of the eight contests between the North Division rivals. The Devils outscored the Comets 29-24 in eight games last year.
Looking Out My Back Door: Binghamton ended the 2018-19 season with a 28-41-7-0, good for 63 points and last place in the North Division. Brandon Gignac is the leading returning scorer from last season, finishing the year with 36 points. Evan Cormier is the lone returning goaltender, going 5-8-0 with a 2.96 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
Fortunate Sons: The Comets return to the ice with two of their three leading scorers from last season. Reid Boucher and Zack MacEwen will look to build on their strong seasons and will be key parts of Utica’s offense this year. Boucher broke his own single season goal record with 31 markers and tied the team record for points in a single season (62). MacEwen finished the year with 22 goals and 30 assists in 69 games.
Tearin’ Up The Country: In addition to some familiar faces, there will be a plethora of fresh faces in the lineup for Utica this year; and they all pack an offensive punch. Look for Francis Perron, Tyler Graovac, Justin Bailey, and Carter Camper to contribute right from the get-go. All four players scored at least 15 goals and three of the four recorded at least 45 points last season.
Born To Move: While the Comets brought in a number of veteran players in the offseason, Utica also boasts an abundance of rookies on the roster, especially on the back end. Defensemen Mitch Eliot, Josh Teves, and Brogan Rafferty along with goaltender Mikey DiPietro will all look to make an impact right away. Eliot posted 55 points (17-38-55) in 69 games with Sarnia (OHL), Teves put up 20 points (3-17-20) with Princeton last year, and Rafferty earned 24 points (4-20-24) in 38 games with Quinnipiac. DiPietro finished 23-12-0 with a .911 save percentage and 2.40 goals-against average split between Ottawa and Oshawa in the OHL last season. DiPietro, Teves, and Rafferty all have a game of NHL experience under their belts as well.
Good Golly, Mr. Olli: Olli Juolevi is set to return to the Comets lineup for the first time since suffering a season ending knee injury on November 17, 2018. The 2016 5th Overall pick tallied 13 points (1-12-13) in 18 games and was a key cog on the power play before going down. Keep an eye on Juolevi to pick up right where he left off.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action one week from tonight on the road at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.