COMETS BEGIN BUSY STRETCH AGAINST BRIDGEPORT
Dec 6, 2019UTICA COMETS (13-8-1-0) vs. BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS (8-12-3-1)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #BRIvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the first time this season. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets had multi-point efforts from three different players, but a third period surge from the Toronto Marlies stalled the Comets during a 5-3 loss on Sunday at Coca Cola Coliseum. Jonah Gadjovich, Lukas Jasek, and Justin Bailey were the goal scorers for Utica. Michael DiPietro made 17 saves in the loss.
Head-to-Head: This is the first matchup between the Comets and Sound tigers this season. Bridgeport took both contests between the two squads last season, winning both games in overtime. The Comets are 4-2-4-0 in the last five seasons against the Sound Tigers
Scouting the Sound Tigers: Bridgeport comes in with a record of 8-12-3-1 and sits in seventh place in the Atlantic Division. They most recently fell 5-2 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last Saturday. Offensively, the Sound Tigers are led by Matt Lorito and Sebastian Aho with 12 points apiece. Christopher Gibson is the top netminder with a record of 5-3-3, a 2.40 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage.
Leading From the Back: Brogan Rafferty has been outstanding for Utica so far this season. Rafferty leads all Comets defensemen, as well as all rookie defenseman in the league, in points and assists. The rookie blue liner has 16 points (2-14-16) in 22 games this season.
High Powered: The Comets power play continues to hum along. Utica has scored at least one power play goal in nine straight games, going 14-43 (32.5%) during that stretch. Additionally, the Comets have four games with more than one power play goals during that time span. Utica’s power play ranks fifth in the league at 22.1%.
Record Chasing: Reid Boucher is closing in on another Comets record. Boucher is four goals shy of tying Darren Archibald’s record for career goals with the Comets (75). Boucher has 24 points (15-9-24) in 17 games this season.
Heating Up: Justin Bailey is starting to heat up on offense. Bailey has three points in his last two games and four points in his last four. He has also scored in back-to-back games. Overall, the forward has 13 points (6-7-13) in 22 games this year.
Next Game: The Comets go right back at it tomorrow night against the Providence Bruins. Puck drop at the Dunkin Donuts Center is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.