COMETS CLOSE OUT WEEKEND SET WITH CLEVELAND
Jan 6, 2019UTICA COMETS (19-16-2-1) vs. CLEVELAND MONSTERS (17-12-4-1)
Quicken Loans Arena, 3 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsCLE
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Cleveland Monsters for the second straight day. Puck drop at Quicken Loans Arena is at 3 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets used a five-goal second period to roll past the Cleveland Monsters by a 6-2 final on Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. Vincent Arseneau and Adam Gaudette each scored twice. Zack MacEwen and Jesse Graham also scored for Utica. Ivan Kulbakov stopped 28 shots in the win.
Head-to-Head: This is the third meeting between the Comets and Monsters this season. The teams have split the season series, with each team winning one game. The Comets are 8-3-0-1 all-time against the Monsters.
Scouting the Monsters: Cleveland comes in with a record of 17-12-4-1 and sits in fourth place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Comets 6-2 yesterday. Nathan Gerbe leads the offense with 28 points, followed by former Comet Zac Dalpe with 27 points. Jean-Francois Berube is the top netminder with an 11-9-3 record, a 2.94 goals-against average, and .902 save percentage.
Immediate Impact: Tom Pyatt made his presence felt right away. Pyatt notched two assists in yesterday’s win over Cleveland. Last time he played in the AHL, the veteran forward recorded 35 points (13-22-35) in 41 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the 2009-10 season.
Welcome Back: Adam Gaudette wasted no time getting acclimated back into the Comets’ lineup. Gaudette recorded a three-point game yesterday in just second game back. It was also his second three-point game of the season. The rookie has seven points (4-3-7) in six games with Utica this season.
Heating Up: A big part of the Comets’ recent success can be attributed to the secondary scoring from Jesse Graham and Vincent Arseneau. Graham has scored in back-to-back games and Arseneau has four goals in his last four games, including a two-goal performance yesterday. Arseneau has four points (4-0-4) in 16 games and Graham has 11 points (3-8-11) in 24 games this year
Strong Kill: The Comets penalty kill has also been a strong suit. Utica has killed off all five penalties they’ve taken against the Monsters and are eight for 10 overall in their last two games. The Comets’ kill ranks 11th in the AHL at 82.3%.
Next Game: The Comets stay on the road to faceoff against the Toronto Marlies Wednesday night. Puck drop at the Coca-Cola Coliseum is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.