COMETS, CRUNCH SQUARE OFF IN GAME THREE OF GALAXY CUP
Dec 28, 2018UTICA COMETS (16-15-2-1) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH (18-8-2-0)
Onondaga County War Memorial Arena, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsSYR
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Syracuse Crunch in Game Three of the Galaxy Cup series on Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets threw 33 shots on net but were stifled by netminder Cam Johnson in a 1-0 loss to the Binghamton Devils Thursday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Thatcher Demko made 17 saves in the loss.
Head-to-Head: This is the third meeting between the North Division rivals this season. The two teams have split the season series, with each team winning one game. The Crunch have outscored the Comets 7-4 through two games.
Scouting the Crunch: Syracuse comes in with a record of 18-8-2-0 and sits in second place in the North Division. They most recently beat the Binghamton Devils 6-3 Wednesday night. Carter Verhaeghe leads the offense with 33 points, followed by Cory Conacher with 32 points. Connor Ingram is the leading goaltender with a 9-5-0 record, a 2.44 goals-against average, and .920 save percentage.
Crunch Crushers: Look for Darren Archibald and Lukas Jasek to have big games tonight. Archibald recorded two points in his only game against Syracuse this season and Jasek has two points in two games against the Crunch.
Road Warriors: Utica has picked up their play away from home. The Comets are riding a four-game road point streak and have four of their last six games away from home. Comets are 9-6-2-1 on the road this season.
White Hot: Zack MacEwen has been a force on the road this season. MacEwen is on an eight-game point streak away from home, collecting nine points in the process. The second-year forward has 26 points (13-13-26) in 33 games this year.
Just Killin’ It: The Comets penalty kill has been stellar. Utica has allowed only one power play goal in their last five games, killing off 20 of their last 21 penalties. Additionally, the Comets have not surrendered a power play goal in three straight road games. Utica’s penalty kill ranks eighth in the league at 83.5%.
Next Game: The Comets return home tomorrow night to battle the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to use the ticket exchange site, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.