COMETS FACE ROCKET IN SATURDAY MATINEE
Dec 1, 2018UTICA COMETS (9-12-1-1) vs. LAVAL ROCKET (8-12-2-1)
Place Bell, 3 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsLAV
Today’s Game: The Utica Comets do battle with the Laval Rocket for the fifth time this season. Puck drop is at 3 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets earned goals from Tanner Kero and Tony Cameranesi, but the timely attack of the Belleville Senators toppled the Comets by a 4-2 margin on Friday night at CAA Arena. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in the loss.
Head-to-Head: This is the fifth meeting between Utica and Laval this season. The Comets lead the season series 2-1-1-0 and won the most recent contest 3-2 last Wednesday. The Comets are outscoring the Rocket 10-9 through four games.
Scouting the Rocket: Laval comes in with a record of 8-12-2-1 and sits in last place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in overtime last night. Alex Belzile leads the way offensively with 16 points, followed by Jake Evans with 14 points. Charlie Lindgren is the top goaltender with a record of 7-8-3, a 2.42 goals-against average, and .894 save percentage.
Keeping It 100: Today is a milestone day for Head Coach Trent Cull. This is the 100th game Cull has coached with the Comets. Cull is 47-38-9-5 all-time as Utica’s head coach.
O, Canada: The Comets have played very well north of the border so far this season. Utica is 3-1-1-1 when playing in Canada and outscoring opponents 23-18 in those games. Overall, the Comets are 5-5-1-1 on the road this season.
Power Surge: The Comets power play continues to dominate. Utica has scored at least one power play goal in five of their last six games and is 7-30 over that span, including two multi-goal performances. The Comets man advantage ranks sixth in the league at 23.1%.
Streaking: Zack MacEwen has been on fire lately. MacEwen is riding a four-game point streak coming into today’s game, picking up two goals and two assists in that span. Additionally, it is the longest point streak of his career to date. MacEwen has 17 points 9-8-17) in 23 games this season.
Record Year: Tanner Kero has a chance to break some personal records this year. Kero is one goal shy of tying last year’s goal total of eight and three points back of matching his second best career point total. His career AHL best is 39 points and is could very well top that this season. The forward has 17 points (7-10-17) in 23 games this season.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at Blue Cross Arena is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.