COMETS GO FOR THIRD STRAIGHT WIN AGAINST BELLEVILLE
Nov 24, 2018UTICA COMETS (8-10-1-1) vs. BELLEVILLE SENATORS (9-9-1-0)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #BELvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Belleville Senators. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: Richard Bachman made 43 saves and Michael Carcone scored twice as the Utica Comets defeated the Rochester Americans by a 5-4 final on Friday at Blue Cross Arena. Cam Darcy, Zack MacEwen, and Brendan Gaunce chipped in with goals as well.
Head-to-Head: This is the third matchup between the Comets and Senators this season. Belleville won the most recent contest 5-4 in a shootout last Wednesday. Utica is outscoring the Senators 7-5 in the season series thus far. The Comets are 18-8-3-3 all-time against Ottawa’s AHL Affiliate.
Scouting the Senators: Belleville comes into tonight’s contest with a 9-9-1-0 record and sits in fourth pace in the North Division. They most recently lost to the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night. Jack Rodewald leads the active roster with 15 points, followed by Rudolfs Balcers with 13 points. Filip Gustavsson is the top goalie with a record of 5-5-1, a 3.87 goals-against average, and .884 save percentage.
High Powered: The Comets’ special teams have performed very well against Belleville so far this season. The Comets power play is 5-10 in the first two games, including a four-goal performance back on November 14. Additionally, Utica has not yet allowed a power play goal to Belleville, killing off all four penalties taken.
Catching Fire: Michael Carcone is beginning to heat up offensively. Carcone has four points (3-1-4) in his last two games and six points (4-2-6) in his last six games. The third-year forward has totaled 12 points (6-6-12) in 16 games this season.
Finding a Groove: Another forward who is starting to pick things up is Lukas Jasek. Jasek has four points (1-3-4) in his last three games, including two assists last night. He also has three multi-point games so far this season. The rookie winger has nine points (5-4-9) in 16 games this year.
Warm Welcome: Thatcher Demko and Richard Bachman have performed well in their first starts in Utica after extended absences. Bachman made 43 saves in his first start back after spending almost a month in Vancouver while Demko stopped 19 shots in his first start of the season Wednesday night. Bachman is 2-4-0 on the year with a 4.19 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage while Demko is 1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
Next Game: The Comets hit the ice again Wednesday night on the road at the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.