COMETS HEAD NORTH TO SQUARE OFF AGAINST ROCKET
Nov 22, 2019UTICA COMETS (10-6-1-0) vs. LAVAL ROCKET (10-6-3-0)
Place Bell, 7:30 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsLAV
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets head up north to take on the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.
Last Game: It was a back-and-forth affair Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center, but the Comets fell short 5-4 in overtime at the hands of the Binghamton Devils. Francis Perron, Nikolay Goldobin, Vincent Arseneau, and Carter Bancks all scored for the Comets. Michael DiPietro made 31 saves on 36 shots in the loss.
Head to Head: This is the first meeting between the Comets and Rocket this season. Utica won last year’s season series 5-2-1-0 and went 2-1-1-0 at Place Bell last year. The Comets are 10-5-1-0 all time against the Rocket.
Scouting the Rocket: Laval comes in with a record of 10-6-3-0 and sits in third place in the North Division. They most recently lost to the Toronto Marlies 2-1 in overtime Wednesday night. Alex Belzile and Lukas Vejdemo lead way offensively with 12 points each. Cayden Primeau is the leading netminder with a record of 6-2-1, a 1.87 goals-against average, and .934 save percentage.
O, Canada: This is will be the Comets’ first matchup against a Canadian team this season. Utica was decent north of the border last season, going 4-4-1-1 on the road against Canadian teams, with their best record coming against Laval (2-1-1-0). Overall, the Comets went 9-9-1-1 against Canadian teams last season.
On A Roll: Brogan Rafferty has been an offensive force from the Comets blue line this season. Rafferty has three points (1-2-3) in his last two games and six points (1-5-6) in his last seven games. Overall, the rookie leads all Comets defensemen with 11 points (2-9-11) in 17 games so far this season.
High Powered: The Comets power play is back on the rebound. Utica has scored a power play goal in four straight games and five of their last six games, going 6-22 overall during that stretch. The Comets power play ranks 18th in the league at 16.1%.
Slump Buster: Francis Perron has broken out of his scoreless drought in a big way. After going six straight games without a point, Perron has responded with a three-game point streak that he carries into tonight. Overall, Perron has 11 points (2-9-11) in 15 games this year.
Next Game: The Comets go right back at it tomorrow in a rematch against the Rocket. Puck drop at Place Bell is at 3 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.