COMETS HEADS UP THRUWAY TO SEE CRUNCH

Apr 19, 2021

Tonight's Game: Today's matchup between the Utica Comets and the Syracuse Crunch takes place with 14 games left in Comets’ schedule. Including tonight, six of those games will take place on the road with four of those matchups taking place in Syracuse. This season, the Comets are 4-2 in six games against the Crunch with both losses coming on the road. Lukas Jasek leads the team in scoring against tonight's opponent with one goal and six points in six games played. Nolan Stevens is second on the list against Syracuse registering one goal and five assists for six points in six games. Goaltenders Jake Kielly and Joel Hofer are 1-1 this season while Evan Fitzpatrick secured his first Comets victory in his first outing on April 14 in a 3-2 victory. 

Last Game: The Comets took on the Providence Bruins for the first time this season last Friday night at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Despite scoring the first two goals of the contest, they were unable to hold a lead and were eventually beaten by the Bruins, 6-2. Nolan Stevens and Curtis McKenzie tallied goals in the afternoon's contest. Goaltender Joel Hofer suffered his second defeat of the season while turning aside 34 of 40 shots on goal .The Comets also were unable to score on the power-play despite five attempts and gave up a power-play goal on four chances against them. The loss marked the end of the Comets two game winning streak. 

Scouting the Crunch: The Crunch are coming off a 4-1 victory at home against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Saturday night. Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk and Otto Somppi (2) tallied goals on the evening while Spencer Martin, netminder for Syracuse stopped 24 of 25 shots in the victory. Katchouk leads his team in points with nine goals, 11 assists for 20 points in 19 games. Taylor Raddysh, who has goals in five straight games, also holds an eight game point streak compiling five goals, seven assists for 12 points in that time, is tied with Otto Somppi for second in team scoring with 16 points. Somppi registered two goals and two assists in the Saturday night victory against the Penguins. Defenseman Sean Day paces the team's blueline totaling 19 games played with two goals and seven assists for nine points. 

Turning on the Jetts: Utica rookie defenseman Jett Woo scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday night against the Crunch. The third period tally proved to be the game winner in a 3-2 victory for his squad. The goal scored at 8:50 of the final period was also Woo's first point of the year. Normally paired with Jack Rathbone, who is now recalled to Vancouver, Woo logs plenty of ice time for Trent Cull's defense and has appeared in every game this season in his rookie campaign. Woo also leads the team in +/- with a +7 in 14 games played. 

Curtis McKenzie Leads the Way: Registering three points (1G, 1A) in his last three games, veteran winger Curtis McKenzie is beginning to find his way onto the scoresheet. The former Calder Cup champion with the Texas Stars, McKenzie logged his first multi-point night of the season on Tuesday night last week against the Crunch while at home at the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica. 

Current Point Streaks: Nolan Stevens (4 games), Sam Anas (3 games), Sven Bärtschi (2 games), Lukas Jasek (3 games) all have point streaks for the Comets going into Monday's game against the Syracuse Crunch,