COMETS HOST AMERKS IN SATURDAY NIGHT SHOWDOWN
Oct 19, 2019UTICA COMETS (4-0-0-0) vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS (3-1-0-1)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #ROCvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Rochester Americans. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: Fueled by a franchise-record-tying offensive output, the Utica Comets improved to 4-0-0-0 after defeating the Charlotte Checkers by an 8-2 score on Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Reid Boucher, Justin Bailey, Carter Camper, Brogan Rafferty, Sven Baertschi, Kole Lind, and Dylan Blujus were the goal-scorers. Mikey DiPietro stopped 24 shots in the win.
Head-to-Head: This is the first contest between the North Division rivals this season. Rochester won last year’s season series, going 7-3-0-0 against Utica. C.J. Smith and Reid Boucher tied for the season lead in points, registering 10 apiece. The Comets are 27-14-3-2 in the last five seasons against the Amerks.
Scouting the Americans: Rochester comes in with a record of 3-1-0-0 and sits in third place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Cleveland Monsters 4-3 in a shootout last night. Tage Thompson and Zach Redmond lead the offense with five points. Andrew Hammond is the top netminder with a 3-0-1 record, a 1.69 goals-against average, and .923 save percentage.
Spread the Wealth: The Comets have had 15 different players score a goal this season, with Reid Boucher, Dylan Blujus, and Justin Bailey the only players to record more than one goal. The 12 other scorers are Kole Lind, Guillaume Brisebois, Carter Bancks, Lukas Jasek, Jonah Gadjovich, Dylan Blujus, Francis Perron, Sven Baertschi, Zack MacEwen, Carter Camper, Brogan Rafferty and Vincent Arseneau.
Dropping Dimes: Nikolay Goldobin has been an assist machine since his return to Utica. Goldobin has six assists in his last two games and seven assists in three games. Dating back to the 2017-18 season, Goldobin is on a four-game point streak and has recorded at least one point in 13 of his last 15 games in a Comet uniform.
Streaking: Brogan Rafferty has impressed with his play in his first four games. Rafferty is riding a three-game point streak and scored his first professional goal last night. The rookie defenseman has three points (1-2-3) and is a +8 rating in four games this year.
On Fire: Kole Lind has been on a roll to start the season. The second year forward has points in three of four games this year and already has recorded two multi-point efforts this season. Lind has six points (1-5-6) in four games this year.
Next Game: The Comets return to the ice Friday, October 25 when they battle the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.