COMETS HOST ROCKET IN FRIDAY NIGHT SHOWDOWN
Dec 20, 2019UTICA COMETS (16-10-1-2) vs. LAVAL ROCKET (15-12-3-1)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #LAVvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets host the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: Reid Boucher set the mark for most career goals as a Utica Comet, and Carter Camper earned his 400th career pro point as they led their team to a 4-3 victory over the Belleville Senators on Wednesday night at CAA Arena. Zack MacEwen, Nikolay Goldobin, and Kole Lind also scored for Utica. Zane McIntyre made 30 saves to earn the win.
Head to Head: This is the third contest between the Comets and Rocket this year. The two teams have split the season series so far, with Utica most recently winning 4-2 back on November 23. Carter Camper leads all scorers with five points through two games.
Scouting the Rocket: Laval comes in with a record of 15-12-3-1 and sits in third place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Rockford Ice Hogs 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday night. Jake Evans leads the offense with 17 points, followed by Lukas Vejdemo with 16 points each. Cayden Primeau is the top active netminder with a record of 7-5-1, a 2.76 goals-against average, and .904 save percentage.
Streaking: Reid Boucher is scoring at a breakneck pace. Boucher is riding an 11-game point streak, picking up 16 points (7-9-16). He also broke Darren Archibald’s team record for career goals scored with his goal Wednesday night. The forward leads the league with 34 points (20-14-34) in 20 games this year.
Zack Attack: Zack MacEwen made his presence felt quickly since returning from his stint in Vancouver. MacEwen notched his fourth of the season Wednesday night and is currently on a four-game point streak (2-2-4). The third year forward has 10 points (4-6-10) in 15 games this season.
Young Guns: Two of the younger Comets are having stellar seasons so far. Kole Lind has seven points (4-3-7) in his last five games, while Rafferty has eight points (1-7-8) in his last five games. Rafferty also leads all defensemen in points and ranks third among rookies in points as well. Overall, Lind has 24 points (8-16-24) in 29 games, while Rafferty has 24 points (3-21-24) in 29 games this year.
Cruising: Despite having their 14-game power play goal streak snapped, the Comets power play keeps humming along. Utica bounced back nicely, going 2-6 on the man advantage Wednesday night. They now have scored at least one power play goal in 15 of their last 16 games. The Comets’ power play ranks fourth in the AHL at 24.8%.
Next Game: The Comets go right back at it tomorrow night on the road against 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.