COMETS KICK OFF SAVE OF THE DAY WEEK AGAINST CRUNCH
Jan 16, 2019UTICA COMETS (21-17-3-1) vs. SYRACUSE CRUNCH (21-12-2-1)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #SYRvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Syracuse Crunch in Game Six of the Galaxy Cup series and the first game of Save of the Day Week. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Comets rode a 28 save effort from Ivan Kulbakov en route to a 3-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Jonathan Dahlen, Tanner Kero, and Brendan Gaunce all found the back of the net for the Comets.
Head-to-Head: This is the sixth meeting between the North Division rivals this season. Utica leads the season series 3-2-0-0 and won the most recent matchup 3-2 last Saturday. The Comets have also won two straight against the Crunch. The Crunch have outscored the Comets 21-12 through five games this year, due in large part to a 10-1 Syracuse win on December 28.
Scouting the Crunch: Syracuse comes in with a record of 21-12-2-1 and sits in third place in the North Division. The most recently fell to the Comets 3-2 last Saturday. Carter Verhaeghe leads the way offensively with 42 points, followed by Cory Conacher with 39 points. Eddie Pasquale is the top goaltender with a record of 12-7-3, a 2.71 goals-against average, and .902 save percentage.
In A Groove: Brendan Gaunce just keeps on rolling. Gaunce is riding a seven-game point streak, picking up eight points (4-4-8). He also has three points in three games against the Crunch this season. The veteran forward has 23 points (12-11-23) in 26 games this season.
White Hot: Tanner Kero’s career year continues. Kero has tied his career high in assists (19) and is four goals and four points back tying his career best in goals and points. Additionally, he has recorded multi-point games in three of his last four games, collecting seven points (6-1-7). Kero is tied for the team lead with 35 points (16-19-35) in 42 games this year.
Just Killin’ It: The Comets penalty kill has been tremendous over the last five games. Utica has killed off 20 of their last 23 penalties, including a perfect 4-4 performance last Saturday against Syracuse. The Comets’ kill ranks 10th in the AHL at 82.4%.
Home Turf: The Comets have been playing well on home ice. Utica is on a four-game point streak on home, outscoring opponents 15-11 during that span. The Comets are 10-9-1-0 on home ice this season and have not lost in regulation at home since December 27.
Next Game: The Comets are back at it Friday night against the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop at the Adirondack Bank Center is at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to use the tickets exchange site, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.