COMETS KICKOFF FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND AGAINST LAVAL
Feb 9, 2018UTICA COMETS (24-14-9) vs. LAVAL ROCKET (18-23-7)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #LAVvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Laval Rocket. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets defeated the Syracuse Crunch by a score of 4-2 Saturday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena. Olivier Archambeault netted the first goal of the game. Alexander Volkov made it 2-0 with 4:26 remaining in the second period. Philip Holm got the Comets on the board with 1:21 remaining in the middle frame. Reid Boucher and Michael Chaput picked up the assists. Sixteen seconds later, Dylan Blujus tied the game at two with a wrister of his own. Darren Archibald and Alexis D’Aoust tallied the assists. Holm gave the Comets a 3-2 lead with a power play goal halfway through the third period. Nikolay Goldobin and Archibald registered the assists. Wacey Hamilton sealed the win with an empty net goal with 1:16 to go in regulation. Holm and D’Aoust collected the assists. Bachman finished with 34 saves to improve his record to 7-7-4.
Head-to-Head: This is the sixth meeting of the Comets and Rocket this season. Utica leads the season series 4-1-0 and won the most recent contest 5-1 on January 10. The Comets have outscored the Rocket 20-12 through five games this year.
Scouting the Rocket: Laval comes in with a record of 18-23-7 and sits in sixth place in the North Division. They most recently beat the Binghamton Devils 4-1 Wednesday night. Offensively, the Rocket are led by Chris Terry with 43 points, followed by Matt Taormina with 40 points. Charlie Lindgren is the leading netminder with a record of 7-13-6, a 3.20 goals-against average, and .892% save percentage.
Feeling at Holm: Philip Holm is evolving into one of the top offensive defensemen in the AHL. Holm is riding a three-game point streak into tonight and has seven points in his last five games. In addition, the Swedish defender is second in the league in goals by a defenseman (11) and sixth in points (26).
Got The Power: The Comets power play continues to ride high throughout the last month. The Comets have scored at least one goal on the man advantage in five of the last six games and are 7-21 (33.3%) overall during the timespan. Utica’s power play ranks fifth in the league at 20.2%.
Head Above Water: The Comets are beginning to pick up steam while playing at home. Utica has finally gotten their home record to above .500% thanks to a four-game point streak and points in five of their last six home games. The Comets are 9-9-5 at the Adirondack Bank Center this season.
White Hot: In addition to their four-game home point streak, the Comets are riding a four-game winning streak and have collected points in 10 straight games. Utica is 11-1-2 in their last 14 games and has not lost in regulation since January 12.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action tomorrow night as they host the Belleville Senators. 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 AHL Live.