COMETS LOOK FOR WEEKEND SPLIT WITH CHARLOTTE
Oct 28, 2017UTICA COMETS (3-3-0) vs. CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (6-2-0)
Bojangles Coliseum, 1 p.m.
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsCHA
Today’s Game: The Utica Comets battle the Charlotte Checkers for the second day in a row. Puck drop is at one o’clock.
Last Game: The Utica Comets fell to the Charlotte Checkers by a score of 5-1. The first period went scoreless, but Andrew Miller broke the tie just 37 seconds into the second period. Miller’s second of the night made it 2-0 with 12:14 to go in the middle frame. Sergey Tolchinsky scored five minutes later to make it 3-0 Charlotte. Phillip Samuelsson made it 4-0 two and a half minutes later. Patrick Brown extended the lead to 5-0 with a power play goal four minutes into the third period. Brendan Gaunce ended the shutout bid with 11:12 to go in the final period with an assist from Joseph LaBate. Bachman finished with 14 saves in the loss.
Head-to-Head: The Checkers won the only meeting of the two teams this year by a score of 5-1.
Scouting the Checkers: The Checkers come into today’s matchup with a record of, sitting third in the Atlantic Division. Lucas Wallmark leads the offense with 12 points. Alex Nedeljkovic leads the goaltending tandem with a 5-0-0 record, a 2.63 GAA, and a .905% save percentage.
End of the Line: The Comets conclude their season long seven-game road trip this afternoon. The trip took the team to Toronto for a weekend, Rochester twice and Syracuse before finally ending in the Queen City.
Lockdown Defense: The Comets have been stellar defensively through six games this season. Utica is first in the AHL in goals against, only surrendering 15 goals so far this year.
Getting It Done: The Comets have been excellent on the penalty kill of late. The Comets have killed off 19 of their last 20 penalties. Overall, Utica is 87.5% on the penalty kill this season.
Consistent Contributor: Despite on playing in five games over the past two seasons with the Comets, Brendan Gaunce has been right in the middle of the offense. The forward has racked up three goals and an assist during his short stints in Utica. Overall, the Sudbury, Ontario native has scored 71 points in 125 games with the Comets.
Next Game: The Comets return to action Wednesday night in their home opener against the Rochester Americans. Fans are encouraged to utilize the ticket exchange website, StubHub!. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.