COMETS RETURN HOME TO TAKE ON MARLIES
Feb 28, 2020UTICA COMETS (30-20-3-2) vs. TORONTO MARLIES (27-22-3-2)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #TORvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Toronto Marlies. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: Sven Baertschi scored his 11th goal of the season and earned the shootout winner while Michael DiPietro made 34 saves, and the Utica Comets beat the Rochester Americans 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday at Blue Cross Arena. Brogan Rafferty scored the other goal for Utica.
Head to Head: This is the fourth and final meeting between the Comets and Marlies this season. Utica leads the season series 2-1-0-0 and won the most recent contest 6-4 back on December 11. The Comets have outscored the Marlies 13-12 through three games.
Scouting the Marlies: Toronto comes in with a record of 27-22-3-2 and sits in sixth place in the North Division. They most recently beat the Cleveland Monsters 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday. Kenny Agostino leads the active roster with 41 points, followed by Pontus Aberg with 40 points. Kasimir Kaskisuo is the leading goaltender with a record of 14-9-2, a 2.79 goals-against average, and a .909 save percentage.
White Hot: Sven Baertschi has been on a tear lately. Baertschi is riding a three-game point streak, picking up five points (2-3-5) during that stretch. He also has eight points (3-5-8) in his last seven games. The veteran forward has 40 points (11-29-40) in 38 games.
Droppin’ Dimes: The Comets have not been shy about sharing the puck this season. Eleven players have racked up at least 10 assists this season, with seven of those players having 20 or more. Utica also boasts three skaters with 30 or more assists, led by Brogan Rafferty with 34 and Reid Boucher and Nikolay Goldobin with 30 each.
Keep It 100: Justin Bailey is closing in on a career milestone. Bailey is one goal away from reaching 100 career professional goals. The forward has 94 career goals in the AHL and five in the NHL. Bailey has 43 points (26-17-43) in 47 games this season.
Record Chaser: Reid Boucher is closing in on more Comets’ team records. Boucher is three goals and four points back of tying his own team record in both categories. He is also one assist away from tying his career high in helpers. The forward has 58 points (28-30-58) in 48 games this year.
Next Game: The Comets go right back at it tomorrow night against the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available at the Box Office, over the phone by calling (315) 790-9070, or online at www.empirestatetix.com. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.