COMETS RETURN TO FULL HOUSE TO FACE BINGHAMTON

Apr 20, 2021

Tonight's Game: Today's matchup between the Utica Comets and Binghamton Devils marks the second time these teams will battle one another this season. The first matchup took place on February 13 in Newark, NJ where the Comets skated away with a shootout victory in a 6-5 game. On that night, Kole Lind struck for two goals while Carson Focht registered his first ever professional goal and the Stevens brothers both scored their first goals of the year. Goaltender Jake Kielly make 29 saves on 34 shots while stopping three of four shooters in the shootout. Binghamton currently sits in the last spot of the North Division with 16 points and a record of 5-10-5-1. The Comets lost their last two contests putting them at 2-2 in the last four games. Currently, the Comets record is 8-6-0-1 going into tonight's matchup. 

Last Game: The Comets, losing their last two games, gave up six goals in each contest. On Monday night in Syracuse, Utica dropped the contest by a 6-2 score. Jonah Gadjovich and Shawn Cameron were the only two Comets players to make it to the scoresheet. Rookie goaltender Joel Hofer took the loss on the evening stopping 29 of 34 shots. The Comet were unable to convert on four power-play chances while surrendering two goals on five chances against. Syracuse also struck for an empty net short-handed goal while the Comets pulled their netminder for a six-on-four opportunity in the third period. 

Scouting the Devils: Forward Danick Martel and Ben Street are tied for the team lead with 14 points on the season. Martel, playing 22 games this season, has six goals and eight assists while Street, 14 games on the year with Binghamton, has five goals and nine assists. Leading the rookies for the Devils is Reilly Walsh who has struck for two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 20 games on the year. The Devils used five goaltender so far this season with Gilles Senn carrying the bulk of the workload playing in 12 games and amassing a record of 2-7-2 with an .894% and a 3.67 goals against average. Binghamton is coached by Mark Dennehy who was the head coach of Merrimack College men's hockey for thirteen seasons before taking over as bench boss for the New Jersey Devils top affiliate last season. 

Gadjovich Leads the Way: With his goal on Monday night against the Syracuse Crunch, Jonah Gadjovich is tied for fifth in goals scored in the AHL this season. It should be noted that amongst the league leaders in goals, Gadjovich has only played 14 games on the season. With 12 goals in 14 games played, he nearly paces himself at a goal per game while holding steady at one point per game including his two assists on the season. Gadjovich has three goals in his last three games coming into tonight's contest. 

Jake Kielly Working His Way Back: After suffering a defeat at home against Rochester on April 9, Jake Kielly was sidelined with a lower-body injury. Since then, he has prepared to be reinjected into the lineup and it is possible that Kielly will man the crease for Trent Cull's squad against the Devils tonight. Kielly was the game winning goaltender against Binghamton on February 13 where he secured his first win of the season during the team's third game of the year. 

Shawn Cameron: Rookie forward Shawn Cameron scored his first ever AHL goal against the Syracuse Crunch during Monday night's road game. Cameron, spending four years at R.I.T, turned pro this season with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. Last night marked his fifth appearance for Utica. Cameron led R.I.T last season with 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points in 36 games played.