COMETS SEARCH FOR FIRST WIN VS. ICECAPS
Jan 17, 2017UTICA COMETS (15-16-6) vs. ST. JOHN’S ICECAPS (19-14-5)
Mile One Centre, 6:00 p.m.
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Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets matchup against the St. John’s IceCaps for third time in Newfoundland this season.
Last Game: Ryan Pulock scored on the power play in the second period to break the scoreless game and give the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead through two periods of play.
Darren Archibald and Alexadre Grenier scored in the third to give the Comets a lead in the closing minutes. Curtis Valk assisted on both goals with all three players finishing with two points apiece. Evan McEneny scored an empty net goal to seal the win. Richard Bachman made 32 saves to improve his record to 6-7-1 on the season.
Head-to-Head: The Comets have lost all five meetings against St. John’s this season. The previous two contests were forced to overtime but the IceCaps secured the wins. All-time, the Comets have won twice in regulation and hold a record of 3-4-6. Alexandre Grenier leads the Comets in the season series with five points (one goal and four assists). Nikita Scherbak leads the IceCaps with six points (three goals and three assists).
Scouting the IceCaps: Much like the Comets, the IceCaps have only lost in regulation once in 2017. However, the team has only played five games going 2-1-2 in that span. St. John’s was forced to overtime for three straight games losing once in a shootout and splitting two overtime games. The previous game was won by a 4-2 score against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Chris Terry returned from Montreal over the weekend and still holds the most points on the IceCaps with 26 (10 goals and 16 assists). The forward enters tonight with a seven-game AHL point streak. Rookie netminder Charlie Lindgren leads the team in goaltending and has played all five games against the Comets going 5-0-0 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.
Comeback Kids: The Comets are tied for second in the AHL with three wins when trailing after two periods of play. Two of the comeback wins occurred on two consecutive Saturdays with a 3-2 overtime win against Hershey and a 3-1 win against Bridgeport. Curtis Valk and Alexandre Grenier scored the game winning goals, respectively.
Return to the Scoresheet: Darren Archibald, Alexandre Grenier and Curtis Valk teamed up to collected six of the eight Comets’ points in Saturday’s 3-1 win against Bridgeport. The three were held pointless the night before in Providence.
Keep Coming Bach: Richard Bachman turned in another solid performance in Saturday’s 3-1 win. In back-to-back games, the netminder has stopped 68 of 70 shots for a .971 save percentage. Since his return from injury, he has allowed more than two goals in one of five starts.
Next Game: The Comets remain in St. John’s, Newfoundland for another 6 p.m. contest against IceCaps on tomorrow night.