COMETS SEEK TO AVENGE LAST WEEK'S LOSS TO AMERKS
Oct 26, 2018UTICA COMETS (4-5-0-0) vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS (5-2-1-0)
Blue Cross Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsROC
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets hit the road to battle the Rochester Americans. Puck drop at Blue Cross Arena is at 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: Charlotte jumped out to a 3-0 lead and Scott Darling stopped 25 of 26 shots in a dominating performance as the Comets fell 3-1 to the Checkers Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Tanner Kero netted his first goal as a Comet in the loss. Ivan Kulbakov finished with 23 saves and his record fell to 3-2-0.
Head-to-Head: This is the second of 10 matchups against the Americans this season. Rochester took the first game by a 6-1 score last Wednesday. The Comets are 24-10-2-1 over the last five years against the Amerks.
Scouting the Americans: Rochester comes in with a 5-2-1-0 record and sits in first place in the North Division. They most recently fell to the Belleville Senators 5-4 in overtime last Saturday. Victor Olofsson leads the offense with 14 points, followed by Lawrence Pilut with 12 points. Scott Wedgewood is the leading netminder with a 3-2-0 record, a 3.59 goals-against average, and a .888 save percentage.
On The Road Again: The Comets have gotten off to a hot start on the road this season. Utica is 3-0-0 on the road this season with all three road wins coming against divisional opponents. The Comets went 21-12-4-1 away from the Adirondack Bank Center last season.
Leading The Way: Olli Juolevi is quietly making an impact on the Comets back end. Juolevi is shining in top pairing and special teams minutes while contributing offensively. The rookie defenseman has tallied six points (1-5-6) in nine games, which leads all Comets blue-liners.
Playing Ahead: The Comets are a hard team to beat when playing with a lead. Utica has only lost once when leading after the first and is undefeated when leading after two periods this season. The Comets will need to get ahead and stay ahead in order to come away with a win tonight.
Milestone Watch: Tanner Kero is chasing a career milestone. Kero is eight points shy of 100 career AHL points. The forward has eight points (1-7-8) in nine games this season and 92 points (41-51-92) in 138 AHL games.
Next Game: The Comets return to action Friday, November 2 when they hit the road to take on the Laval Rocket. Puck drop at Place Bell is at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.