COMETS TAKE ON CHECKERS IN SUNDAY MATINEE
Dec 16, 2018Bojangles Coliseum, 1 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
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Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Charlotte Checkers for the third time this year. Puck drop at Bojangles Coliseum is at 1 p.m.
Last Game: After going down 2-1 halfway through the second period, the Comets rallied and scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Binghamton Devils by a score of 5-2 Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Zack MacEwen, Cam Darcy, Guillaume Brisebois, Brendan Gaunce, and Lukas Jasek all scored for the Comets. Thatcher Demko made 27 saves in the win.
Head-to-Head: This is the third meeting between the Comets and Checkers this season. Charlotte has won both meetings, most recently taking a 3-1 decision on October 24. Utica has been outscored 7-4 so far this year.
Scouting the Checkers: Charlotte comes in with a record of 21-6-1-0 and sits in first place in the Atlantic Division. They most recently topped the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-2 last night. Andrew Poturalski leads the offense with 26 points, followed by Martin Necas with 21 points. Alex Nedeljkovic is the leading netminder with a 14-4-1 record, a 2.78 goals-against average, and a .896 save percentage.
On Fire: The Comets have been rolling. Utica has won four games in a row and seven of their last 10 games. Additionally, the Comets have scored five or more goals in all four wins. They have also scored at least five goals in all but one game so far this month.
Streaking: The career year for Zack MacEwen continues. MacEwen is riding a three-game point streak and has points in nine of his last 10 games. He has already topped his career high in goals with 13 this year already. On top of that, he is only 10 points shy of matching his career high of 33 that he set last season. The second year forward has 23 points (13-10-23) in 29 games this season.
Unstoppable: Reid Boucher cannot be slowed down this season. Boucher is on an eight-game point streak and three straight games with multiple points. He has also registered a point in all but one game he’s played in this season. Boucher is third in the league in goals and leads the Comets with 26 points (14-12-26) in 18 games this year.
Back to Form: Thatcher Demko is starting to round back into form. Demko has won three straight starts and has not given up more than three goals in a game yet this season. The third-year netminder is 5-3-0 on the year with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
Next Game: The Comets are back at it Tuesday night for a rematch with the Checkers. Puck drop at Bojangles Coliseum is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.