COMETS TANGLE WITH DEVILS FOR FIRST TIME THIS YEAR
Nov 10, 2018UTICA COMETS (6-7-1-0) vs. BINGHAMTON DEVILS (6-6-2-0)
Floyd L Maines Veteran’s Memorial Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsBNG
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets take on the Binghamton Devils for the first time this season. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: After falling behind 3-1, the Comets rallied with two goals in the third to send the game to extra time and eventually topped the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-3 in a shootout on Purple Heart Military Night Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center. Zack MacEwen, Lukas Jasek, and Jonah Gadjovich all scored for the Comets. The goal was Gadjovich’s first AHL goal. Ivan Kulbakov stopped 34 shots to improve to 5-3-1.
Head-to-Head: This is the first matchup between the Comets and Devils this season. Utica won last year’s season series with a 6-2-0-0 record. The Comets are 14-13-3-0 in the last five years against New Jersey’s AHL affiliate.
Scouting the Devils: Binghamton comes in with a record of 6-6-2-0 and sits in third place in the North Division. They most recently topped the Charlotte Checkers 4-3 last night. Marian Studenic leads the active roster with nine points, followed by Nick Lappin with eight points apiece. Mackenzie Blackwood is the leading goaltender with a 1-2-1 record, a 2.85 goals-against average, and .904 save percentage.
Making Strides: The breakout season continues for Zack MacEwen. MacEwen has three points in his last four games and six points in his last eight games. The second-year forward has 12 points (6-6-12) in 14 games this year.
Assist Machine: Olli Juolevi has been cranking out assists this season. Juolevi has recorded back-to-back games with two assists as well as four points in his last five games. The rookie defenseman has 11 points (1-10-11) in 14 games this season and leads the team in assists.
Just Killin’ It: The Comets penalty kill has been very effective as of late. Utica is 16-19 on the man down over their last four games, including a perfect 3-3 performance last night. The Comets kill ranks 13th in the AHL at 82%.
Tight Matchup: Tonight’s game presents an intriguing matchup. The Comets come in with a road record of 4-1-1 and are outscoring opponents 20-17. On the flip side, Binghamton is 4-3-1 at home and is being outscored 25-31 on home ice. Something will give when one of the top road teams squares off with one of the best teams on home ice.
Next Game: The Comets return to the ice Wednesday night as they faceoff against the Belleville Senators. Puck drop at CAA Arena is a 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL TV.