COMETS THROW DOWN WITH FIRST-PLACE BELLEVILLE
Feb 21, 2020UTICA COMETS (28-20-3-2) vs. BELLEVILLE SENATORS (34-15-4-1)
CAA Arena, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #UTIvsBEL
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets the road to take on the first-place Belleville Senators. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets were provided goals from Nikolay Goldobin and John Stevens, but they were unable to overcome a three-goal deficit as they fell by a 3-2 margin to the Rochester Americans on Sunday at Blue Cross Arena. Mikey DiPietro made 22 saves in the loss.
Head-to-Head: This is the sixth meeting between the Comets and Senators this season. Belleville leads the season series 3-2-0-0 and won the most recent matchup 4-2 back on January 25. The Senators have outscored the Comets 18-11 through five games.
Scouting the Senators: Belleville comes in with a record of 34-15-4-1 and sits in first place in the North Division. They most recently beat the Rochester Americans 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night. Josh Norris leads the active roster with 58 points, followed by Alex Formenton with 46 points. Joey Daccord is the top netminder with a record of 14-4-2, a 2.55 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage.
Road Warrior: Nikolay Goldobin has played well on the road recently. Goldobin has a four-game road point streak going, picking up five points (4-1-5) in those games. The forward has 46 points (19-27-46) in 46 games this year.
Good Fit: John Stevens has made an excellent addition to the Comets lineup since being acquired from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Stevens has three points (2-1-3) in his last five games and is one goal back of tying his career high for goals in a single season. He is also eight points away from tying his career high in points. The forward has 11 points (6-5-11) in 32 games split between Utica and Bridgeport this season.
Staying Hot: Reid Boucher continues to rack up points for the Comets. Boucher has six points (4-2-6) in his last four games and 14 points (6-8-14) in his last 12 games. The forward leads the team with 56 points (28-28-56) in 46 games.
Welcome Back: Justin Bailey has returned from his stint in Vancouver and will look to make an immediate impact. Before his callup, Bailey was riding a seven-game point streak, picking up 13 points (8-5-13) in those games. The forward has collected 40 points (24-16-40) in 45 games with the Comets.
Next Game: The Comets return to the ice Wednesday, February 26 on the road against the Rochester Americans. Puck drop Blue Cross Arena is at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.