COMETS CONCLUDE HOMESTAND AGAINST BRUINS
Dec 29, 2017UTICA COMETS (13-12-6) vs. PROVIDENCE BRUINS (20-8-2)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHL Live | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK, Desktop or Mobile
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Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets faceoff with the Providence Bruins for the final time this season. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets fell to the Providence Bruins 5-4 in a shootout Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Ashton Sautner put the Comets up 1-0 53 seconds into the game with a blast from the point. Zack MacEwen and Tony Cameranesi picked up the assists. Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson tied the game at one at the 4:09 mark of the second period. Michael Carcone regained Utica’s lead with 4:12 to go in the middle frame, banking the puck off a Providence defender’s skate and in from behind the net. Adam Payerl tied the game at two. Joseph LaBate made it 3-2 a minute and a half later. Blujus extended the lead to 4-2 with his first marker as a Comet over a minute later. Justin Hickman cut the lead to 4-3 40 seconds later. Matt Beleskey tied the game at four with 1:13 to go in regulation. Kenny Agostino netted the only goal in the shooutout to secure the win. Demko finshed with 37 saves and his record falls to 11-6-4.
Head-to-Head: The Bruins lead the season series 3-0-0, winning in overtime 3-2 on December on 9 and 4-3 in overtime on December 10, and 5-4 in a shootout this past Wednesday. The Comets are 4-2-3 all-time against Providence.
Scouting the Bruins: The Bruins come in with a record of 20-8-2 and sit in first place in the Atlantic Division. Austin Czarnik leads the Bruins offensively with 27 points, followed by Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson with 21 points. Jordan Binnington leads the goaltending tandem with an 8-1-1 record, a 1.65 goals-against average, and .949% save percentage.
Shut Them Down: The Comets penalty kill continues to stay hot. Utica has killed off 18 straight penalties and has only allowed one power play goal in the last six games. The Comets’ penalty kill ranks eighth in the AHL at 85.1%.
Right at Home: Patrick Wiercioch and Michael Carcone have been dominant on home ice lately. Both players extended their home point streak to four games each. Wiercioch has tallied 12 points (5-7-12) and Carcone has notched 9 points (6-3-9) total this season.
Keeping Pace: Utica has been able to maintain their position in the standings thanks to their ability to battle back and earn points The Comets have collected at least one point in 12 of the last 15 games.
A Week of Firsts: There’s been a number of firsts for Comets players over the past week. Dylan Blujus and Tony Cameranesi both tallied their first points in a Comet uniform. Vincent Arseneau also picked up his first AHL goal a week ago against Toronto.
Next Game: The Comets return to the ice tomorrow night for game four of the Galaxy Cup series against the Crunch. Puck drop at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.