COMETS HEAD SOUTH TO FACE DEVILS
Jan 26, 2018UTICA COMETS (20-14-9) vs. BINGHAMTON DEVILS (12-22-7)
Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena, 7:05 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 do battle with the Binghamton Devils. Puck drop at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena is at 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets fell to the Hartford Wolf Pack by a score of 4-3 in overtime Wednesday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Cole Schneider netted the game’s first goal at the 8:15 mark of the opening period. Adam Tambellini extended the lead to 2-0 two minutes later. Zack MacEwen pulled the Comets back to within one at the 13:20 mark of the first period. MacEwen struck again four minutes later to tie the game at two. Adam Comrie and Michael Carcone tallied the assists on the power play goal. Adam Chapie regained the lead for Hartford with 5:33 to go in the second period. With Bachman off for the extra attacker, Reid Boucher tied the game with a power play goal with 39 seconds left in regulation. Nikolay Goldobin and Philip Holm registered the assists. Schneider scored the game-winning goal with 2:40 remaining in overtime. Bachman finished with 30 saves and his record falls to 4-7-4.
Head-to-Head: This is the fourth meeting between the North Division rivals this season. The Comets lead the season series 2-1-0 and won the most recent contest 3-2 in overtime on January 13. The Comets are outscoring the Devils 6-5 through three games this year.
Scouting the Devils: Binghamton comes in with a record of 12-22-7 and sits in last place in the North Division. They most recently fell 3-0 to the Toronto Marlies this past Saturday. Jacob MacDonald is the leading point scorer with 30 points, followed by Nick Lappin with 26 points. Eddie Lack is the leading active goaltender with a record of 3-4-2, a 2.41 goals-against average, and .913% save percentage.
Road Warriors: The Comets have been on fire away from the Adirondack Bank Center over the last month. Utica has points in seven consecutive road games and has not lost in regulation away from home since December 13 against Rochester. The Comets are 12-5-3 on the road this season.
Riding High: Reid Boucher and Nikolay Goldobin continue their offensive tears this season. Both Goldobin and Boucher carry three-game point streaks into tonight’s game. In addition, Boucher is riding a five-game road point streak into tonight. Boucher leads the Comets with 38 points (21-17-38) with Goldobin following behind with 26 points (7-19-26).
Power Surge: The Comets power play has been lights out over the last few games. Utica is 3-5 (60%) on the man advantage in their last two games and have notched at least one power play goal in three of the last five games. Overall, the Comets power play ranks seventh in the AHL at 19.8%.
Spread the Wealth: The Comets continue to get contributions from all over the lineup. Utica boasts 16 skaters with 10 or more points. Of those 16 players, eight have 10 or more assists. In addition, four of the 16 have 20 or more points.
Next Game: The Comets return to action tomorrow night against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Puck drop at the PPL Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHL Live.