COMETS OPEN UP THREE-IN-THREE WEEKEND AGAINST MARLIES
Apr 5, 2019UTICA COMETS (31-31-6-2) vs. TORONTO MARLIES (37-23-7-4)
Adirondack Bank Center, 7 p.m.
Watch Live: AHLTV | Listen Live: 94.9 K-ROCK
Follow and Interact Live: Twitter | Hashtag: #TORvsUTI
Tonight’s Game: The Utica Comets faceoff against the Toronto Marlies. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Last Game: The Utica Comets scored first, but five unanswered goals from the Syracuse Crunch were too much to overcome during a 6-2 loss on Saturday night at the War Memorial. Seamus Malone and Reid Gardiner scored for Utica. Marek Mazanec made 30 saves on 36 shots.
Head-to-Head: This is the sixth and final meeting between the Comets and Marlies this season. Toronto leads the season series 3-2-0-0 and won the most recent contest 5-2 last Friday. The Marlies have outscored the Comets 25-20 through five games.
Scouting The Marlies: Toronto comes in with a record of 37-23-7-4 and sits in third place in the North Division. They most recently lost to the Hershey Bears 3-0 yesterday. Jeremy Bracco leads the way on offense with 75 points, followed by Chris Mueller with 63 points. Michael Hutchinson is the top netminder with a record of 16-8-5, a 2.85 goals-against average, and .909 save percentage.
Veteran Presence: Tom Pyatt has provided a strong veteran presence from the Comets since joining the team in early January. The forward has two points in his last four games while also playing crucial power play and penalty kill minutes. The forward has 14 points (4-10-14) in 30 games with the Comets this season.
Three’s Company: It’s been a good year offensively for Reid Boucher, Tanner Kero, and Zack MacEwen. With 28, 24, and 20 goals respectively, it is the first time in Comets history that the team has had more than one 20-goal scorer. Boucher holds the team record for most goals in a single season and is five points back of tying Pascal Pelletier’s record for most points in a single season (62).
Closing In: Brendan Gaunce is on the verge of hitting a career milestone. Gaunce sits one goal and one assist back of tying his career best in those categories. Additionally, he is two points away from tying his career high in points. The forward has 36 points (16-20-36) in 54 games this year.
Power Up: The Comets’ power play is back on the upswing. Utica has scored at least one goal on the man advantage in back-to-back games. Additionally, the Comets are operating at 23.8% on the power play against the Marlies. Overall, Utica ranks 19th on the man advantage at 18%.
Next Game: The Comets are back in action tomorrow night at the Hartford Wolf Pack. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on 94.9 KROCK and viewed on AHLTV.