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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Hamilton

December 28, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


HAMILTON BULLDOGS (14-14-0-4) @ UTICA COMETS (10-16-1-1)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets look to get back to winning ways after they lost a nail-biting 4-3 decision to the Binghamton Senators last evening at The AUD. The Comets, who are in the fifth of a seven game stretch of home games, have gone 3-1 thus far on this road trip.

When They Last Met: Utica scored twice in the third period to defeat the Bulldogs 3-1 on Nov. 10.  Alexandre Grenier had the game-winning goal at the 2:59 mark of the final stanza, while Colin Stuart added a late empty netter. Zach Hamill also scored for the Comets, who, at the time, won back-to-back games for the first time all season. Joacim Eriksson turned aside 29 of 30 shots to earn the win.

Comets Outlook: Alexandre Grenier had a banner day with three points (2-1-3), but the Comets could not extend their winning streak to five games on home ice as they narrowly fell 4-3 to the Senators. Darren Archibald also scored for Utica, which also got two points from Pascal Pelletier (0-2-2).  Joe Cannata, who started on home ice for the first time since Nov. 1, made 30 saves on 34 shots and fell to 2-7-0-0 on the season.

Bulldogs Outlook: Behind a two-goal effort from Mike Blunden, the Bulldogs defeated divisional rival Toronto, 4-2, in front of more than 8,000 at Copps Coliseum. The Bulldogs outshot the Marlies 49-22 and Sven Andrighetto, who finished with a multi-point game, scored the game winning goal 1:38 into the third period.  Greg Pateryn also finished with a multi-point effort (0-2-2) and Dustin Tokarski picked up his eleventh win of the season as the Bulldogs moved to .500 with 14 wins and 14 losses.

Alexandre The Great: Utica forward Alexandre Grenier tied his career high with three points (2-1-3) in last night's meeting with Binghamton. Grenier, who also potted two goals for the first time in his career, moved into a tie for 16th in rookie scoring in the AHL. The Laval, QC native has now scored 18 points (8-10-18) this season.

Pascal Of The Wild: Pascal Pelletier continues to shoot up the AHL's scoring charts, as his two assists against Binghamton moved him into a tie for ninth in the league with 18.  Pelletier, who also leads all Utica players in assists and points, is approaching the 200 mark for his AHL career as he currently sits 184 over his tenure in the league.

We Got That Power: Despite going just one for eight with the man advantage against Binghamton, the Comets were able to extend their power-play streak on home ice. Utica has now scored at least one power-play goal in its last eight games at The AUD, a franchise record.

First For Once The Worst: The Utica Comets failed to record a point for just the third time this season when they score the first goal, falling to 6-3-0-1 in those situations.

To Kill A Mockingbird: Utica continued to struggle on the penalty kill, as they allowed three power-play goals to the Binghamton Senators. The Comets man down unit is now ranked last in the AHL, having successfully killed off just 74.3 percent of all opportunities. The Comets are also one of just five teams to allow over a power-play goal per game, having surrendered 29 goals over their 28 games played.

Corb Curriculum: With Joacim Eriksson now with the Vancouver Canucks, the Comets have called on Mathieu Corbeil to complete their goaltending tandem. Corbeil comes from Wheeling of the ECHL, where he amassed a 2-1-0 record, with a 2.29 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Scouting The Bulldogs: Hamilton is led by Martin St. Pierre with 25 points (7-18-25). St. Pierre is tied with Utica's Pascal Pelletier for ninth in the AHL in assists.  A quartet of forwards, Nick Tarnasky, Louis Leblanc, Mike Blunden and Sven Andrighetto, lead the Bulldogs with eight goals apiece.

Defenseman Greg Pateryn leads all Hamilton blueliners with 14 points (5-9-14) over 25 games played.  Pateryn's five goals are tied for twelfth in the AHL amongst all defensemen. Pateryn also leads all Bulldog skaters with a +9 rating, while teammate Morgan Ellis is just behind at +8.

Dustin Tokarski has carried the load between the pipes for Hamilton, with 11 of the team's 14 wins this season. Tokarski has also been one of the league's most active goaltenders as he enters tonight fifth in the AHL with 1252:32 played and third with 569 saves. The Humboldt, SK native also ranks tenth in the league with a 2.32 goals against average.

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