Gameday: Comets vs. Lake Erie
January 1, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (15-12-0-3) @ UTICA COMETS (10-16-1-2)
Utica Memorial Auditorium, 3 p.m.
Radio: 94.9 K-Rock
Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets are back at The AUD for their sixth straight game on home ice as the Lake Erie Monsters come to town for the third time this season. The Comets are currently 3-1-0-1 through the first five games of their home stand.
When They Last Met: The Utica Comets evened their shootout record to 1-1 this season, with a 3-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters in a Sunday afternoon game at The AUD.ÃâàKellan Lain and Nicklas Jensen each scored for the Comets, while Alexandre Grenier ended the game in the fourth round of the shootout, after Jensen's game winner.ÃâàJensen and Pascal Pelletier also scored in the shootout, while Joacim Eriksson won his second straight start with 26 saves on 28 shots.
Comets Outlook: Henrik Tommernes scored with 1:07 to send the Comets into overtime but Hamilton was victorious in the shootout by a 4-3 margin. Darren Archibald and Alexandre Grenier also scored for the Comets and Joe Cannata made 37 saves on 40 shots as he earned the game's third star. Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu scored the game winner for the Bulldogs in the shootout in the sixth round. Nicklas Jensen and Grenier each scored for the Comets.
Monsters Outlook: Michael Schumacher scored three points (1-2-3) and Mark Olver potted the game winning goal with 2:12 left in overtime to lead Lake Erie to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Wolves last Saturday evening. J.T. Wyman, Trevor Cheek and Andrew Agozzino each scored for the Monsters and netminder Calvin Pickard recorded 35 saves for his eighth victory of the season.
Just In The Nick of Tomm: Henrik Tommernes made his return from injury in a big way with the game tying goal with just 1:04 left in regulation. Tommernes, who also had an assist in the game on Alexandre Grenier's goal, put a Benn Ferriero feed past Dustin Tokarski to complete the first third period comeback in franchise history.
O' My Darling Cal-entine: With assists in both games, Cal O'Reilly continued his dominance in the Mohawk Valley with points in eight straight home games. O'Reilly, who has amassed nine points (1-8-9) over his current streak, has scored in 11 of his 15 games played this season.
The Whole Nine Yards: Aided by their current nine game streak of scoring at least one power-play goal on home ice, the Comets have moved into a tie for sixth in the AHL on the power play, at a 20.5 percent conversion rate this season. The Comets are also one of just two teams in the league, along with Oklahoma City, who has yet to allow a shorthanded goal this season.
Hakuna Cannata: Joe Cannata has started each of the past two games for the Comets following Joacim Eriksson being recalled to Vancouver of the NHL. The Merrimack College graduate recorded 37 saves against the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday and was named the game's third star for his efforts. Cannata has amassed a .895 save percentage over his five starts during the month of December.
Nov More Even Record: The Comets finished the month of December at 4-5-0-1 as they came up one game short of their second consecutive month at the .500 mark.ÃâàUtica has still yet to record a winning month during their short existence.
Health And Welshness: Center Jeremy Welch was recalled from the Vancouver Canucks this afternoon. The Ontario native skated in 19 NHL games and scored his first career NHL goal on Nov. 22 vs. Columbus.
Scouting The Monsters: Team captain Bryan Lerg leads the Monsters in scoring with 25 points (11-14-25), but has the league's worst plus/minus rating at -21. Lerg's 11 goals are also a team high and his 14 assists are tied with center Mark Olver for the most on the team.
Defenseman Stefan Elliott leads the offensive charge from the Lake Erie blueline with 14 points (6-8-14) over 28 games played.
Sami Aittokallio and Calvin Pickard have split the action in net for the Monsters, with each over the 15 games played marker. Pickard has won one more contest, with eight, while Aittokallio leads the team in both goals against average (2.84) and save percentage (.910).
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American Hockey League Stories from January 1, 2014
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- Comets Remain Hot at Home with 3-2 Decision over Lake Erie - Utica Comets
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- Minnesota Recalls Zucker, Blum Returns to Iowa - Iowa Wild
- Falcons Marchessault Recalled by Blue Jackets - Springfield Falcons
- Gameday: Comets vs. Lake Erie - Utica Comets
- Comet Tales: Pascal Pelletier's Journey to Utica - Utica Comets
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