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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

March 7, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS (30-20-3-4) @ UTICA COMETS (22-26-3-4)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets are in search of their third straight win as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are in town for Irish Night at The AUD. The Comets sit eight points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference and the team looks to level their season series against the Penguins at one game apiece.

When They Last Met: The Comets lost a 1-0 decision to the Penguins back in early December at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Nick D'Agostino scored the lone goal for Wilkes-Barre Scranton, beating a screened Joe Cannata from the point.  Eric Hartzell picked up the shutout with 22 saves, while Cannata turned away 17 of 18 in defeat.

Comets Outlook: The Comets defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 4-3 on Wednesday night at The AUD. Colin Stuart, Alex Friesen and Pascal Pelletier scored in regulation for the Comets, while Nicklas Jensen potted the game-winning goal in the shootout for the second time this season. Joacim Eriksson turned aside 32 of 35 for the victory, his 18th of the season. The Galve, Sweden native is now 10-5-2 over his past 17 starts. Pelletier also added another tally in the shootout for Utica.

Penguins Outlook: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton picked up a critical two points from the Albany Devils, in a 2-1 victory at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday, Mar. 1.  The Penguins got two goals in the game's final seven minutes to secure the win.  Brandon Mikkelson knotted the score at the 13:33 mark of the third, before Tom Kostopoulos potted the game winner with just 3:52 remaining.  Mike Sislo scored the lone goal for Albany. Peter Mannino was the victor, with 19 saves on 20 shots, while Keith Kinkaid took the loss for Albany after he stopped 12 of 14.

Special-T Challenge: The Utica Comets have recently thrived on both areas of special teams.  Utica has successfully killed off 13 consecutive minor penalties and 39 of its past 43, good for a 90.6 conversion rate over its past nine games.  The Comets have also scored on the power play in three straight games, in addition to six of its past eight.

The Eriksson Will Come Out Tomorrow: Goaltender Joacim Eriksson turned aside 32 of 35 shots on Wednesday, which improved his record to 10-4-2 over his past 16 starts.  The Utica netminder has recorded a .925 save percentage over that time span.  Eriksson is the AHL's third most worked goaltender this season, with over 2,221 minutes played.

 Frie-sen Bird: Center Alex Friesen found the back of the net for the first time with the Comets against Oklahoma City. Friesen's goal was his first in the AHL since Feb. 1, 2013, when he played for the Chicago Wolves.  Friesen previously scored twice during Utica's 4-2 preseason victory over Adirondack in September and now has three total points (1-2-3) during the 2013-14 season.

This Place About To Bl-O'Reilly: Center Cal O'Reilly has collected 15 points (1-14-15) over his past 15 games played and is currently riding a three game scoring streak.  As a team, the Comets are 17-13-1-2 when O'Reilly plays, as opposed to 7-13-2-2 when he's not in the lineup.

Jens Crafters: Nicklas Jensen potted his second shootout game winner of the season, this in the third round against the Barons.  Jensen added an assist to earn the game's first star nomination.  The helper was the first for the Denmark native since Jan. 11, amidst 12 goals during that time span.

Scouting The Penguins: AHL veteran winger Tom Kostopoulos leads all Wilkes-Barre/Scranton skaters with 20 goals and 39 points.  Kostopolous is one of just 24 AHL players to reach the 20 goal plateau so far this season. Center Nick Drazenovic is tops on the roster amongst forwards with 23 assists over 46 games.  Forward Brian Gibbons, currently with Pittsburgh in the NHL, has 30 points (11-19-30) over 28 AHL games this season.

Defenseman Brandon Mikkelson leads all Penguin skaters with 24 assists, which ranks 14th best amongst AHL blueliners.  Teammate Philip Samuelsson leads all Penguins with a +18 rating, which is also tied for tenth in the entire AHL.

Goaltenders Eric Hartzell and Jeff Deslauriers have split the load in net, with Deslauriers taking the bulk of the work with 38 appearances to Hartzell's 24.  Deslauriers' games played total is tied for the fourth most in the league.  Despite the hefty workload, Deslauriers has struggled this season, ranking just 47th of 49 qualified AHL goaltenders with a .894 save percentage.  Hartzell has recorded a 2.30 goals against average and a .908 save percentage, both best on the Penguins, while Deslauriers leads the way with 18 victories.

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