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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs Abbotsford

March 28, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


ABBOTSFORD HEAT (35-24-5-2) @ UTICA COMETS (29-28-3-4)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets remain in pursuit of the final playoff position in the Western Conference as the Abbotsford Heat come to the Mohawk Valley tonight for the first of two games. Utica has won seven of nine entering this evening's action.

When They Last Met: The Comets earned a 3-1 victory over the Heat in their final game of the season in Abbotsford, back on Mar. 15.  Colin Stuart picked up a pair of goals, while Brandon DeFazio also scored and center Alex Friesen collected two assists.  Goaltender Joacim Eriksson picked up the victory with 38 saves on 39 shots.

Comets Outlook: The Comets pulled out a 3-0 shutout in Milwaukee on Feb. 7, led by 21 saves from Joacim Eriksson and two goals from Darren Archibald. Defenseman Kent Huskins also scored for the Comets.  For Eriksson, the shutout was his fourth of the season, which, at the time, moved him to second in the AHL in that category.  Marek Mazanec made 28 saves on 31 shots in defeat.

Heat Outlook: The Heat defeated the Marlies on Sunday afternoon by a 3-2 scoreline Ricoh Coliseum.  Trevor Smith (1-1-2) and Peter Holland (0-2-2) led the way with two points apiece, while Carter Ashton and Jerry D'Amigo also scored.  Corey Locke and Zachery Davies each scored for Abbotsford in defeat.  Garret Sparks was victorious with 31 saves, while Joni Ortio took the loss with 26 saves on 29 shots.

Here Come The Comets: Since Jan. 18, the Comets have been the AHL's second highest producing team with 38 points, courtesy of an 18-7-2 record. Utica, which trails just St. John's in both wins and points during that span, has moved into sole possession of 11th place in the Western Conference, six points shy of the final playoff position with three games in hand.

Calice In Wonderland: Center Cal O'Reilly has been one of the AHL's finest players since he returned from injury on Feb. 21.  The Toronto native has the most assists in the league (15) since that date, padded by his helper on Saturday. That tally pushed him one ahead of Oklahoma City's Marc Arcobello.

Tenacious D-eFazio: Comets winger Brandon DeFazio had points in each of Utica's three games this past weekend, which gives him points in six of seven overall (5-1-6).  The grizzly winger has now set career highs in both goals (14) and points (27) and is one helper off of his career best of 14.

 Show And Pell: Utica's leading scorer and center Pascal Pelletier joined DeFazio with a point in each of Utica's three contests this past weekend.  Pelletier, who was named the game's first star on Sunday against Milwaukee, now has 52 points on the season which is tied for 15th in the AHL.

Cannat Another Teen Movie: Goaltender Joe Cannata has been on fire as of late, with a 5-1-0 record over his past seven appearances, which dates back to Jan. 18 against Hamilton.  Over his string of games, the Wakefield, MA native has turned aside 181 of 191 shots against, which gives him a .948 save percentage.  Cannata has also won each of his past four starts outside of New York State.

Got a Little Captain In You?: Winger Colin Stuart had a three game goal scoring streak from last Saturday through this Saturday, with four total goals over that span.  Stuart is now tied for second on the Utica roster with 17 goals on the season and is now just one goal short of his AHL career high of 18 goals, set with the Chicago Wolves in 2006-07.

Scouting The Heat: Abbotsford has a new leader in scoring, center Max Reinhart, who enters this week with a team best 49 points (18-31-49) over 56 games played, with his 31 assists also team high.  Winger Ben Street, Abbotsford's scoring leader for much of the season, is just one point behind with 48 and leads all Heat players with 24 goals and .98 points-per-game.  Center Corey Locke has 34 assists for the 2013-14 season as a whole, combined with his time in Chicago and Abbotsford. Locke has 17 points (2-15-17) in 21 games since he joined the Heat.

Defenseman Chad Billins remains Abbotsford's leader from the blueline, with 39 points (10-29-39) over 61 games played.  Billins is one of just six defenseman in the league with 10 goals this season and his point total is seventh best amongst all blueliners.

Abbotsford received a big boost on last week, with goaltender Joni Ortio rejoining the roster to join Olivier Roy as the Heat goaltending tandem.  Ortio has been stout this season between the pipes, with a 20-7-2 record over 29 games played, with a 2.25 goals against average (GAA) and a .925 save percentage, all of which lead the team.

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