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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Albany

January 17, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


ALBANY DEVILS (21-11-3-2) @ UTICA COMETS (11-19-2-3)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets return home following a four game road trip, to host their rivals from down the NYS Thruway, the Albany Devils in front of a SOLD OUT crowd. The Comets, who went just 0-2-1-1 away from the AUD, are now in search of the first victory in franchise history against their rivals from the East.

When They Last Met: The last time the Comets and Devils met was all the way back in October, when Albany spoiled the AHL's return to Utica with a 4-1 victory.  Frankie Corrado scored the lone Utica goal, while Joe Cannata made 19 saves in defeat. Joe Whitney led the way for the Devils with two goals and three points, while Scott Timmons added two assists. Keith Kinkaid was stout between the pipes with 22 saves on 23 shots.

Comets Outlook: The Comets mounted a spirited third period comeback effort to knot the score at 2, but a Bobby Butler shootout goal handed Utica its fifth straight loss, 3-2 to San Antonio.  Nicklas Jensen scored twice for the Comets and Mathieu Corbeil recorded 21 saves on 23 shots in his first career AHL start.  Jacob Markstrom was stout for the Rampage in net, as he stopped 34 of 36 shots during play and all five he faced during the shootout.

Devils Outlook: Albany has been idle since last Sunday, when they dropped a 4-1 decision to the visiting Hershey Bears. Jeff Taffe and Brandon Segal paced the Bears with a goal and an assist each and Riley Gill turned aside 29 of 30 Albany shots to earn the victory. Artem Demkov scored the lone goal for the Devils and Kinkaid suffered the defeat with just 12 saves before giving way in the third period to backup Scott Wedgewood.

Jenetic Engineering: For the second time in three games, winger Nicklas Jensen accounted for all of Utica's scoring, with both goals in the 3-2 loss against the Rampage. Jensen has now recorded five points (4-1-5) over a current three game scoring streak in Utica's past trio of games.

Corb On The Cob: Following his debut against Texas on Thursday with a perfect 17 saves on 17 shots in relief of Joe Cannata, goaltender Matthiew Corbeil.made his first career AHL start on Monday against San Antonio. Corbeil recorded 21 saves on 23 shots as the Comets earned a point on the road via the shootout. The Montreal, PQ native also turned aside four of five shots in the shootout.

Arch Madness: Winger Darren Archibald has been reassigned by the Vancouver Canucks, after three games in the NHL. Archibald is currently riding a five game point streak, which dates back to the Dec. 27th game against the Binghamton Senators. Archibald has recorded two points (0-2-2) in 11 total games this season with the Canucks.

Benn It Like Beckham: Comet winger Benn Ferriero hasn't missed a beat since returning from Vancouver, with points in three straight games (0-3-3). Ferriero, who leads all Comet players with 11 points play points (4-7-11), skated in two games with Vancouver last week.

Kennedy Crush: The Comets have recently signed forward Patrick Kennedy to a PTO.  Kennedy has skated in 19 games this season with Evansville of the ECHL, where he amassed 14 points (5-9-14). Kennedy skated in four seasons with the Cornell Big Red, where he twice qualified in the NCAA Tournament.

Life In The Fast Lain: Utica will be without one of its most consistent performers, center Kellan Lain, who was recalled to Vancouver on Wednesday. Lain has appeared in all 35 games for the Comets and collected 11 points (7-4-11). The Oakville ON native's first game with the Canucks was yesterday at Phoenix.

Severyn Thunderstorm Warnings: The Comets also added winger C.J. Severyn on a professional try out. A native of Beaver, PA, Severyn has played in 10 career AHL games with Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he recorded four total penalty minutes. The winger has picked up 17 points (6-11-17) over 19 games with the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears in 2013-14.

Scouting The Devils: Albany possesses one of the AHL's leading scorers in Joe Whitney, who ranks tied for fourth in the league in points with 34 (14-20-34).  Whitney leads the Devils in several offensive categories, including goals, assists, points, power-play goals and shots on net. Albany center Scott Timmons is also near a point per game pace, with 22 points (9-13-22) over 23 games played.

Goaltender Keith Kinkaid, the AHL player of the week during the period ending on Nov. 17, leads the Devils with both 14 victories and 518 saves. Kinkaid also leads all active Albany netminders with a .915 save percentage and a 2.18 goals against average, which ranks seventh in the league.  The Union College product is also tied for the AHL lead with four shutouts.

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