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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Bridgeport

December 6, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS (7-10-1-3) @ UTICA COMETS (6-12-1-1)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets are in search of their second victory on home ice as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers travel to the Mohawk Valley for the only time this season. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. in the first game at The AUD during the month of December.

When They Last Met: Tonight is the first meeting in franchise history between these two teams.

Comets Outlook: The Comets dropped their most lopsided outcome in franchise history as they fell 6-1 to the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena.  Benn Ferriero scored a power-play goal late in the second period to cut the deficit to 3-1, but Utica surrendered three goals in the first 2:21 of the third period and could not recover. Joe Cannata started for the Comets but was replaced by Joacim Eriksson after he stopped 10 of 13 shots he faced. Eriksson turned aside 13 of 16 shots in the latter half of the game.

Sound Tigers Outlook: Goaltender Kenny Reiter delivered a 34 save shutout as the Sound Tigers downed the Adirondack Phantoms 1-0 at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The shutout was the first of Reiter's professional career.  Anders Lee's goal midway through the second period, off of an assist from scoring leader Ryan Strome, proved to be all Bridgeport needed for the victory. The Phantoms, who will host the Comets tomorrow, got 25 saves from Cal Heeter.

Benn At Work: With his power-play goal against Rochester, Benn Ferriero extended his team lead in goals to eight, three more than his nearest teammate. Ferriero's blast was his third of the season with the man advantage, which broke a five-way tie for the team lead in power-play goals.

Power Play Heats Up: Ferriero's tally last night marked the fifth time in the last six games where the Comets have score a power-play goal. Over that current six game span, the Comets have operated at a 25 percent clip (5 for 20), which is more than seven percent higher than their 17.6 percent success rate for the season as a whole.

International Yann Of Mystery: After being loaned to Utica by Vancouver on Nov. 19, defenseman Yannick Weber has now recorded five points (1-4-5) over his five games played in a Comets jersey.  The Switzerland native's presence has added to the potency with the man-advantage as four of his five points have come on the power play.  Weber's four game assist streak is also tied for the second longest active streak in the AHL.

Fourth Time's a Charm?: The Comets enter tonight's game winless in three games against the Eastern Conference at 0-2-0-1. Their only point of the season came via a 2-1 shootout loss against the Syracuse Crunch back on Oct. 25 at The AUD.

Don't Call It A Comeback: With the loss against the Americans, Utica has yet to record a standings point and is now 0-11-0-0 in games where they trail after two periods of play.   On the contrary, the Comets are 6-1-1-1 for 14 points when leading or tied after 40 minutes.

Brandon's Old Boys: Utica winger Brandon DeFazio will be familiar with tonight's opponent as he spent all of last season in Bridgeport. DeFazio had career highs in assists (14), points (25), games played (69) and penalty minutes (139) with the Sound Tigers while he also tied his career high in goals with 11. 

Strome Away From Home: The Sound Tigers bring one of the AHL's best in Ryan Strome, who ranks third in the league with 26 points (11-15-26). Strome has picked up 13 (3-10-13) of those points over ten games away from home.

Scouting The Sound Tigers: Ryan Strome has led the way this season for the Sound Tigers with 26 points (7-19-26), which ranks him tied for third in the AHL in scoring. The Mississauga, ON native leads all league rookies in assists and points. Andres Lee and Mike Halmo are tied for the team lead in goals with eight apiece, with Halmo also commanding the Sound Tigers lead with four power-play goals and a +7 rating.

Dallas Jackson has led all Bridgeport blueliners with nine points (2-7-9), while Mike Keenan has two power-play goals, the most amongst defenseman. Matt Donovan, who has spent much of the season in the NHL with the New York Islanders, has recorded four points (1-3-4) over four games played.

With Anders Nilsson recalled to the NHL, Kenny Reiter has carried the load in net, with a 4-4-2 record, a .907 save percentage and a 2.84 goals against average, all team highs. The Minnesota-Duluth product has recorded one shutout and has lost just one of his past seven starts in regulation.

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