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AHL Utica Comets

GAMEDAY: Comets vs Hamilton

October 26, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


HAMILTON BULLDOGS (3-1-0-2) @ UTICA COMETS (0-4-0-1)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Following a shootout loss to the Syracuse Crunch the night before, the Comets look to build off of the first point in franchise history when they host the Hamilton Bulldogs tonight at 7 p.m. The Comets face their first opponent from over the border as the Bulldogs come to the Aud.

When They Last Met: Tonight will be the first ever meeting between these two franchises.

Comets Outlook: The Comets used a gritty effort to take the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Syracuse Crunch to a shootout, but came up just short as they fell 2-1 in six rounds. Colin Stuart put the Comets ahead early in the first with a powerplay goal and Joacim Eriksson made 33 saves on 34 shots over regulation and overtime to limit the Crunch to just one goal. The Crunch won the game in the shootout as Cedric Paquette appeared to lose the puck in the final round, but it trickled through Eriksson's five hole for the game winner.

Crunch Outlook: Hamilton also comes into tonight after having played more than the scheduled 60 minutes after they defeated Rochester 4-3 in overtime last evening at Copps Coliseum.  Louis Leblanc netted the game winner 1:26 into the extra period for his second goal of the game. Robert Meyer recorded the victory with 27 saves on 30 shots. The Bulldogs had a big game on the powerplay, as they went 3-for-7 with the man advantage.

Border Battle: For the first time, the Utica Comets will face a team from Canadian soil when the Bulldogs visit the Aud tonight.  The Comets first five games were against teams from not only the United States, but also New York State.  The Comets travel to Canada for the first time in the return trip to Hamilton on Nov. 10.

CoLinsanity: Colin Stuart became the Comets active leader in goals with his powerplay tally against the Crunch, which gave him two goals on the season. The Comets forward is also tied for seventh in the AHL with two power play goals as both of his tallies have come with the man advantage.

 

Yann The Man: With his assist against the Crunch, Yann Sauve now has recorded primary assists in back to back games.  His three points (0-3-3) on the season, ranks tops amongst Comet defenseman and second on the entire active roster.

 

G.I. Joacim: As he recorded the first point in Utica Comets history, Joacim Eriksson made 33 saves on 34 shots against the Crunch an evening ago, which included 19 during the third period and overtime.  Eriksson was named as the games second star for his efforts.

 

Shooting Star: Benn Ferriero scored on the first shootout attempt in Comets history, as his wristshot found the top of the net over Crunch goaltender Cedrick Desjardins.  After the 2-1 shootout loss, Ferriero remains the only Comet to find the back of the net during the shootout.

New Kid On The Block: Signed by the Comets just yesterday, Brayden Irwin made his Utica Comets debut a night ago against the Crunch.  The 6'5" center was held off the scoresheet during the Comets narrow loss.

Dynamic Defending: The Comets surrendered a season low one regulation goal against the Crunch last night, after giving up an average of 4.25 over their first four games.  The Utica defense needed to be at its best to shut down an offense that led the AHL a season ago with 247 goals en route to an Eastern Conference Championship and a Calder Cup finals appearance.

Still Together: Each of the four coaches for the Bulldogs played a portion of their minor league hockey career on the 1987-88 Sherbrooke Canadiens team. Sherbrooke, at the time, was the top minor league affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.

 

Scouting Hamilton: Leblanc (3-2-5), Magnus Nygren (1-4-5) and Sven Andrighetto (3-2-5) are tied for the team lead in points with five apiece.  Left winger Nick Tarnasky has four goals over six games, which leads the Bulldogs and is tied for 13th in the AHL on the season. Last season's leading scorer Gabriel Dumont also has four points (0-4-4) over six games.

Nygren's five points are tied for 13th best amongst defensemen in the AHL and are tied for second most amongst rookie defensemen. Top Canadiens prospect Jarred Tinordi made his season debut with Hamilton just last night, after being assigned by Montreal on Wednesday. The 6'6" blueliner skated in six NHL games this season, with zero points and nine penalty minutes.

Robert Meyer and Dustin Tokarski have split goaltending duties in Hamilton and both have accounted for three starts. Meyer earned his first win of the season last night in Rochester, and enters with a 1-1-1 record, a 2.60 goals against average (GAA) and a .919 save percentage.  Tokarski comes in with a 2-0-1 record, a 2.59 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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