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AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Lake Erie

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


LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (9-7-0-1) @ UTICA COMETS (4-10-1-1)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7 p.m.

The Utica Comets look to make it three in a row as they host the Lake Erie Monsters for the first time this season. The Comets are coming off of wins in back to back games against the Rochester Americans last weekend, which included their first win of the season on home ice.

When They Last Met: The Comets earned their first win of the season on Nov. 8 when they won the second of two games in Cleveland by 3-2 final score.  Colin Stuart scored the game winning goal late in the third period while Joacim Eriksson turned aside 22 of 24 shots on net for the victory.

Comets Outlook: Joacim Eriksson stopped all 31 shots he faced as the Comets blanked the Americans 2-0 Saturday night in front of a sold-out Auditorium.  The shutout earned a first star nomination for Eriksson, who picked up his fourth win of the season. Yannick Weber and Darren Archibald each scored for Utica, who won for the fourth time in six games. Henrik Tommernes, Pascal Pelletier, Alex Grenier and Peter Andersson each picked up assists, while Matt Hackett turned aside 27 of 29 shots in the loss for Rochester.

Monsters Outlook: Andrew Agozzino netted two goals and Joey Hishon recorded three points (1-2-3) as the Monsters defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 5-3 last Friday. Team captain Bryan Lerg also put up a multi-point game (0-2-2) as Lake Erie used two power-play goals to earn a split against the Barons. Sami Aittokallio improved to 4-2-0-1 on the season with the victory by way of 25 saves on 28 shots against.

Home Improvement: With the 2-0 victory over the Americans, Utica finally ended its losing streak on home ice at eight games, with the Comets' home record now sitting at 1-6-1-1. The victory was the first for a for a Utica American Hockey League team on home ice since March 13, 1993 when the Utica Devils defeated the Hershey Bears 5-1.

Shutout Island: With his shutout performance against the Rochester Americans, Joacim Eriksson recorded not only the first shutout of his North American career, but also the first in Utica Comets team history.  The shutout was the first for a Utica franchise since Nov. 1, 1992 when the Corey Schwab defeated the Hamilton Canucks 2-0.

Fast Starts Reap Benefits: The Comets are 4-1-1-1 on the season when tied or ahead through two periods of play, which has resulted in all ten of their ten points in the standings.  Alternatively, Utica has yet to win when trailing after forty minutes as they sit at 0-9-0-0.

Mr. November: Benn Ferriero (4-3-7) and Alexandre Grenier (4-3-7) lead the Comets with seven points apiece in November.  Each player has three goals over his last five games and both have recorded a point in each of the Comets' four victories.

Charlotte's Weber: Yannick Weber took little time to make his mark on the Comets as he fired home a power play goal just 9:04 into his Utica debut. The Swiss defenseman also recorded a tied for team high four shots on net during the Comets' victory.

Welcome Back To The Fight Club: Utica defenseman Patrick Mullen recorded just the second fight of his AHL career against the Americans on Saturday, after he dropped the gloves with Kevin Porter. Mullen's only other fight occurred on Feb. 4, 2012 against Brandon Gentile of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Scouting The Monsters: Lerg leads the Monsters in scoring with 16 points (8-8-16) as the winger has participated in all 17 games this season.  Lerg is also the team's leading goal scorer with eight, while center Mark Olver is tops on the roster with 11 assists.  Joey Hishon, Colorado's first round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has eight points (1-7-8) over his first nine games after he missed the beginning of the Lake Erie season with an injury.

Defenseman Stefan Elliott is the leading blueliner on the Monsters with 10 points (4-6-10) and the only Lake Erie defenseman with a double-digit point total. Elliott is also the only Lake Erie defenseman with a power-play goal and he leads the team with 49 shots on goal. Defenseman Karl Stollery tops the Monsters with a +7 rating.

Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio have split time thus far in net for Lake Erie.  Pickard leads the team with five wins, a 2.59 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and one shutout, which came against Utica. Aittokallio comes in with the team's winningest record at 4-2-0-0, a 2.69 G.A.A. and a .906 save percentage.

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