AHL Utica Comets

Gameday: Comets vs. Syracuse

Published on October 25, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release


SYRACUSE CRUNCH (2-2-0-1) @ UTICA COMETS (0-4-0-0)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

The Utica Comets look to regroup tonight following a 4-1 loss against the Albany Devils in the franchise's home opener, which extended the team's winless streak to four games. Their opponent tonight is the Syracuse Crunch, who will make the short trip East for the first ever "Thruway Throwdown". Puck drop is set for 7:00PM.

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

Comets Outlook: Despite playing before a sold out and exuberant crowd at the Aud., the Comets fell to the Albany Devils 4-1 in the first ever home game in team history. Comet defenseman Frankie Corrado scored the first goal on home ice as his slap shot found the back of the net in the third period to break the shutout. Joe Cannata was solid between the pipes as he made 19 saves on 22 shots.

Crunch Outlook: The Crunch travel to Utica on a winning note after they defeated the Binghamton Senators 4-1 in their most recent contest. Artem Sergeev, Vlad Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov and Cedric Paquette each found the back of the net while goaltender Riku Helenius made 26 saves on 27 shots to record the victory. The victory marks the most recent turn in a string of up and down performances by the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, who come in at 2-2-0-1.

Sweet Home Utica: After they begun their inaugural season with three games on the road, the Comets have finally returned to the comfort of home ice. Tonight's game against Syracuse is the second in a string of six straight in Utica. The Comets' home stand stretches through the Nov. 6 meeting with Toronto.

Empire State Of Mind: The Comets became the sixth AHL team in the state of New York when they joined the league. They are currently in the final of five consecutive games against NY opposition, following two apiece with Rochester and Albany. Utica will face Binghamton and Adirondack (Glens Falls) later on in the season.

Corrad-Oh Yeah: With his powerplay goal at the 13:12 mark of the third period, Frank Corrado netted the first ever Comets goal at the Aud. The goal was also the first of the young defenseman's professional career, which is comprised of 13 AHL and seven NHL games.

Sauve For Men: With his assist against the Devils, defenseman Yann Sauve became the first Comets blueliner to net multiple points (0-2-2) on this young season. Sauve was recalled to the Canucks on Wednesday, where he was a healthy scratch against the New Jersey Devils the following night, before being reassigned to Utica.

Vancouver Bound: The Vancouver Canucks announced just yesterday that forwards Pascal Pelletier and Darrin Archibald had been recalled to the big club. Pelletier is the Comets leading scorer on the season with seven points (2-5-7) and has skated in 13 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. Archibald leads the Comets in penalty minutes with 22 and has two points (1-1-2) over four games. The Newmarket, ONT native has yet to make his NHL debut.

Home Away From Home: Although the Crunch and Comets have never met in an AHL game, the Syracuse organization is no stranger to the Auditorium. 3,066 fans came out to the Aud. on Feb. 15, 2006 as the Crunch defeated the Binghamton Senators 9-4.

International Men Of Mystery: Syracuse possesses one of the most well traveled rosters in the AHL as they come to Utica tonight, with players representing six different countries. The Crunch lineup features 11 Canadians, six Americans and four Russians, in addition to Riku Helenius (Finland), Dmitry Korobov (Belarus) and Tanner Richard (Switzerland).

Scouting The Crunch: A pair of talented Russian forwards has carried the scoring load for Syracuse thus far. Nikita Kucherov leads Crunch with eight points (5-3-8) over just five games played. Kucherov's five goals are tied for fifth best in the league and his eight points are tied for eighth. The Maykop native is also tied with Hartford's Danny Kristo for the league lead in rookie scoring. Vladimir Namestnikov is second amongst Crunch forwards with six points (3-3-6) and has already notched two multi-point contests through just five games.

Matt Taormina enters tonight's contest fifth amongst defensemen in the AHL in scoring with seven points (1-6-7), with his six assists ranking fourth amidst blueliners. Nikita Nesterov has three points (0-3-3) as a rookie.

Cedrick Desjardins and Riku Helenius have shared goaltending duties thus far for the Crunch. Helenius comes in with one more game played with three, and has compiled a 2-1-0 record, a .903 save percentage and a 2.35 GAA. Desjardins enters tonight's action at 0-2-0 with a .831 save percentage and a 4.93 GAA.

Check out the Utica Comets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from October 25, 2013


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.

OurSports Central