By Scott Kinville/315 Hockey.
The Utica Comets begin a three-game road trip north of the border on Wednesday night when they visit the Belleville Senators for an Ides of March game at the CAA Arena. The Comets enter Wednesday night’s matchup in second place in the North Division holding a slim one-point advantage over the third-place Syracuse Crunch. The Senators are currently in sixth place in the North Division but are just one point behind the fifth-place Laval Rocket whom they are trying to catch for the fifth and final playoff spot in the division with thirteen games remaining in the regular season.
This will be the sixth and final regular-season meeting between the Comets and Senators. The Comets have had the Senator’s number this season, as they have won all five previous meetings – including a 4-3 overtime in victory in Utica just five days ago. Utica has won three of its last five games overall but lost 5-2 at Lehigh Valley on Sunday in the last game they played. The Senators have won three of their last five games as well, but have dropped their last two in a row.
Old friends will get to see other on Wednesday night, as the Senator’s Dylan Blujus and Utica’s Jayce Hamryluk will play their former teams. They were traded separately at last week’s AHL trade deadline.
The Comet’s recent success can be attributed in part to having several players on hot streaks. Alexander Holtz (three goals and one assist) is on a four-game points streak, Simon Nemec has a goal in three consecutive games, and Brian Halonen has four points (two goals and two assists) in his last four games. Ryan Schmelzer had his four-game points streak snapped at Lehigh Valley on Sunday in a game in which he left at the end of the second period due to injury. His status is uncertain as of this writing.
Goaltender Issac Poulter has won his last three starts in a row and has won three of four games since being recalled from the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.
At this point in the season, every point in the standings is crucial and Wednesday night is no different. let’s take a look at how the Utica Comets and Belleville Senators match up against each other.
Utica Comets Team Records
- Overall Record: 29-21-6-2, 66 points – 2nd place in the North Division.
- Away Record: 15-12-3-0, 33 points.
- Goal Differential: +2.
- Head Coach: Kevin Dineen.
Belleville Senators Team Records
- Overall Record: 25-27-6-1, 57 points – 6th in the North Division.
- Home Record: 15-13-1-1, 32 points.
- Goal Differential: -26.
- Head Coach: David Bell (interim).
Utica Comets Team Offense
- Goals For: 176 (19th in the AHL).
- Goals Per Game: 3.03 (20th in the AHL).
- Shots: 1,696.
- Shots Per Game: 29.24 (27th in the AHL).
- Power Play: 16.8% (32 for 190 – 28th in the AHL).
Belleville Senators Team Offense
- Goals For: 188 (10th in the AHL).
- Goals Per Game: 3.19 (13th in the AHL).
- Shots: 1,727.
- Shots Per Game: 29.27 (26th in the AHL).
- Power Play: 20.4% (58 for 285 – 13th in the AHL).
Utica Comets Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Graeme Clarke: 21 goals + 25 assists = 46 points.
2.) Joe Gambardella: 9 goals + 22 assists = 31 points.
3.) Reilly Walsh: 4 goals + 25 assists = 29 points.
4.) Nolan Foote: 16 goals + 12 assists = 28 points.
5.) Ryan Schmelzer: 5 goals + 23 assists = 28 points.
- Shots Leader: Graeme Clarke with 168. Clarke is 12th in the AHL in shots.
- Power Play Goals Leaders: Brian Pinho, Nolan Foote, and Brian Halonen with four each.
- Game Winning Goals Leaders: Graeme Clarke and Nolan Foote with five each. Foote and Clarke are tied for 10th in the AHL in game-winning goals.
- +/- Leader: Simon Nemec at +14.
- PIM Leader: Mason Geertsen with 110. Geertsen is 6th in the AHL in PIM.
Belleville Senators Top Five Scorers + Individual Scorers
1.) Egor Sokolov: 18 goals + 32 assists = 50 points.
2.) Jake Lucchini: 14 goals + 30 assists = 44 points.
3.) Angus Crookshank: 22 goals + 16 assists = 38 points. Crookshank is 20th in the AHL in goals.
4.) Cole Cassels: 7 goals + 25 assists = 32 points.
5.) Scott Sabourin (16 goals + 13 assists), Cole Reinhardt (9 goals + 20 assists), and Maxence Guenette (2 goals + 27 assists) = 29 points each.
- Shots Leader: Angus Crookshank with 155. Crookshank is 19th in the AHL in shots.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Angus Crrokshank with ten. Crookshank is 13th in the AHL in power-play goals and 1st among rookies.
- Game Winning Goals Leader: Angus Crookshank with four.
- +/- Leader: Matthew Boucher at +8.
- PIM Leader: Scott Sabourin with 173. Sabourin leads the AHL in PIM.
Utica Comets Team Defense
- Goals Against: 174 (11th in the AHL).
- Goals Against Per Game: 3.00 (16th in the AHL).
- Shots Allowed: 1,659.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 28.60 (5th in the AHL).
- Penalty Kill: 77.0% (134 for 174 – 27th in the AHL).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 6 (18th in the AHL).
Belleville Senators Team Defense
- Goals Against: 214 (31st in the AHL).
- Goals Against Per Game: 3.63 (28th in the AHL).
- Shots Allowed: 1,875.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 31.78 (28th in the AHL).
- Penalty Kill: 76.9% (210 for 273 – 28th in the AHL).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 9 (7th in the AHL).
Utica Comets Goaltenders
- Nico Daws: Record: 14-12-2 / GAA: 2.83 / Save Percentage: 0.901 / Shutouts: 0. Daws is 18th in the AHL in wins.
- Issac Poulter: Record: 4-1-3 / GAA: 3.43 / Save Percentage: 0.883 / Shutouts: 0.
- Jake Theut: Record: 0-1-0 / GAA: 3.14 / Save Percentage: 0.906 / Shutouts: 0.
Belleville Senators Goaltenders
- Antoine Bibeau: Record: 9-8-1 / GAA: 3.43 / Save Percentage: 0.894 / Shutouts: 0.
- Dylan Ferguson: Record: 5-3-0 / GAA: 2.61 / Save Percentage: 0.910 / Shutouts: 0.
- Luke Richardson: Record: 0-1-1 / GAA: 3.99 / Save Percentage: 0.873 / Shutouts: 0.
Wednesday night’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 pm EDT. Radio coverage will be on 94.9 K-Rock (WKLL) and the television broadcast will be on AHLTV. For more information about the Utica Comets, including schedules and ticketing, visit https://uticacomets.com.
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