By Scott Kinville/315 Hockey.
The Utica Comets will host the Providence Bruins on Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center to cap off a busy day of hockey at the complex, as the Utica Pioneers Men’s and Women’s teams will have already played at both the Aud and the Nexus Center earlier in the day. This is the sixth and final regular-season meeting between the teams, with Providence winning four of the previous five.
The slumping Comets are 3-6-0-1 in their last ten games, but still, maintain a two-point lead over the Syracuse crunch for second place in the North Division. Utica will be looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Hartford Wolfpack at the XL Center on Friday night.
#1 Utica Pioneers Drub Kings College on Pink the Rink Night
The Bruins have collected points in eight of their last ten games, going 6-2-2-0 in that span. They last played on Friday night, defeating the Phantoms 4-2 in Lehigh Valley, but have been playing without leading scorer Vinni Lettieri. he was recalled by Providence’s NHL parent club the Boston Bruins earlier in the week.
With one team looking to get back on track and the other looking to stay hot, let’s take a look at how the Utica Comets and Providence Bruins match up against each other.
Utica Comets Team Records
- Overall Record: 22-15-5-2, 51 pts – 2nd place in the North Division.
- Home Record: 11-7-2-2, 26 pts.
Providence Bruins Team Records
- Overall Records: 26-9-7-2, 61 pts – 2nd place in the North Division.
- Away Record: 17-4-2-0, 36 pts.
Utica Comets Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Graeme Clarke: 16 goals + 19 assists = 35 points.
2.) Nolan Stevens: 12 goals + 15 assists = 27 points.
3.) Andreas Johnsson: 7 goals + 16 assists = 23 points.
4.) Brian Pinho: 8 goals + 14 assists = 22 points.
5.) Ryan Schmelzer: 4 goals + 18 assists = 22 points.
- Shots Leader: Graeme Clarke with 122.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Nolan Foote with four.
- Game Winning Goals Leader: Nolan Foote with five.
- +/- Leader: Jeremy Groleau at +11.
- PIM Leader: Mason Geertsen with 102. Geertsen is 4th in the AHL in PIM.
Providence Bruins Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Georgii Merkulov: 10 goals + 18 assists = 28 points.
2.) Justin Brazeau: 13 goals + 13 assists = 26 points.
3.) Luke Toporowski: 11 goals + 13 assists = 24 points.
4.) Oskar Steen: 11 goals + 12 assists = 23 points.
5.) Fabian Lysell (8 goals + 15 assists) + Connor Carrick (4 goals + 19 assists) = 23 points.
- Shots Leader: Oskar Steen with 93.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Georgii Merkulov with four.
- Game Winning Goals Leader: five tied at three each.
- +/- Leader: Jakub Lauko at +11
- PIM Leader: Joey Abate with 57.
Utica Comets Team Defense
- Goals Against: 131 (13th in the AHL).
- Goals Against Per Game: 2.98 (13th in the AHL).
- Shots Allowed: 1,257.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 28.57 (4th in the AHL).
- Penalty Kill: 78.1% (100 for 128 – 24th in the AHL).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 5 (14th in the AHL).
Providence Bruins Team Defense
- Goals Against: 116 (5th in the AHL).
- Goals Against Per Game: 2.64 (4th in the AHL).
- Shots Allowed: 1,458.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 33.14 (30th in the AHL).
- Penalty Kill: 83.1% (148 for 178 – 8th in the AHL).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 1 (30th in the AHL).
Utica Comets Goaltending
- Akira Schmid: Record: 9-4-3 / GAA: 2.38 / Save Percentage: 0.913 / Shutouts: 1. Schmid is 7th in the AHL in GAA and 13th in save percentage.
- Nico Daws: Record: 11-9-2 / GAA: 2.82 / Save Percentage: 0.900 / Shutouts: 0. Daws is 20th in the AHL in wins.
Providence Bruins Goaltending
- Brandon Bussi: Record: 14-2-4 / GAA: 2.19 / Save Percentage: 0.934 / Shutouts: 1. Bussi is 1st in the AHL in save percentage, 3rd in GAA, and 6th in wins.
- Keith Kinkaid: Record: 6-7-3 / GAA: 3.37 / Save Percentage: 0.905 / Shutouts: 0.
- Kyle Keyser: Record: 6-0-2 / GAA: 1.88 / Save Percentage: 0.931 / Shutouts: 0.
Saturday night’s game is scheduled to begin at 7pm EST. radio coverage will be on 94.9 K-Rock and the television broadcast will be on WKTV and AHLTV. For more Information about the Utica Comets, including schedules and ticketing, visit https://uticacomets.com.
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