Monsters Rematch Comets in Saturday Matinee
In the third of four meetings between the two teams this season, the Cleveland Monsters, affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, drop the puck vs. the Utica Comets, AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, on Saturday with full coverage, live from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, underway at 1:00 pm on SportsTime Ohio, Alt 99.1, AHLTV and the Monsters Hockey Network.
MONSTERS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 0-3 home loss to the Utica Comets on Friday, the Cleveland Monsters enter today’s game at 20-21-2-2 on the season. With 44 points, the Monsters currently rank eighth in the AHL’s North Division standings and 14th in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is currently led in scoring by D Adam Clendening (6-24-30), LW Nathan Gerbe (8-17-25) and C Stefan Matteau (10-13-23).
COMETS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 3-0 road win over the Cleveland Monsters on Friday, the Utica Comets enter today’s game at 26-17-2-2 on the season. With 56 points, the Comets currently rank third in the AHL’s North Division standings and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Utica is currently led in scoring by LW Reid Boucher (24-26-50), LW Nikolay Goldobin (17-26-43) and RW Justin Bailey (24-16-40).
REGULAR-SEASON SERIES: Saturday marks the third of four meetings between the Monsters and Comets this season and the second of two clashes between the two teams at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this year. Cleveland is 0-2-0-0 vs. Utica overall with a -7 goal differential (2/9) and 0-1-0-0 with a -3 goal differential (0/3) at home vs. the Comets.
MONSTERS GOALTENDERS:
| 35 Veini Vehvilainen | OVERALL | 24 GP, (9-12-2), 2 SO, 2.57 GAA, .905 S% |
| LAST APP. | (13/16) in 0-3 L vs UTI 1/31/20 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 2 GP, (0-2-0), 0 SO, 4.84 GAA, .800 S% | |
| AT HOME | 13 GP, (4-7-1), 2 SO, 2.46 GAA, .906 S% | |
| 39 Brad Thiessen | OVERALL | 3 GP, (1-1-0), 0 SO, 2.60 GAA, .887 S% |
| LAST APP. | (5/6) in 20:00 of relief in 2-6 L at UTI 1/18/20 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| AT HOME | 1 GP, (1-0-0), 0 SO, 4.00 GAA, .875 S% |
COMETS GOALTENDERS:
| 31 Zane MacIntyre | OVERALL | 23 GP, (11-9-2), 0 SO, 3.17 GAA, .894 S% |
| LAST APP. | (21/26) in 2-5 L vs BEL 1/24/20 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 9 GP, (6-3-0), 0 SO, 3.11 GAA, .898 S% | |
| 32 Richard Bachman | OVERALL | 3 GP, (1-1-1), 0 SO, 3.25 GAA, .909 S% |
| LAST APP. | (23/26) in 4-3 W at ROC 12/21/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 3 GP, (1-1-0), 0 SO, 3.25 GAA, .909 S% | |
| 64 Michael DiPietro | OVERALL | 24 GP, (14-7-1), 1 SO, 2.70 GAA, .907 S% |
| LAST APP. | (27/27) in 3-0 W at CLE 1/31/20 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 2 GP, (2-0-0), 2 SO, 1.00 GAA, .962 S% | |
| ON THE ROAD | 9 GP, (6-3-0), 1 SO, 2.43 GAA, .922 S% |
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- NEUTRALIZE NIKOLAY: Utica forward Nikolay Goldobin is scoring at a two points per game pace vs. Cleveland this season (2 GP, 3-3-6 vs. CLE).
- TERRIFIC TREY: Monsters RW Trey Fix-Wolansky is scoring at a point per game pace in his last seven outings (3-4-7).
- MAC ATTACK: Cleveland C Ryan MacInnis is scoring at a better than point per game pace in his last six games (3-4-7).
Related Articles
