January 1, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (15-12-0-3) @ UTICA COMETS (10-16-1-2)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 3 p.m.

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets are back at The AUD for their sixth straight game on home ice as the Lake Erie Monsters come to town for the third time this season. The Comets are currently 3-1-0-1 through the first five games of their home stand.

When They Last Met: The Utica Comets evened their shootout record to 1-1 this season, with a 3-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters in a Sunday afternoon game at The AUD. Kellan Lain and Nicklas Jensen each scored for the Comets, while Alexandre Grenier ended the game in the fourth round of the shootout, after Jensen's game winner. Jensen and Pascal Pelletier also scored in the shootout, while Joacim Eriksson won his second straight start with 26 saves on 28 shots.

Comets Outlook: Henrik Tommernes scored with 1:07 to send the Comets into overtime but Hamilton was victorious in the shootout by a 4-3 margin. Darren Archibald and Alexandre Grenier also scored for the Comets and Joe Cannata made 37 saves on 40 shots as he earned the game's third star. Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu scored the game winner for the Bulldogs in the shootout in the sixth round. Nicklas Jensen and Grenier each scored for the Comets.

Monsters Outlook: Michael Schumacher scored three points (1-2-3) and Mark Olver potted the game winning goal with 2:12 left in overtime to lead Lake Erie to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Wolves last Saturday evening. J.T. Wyman, Trevor Cheek and Andrew Agozzino each scored for the Monsters and netminder Calvin Pickard recorded 35 saves for his eighth victory of the season.

Just In The Nick of Tomm: Henrik Tommernes made his return from injury in a big way with the game tying goal with just 1:04 left in regulation. Tommernes, who also had an assist in the game on Alexandre Grenier's goal, put a Benn Ferriero feed past Dustin Tokarski to complete the first third period comeback in franchise history.

O' My Darling Cal-entine: With assists in both games, Cal O'Reilly continued his dominance in the Mohawk Valley with points in eight straight home games. O'Reilly, who has amassed nine points (1-8-9) over his current streak, has scored in 11 of his 15 games played this season.

The Whole Nine Yards: Aided by their current nine game streak of scoring at least one power-play goal on home ice, the Comets have moved into a tie for sixth in the AHL on the power play, at a 20.5 percent conversion rate this season. The Comets are also one of just two teams in the league, along with Oklahoma City, who has yet to allow a shorthanded goal this season.

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Gameday: Comets vs. Lake Erie