Ben Birnell

The Utica Comets are set to return to a familiar place in the Mohawk Valley for a preseason game.

Their opponent also is well-known to hockey fans in Central New York.

The Comets announced Thursday the team will host the rival Syracuse Crunch at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Kennedy Arena in Rome to begin out a home-and-home exhibition series.

Tickets are $10 and will go on sale at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, at the Kennedy Arena box office.A special Season Ticket member presale will begin at 10 a.m.All proceeds will go to Kennedy Arena.

The preseason game is being played in Rome because of the construction project at Utica Memorial Auditorium. The contest will mark the third time since the Comets began play in 2013 that the team will have a preseason game at the Rome rink. The Comets played preseason contests in Rome in 2013 and 2014.

I like Kennedy Arena, Comets president Rob Esche said. "Im happy we were able to work ... with the city of Rome and the AHL to highlight such a great hockey community, and to kick off what is to be a very special fifth anniversary season.

This will be the third consecutive preseason that the Comets have taken on Syracuse, which is Tampa Bay Lightnings top affiliate. Last season, a home-and-home series between teams included a game at the Aud. In 2015, the teams traveled to France for training camp and preseason.

The teams will close out the preseason series at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, at War Memorial arena in Syracuse. Including the regular season, the North Division foes will meet a total of 14 times in 2017-18. This season, the series has some added intrigue as new Comets coach Trent Cull and associate coach Gary Agnew previously were coaches at different times with Syracuse.

The Comets open the regular season the first full weekend of October. Utica travels to North Division rival Toronto for a two-game set on Saturday, Oct. 7, and Sunday, Oct. 8. Both games are set for 3 p.m. starts. It is the first of seven consecutive road games for the Comets to start the season.

Cometssign goaltender

The Utica Comets signed goaltender Michael Garteigto a one-year American Hockey League contract,general manager Ryan Johnson announced Thursday.

Garteig appeared in eight games with the Comets last season. He went 0-4-1 with a .897 save percentage and a 3.01 goals against average in net for Utica.

The 25-year-old British Columbia native and former Quinnipiac University skater posted an 11-6-2 record for the Alaska Aces last season in the ECHL.Standing at6-foot-1, 183-pound, Garteig dressed in 22 games for Alaska, recording a .906 save percentage and a 3.11 goals against average.

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Comets to play Crunch in preseason game in Rome - Times Telegram - The Times Telegram