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Kansas City Comets vs Harrisburg Heat
When: Thursday, February 6th, 2020 at 7:05 PM CT
Where: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Independence, Missouri
How to Watch/Stream: Masl.tv/YouTube
The Kansas City Comets will welcome another big test into Silverstein Eyes Centers Arena as the 9-4 Harrisburg Heat come to town for the only time this year. Ramone Palmer could make his season debut, as the Comets confirmed his visa issues have finally been resolved and now are just waiting for the final clearance from the league office.
Harrisburg’s record is a little misleading, as six of their nine wins have come against the winless Rochester Lancers, who currently have a -106 goal differential. Harrisburg’s other wins have come against Soles De Sonora, the Baltimore Blast, and their most recent win over the Tacoma Stars. Harrisburg has lost to the San Diego Sockers once and Utica City FC three times.
The Heat are led by head coach Pat Healey, who is a familiar name to the Comets after spending so many years with the Baltimore Blast. The Heat are led in scoring by Dominic Francis, who has scored 22 goals. Jerjer Gibson has also done well in his first season in Harrisburg, as the former Syracuse Silver Knight and St. Louis Ambush forward has registered seven goals and ten assists. Another familiar name will be defender Nelson Santana, who is now in his second team with the Heat after spending previous seasons with Syracuse, Ontario, and Baltimore.
The Comets enter Thursday’s contest after a well deserved break. With a 6-6 record, Kansas City can’t afford to drop this game, as the Heat along with the Baltimore Blast are the two teams keeping the Comets from a playoff spot.
Despite the layoff, Comets player-coach Leo Gibson still leads the MASL with 38 points from 22 goals and 16 assists. Ray Lee has also impressed with ten goals and four assists this season while Robert Palmer and Stefan Stokic have combined for 41 blocked shots halfway through the season.
It also appears that Ray Saari’s season with the Comets is over after it was announced Monday that he was moving on from Sacramento Republic FC to join former Sporting KC goalkeeper coach and current OKC Energy manager John Pascarella in the USL Championship. The Comets will certainly benefit with the addition of Ramone Palmer, but they also might expect Lucas Sousa to step in in his place once his visa issues are resolved, but another option would be to sign former Comet forward Odaine Sinclair, who was released from the Orlando SeaWolves on Tuesday.