Cazzola named ECHL Rookie of the Month

Fort Wayne, IN-- The ECHL announced Wednesday that Fort Wayne forward Mike Cazzola has been named the CCM/ECHL Rookie of the Month for December, 2016.Cazzola appeared in all 14 games in December and led all ECHL rookies with nine goals and 19 points. The center scored his first pro hat trick in a 7-1 home win over Orlando on Dec. 18 and added two assists for a five-point game. Cazzola also recorded his fifth multi-point game of the month with a goal and three assists Dec. 27 vs Indy in an 8-6 Fort Wayne victory.

The Komets were 6-1-0 in games when Cazzola scored a goal during the month. Cazzola recorded points in eight of 14 games (7-1-0). Cazzola currently ranks second among league rookies with 32 points (13g, 19a). The Guelph, Ontario native was also named the ECHL Player of the week for the period of Dec. 12-18 after scoring five goals and nine points in three games.Last year the skater completed a four-year collegiate career with Acadia (CIS) leading the Axemen with 16 goals and 30 points to earn a spot on the CIS Second All-Star Team for his second straight season.

Mallards visit Saturday-- This week the Komets will open the 2017 portion of the schedule with three games starting with a 7:35pm ET faceoff at Quad City tonight. Saturday the Komets return home to face the Mallards at 7:30pm. Sunday the Komets cap the week with a trip to Toledo for a 5:15pm faceoff.

McDougall's #19 to be retired Saturday-- The Komets will retire the number 19 in honor of Fort Wayne legend Terry McDougall in a ceremony to be held Saturday when the Komets host the Quad City Mallards at 7:30pm. The forward skated seven seasons with the Komets from 1975 to 1982 setting many regular season and playoff records, including most points in a season, tied with Len Thornson, at 139 set in 1978-79 for the IHL's scoring championship. McDougall totaled 576 Fort Wayne career games and is expected to be present for his number retirement ceremony.

Kids Seat Free Saturday-- Once again this season the Komets feature Kids Seat Free Nights. The next Kids Seat Free Night is this Saturday when Quad City visits, courtesy Aunt Millie's, Parkview Health and the Komets. Any child under the age of 12 can see the game for free with a full-priced adult ticket purchase.

Single game and group tickets on sale-- Single game tickets for all Komet home games are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office, online at TicketMaster.com, or at the Komet office at 1010 Memorial Way. Also, Group Night packages are available for Family, Business or Civic Group outings. For more information visit Komets.com or call 260-483-0011.