Cyclones visit Friday for Superhero Night

Fort Wayne, IN-- The Komets will enter the All-Star week with a 21-11-4 record, 46 points and a .639 winning percentage after 36 games. Fort Wayne holds third place in the Central Division and trails second-place Tulsa by two points with six games in hand at the half-way point.About last week-- The Komets started week 14 with a 2-1 setback against division rival Tulsa Friday at the Memorial Coliseum. Fort Wayne is now 0-1-1 vs the Oilers in the season series with one meeting remaining. Brady Vail netted the lone Fort Wayne goal, his 100th ECHL career regular season point. Garrett Bartus suffered the loss making 23 saves on 25 shots.-Gamesheet-

Saturday the Komets were clipped by another one-goal margin, 4-3, at Quad City to lead the season series 6-2-0 with four meetings remaining against the Mallards. Jason Binkley, Vail and Garrett Thompson each scored Komet goals while goaltender P.J. Musico took the loss allowing four goals on 32 shots. It was the 14th one-goal game for Fort Wayne this season (5-5-4).-Gamesheet-Sunday the Komets snapped their longest winless streak to date at three games with a dominating 6-2 home win over Indy. Fort Wayne remains unbeaten by the Fuel after three meetings this season (3-0-0). Six meetings remain between the two intrastate rivals. Gabriel Desjardins, Cazzola and Kyle Thomas launched Fort Wayne into a 3-0 lead before Indy responded with a marker by Kevin Lynch. Curtis Leonard gave the Komets a 4-1 lead at the start of the third period before Josh Shalla narrowed the margin to two for Indy. Cazzola followed with two goals in 53 seconds to seal the Fort Wayne victory 6-2 and record his second hat trick of the season. Bartus earned his ninth win in the Komet net on 28 saves.-Gamesheet-

All-Star Szydlowski scores game winner-- The ECHL All-Stars clipped the Adirondack Thunder 8-7 in the 2017 Classic at Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y. Wednesday night. Komet star Shawn Szydlowski was named captain and a starter for the game. Szydlowski scored the game winning goal during the 3-on-3 format at 22:05 of the third period.

The week ahead-- The Komets will skate three games in three nights this weekend starting Friday when they host Cincinnati at 8pm. The Komets travel to Kalamazoo for a 7pm faceoff at the Wings Event Center Saturday. Sunday the Komets cap the week with a 2pm matinee at Brampton.

Friday, Cincinnati Cyclones (17-15-4, 38 points) at Komets-- The Komets will host the Cyclones Friday at 8pm. It's the fourth of eight meetings this season with the Komets holding a 2-1-0 season series edge. The Komets clipped the Clones 4-3 in the last meeting on Dec. 29 in Fort Wayne. Cincinnati started an eight-game road tour last weekend with losses at Atlanta Saturday and Greenville Sunday after posting a five-game winning streak. Cincinnati is in fifth place in the South division of the Eastern Conference and trails fourth-place Greenville by three points.Saturday, Komets at Kalamazoo Wings (16-18-4, 36 points)-- The Komets head north to Kalamazoo Saturday for a 7pm faceoff at Wings Event Center (5,113). The Komets lead the series 3-2-0 and are 1-1-0 at Kalamazoo on the heels of a 2-1 loss on Wings ice Dec. 10. Division rival Kalamazoo trails the Komets by 10 points and have only lost one game in regulation in the last seven (5-1-1). The Wings will skate at Brampton Friday before hosting the Komets Saturday.

Sunday, Komets at Brampton Beast (20-13-4, 44 points)-- Sunday the Komets will make the trip over the border to Brampton and face the Beast at 2pm at the Powerade Center (5,000). It's the third of five meetings this season with Brampton holding the a 2-0-0 season series lead. Brampton is chasing Manchester for the top spot in the North division on the Eastern Conference, trailing the Monarchs by five points. The Beast are 1-4-1 in their last six games enter the week after two losses at Toledo Saturday and Sunday. Brampton will host Kalamazoo Friday before welcoming the Komets Sunday afternoon.

Komet streaks-- Brady Vail has a three-game point-scoring streak (2g, 1a)....Mike Cazzola has a three-game assist scoring and point-streak (3g, 5a) and a three-game home assist and point-scoring streak (3g, 7a).....Jason Binkley has a four-game road point streak (1g, 3a)....Garrett Thompson has points in three straight road games (2g, 3a).

Komet leaders-- Shawn Szydlowski leads with 21 goals, 49 points and 11 power play assists....Szydlowski and Mike Cazzola lead with 28 assists.....Cazzola leads ECHL rookies with 28 assists and 44 points.....Curtis Leonard leads with +23.....Kyle Thomas leads with eight power play goals and four first goals....Cody Sol leads with 92 penalty minutes.-Teamstats-

Milestones-- Brady Vail's goal Friday against Tulsa was his 100th ECHL career regular season point.....Kyle Thomas reached 20 goals in a season for the first time in his career with a marker in Sunday's 6-2 win over Indy, and it was his 100th career point (regular season and playoffs).Superhero Night Friday-- Fans are welcomed to join the Komets and Hagerman in paying a well-deserved tribute to the real superheroes in our lives, the Fort Wayne Police, Fire and EMS this Friday when the Komets host Cincinnati at 8pm. The Komets will wear special Superhero jerseys to be auctioned off at the game to benefit local Police, Fire and EMS selected charities. Meet your favorite Superhero characters courtesy of TAG Art Company. And get to the game early for one of the special Komets Superhero capes to be given away to the first 1,000 kids entering the building.

Family Four Pack, 4 for $55 Night Friday-- Fans can take advantage of a 4-for-$55 offer at Friday's home game against Cincinnati courtesy of Midwest America Federal Credit Union. Get four tickets, four hot dogs, four soft drinks, four chips for only $55 when purchasing the Family Four Pack at the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office.

Friday night Marathon Nights-- Again this year Komet fans can save on their Friday night tickets with Marathon. Fans can earn a buy-one-get-one-free ticket offer with the purchase of three fill-ups at participating Marathon locations. Save with your Marathon Fill-Up Card for the game this Friday.

Komets on the air-- Komet games are scheduled to air this season on WOWO AM 1190 and FM 107.5 with Shane Albahrani calling the play-by-play. All Komet radio broadcasts can also be heard worldwide as presented by Omni Source Radio Recycle at www.komets.com.

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.