Szydlowski named All-Star Starter

Fort Wayne, IN-- Komet forward Shawn Szydlowski has been named a starter for the ECHL All-Star Game to be held on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 8pm in Glens Falls, New York, the home of the Adirondack Thunder.

Szydlowski, 26, is skating his fourth year with Fort Wayne and fifth pro year in the ECHL. The right winger is on pace to claim Fort Wayne's scoring title for his third consecutive season, leading the Komets with 19 goals and 26 assists and ranks second in the league with 45 points (tied with Peter Sivak). So far this season Szydlowski has logged six multi-point games of three points or more.

Szydlowski will be starting the game along with forwards Chad Costello of the Allen Americans and Peter Sivak of the Alaska Aces. Defensemen Justin Agosta of the Manchester Monarchs and Jacob MacDonald of the Toledo Walleye have also been named starters. Jamie Phillips of the Tulsa Oilers has been named the All-Star Starting goaltender. The complete ECHL All-Star team roster can be viewed here.The 2017 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by I LOVE NY will feature the host Adirondack Thunder facing the ECHL All-Stars featuring 5-on-5, 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 play, as well as a Skills Competition showcasing Puck Relay, Hardest Shot and Fastest Skater. The game will air live exclusively on the NHL Network.

The starting lineup is determined in a vote of coaches, team captains, media relations directors, broadcasters and members of the media. Coaches also submit the players who they feel are the top prospects from their team and other teams in their conference which helps determine the final roster. Each of the ECHL teams has either a starter, reserve or alternate named for the ECHL All-Star Classic.

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 Wednesday. 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.