Rapid City Rush visit Friday

Fort Wayne, IN-- The Komets earned four points in three games for week 16 of 2017-18 and improved to 27-13-2 and 56 points after 42 games. Fort Wayne trails first-place Toledo in the Central division by four points with two games in hand and 30 games remaining.

The week started with a 5-3 win at Indy on Tuesday. Five different scorers, Bobby Shea, Artur Tyanulin, Dennis Kravchenko, Justin MacDonald and Mason Baptista contributed to Fort Wayne's fifth straight victory as Garrett Bartus earned the win making 30 saves on 33 shots. The Komets remain unbeaten at Indy this season after four visits with two trips remaining.

Friday the Komets had their win string snapped at five games with a 7-4 loss at Kalamazoo. The Komets rallied in the second period from a two-goal deficit to tie the game art 4-4 but Kalamazoo dominated the third frame with three markers for their third straight win over Fort Wayne. Garrett Thompson notched a pair of goals for the Komets while Tyanulin and Ryan Binkley scored a goal each. Michael Houser suffered the loss in the Fort Wayne net stopping 23 of 29 shots.

Saturday the Komets completed the week with a 5-2 win at Cincinnati on goals by Marco Roy, Tyanulin, Jamie Schaafsma, Ryan Lowney and Gabriel Desjardins. Goaltender Bartus logged his ninth win of the season allowing only two goals on 31 shots and was named first star of the game. Bartus improved to 9-2-0 going 2-0-0 for the week with a 2.50 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. The Komets improved to 18-10-2 (.633) against Central division rivals.

Komet leaders-- Shawn Szydlowski leads with 21 goals and 28 assists and leads the ECHL with 49 points. Marco Roy leads with five power play goals. Cody Sol leads with +24 (second among league defensemen) and 81 penalty minutes. Ryan Culkin leads Fort Wayne defensemen and ranks sixth among ECHL defensemen with 29 points (9g, 20a). Artur Tyanulin led the Komets for the week with three goals and added two assists for a five-point week. Tyanulin has 29 points in 26 games and ranks second among league rookies (first among active rookies) with a point-per game average of 1.12.

Streaking Komets-- Gabriel Desjardins has a five-game point-scoring streak (4g, 4a). Artur Tyanulin has a 4-game goal and point streak (4, 2a). Marco Roy has a three-game assist and point streak (1g, 3a) and a league-high six-game road assist streak (2g, 7a). Netminder Garrett Bartus has five straight wins and four straight road wins.

Komet ironmen-- Only two players have appeared in all 42 games entering week 17, defensemen Ryan Culkin and Curtis Leonard.

By The Numbers-- The Komets scored 14 goals last week to lead the league in scoring with 169 goals in 42 games for a league-best 4.02 goals per game average. The Komets allowed 11 goals and rank ninth at 2.98 goals-against per game. The Komets rank third with an average of 36.74 shots per game and fifth with 29.67 shots against per game. In both wins of the week the Komets led at the end of two periods and are 18-0-0 when leading after the second period (10-0-0 at home).

Milestones-- Shawn Szydlowski skated his 400th career game Saturday night at Cincinnati. Mason Baptista eclipsed his career high of 30 points set last season when he scored three assists Friday at Kalamazoo for a new career high of 33 points. Marco Roy perfectly matched his career season highs of nine goals, 17 assists and 26 points set in 2015-16 with a goal and an assist Saturday at Cincinnati.

The week aheadFriday, Rapid City Rush at Komets, 8pm-- The Komets will return to Sweetwater Ice at the Memorial Coliseum Friday when Rapid City visits for an 8pm faceoff for the only meeting of the season. The Komets and Rush met only once last year when the Komets clipped Rapid City 4-3 at the Coliseum Feb. 3 to improve to 8-4-0 all-time against the Rush. Rapid City is looking to escape the cellar of the Mountain division with a record of 15-25-2 and 32 points after 42 games. The Rush will skate at Tulsa Tuesday before finishing their six-game road tour in Fort Wayne Friday. Rapid City starts the week after earning a split of a two-game set at Kansas City over the weekend. The Rush are 5-4-1 in their last ten games.

Saturday, Komets at Wheeling Nailers, 8:05pm-- The Komets will make their third of four trips to Wheeling Saturday where they are 1-1-0 after two. Overall, the Komets are 2-1-0 after three meetings with the Nailers. The Komets dropped a 4-2 affair in the last meeting Jan. 7 at the WesBanco Arena (5,200). Wheeling is in a battle for the top spot in the North division, tied with Manchester with 54 points (25-17-4). The Nailers improved to 4-1-1 in their last six games after a 4-2 home win against the Monarchs Sunday and are in the middle of a seven-game home stand. Wheeling will host Indy Friday before facing the Komets Saturday.

Family Four Pack, 4 for $55 Night Friday-- Fans can take advantage of a 4-for-$55 offer at Friday's home game 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 this Friday when Rapid City visits for an 8pm faceoff

Get your tickets early-- Tickets are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office. Group tickets and flex tickets are on sale at the Komet office at 1010 Memorial Way in Fort Wayne. For more information visit the Komet office, Komets.com or call 260-483-0011.Komet Hockey on WOWO-- Komet games are scheduled to air on WOWO AM 1190 and FM 107.5. All radio broadcasts also stream live at Komets.com presented by OmniSource Radio Recycle. Fans are invited to follow the action as Shane Albahrani handles the play-by-play.