Komets punch playoff ticket

Fort Wayne, IN-- The Komets clipped the Royals at Reading 5-4 in overtime Wednesday night and secured a berth in the 2018 ECHL playoffs.

The Komets rallied from one goal deficits on three occasions during the game and eventually took a 4-3 lead in the third period before Reading tied the game at 4-4 to send it to extra time.

In overtime at 1:57, Zac Larraza solved Royal goaltender Anthony Stolarz for the Fort Wayne win. Dennis Kravchenko scored a pair of the goals while Curtis Leonard and Artur Tyanulin also contributed markers. Shawn Szydlowski, Gabriel Desjardins and Garrett Thompson each dished two assists for the Komets. As Stolarz was starting his first game with Reading on the season, netminder Cam Lanigan was making his first Fort Wayne and ECHL appearance and made 38 saves on 42 shots for his first pro win. The Komets improved to 42-16-3 and 87 points after 61 games to guarantee a spot in their sixth consecutive ECHL post season and 57th playoff berth in the 66-year history of the club in Fort Wayne. Eleven games remain in the 2017-18 regular season which concludes when the Komets host Cincinnati Sunday, April 8.

The 2018 ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs will start the week of April 9th. Each round will be a best-of-seven series. The first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs will be played entirely within the division, with the division winner playing the fourth-place finisher and the second-place team meeting the third-place team in the Division Semifinals. The winners of each series will meet in the Division Finals, leading to the Conference Finals and Kelly Cup Finals.

Playoff tickets go on sale Friday at 10am-- Tickets for the first two Fort Wayne home playoff games will go on sale Friday morning at 10:00 at the Coliseum ticket office. Tickets for all five remaining home regular season games are also on sale. For more information, call the Komet office at 260-483-0011 or visit Komets.com.

Desjardins gets call from Laval-- Forward Gabriel Desjardins has been loaned to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. The Montreal, Quebec native has set career season highs of 28 goals, 32 assists and 60 points this season in 49 games with the Komets.

Komets add Basara to roster-- The Komets also announced Thursday that forward Marcus Basara (bah-SAH-rah) has agreed to terms and been added to the lineup. Basara, 25, is making is pro debut this season after logging stints with Orlando, Allen and Wheeling scoring four goals and 11 points in 28 ECHL games. Basara completed his fourth collegiate year last season with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in the WCHA.

Komets road trip continues-- Friday the Komets face the Thunder at Adirondack at 7pm. The Komets cap the week with a 7:05pm faceoff at Worcester Saturday. The next Komet home game is Wednesday, March 21 when Kalamazoo returns for the final meeting of the season at 7:30pm.

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.