Komets sweep Beast for four points

Fort Wayne, IN -- Week 23 in review-- The Komets swept back-to-back weekend games at Brampton to collect four points for the week and improved to 31-21-9 and 71 points after 61 games.  The Komets maintained third place in the Central division while trailing second place Toledo by seven points.  The Komets lead fourth-place Kalamazoo by three points with two games in hand in the race for playoff position.  The top four teams in each division qualify for post-season play.

Week 23 began with a 5-4 setback at Cincinnati Wednesday snapping a brief Fort Wayne three-game win string.  It was Fort Wayne's 32nd one-goal game of the season (18-5-9).  The Komets made their only trip of the year to Brampton for a pair of games Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday the Komets upended the Beast 4-1 and returned to CAA Centre Sunday for a 4-2 win to take the season series against Brampton 3-1-0.  The Komets reached four goals in each game of the week to improve to 12-3-0 when scoring at least four times in a game.For the week-- Phelix Martineau scored points in each game totaling three goals and two assists, Shawn Szydlowski had a five assists with helpers in each game and Brady Shaw also scored a five-point week with two goals and three assists.  Jamie Schaafsma dished three assists.  J.C. Campagna scored two goals and added an assist.  Mason Baptista and Sean Flanagan each logged a pair of goals while Jake Kamrass posted two assists.  Kevin Gibson scored his second of the season with the first goal of Saturday's win at Brampton.  Zach Fucale appeared in each game of the week and stopped 96 of 104 shots for a 2.68 goals-against average and .923 save percentage for the week.

Komet streaks-- Phelix Martineau has and eight-game point streak (7g, 4a), a five-game road point streak (5g, 2a) and a maintains a six-game home point streak (4g, 7a), scoring at least a point in each Fort Wayne home game played.  Shawn Szydlowski has a seven-game point streak (3g, 10a) and pushed his road assist streak to five games (6a).  Goaltender Zach Fucale has a streak of 12 straight starts (8-3-1).  The last time a Fort Wayne goaltender reached 12 consecutive starts was when Pat Nagle started 15 straight from Dec. 19, 2015 to Jan. 23, 2016.

Komet leaders-- Brady Shaw leads with 55 points....J.C. Campagna leads with 33 goals (ranks second in the ECHL), 12 power play goals, 14 power play points and six game winners.....Justin Hodgman leads with 36 assists....Shawn Szydlowski leads with +9.....Cody Sol leads with 89 penalty minutes.

Campagna has matched Gabriel Desjardins' team-high output of 33 goals last season.  Desjardins' was the first player to reach 33 goals since Shawn Szydlowski bagged a career high 38 with the Komets in 2014-15.Milestones-- Brady Shaw skated his 100th career ECHL game Saturday at Brampton and Jamie Schaafsma appeared in his 300th ECHL career game Sunday.

The week ahead-- The Komets will skate four games in five nights, launching a busy finish to the regular season slate of 11 games in 19 nights.  Ten of the final 11 games are divisional games starting with a visit from the Kalamazoo Wings Wednesday before the Cincinnati Cyclones arrive Friday.  Saturday the Komets travel to Indy and Sunday a trip to Toledo caps the week.

Wednesday, March 20, Kalamazoo Wings (32-27-4, 68 points) at Komets, 7:30pm-- The third-place Komets hold a three-point edge over the fourth-place Wings in the Central division and have two games in hand with four weeks remaining. Wednesday's match is one of two meetings remaining. The Komets are 5-5-1 in the season series. The Komets clipped the Wings in the last meeting 3-2 in overtime at Kalamazoo.  The Wings are 3-3-1 in their last seven games and the Komets are 5-1-0 in their last six.  Kalamazoo is coming off a 2-1 home win over Toledo Sunday and will face the Komets twice in their next three games.

Friday, March 22, Cincinnati Cyclones (45-10-7, 97 points) at Komets, 8pm-- The ECHL leading Cyclones are running hot with a five game winning streak to start the week.  Cincinnati has only lost twice in their last 16 games, and one was a 5-4 overtime loss to the Komets on Feb. 24.  However, the Cyclones edged the Komets in the last meeting 5-4 March 13 in Cincy. The Cyclones will host Wheeling Wednesday and Toledo Thursday before traveling to Fort Wayne Friday. 

Saturday, March 23, Komets at Indy Fuel (30-29-4, 64 points), 7:35pm-- Three meetings remain between the Komets and the intrastate rival Fuel.  The Komets lead the season series 5-2-1 after a 5-0 loss at Indy the last time the two teams met on Jan. 25. Indy, holding fifth place in the Central division, trails Kalamazoo by four points in the playoff hunt. The Fuel are 3-1-1 in their last five games and will skate at Wheeling Friday before return home to host Fort Wayne Saturday.

Sunday, March 24, Komets at Toledo Walleye (35-19-8, 78 points), 5:15pm-- It's the last meeting of the season between the two arch rivals when the Komets travel to Toledo and face the Walleye at the Huntington Center Sunday. The Komets are 4-4-2 in the season series after a 4-1 victory in Fort Wayne March 9. Toledo holds a seven-point margin over the Komets in the battle for second place in the Central division.  The Walleye will skate two games this week and the Komets will skate three before Sunday's tilt.  The Walleye travel to Cincinnati Thursday and host Brampton Friday before welcoming the Komets Sunday.

Season Ticket Recycling Night Wednesday-- Wednesday is another Season Ticket Recycling Night when the Komets host the Kalamazoo Wings.  Komet Season Ticket Holders will be able to exchange any unused Komet tickets from previously scheduled home games this year for tickets to the game Wednesday.Deuces Wild Wednesday-- It's also Deuces Wild this Wednesday.  Pepsi Zone tickets are two for $22 and fans can get $2 beers and $2 sodas all night.

Family Four Pack, 4 for $59 Night Friday--  Fans can take advantage of a 4-for-$59 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 $59 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 the Komets face Cincinnati at 8pm.

Komet Hockey on WOWO-- Fans can follow Komet hockey action with Shane Albahrani calling the play-by-play on WOWO Radio AM 1190 and FM 107.5 and streaming on the web at Komets.com courtesy OmniSource. 

Komet Hockey Tickets--  Single game tickets for all Komet regular season home games are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office.  Enjoy several discount plans designed especially for your next group, or check out Komets Flex Tickets.  For more information visit Komets.com, call 260-483-0011 or see details here.