Komets sweep opening weekend

Fort Wayne, IN -- After dropping the first three games of the season, the Komets swept the three game weekend series over Wheeling at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.  After six games, the Komets are 3-1-1-1, and currently sit in third place in the Western conference.  

Last week’s results   

Wed 2/17 @ Indy        FW 1 -- INDY 4 L

Fri 2/19 vs Wheeling   FW 4 -- WHL 1 W

Sat 2/20 vs Wheeling  FW 4 – WHL 2 W

Sun 2/21 vs Wheeling FW 6 -- WHL 2 W

About last week -- Wednesday night, the Komets traveled to Indy for the first of 20 matchups with the Fuel. The Komets fell 4-1, but snapped an 0-10 dry spell on the power play when Justin Vaive scored his first Komet goal at 17:24 of the first period.  Rookie goaltender Stefanos Lekkas would get the loss, making 16 saves.  The Komets outshot Indy 36-20. 

Friday night, the Komets took the Coliseum ice for the first time this season. The Komets would score the first four goals on the way to a 4-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers.  Mathieu Brodeur, Justin Vaive, Zach Pochiro and Anthony Petruzzelli all scored goals in the winning effort.  Stefanos Lekkas took home his first win of the season, stopping 18 shots. 

Back at the Coliseum Saturday night, the Komets took care of the Nailers for the second straight game with a 4-2 win.  Zach Pochiro scored his second of the season at 15:16 of the first period and rookie defenseman Matt Murphy would score his first professional goal at 1:17 of the second frame.  Anthony Petruzzelli would add the eventual game winner at 3:18 of the third period, with Brandon Hawkins adding an empty netter at 17:46. Stefanos Lekkas would get win number two on the season, making 22 saves on 24 shots.  

Sunday, the three-game series with the Nailers concluded with a 6-2 Komets win. Zach Pochiro scored a hat trick. Spencer Smallman added two tallies, including a shorthanded goal, and Anthony Petruzzelli scored his third of the season.  The Komets would score four power play goals as the two teams combined for 36 penalty minutes.  Rookie goaltender Louis-Phillip Guindon stopped 18 shots to receive his first professional win. 

In honor of Zach Pochiro’s Hat Trick… 3Rivers Federal Credit Union will be donating $333 to a local non-profit in his name.

For the week -- Zach Pochiro led all Komets with five goals, including the Komets first hat trick since March 7, 2020. Pochiro would finish the week with five points and a +2 rating. Shawn Szydlowski and Olivier Galipeau each added four assists.  Anthony Petruzzelli contributed three goals, Spencer Smallman scored twice and added an assist finishing the weekend +4.  Matt Boudens and Nick Boka posted three assists, while Brandon Hawkins added a goal and two assists. Justin Vaive scored twice, both on power plays. Randy Gazzola and Morgan Adams-Moisan both dished two assists.  Mathieu Brodeur and Matt Murphy scored their first goals of the season and each adding an assist.  Stephen Harper, Jackson Leef and Anthony Nellis all registered an assist last week. Goaltender Stefanos Lekkas registered his first pro assist while making three starts winning two. Lekkas made 56 saves on 63 shots going 2-1-0 for the week. Louis-Phillip Guindon would post his first pro win to better his overall record to 1-0-1.   

Special K's -- The Komets entered the game Sunday just 2 of 23 on the power play. After four power play goals in the series finale against Wheeling, the Komets are now 6 of 28 and 5 of 13 at the Coliseum to put them atop the league in home power play efficiency.  The Komets got their first short-handed goal of the season from Spencer Smallman.  It was the first shorty since February 19, 2020, when Mason Bergh scored against Kalamazoo.  

Komet streaks -- Zach Pochiro and Anthony Petruzzelli have a three-game goal scoring streak. Olivier Galipeau and Matt Boudens have posted assists in all three home games. Defensemen Matt Murphy and Nick Boka have a two-game assist streak and Brandon Hawkins has registered points the past two games.  

Komet leaders -- Anthony Petruzzelli, Zach Pochiro and Olivier Galipeau lead the team in points with six. Pochiro leads the team in goals scored with six.  Galipeau leads with six assists. Morgan Adams-Moisan leads the team with 20 PIM and Anthony Petruzzelli has a +5 rating.  

Icing the puck -- The last time the Komets scored four power play goals in a game was November 9, 2019 at Kalamazoo. The Komets have outshot their opponents five out of six games this season, averaging 11.8 in the third period.  Spencer Smallman was awarded the first penalty shot of the season on Saturday but did not score. Jackson Leef registered his first Komets assist on Friday. Jackson’s dad Ron collected 291 helpers during his Komets career. With an assist Sunday, Shawn Szydlowski now has 273 as a Komet tying him with Bobby Rivard for 14th all-time.

This week, the Komets will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Indy.