Komets regain first place

Fort Wayne, IN – With two more wins over Wheeling and Indy last weekend, the club is now 18-8-3-1, with a winning percentage of .667. After 30 games, the Komets are back on top of the Western Conference standings.  Next week, the Komets will play three games versus the Wheeling Nailers, Friday and Saturday at the War Memorial Coliseum and Sunday in West Virginia. 

Last week’s results 

Fri 4/16 vs Wheeling FW 6 – WHL 2 W 

Sat 4/17 vs Indy FW 4 – Indy 0 W

Sun 4/18 vs Wheeling FW 3 – WHL 5 L

About last week-- Friday, the Komets gained a 6-2 win over the Wheeling Nailers at the Coliseum.  Brandon Hawkins would score an unassisted goal at 4:11 of the first period to give the Komets the early lead.  Wheeling would tie the game at 17:50, but Hawkins would put the Komets back out in front with a power play goal at 19:30.  Nick Boka would score a shorthanded goal to open up the scoring in the second period at 7:18.  The Komets would go on a power play at 13:54 and Hawkins would get his third of the game to complete the hat trick at 14:24.  Matt Boudens would finish the scoring in the second period with a tally at 14:49.  Wheeling would start the scoring in the third with a goal at 15:45.  Anthony Nellis would put the game out of reach with his sixth of the season at 16:23.  The Komets outshot Wheeling 43-17, while going two for five on the power play.  Randy Gazzola would finish the game with two assists, while Louis-Phillip Guindon got the win in net making 15 saves.

Saturday night, the Komets traveled to Indy to take on the Fuel, as rookie goaltender Robbie Beydoun would get his first pro start.  The Komets would get a first period goal from Anthony Petruzzelli at 18:37, with defenseman Olivier Galipeau adding another at 16:19 of the second period.  Brandon Hawkins and Justin Vaive would score in the third, as Beydoun completed the shutout making 29 saves.   

The weekend would be concluded Sunday with 5-3 loss at Wheeling. The Nailers would get a pair of goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.  The Komets would pull within one on a power play goal from Anthony Nellis at 1:19 of the second period.  Wheeling would add another goal at 12:24, and AJ Jenks registered his eighth of the season at 13:47. In the third, the Nailers would add an empty net goal, while rookie Stephen Harper would get the Komets only goal of the period at 18:51. The Komets went two for six on the power play and were outshot 31-24.

For the week— Brandon Hawkins would lead the Komets with a six-point week that included a hat trick (4g, 2a). Anthony Nellis had two goals and two assists. AJ Jenks, Olivier Galipeau, and Stephen Harper would each score one goal and adding two assists.  Anthony Petruzzelli, Morgan Adams-Moisan, Randy Gazzola, Nick Boka, and Justin Vaive would finish with two points. Matt Boudens would score a goal, while Nolan LaPorte, Blake Siebenaler, Marcus McIvor, and Marco Roy all tallied one assist.  Louis Phillip-Guindon would earn two starts last week going 1-1, giving up six goals on 47 shots.  Robbie Beydoun went 1-0 in his only start.

Special K's—. Last week, the Komets skated shorthanded 15 times, killing off 13 power plays. The team is now fourth in the league atkilling off penalties at a rate of 86.6 percent. On the power play, the Komets keep the top spot, scoring on 28.2 percent of their chances. For the week, the Komets scored four power play goals on 13 advantages.

Komet streaks— Brandon Hawkins has points in seven straight road games. AJ Jenks has points in four straight games and Stephen Harper has points in three straight games.

Komet leaders—

POINTS:  Hawkins 31

GOALS:   Hawkins 19

ASSISTS: Gazzola 20

PP GOALS: Hawkins  10

SH GOALS: Smallman 3

GW GOALS:  Hawkins 3

                      Petruzzelli 3

SHOTS: Hawkins 126

PIM: Adams-Moisan 52

+/- : McIvor +9

Icing the puck— The Komets have played Wheeling 13 times this season, winning eight contests. Brandon Hawkins’ hat trick Friday night was his second and the team’s third of the season.  10 times this season a Komets player has recorded three or more points in one game.  Friday night, the Komets limited Wheeling to 17 shots on net. That was the fewest total shots given up in one game this season. The team has only been outshot five times and they lead the league in shots allowed at 23.37 per game.  Robbie Beydoun earned a shutout in net Saturday night in his pro debut.  The last Komets goaltender to gain a shutout in his first professional start was Francois Trembly back on October 26, 2014.

This week, the Komets will host Wheeling Friday and Saturday, before returning to Wheeling on Sunday.

Hawkins loaned to Rochester – Forward Brandon Hawkins has been loaned to Rochester of the AHL. Hawkins, 26, leads the Komets in points (31) and goals (19).  Last season, Hawkins skated six games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.