Komets maintain second place

Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets failed to secure their spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs after dropping two of three games at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum last weekend against first place Wichita.  Entering the final six games of the regular season, the Komets sit in second place with a record of 26-15-3-1 and a winning percentage of .622. The team will travel to Indy this weekend for two games against the Fuel.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results

Fri 5/21 vs WIC  FW 2 – WIC 1 W

Sat 5/22 vs  WIC FW 2 – WIC 4 L

Sun 5/23 vs WIC FW 1 – WIC 3 L

About last week-- Friday night, the Wichita Thunder came to town for the first of a three-game series at the Coliseum.  After a scoreless first period that saw the Komets outshoot the visiting Thunder 15-4, Wichita would break the stalemate at 12:19 of the second period. The 1-0 lead for the Thunder would carry over into the third period.  In the final frame, Komets defenseman Randy Gazzola would tie the game just 2:25 into the third period.  Marco Roy would take a Shawn Szydlowski pass at 14:46 to bury the go-ahead goal.  The Komets would hold off the Thunder in the final minutes for the 2-1 win.  Goaltender Dylan Ferguson would get the victory making 20 saves.

Saturday night, the Thunder jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 2:52 into the first period.  Wichita would add another goal at 10:26 of the second period, before AJ Jenks netted his tenth of the season at 12:13 to pull the Komets within one. The Thunder would push the lead back to two with a power play goal 14:51. Nick Boka would score his fourth of the season at 16:14 to make the score 3-2 heading into the third period.  In the third, both teams were unable to score until Komets goaltender Robbie Beydoun was pulled for the extra skater, which allowed Wichita’s Spencer Dorowicz to score an empty net goal to make the final score 4-2.  Beydoun would get the loss, giving up three goals on 27 shots.

Sunday, Wichita again would jump out to an early 1-0 lead in the first period with a goal at 10:23.  The Thunder would add another tally at 14:28 to give them a 2-0 edge after one period.  Neither team would score in the second period. In the third, the Thunder would score at 13:53 to put the game out of reach.  Marco Roy would bust up the shutout at 16:13 to make the final score 3-1.  Robbie Beydoun making his second straight start took the loss making 22 saves on 25 shots.

For the week— Forward Alan Lyszczarczyk played in two games registering three assists.  Marco Roy scored two goals. Defenseman Olivier Galipeau was credited with two assists. Randy Gazzola, Nick Boka, and AJ Jenks all scored a goal.  Shawn Szydlowski, Matt Boudens, Matt Murphy, Anthony Petruzzelli, and Brandon Hawkins all added assists.  Robbie Beydoun started two games last week, taking the loss in both contests.  The rookie made 46 saves on 52 shots and finished the week with a 3.07 goals against average. Dylan Ferguson started one game and gained a win, allowing one goal on 21 shots.       

Special K's— Last week, the Komets went 2 for 11 on the power play and killed off seven out of eight Wichita power plays. The Komets are scoring on 26.4 percent of their power play chances which is tops in the league. The team is also the best team killing penalties at home at 92.8 percent.  Brandon Hawkins leads the team with 10 power play goals and Shawn Szydlowski leads with 15 power play assists.

Komet leaders—

Points:  Hawkins 33

Goals:   Hawkins 19

Assists: Gazzola, Szydlowski 25

PP Goals: Hawkins   10

SH Goals: Smallman 3

GW Goals:  Petruzzelli, Harper 4

 Shots: Hawkins 141

PIM: Adams-Moisan 104

+/- : Petruzzelli +13

Icing the puck— The Komets ended the home portion of their regular season schedule with a record of 16-8-0. The Komets finish the regular season with six games on the road.  The Komets are 10-7-3 away from the Coliseum this season.  The club finished their home schedule going 10-0 when having the lead after one period and 11-0 with a lead after two periods. The Komets are 16-2-2 when scoring the first goal of the game, the team has failed to score first in seven straight games. The team has only been outshot seven times this season. Alan Lyszczarczyk has 13 points in 13 games since re-joining the Komets. Goaltender Dylan Ferguson has given up four goals in his last four starts.

This week, the Komets will play at Indy Friday and Saturday.  The Komets can clinch a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs on Friday with a win or loss in overtime or shootout.

Komet hockey on WOWO-- Fans can follow the action with Shane Albahrani broadcasting play-by-play on WOWO AM 1190 and FM 107.5. Game broadcasts are also streamed live at Komets.com. 

Get Komet Tickets—Kelly Cup playoff tickets will go on sale May 27th at 10:00 a.m. to current season ticket holders. Tickets for the general public will go on sale June 1st at 10:00 a.m.