Fort Wayne, IN—The Komets defeated the Allen Americans 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night to advance to the Kelly Cup Finals. They will be taking on the South Carolina Stingrays. The best-of-five series will start this Friday at the Carolina Ice Palace in North Charleston, South Carolina at 7:05 p.m. with game two also being played Sunday in Charleston. The series will shift to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for game three next Wednesday. If needed, games four and five will also be played in Fort Wayne. The Coliseum will be at full capacity with all seating available for home games during the final round.  

Western Conference Finals summary

Game 1: Friday, June 18 – Fort Wayne 2 Allen 5

Game 2: Saturday, June 19 – Fort Wayne 5 Allen 4 OT

Game 3: Monday, June 21 – Fort Wayne 4 Allen 3

Game 4: Tuesday, June 22 – Fort Wayne 3 Allen 2 OT

Fort Wayne wins series 3-1

The Komets will be playing in their first Kelly Cup Final since joining the ECHL in the 2012-2013 season.  This will be the first championship round for the Komets since defeating Wichita for the Presidents’ Cup in the CHL in 2012.  The Komets franchise has won nine championships in three different leagues (IHL ’62-’63, ’64-’65, ’72-’73, ’07-’08, ’08-’09, ’09-‘10 UHL ’02-‘03 CHL ’11-‘12). The Komets have now made it to the final round of a league tournament 19 times. 

This series will be South Carolina’s sixth trip to the Kelly Cup Finals. The club has claimed the ECHL’s top prize three times (’96-’97, ‘00-’01, ’08-’09). The 1997 championship squad was coached by Rick Vaive, the father of current Komet Justin Vaive.  The Stingrays last made a finals appearance in 2017 when they were swept by the Colorado Eagles 4-0. 

The two teams played three times during the regular season with the Stingrays winning all three contests.   

Kelly Cup Finals Schedule 

Game 1 – Friday, June 25 at 7:05 P.M. at South CarolinaGame 2 – Sunday, June 27 at 6:05 P.M. at South CarolinaGame 3 – Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30 P.M. at Fort Wayne Game 4 – Friday, July 2 at 8:00 P.M. at Fort Wayne Game 5 – Saturday, July 3 at 7:30 P.M. at Fort Wayne

Komet Playoff Leaders                 

Points:  Nellis, Harper 9                           

Goals: Nellis, 5

Assists: Harper, 7                 

PP Goals: Vaive, 2

SH Goals: Jenks 2                                                  GW Goals: Lyszczarczyk  2                               

Shots: Hawkins 33                                  

PIM: Boudens   32                                       +/-: Cooper +4

Tickets

Season ticket holders will have a one-day exclusive period this Thursday to purchase Kelly Cup Finals tickets starting at 10:00 a.m. at the Coliseum ticket office.  Tickets for the general public will go on sale Friday starting at 10:00 a.m. The Coliseum ticket office will open this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For more information call 260-483-0011 or visit Komets.com