First Place Komets Home for Three Straight

Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets skated away with two wins and five points last week, netting wins over Cincinnati and Toledo.  The team starts the week in first place in the Central Division with a 6-1-1 mark. The club begins a four game in five night stretch starting at Indy on Wednesday, then hosting Kalamazoo on Friday, Wheeling on Saturday and Iowa will make its first ever visit to the Jungle on Sunday.

Last week’s results

Fri 11/12 @ Cincinnati FW 2 – CIN 1

Sat 11/13 vs Toledo FW 3 – TOL 0

Sun 11/14 @ Wheeling FW 4 – WHL 5 OT

About last week – Friday night, the Komets traveled to Cincinnati to battle the Cyclones for the second time this season.  Defenseman Jameson Milam would score at 5:48 of the first period, giving the Komets the lead that they would not give up.  In the second, captain Matt Boudens netted his third of the season, putting the Komets up by two.  Cincy would get a late goal in third from former Komet Nick Boka to make the final score 2-1.  Jiri Patera gained another victory stopping 33 of 34 shots. 

Saturday night, the Komets played host to the Toledo Walleye for the first time this season. Goaltender Sam Harvey faced 39 Walleye shots and turned away all of them, giving the Komets a 3-0 shutout victory. Rookie defenseman Josh Owings would get his first professional goal at 10:49 of the first period, with an assist from Connor Jones and Anthony Petruzzelli.  In the second period, Aaron Huffnagle would take a long pass from Shawn Boudrias to create a breakaway ending in Huffnagle getting the puck past Toledo goalkeeper Kaden Fulcher giving the Komets a 2-0 lead at the end of two periods. In the third, Matt Alvaro scored just 28 seconds into the period for the final tally of the game. The Komets were outshot 39-18 on the night.

Sunday, the Komets rolled into Wheeling for the second time this season. They dropped the game to the Nailers 5-4 in overtime. Boudens got the scoring going with an unassisted shorthanded goal at 6:08 of the first period.  After twenty minutes of play, Marcus McIvor would net his first regular-season professional goal at 12:59 to give the Komets a 2-0 lead. The Nailers fired off three unanswered goals in the second period to take their first lead of the game going into the second intermission.  Connor Corcoran would score his second of the season at 1:04 to tie the game at three.  The Nailers would re-take the lead at 8:07 of the third.  With 4:30 left in the third period, there would be nearly an hour and a half delay for ice repair.  After the break, Boudens would score his second of the game to tie the game once more, eventually sending it overtime.  Both teams would have opportunities on the power play in extra time, but it would be an even-strength goal by Wheeling’s Josh Maniscalco at 6:12 to give the Nailers the win.  Jiri Patera would get tagged with the loss, making 40 saves.

Komet streaks— The Komets have gained points in six straight games. Conner Jones has points in four straight games. Matt Alvaro has points in three straight home games.

Special K's— The Komets scored one power-play goal on 16 total chances last week.  The penalty killers were perfect, successfully killing off 11 power plays. The Komets are third in the league killing penalties at an 88.2 percent clip.

For the week — Connor Jones dished three assists in three games, Matt Boudens netted three goals, Kellen Jones, Anthony Petruzzelli, and Shawn Boudrias were credited with two assists. Matt Alvaro, Josh Owings, Marcus McIvor, and Connor Corcoran had a goal and an assist, while Jameson Milam and Aaron Huffnagle each scored goals. In goal, Sam Harvey made 39 saves with no goals against and a win.  Jiri Patera went 1-1, making 73 saves on 76 shots, giving up six goals for a goals-against average of 2.86 and a .924 save percentage.

Komet leaders —

POINTS:  Stephen Harper  9

GOALS:   Matt Boudens 5

ASSISTS: Shawn Boudrias  7

PP GOALS: Jameson Milam  2

SH GOALS: Drake Rymsha  1

Matt Boudens  1

GW GOALS:  Blake Siebenaler  2

SHOTS: Shawn Boudrias  22

Matt Boudens  22

PIM:  Matt Boudens  13

+/- :  Anthony Petruzzelli  8

Icing the puck — Sam Harvey’s shutout Saturday against Toledo was the first for a Komet goalie since Dylan Ferguson blanked Indy on March 26, 2021.  The last time the Komets blanked the Walleye was December 31, 2017.  The Komets have not yielded a goal to Toledo in the last 97:40 played against them this season. Harvey has now made 85 saves in his first two starts of the season, with two wins and two goals against.  Matt Alvaro’s goal at :28 of the third period Saturday was the quickest goal to start a period this season. This weekend the Komets held their opponents scoreless for 81:47.  When Wheeling’s Josh Maniscalco scored at 14:35 of the second period of Sunday’s game, it was the first time the Komets had surrendered the lead in 285:15. The Komets play Indy for the first time this season on Wednesday.  The team was 12-7-2 against the Fuel last season, with eight wins coming at Indy.

Upcoming Promotions

Pet Detective Night Saturday, November 20th  – The Komets will be wearing special Ace Ventura Pet Detective jerseys that will be auctioned to benefit Humane Fort Wayne.

Bob Chase Memorial Game Thursday, November 25th – The Komets will be wearing special blue throwback jerseys from the 1985-1986 season, courtesy of Sweetwater. The Walleye will also be wearing classic Toledo Goaldigger jerseys.

Report Card Night, Friday, December 3rd -- Take your report card or a letter from a teacher showing an “A” or an “A-Equivalent” to the Coliseum Ticket Office any time between now and game night to receive a completely FREE ticket, courtesy of PHP. Get your tickets early!

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—Tickets are available for all three Komet home games this weekend. Single-game tickets are on sale now at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum ticket office. For more information visit Komets.com or call 260-483-0011