Komets remain in first place

Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets split four games last week, coming away with four points and remain in first place heading into the holiday week.  The club maintains a one-point lead in the Central Division over second place Toledo.  The two teams will meet Thursday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. for the Bob Chase Memorial Game. 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. The jerseys that the Komets are wearing will be up for silent auction at the game to benefit WOWO Penny Pitch recipient, GiGi's Playhouse Fort Wayne.

Last week’s results

Wed 11/17 at Indy FW 0 – Indy 1 L

Fri 11/19 vs Kalamazoo FW 4 – KAL 2 W

Sat 11/20 vs Wheeling FW 3 – WHL 2 W

Sun 11/21 vs Iowa   FW 1 – IA 5 L

About last week – Wednesday, the Komets traveled to Indy for the first time this season. Indy’s Cliff Watson would score the only goal of the game at 6:20 of the first period. Fuel goaltender Cale Morris would earn the shutout as he turned away 27 shots.  Jiri Patera would get the loss in net for the Komets stopping 22 of 23 shots.

Friday night, the Komets entertained the Kalamazoo Wings for the first time this season.  Connor Jones would start the scoring early with his second of the season; a power-play goal at 5:32 of the first period. Rookie Matthew Barnaby would be set up by fellow freshman DJ King to net his first of the season at 6:11, giving the Komets a 2-0 lead.  A turnover in the Komet zone would result in Kalamazoo getting on the board at 17:58 to cut the lead in half heading in the first intermission. Matt Alvaro would score the only goal in the second period to once again push the Komet lead up to two.  In the third frame, Anthony Petruzzelli would make it a three-goal lead with his second of the season at 10:17 on a power play from Alvaro and Will Graber.  The Wings would also get a goal in the third, but the Komets would hold on making the final score 4-2.  Sam Harvey got his third win of the season making 39 saves. 

Saturday night, the Komets faced the Wheeling Nailers for the fourth time this season.  Matt Murphy returned to the Komet lineup for the first time since October 30th. The defenseman netted two goals and added an assist helping the Komets to a 3-2 win.  Stephen Harper was also added back to the roster before the game and scored his fourth of the season.  Harvey got his second straight start, getting the win while making 18 saves. 

Sunday, the Komets hosted the expansion Iowa Heartlanders for the first of nine meetings between the two teams.  Iowa would score three unanswered goals to start the game to give them a 3-0 lead until Matt Murphy and Stephen Harper set up Will Graber for his second goal of the year at 18:28 of the first period.  Iowa would add another score in the second period and another at :43 of the third to push the final score to 5-1. Recently signed goaltender Sean Bonar faced 36 shots, making 31 saves in the loss.

Komet streaks— Stephen Harper has points in his last five games (3g, 7a), Matt Murphy has points in three straight games.

For the week — Will Graber played in four games amassing four points (1g, 3a). Defenseman Matt Murphy scored two goals and dished two assists, Connor Jones scored one goal and was credited with two assists.  Kellen Jones had two assists, Matt Alvaro and Stephen Harper scored a goal and an assist, Mathew Barnaby and Anthony Petruzzelli each scored goals, Nick Jermain, DJ King, Chays Ruddy, and Marcus McIvor all had one assist. Jiri Patera started one game, giving up one goal on 23 shots taking the loss, Sam Harvey won both of his starts, giving up four goals on 61 shots. Sean Bonar lost his only start of the week making 31 saves and giving up five goals.

Special K's— For the week, the Komets scored two power-play goals on 14 chances. On the penalty kill, the team gave the opposition 16 power plays giving up two goals.

Komet leaders —

POINTS:  Stephen Harper  11

GOALS:   Matt Boudens 5

Matt Alvaro 5

ASSISTS: Connor Jones 8

PP GOALS: Jameson Milam  2

SH GOALS: Drake Rymsha  1

Matt Boudens  1

GW GOALS:  Blake Siebenaler  2

SHOTS: Kellen Jones  27

PIM:  Zach Tolkinen 20

+/- :  Anthony Petruzzelli  10

Patera and Busch return, Harper back to Chicago – Goaltender Jiri Patera has been reassigned after a weekend call up to Henderson of the AHL. The Silver Knights have also retuned forward Tyler Busch and forward Stephen Harper has been recalled by the Chicago Wolves. Goaltender Sean Bonar and forward Taylor Ross have been placed on waivers.

Icing the puck —  Kalamazoo’s goal at 17:58 of the first period Friday night snapped a 107:39 shutout streak for goaltender Sam Harvey. Harvey also leads the league in save percentage at .959. A power-play goal by Wheeling at 14:24 of the third period Saturday night broke a streak of 25 penalty kills for the Komets.  Matt Murphy scored two goals from the blue line Saturday night.  The last time a Komet defenseman scored a hat trick was Frankie DeAngelis on February 24, 2012. Sean Bonar’s start in goal Sunday was his first with the Komets since 2016. The Komets are 7-1-1 when scoring first. Through 12 games, the Komets are being outshot 391-337, but only giving up 2.42 goals per game. That’s good for fourth-best in the ECHL.

Next week—The Komets travel to Kalamazoo on Wednesday. The team hosts Toledo on Thanksgiving night. They finish the week at Indy on Saturday.

Upcoming Promotions

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. The Throwback Komets jerseys will be a part of a silent auction in the arena lobby the night of the game, and all proceeds will benefit the 2021 WOWO Penny Pitch Recipient, GiGi's Playhouse.

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!

See Komets Schedule 

See Komets Roster

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 Komet home games at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office and Ticketmaster.com