Komets edge closer to second place; Three crucial home games next weekend

Fort Wayne, IN – After winning four out of the last five games, the Komets enter the week three points back of Indy and Wheeling for second place in the Central Division with a record of 28-23-2-3 for 61 points. The Komets host Wheeling on Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Indy returns to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Sunday for a 5:00 p.m. faceoff. The Komets have 16 regular season games remaining.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Fri. 3/1 at Toledo FW 3 – TOL 6 L

Sat 3/2 vs Wheeling FW 7 – WHL 4 W

Sun 3/3 vs Indy FW 3 – IND 2 W

About last week – 

On Friday, the Komets traveled to Toledo, leaving with a 6-3 defeat. Ethen Keppen returned to the Komet lineup and promptly netted his 13th goal of the season at 4:30 of the first period. The Walleye tied the game at 14:05 on a power play goal. Toledo took over the game in the second, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. After the break, the Walleye continued to add to the lead with a goal at 2:34 to make the contest 5-1. Keppen added his second of the night at 5:01, but the rally was short-lived as the former Komet Brandon Hawkins scored his second goal of the game at 16:27 on the power play. The game's final tally belonged to Ture Linden at 18:21 to make the final score 6-3. Ryan Fanti took the loss with 31 saves.

GAME SHEET

This Komets continued their mastery of the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday with a 7-4 victory on Sweetwater Ice. After giving up the first goal, the Komets took over when Ture Linden scored his 22nd of the season at 13:34 of the first period on a power play. Fellow rookie Ethan de Jong netted the next two to give the Komets a 3-1 in the second period. The Nailers struck back with two goals later in the period to tie the game. Still, de Jong struck again for his first career hat trick at 14:30. The Komets did not look back in the third as Jack Dugan scored at 2:57, followed by an Ethan Keppen short-handed goal at 6:36. The night was topped off with Dugan earning an empty net goal at 19:15. Dugan and de Jong finished with a combined 11 points while Xavier Cormier had three assists. Tyler Parks started the game but left due to injury in the second period, giving up three goals on 24 shots. Ryan Fanti got the win in relief, making 11 saves. 

GAME SHEET

On Sunday, the Komets hosted Indy and handed the Fuel a 3-2 loss. Ture Linden scored his 23rd goal on the power play to open the scoring at 7:11. Xavier Cormier added his 10th of the season at 8:00 to give the Komets a 2-0 lead at the break. Indy’s Colin Bilek scored the second period’s only goal to cut the Komet lead to one after two periods. In the third, the Fuel quickly tied the game just:51 into the period. After the Fuel took back-to-back penalties to give the Komets a two-person advantage, Cormier netted the eventual game-winner at 11:12. Ryan Fanti stopped 14 third period shots to hang on for the win. 

GAME SHEET

Komet streaks— 

Points: 4 games, Dugan (3g, 7a), 2 games, de Jong (3g, 4a), Linden (3g) 

Goals: 3 games, Linden (3g)

Assists: 4 games, Dugan (4a)

Home Points: 2 games, Dugan (2g, 5a), 2 games, de Jong (3g, 4a), 2 games, Cormier (2g. 3a)

Home Goals: 2 games, Linden (3g)

Home Assists: 2 games, Dugan (5a), 2 games, de Jong (4a)

Road Points: 10 games, Dugan (5g, 9a), 4 games, Keppen (3g, 2a), 

Road Goals: 3 games, Keppen (3g)

Road Assists: 3 games, Dugan (3a)

Wins (goaltender): 2 games, Fanti

Komet leaders—

Points: 65, Dugan (17g, 48a)

Goals: 23, Linden

Assists: 48, Dugan

Power Play Goals: 9, Linden

Short-Handed Goals: 2, Gorniak, Dugan, de Jong, Linden

Game Winning Goals: 5, D’Aoust

Shots: 185, D’Aoust

PIM: 147, Dugan 

Plus/Minus: +22, Bernard

Home Points: 29, Dugan (6g, 23a)

Home Goals: 12, Linden

Home Assists: 23, Dugan 

Road Points: 34, Dugan (9g, 25a) 

Road Goals: 11, Linden 

Road Assists: 25, Dugan

Goaltenders

Appearances: 32, Parks

Wins: 16, Parks

Saves: 889, Parks

Goals against Avg: 2.76, Brochu

Save percentage: .920, Brochu

Shutouts: 1, Parks, Brochu, Fanti

Special K’s – The Komets skated short-handed 14 times allowing three goals. On the power play, the Komets scored four goals on 12 opportunities. 

Icing the puck — The Komets have won four out of the last five games. The club is 4-0 versus Wheeling this season. Jack Dugan leads the league in assists with 48. Ture Linden has 23 goals this season, which makes him second among rookies. The Komets are 17-8-1 when scoring first. The team is first in the league on the power play at home at 28.6 percent, scoring 26 goals on 91 chances. With two short-handed goals last weekend, the Komets are second in the league with nine. Xavier Cormier has registered three assists in a game five times this season. Jack Dugan and Ethan de Jong combined for 11 points in Saturday’s win versus Wheeling. The last time two players combined for over 10 points in a game was March 21, 2015 (Szydlowski 5g, Faille 5a). Ethan de Jong scored a hat trick and added three assists on Saturday. It was the first six-point game since Kellen Jones (1g, 5a) on March 27, 2022, versus Wheeling. The hat trick was the 391st in Komet regular season history.

Upcoming Promotions