Komets start home stand with win

Fort Wayne, IN – After dropping two games last week, the Komets rebounded with wins over Kalamazoo and Cincinnati to push their season mark to 9-3-0, and 18 points. The team will play the next four games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, starting this Saturday versus Wheeling at 7:30 p.m.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Tue. 11/12 at Wheeling FW 1– WHL 3 L

Fri. 11/15 at Kalamazoo FW 1 – KAL 4 L

Sat. 11/16 at Kalamazoo FW 5 – KAL 3 W

Sun. 11/17 vs Cincinnati FW 6- CIN 1 W

About last week – 

On Wednesday, the Komets went to Wheeling for a morning game and tasted defeat for the first time on the road. After a scoreless first period, Wheeling captured the lead in the second period with a goal at 7:08. In the third, the Nailers scored again at 1:05 to take a 2-0 lead. While on a power play, the Komets Jack Dugan netted his first goal of the season at 7:55 to pull his team within one. The Komets pulled netminder Brett Brochu for the extra skater, but the Nailers buried an empty net goal at 19:09 to seal the win. Brochu made 17 saves in his first loss of the season. The Komets outshot the Nailers 33-20.

GAME SHEET

On Friday, the Komets peppered the Kalamazoo net with 17 first-period shots but could not score on Wings goaltender Jonathon Lemieux. Kalamazoo’s Collin Soccoman scored at 12:41 of the first to open the scoring. In the second period, the Komets tied the game at one with a Jack Gorniak strike at 5:38, but the Wings reclaimed the lead at 6:20. The Wings added another goal at 18:53 to make it a 3-1 contest after two periods. In the third period, Kalamazoo struck again in the first minute to conclude the scoring, making the final score 4-1. Connor Unger took the loss, making 31 saves.

GAME SHEET

The Komets concluded their two games in Kalamazoo with a 5-3 win. After a scoreless first period, Ethan Keppen got the Komets on the board at 4:46, but was quickly followed by a Kalamazoo goal at 6:37. Jack Gorniak put the Komets in the lead with his third of the season, but the lead was short-lived as the Wings tied the game with only seconds remaining in the period. In the final frame, Kalamazoo struck first, but a Justin Taylor goal at 1:54 tied the contest at three. With regulation time winding down, veteran Alex Aleardi scored at 18:57. Keppen added an empty net goal to seal the win. Brett Brochu made 10 saves in win. The Komets outshot the Wings 44-13.

GAME SHEET

On Sunday, the Komets returned to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and beat the Cincinnati Cyclones in a fight-filled game, 6-1. The Komets Odeen Tufto scored the first goal of the game in the first period at 10:28 on a power play. After a scoreless second period, the Komets opened the game up in the third with four straight goals to make the game 5-0, until former Komet, Matt Murphy, scored on a power play at 17:07 to break up the shutout. Nolan Volcan concluded the scoring with his first of the season at 18:44. Brett Brochu made 28 saves in the victory. The two teams combined for 98 penalty minutes.

GAME SHEET

Komet streaks— 

Points: 4, Gorniak (3 games), 3 Aleardi (3 games)

Home Points: 4 games, Mayhew (1g, 5a), Tufto (3g, 2a), Keppen (5a)

Home Assists: 4 games, Keppen (5a)

Road Points: 2 games, Gorniak (1g, 2a), Aleardi (1g, 1a)

Road Goals: 2 games, Gorniak, (2g)

Wins (goaltender): 2, Brochu

Komet leaders—

Points: 16 – Mayhew (3g, 13a)

Goals: 7 – Aleardi

Assists: 13 – Mayhew

Power Play Goals: 4 – Tufto

Short-Handed Goals: 

Game Winning Goals: 2 – Aleardi

Shots: 50 - Corcoran

PIM: 67 – Turcotte

Plus/Minus: +9 – Aleardi

Home Points: 6 - Swetlikoff

Home Goals: 3 – Aleardi

Home Assists:  5 – Keppen

Road Points: 11 –Mayhew

Road Goals: 4 –Petruzzelli, Aleardi, Keppen

Road Assists: 9 – Tufto, Mayhew

Goaltenders

Appearances: 8 – Brochu

Wins: 6 – Brochu

Saves: 181 - Brochu

Goals against Avg: 2.12 - Brochu

Save percentage: .919 - Brochu

Special K’s— Last week, the Komets scored three goals on 13 power plays. The team skated short-handed 13 times and allowed one goal. 

Next week – The Komets host the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday night. 

Icing the puck  The 31-shot difference in Saturday’s win at Kalamazoo was the most since the Komets outshot Quad City 63-27 on February 11, 2018, in 4-3 SOL. The 64 minutes in penalties during Sunday’s win was the most in a single game this season. Yanick Turcotte’s 29 penalty minutes on Sunday broke the Komets ECHL record for most PIMs in a single game set by Nick Tuzzolino (26 PIMs) on November 2, 2013 at Las Vegas.  The Komet record for most penalty minutes a game is 50, set by Robin Bawa, March 30, 1988, vs. Kalamazoo,  a 4-3 win (two majors, two matches, two game misconducts).  Nick Deakin-Poot got his first pro assist, goal, and fight in Sunday’s win for the Gordie Howe hat trick. Cincinnati’s power-play goal on Sunday snapped a streak of 19 straight penalty kills. Brett Brochu is now 6-1-0 and tied for the league lead in wins. Kyle Mayhew leads all defensemen in points (16), assists (13), power-play points (9), and power-play assists (8).

Upcoming Promotions

Remedy Live Mental Health Awareness Night, Saturday, November 23: Staff from Remedy LIVE attending the game and available to speak about services within their organization and bringing more awareness to the importance of mental health.

See Komets Schedule  See Komets Roster 

Komet Hockey on WXKE — Fans can follow the action with Shane Albahrani broadcasting play-by-play on 96.3 WKXE. 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.