Komets heat up for the holidays

Fort Wayne, IN – After three wins last weekend, the Komets have pulled even with the Iowa Heartlanders for second place in the Central Division with a mark of 14-7-1 for 29 points. Entering the week, the club is six points back of first-place Toledo. The Komets have played three fewer games than the Walleye.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Fri. 12/13 @ Bloomington FW 2 – BLM 1 W

Sat.12/14 vs Allen FW 8 – ALN 2 W

Sun.12/15 vs Allen FW 4 – ALN 3 OTW

About last week – 

On Friday, the Komets traveled to Bloomington for the first time this season. Nick Deakin-Poot scored his second goal of the season, and the only goal of the period, at 11:23 to give the Komets the lead. After a scoreless second period, Alex Aleardi scored at 5:24 of the third to give the Komets a 2-0 advantage. Bloomington got on the board at 16:53, but goaltender Brett Brochu shut the door on the Bison for the rest of the third period, leading to his seventh win of the season. Brochu finished with 27 saves.

GAME SHEET

On Saturday, the Komets exploded for eight goals for an 8-2 romp over the Allen Americans at the Coliseum. Alex Swetlikoff, Jack Gorniak, Nick Deakin-Poot, Alex Aleardi and Jack Dugan all found the back of the net in the first period to give the Komets a 5-0 lead. The Americans attempted a comeback in the second period with two scores while blanking the Komets. In the third, Nolan Volcan, Dustyn McFaul and Anthony Petruzzelli all scored to complete the scoring. Brett Brochu won in goal, making 31 saves.

GAME SHEET

On Sunday, the K’s finished their two-game set with Allen, with the Americans scoring the game's first two goals. Jack Dugan got the Komets on the board in the second period, scoring on a breakaway for his fourth goal. In the third period, Yanick Turcotte set up Anthony Petruzzelli for his eighth-season goal at 5:36 to tie the game. Dugan gave the Komets their first lead of the game with a second strike one minute later. Late in the frame, goaltender Anson Thornton headed to the bench for the extra skater, and the Americans promptly scored at 17:49 to tie the game, and eventually send the contest to overtime. In the extra frame, Dugan caught a pass from Jack Gorniak and scored this third of the game to give the Komets a 4-3 win. Connor Ungar got the win, making 20 saves.

GAME SHEET

Brett Brochu of the Fort Wayne Komets is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Dec. 9-15.
 
Brochu went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and a save percentage of .951 in two appearances last week.
 
The 22-year-old made 27 saves in a 2-1 win at Bloomington on Friday and turned aside 31 shots in an 8-2 victory against Allen on Saturday.
 
Under contract to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League, Brochu is 8-3-1 in 13 appearances this season with a 2.45 goals-against average and a save percentage of .918.

Komet streaks— 

Points: 3 games, Rees (3a), 2 games, Dugan (3g, 1a), 2 games, Mayhew (4a), 2 games, Petruzzelli (2g, 1a), 2 games, Gorniak (1g, 1a)

Goals: 2 games, Dugan (4g), 2 games, Petruzzelli (2g)

Assists: 3 games, Rees (3a), 2 games, Mayhew (4a), 3 games,

Home Points: 3 games, Rees (3a), 2 games, Dugan (3g, 1a), 2 games, Mayhew (4a), 2 games, Petruzzelli (2g, 1a), 2 games, Aleardi (1g, 1a), 2 games, Gorniak (1g, 1a)

Home Goals: 2 games, Dugan (4g), 2 games, Mayhew (4a), 2 games, Petruzzelli (2g) 

Home Assists: 3 games, Rees (3a) 

Road Points: 3 games, Gorniak (1g, 3a)

Road Goals: 

Road Assists: 

Wins (goaltender): 2, Brochu, 1, Ungar

Komet leaders—

Points: 23 – Mayhew (3g, 20a)

Goals: 10 – Aleardi

Assists: 20 – Mayhew

Power Play Goals: 4 – Tufto

Short-Handed Goals: 1 -- Gorniak 

Game Winning Goals: 4 – Aleardi

Shots: 68 - Corcoran

PIM: 92 – Turcotte

Plus/Minus: +10 – Aleardi

Home Points: 13 – Dugan

Home Goals: 5 – Tufto, Aleardi

Home Assists: 10 – Mayhew

Road Points: 11 – Mayhew

Road Goals: 5 – Keppen, Aleardi

Road Assists: 9 – Tufto, Mayhew

Goaltenders

Appearances: 13 – Brochu

Wins: 8 – Brochu

Saves: 348 - Brochu

Goals against Avg: 2.45 - Brochu

Save percentage: .918 - Brochu

Special K’s— The Komets skated short-handed 10 times last week and did not give up a goal. The club had seven power play opportunities, scoring once.

Next week – The Komets will host Indy on Friday, before heading down the highway to face the Fuel on Saturday.  

Icing the puck – Saturday, the Komets had eight different skaters score goals for the first time since a 9-3 win versus Wichita on February 18, 2018. The Komets also had three unassisted goals in Saturday’s win against Allen. The last time the club registered three unassisted goals was March 4, 2005, in a 7-2 win at Elmira. Jack Gorniak’s short-handed goal on Saturday was the team’s first of the season. Chase Bertholet notched his first career pro assist on Saturday. Jack Dugan’s hat trick in Sunday’s win was the first of the season for the Komets and Dugan’s third of his pro career. The team is 9-1-1 in one-goal games. The Komets have killed off 13 straight power plays. With two assists on Sunday, Justin Taylor now has 271 in his ECHL career. 

Upcoming Promotions

Friday, December 20:  Kids Seat FREE Night:  Receive a FREE Kids ticket courtesy of Lutheran Health Network and Aunt Millie's with the purchase of any regular-priced adult ticket!  Visit the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office to take advantage of this offer.

Remedy Live Mental Health Awareness Night: 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. 

Marathon Fill-Up Card Fridays: Filling up three times at any area Marathon station earns you buy-one-get one free tickets to any Friday home game.  Visit any local Marathon Station for details.

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.