Komets hit the road for the next three games

Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets dropped four games last weekend to fall into third place in the Central Division with a mark of 18-12-1-0 for 37 points. The team heads to Tulsa for two games on Friday and Saturday, before playing Wichita on Sunday. The Komets return home to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Friday, January 17, versus Toledo, followed by the Maine Mariners' first appearance in Fort Wayne on Saturday, January 18, for MLK Night.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Tue.12/31 vs Bloomington FW 2– BLM L

Fri. 1/3 vs Toledo FW 3 – TOL 4 L

Sat.1/4 at Toledo FW 0 – TOL 3 L

Sun.1/5 vs Cincinnati FW 2 – CIN 3 L

About last week – 

On Tuesday, the Komets welcomed the Bloomington Bison for the first time this season. In the first period, Bloomington’s Eddie Matsushima scored the only goal to give the Bison a 1-0 lead. In the second, Odeen Tufto netted his eighth of the season at 8:35 with assists coming from Nolan Volcan and Cam Supryka to tie the contest, but the Bison reclaimed the lead at 17:52 to make the game 2-1 after two periods. Alex Swetlikoff opened the scoring in the third with a goal at 4:38 to tie the game again. The Bison took advantage of an odd bounce of the glass that left the Komet goal exposed and tapped the puck into the empty net at 10:57 for the game-winning goal. Brett Brochu took the loss making 23 saves. The Komets outshot the Bison 48-26.

GAME SHEET

Friday night, the Toledo Walleye visited the Coliseum for the first time this season and left with a 4-3 win. The Komets got off to a quick start as the Walleye took back-to-back penalties early in the first period. Jack Dugan took advantage of the 5-on-3 power play, scoring at 1:49. Anthony Petruzzelli followed with his ninth goal at 4:22. The Walleye got on the board at 15:54 to make the game 2-1. Toledo struck early in the second period to tie the game, but the Komets reestablished the lead at 17:40 as Petruzzelli scored his second. However, the good feelings were short-lived as the Walleye tied the game at 18:24. In the third, Toledo’s Sam Craggs scored at 8:10 on a power play to give the game to the Walleye. Connor Unger handled the net and took the loss, making 28 saves.

GAME SHEET

On Saturday, the Komets returned to Toledo and fell behind 1-0 at the end of the first period.  In the second, Brandon Hawkins scored the only goal at 10:21 to make the contest 2-0. In the third, Sam Craggs scored the only goal on an empty net as the goaltender was making his way to the bench for the extra man.  Brett Brochu took the loss, making 33 saves in the 3-0 loss.

GAME SHEET

On Sunday, freshly signed Brad Morrison scored the first goal of the game on his first shift as a Komet at 4:49 of the first period to give his team a quick 1-0 lead over the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones. Chas Sharp tied the game at 12:41. In the second period, the Cyclones went ahead with a goal at 6:14 with a strike from Adam Tisdale, assisted by Ryan McCleary. Later in the period, it was discovered that McCleary was ineligible. However, the game officials were unaware of the error until play resumed. By rule, the goal stood as the mistake was not discovered when the goal was scored. McCleary was ejected from the contest. The Cyclones added a power-play goal at the end of the period to make it a 3-1 game. In the third period, Jack Dugan netted his ninth of the season to get the Komets close, but the Cyclones held on for the 3-2 win. Brett Brochu took the loss, making 22 saves.

GAME SHEET

Komet streaks— 

Points: Swetlikoff, 3 games (3g, 1a)

Home Points: Aleardi, 5 games (5a), Swetlikoff, 3 games (3g, 1a), Dugan, Tufto, 3 games (1g, 2a), 2 games (2g), Mayhew, 2 games (3a)

Home Goals: Dugan, 2 games (2g)

Home Assists: Aleardi, 5 games (5a), Mayhew, 2 games (3a)

Komet leaders—

Points: 30 – Dugan (9g, 21a)

Goals: 11 – Aleardi

Assists: 25 – Mayhew

Power Play Goals: 5 – Tufto

Short-Handed Goals: 1 -- Gorniak

Game Winning Goals: 4 – Aleardi

Shots: 94 – Aleardi

PIM: 109 – Turcotte

Plus/Minus: +13 – Taylor

Home Points: 21 – Dugan

Home Goals: 7 – Tufto, Dugan

Home Assists: 14 – Dugan, Mayhew

Road Points: 11 – Mayhew, Dugan, Tufto

Road Goals: 6 – Aleardi

Road Assists: 10 – Tufto

Goaltenders

Appearances: 17 – Brochu

Wins: 9 – Brochu, Ungar

Saves: 447 - Brochu

Goals against Avg: 2.42 - Brochu

Save percentage: .919- Brochu

Shutouts: 1, Brochu

Special K’s— The Komets scored two power-play goals on 11 opportunities while killing off eight of 11 power-plays they faced. 

Next week – The Komets travel to Tulsa for games on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Wichita for a 3:05 faceoff versus the Thunder. 

Icing the puck – Bloomington's goal in the first period Tuesday snapped Brett Brochu's shutout streak at 104:40. The Komets are now 43-20-3-2 all-time on New Year's Eve. Toledo's power-play goal on Friday snapped the Komet's streak of 21 straight kills at home. The last time the Komets were shut out on the road was January 5, 2024, 4-0 at Toledo. Brad Morrison's goal on Sunday was his first as a Komet since February 22, 2020. Over the last four games, the Komets have outshot their opponents 156-119. The team leads the league in third-period shots (368). Jack Dugan has 30 points (9g, 21a) in 30 games played. 

Upcoming Promotions

Friday, January 17:  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.

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.

Saturday, January 18: MLK Night: The Komets will be wearing special MLK jerseys courtesy of CareSource. These game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to Healthier Moms and Babies.

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.