Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets took two out of three games last weekend against Mountain Division-leading Tahoe. With the four points, the Komets have reclaimed second place in the Central Division with a record of 24-13-1-0 for 51 points and will have a showdown with the first-place Walleye at Toledo on Friday.
Fri. 1/24 @ Tahoe FW 5 – TAH 2 W
Sat.1/25 @ Tahoe FW 0 – TAH 2 L
Sun.1/26 @ Tahoe FW 6 – TAH 1 W
About last week –
On Friday, the Komets faced Tahoe and handed the Knight Monsters a 5-2 loss. Ethan Keppen scored the contest's first goal at 8:46 of the first period, with assists from Jack Dugan and Harrison Rees to give the Komets a 1-0 lead. With the period winding down, Dugan was given a minor penalty for interference on the goaltender at 19:45, leading to former Komet, Logan Nelson, tying the game at 19:57. In the second period, Tahoe's Simon Pinard scored at 6:29 to give the Knight Monsters the 2-1 lead. Komet All-Star representative defenseman Kyle Mayhew tied the game, netting his seventh of the season at 16:56 to conclude the period's scoring. In the third, veteran Anthony Petruzzelli scored on a power play to give the Komets the lead at 2:45. Noah Ganske picked up a tripping penalty at 16:51 to provide Tahoe with a power play as the Knight Monsters pulled their goaltender for the extra skater. With the net open, Justin Taylor scored at 18:44, then again at 19:28 to seal the win. Brett Brochu picked up the win, making 30 saves.
In game two of the three-game series against Tahoe, the Knight Monsters ended the Komet's six-game win streak with a 2-0 victory. The only goal of the first period was scored at 6:23 by Artur Cholach. After a scoreless second period, Tahoe's Luke Adam scored on a power play at 10:12 of the third period to make it 2-0. The Komets could not rally, as Connor Ungar was tagged with the loss, making 26 saves. The Komets did not capitalize on five power plays, while the Knight Monsters went one of two on the man advantage.
In the rubber match of the weekend series with Tahoe, the Komets took down the Knight Monsters by a final score of 6-1. In the first period, Kirill Tyutyayev scored his first of the season at 1:57, with assists from Jack Dugan and Jack Gorniak to give the Komets a 1-0 lead. Tahoe quickly erased the deficit with a Jett Jones power-play goal at 6:12. The Komets reclaimed the lead with a Kyle Mayhew power-play tally at 11:21 from Dugan and Odeen Tufto. After the first intermission, Noah Ganske claimed his first goal of the season at 1:01 of the second period. Tufto and Dugan connected on goal at 16:08 to give the Komets a 4-1 lead after forty minutes. In the final frame of the three-game weekend, Ethen Keppen scored at 8:26, as Dugan received credit for his fourth assist, and Brannon McManus found the back of the net at 14:46 to end the scoring. Brett Brochu made 25 saves in the victory.
Komet streaks—
Home Points: Tufto, 5 games (2g, 4a), Dugan 4 games (3g, 1a), Mayhew, 4 games (1g, 4a)
Wins (goaltender): 4, Brochu
Komet leaders—
Points: 41 – Dugan (12g, 29a)
Goals: 12 – Dugan, Tufto
Assists: 29 – Dugan
Power Play Goals: 6 – Tufto
Short-Handed Goals: 1 – Gorniak
Game Winning Goals: 4 – Aleardi
Shots: 116 – Aleardi
PIM: 109 – Turcotte
Plus/Minus: +21 – Brady
Home Points: 23 – Dugan
Home Goals: 8 – Swetlikoff, Dugan, Tufto
Home Assists: 15 – Dugan, Mayhew
Road Points: 20 – Dugan
Road Goals: 7 – Taylor, Keppen
Road Assists: 16 – Dugan
Goaltenders
Appearances: 21 – Brochu
Wins: 12 – Ungar, Brochu
Saves: 583 - Brochu
Goals against Avg: 2.40 - Brochu
Save percentage: .922 - Brochu
Shutouts: 1, Brochu, Ungar
Special K’s— The Komets scored two power plays last weekend on 10 chances while giving up three power-play goals on all shorthanded situations.
Next week – The Komets head to the Huntington Center to take on the Walleye, before returning home to face Wheeling on Saturday and Indy on Sunday.
Icing the puck – Kirill Tyutyayev is the 22nd player from Russia to play for the Komets. Justin Taylor is the first Komet to score two empty-net goals in a game since the Komets joined the ECHL. During the team’s six-game win streak, the Komets outscored their opponents 25-11. Jack Dugan’s four-assist performance on Sunday was his second four-assist game of the season. Brett Brochu has won his last four decisions. The Komets are 9-1-0-0 versus the Mountain Division and 14-5-0-0 on the road.
Upcoming Promotions
Saturday, February 1: Come out to Komets Luau Night, sponsored by our friends at Crazy Pinz. Crazy Pinz will be giving away shirts, gear, play coupons, and more! Wear your Hawaiian shirt and get involved in the biggest truffle shuffle on camera! Special performances by Aloha Chicago Entertainment pre-game and during intermissions. Dress tropical and enjoy the chill vibes of Luau Night
Sunday, February 2: Meijer Family Night + Post-Game Skate: Visit the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office and get four Upper Arena Tickets for just $58! Also, bring your skates to go out on the ice after the game!
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.