Komets earn five more points

Fort Wayne, IN – After gaining five out of a possible six points last weekend, the Komets are one point back of second place in the Central Division, and seven points back of the division lead with 18 games remaining in the regular season. The Komets return home next Sunday against Kalamazoo at 5:00 p.m. at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Fri. 2/28 vs Indy FW 7 – INDY 2 W

Sat. 3/1 vs Kalamazoo FW 5 – KAL 4 OTW

Sun. 3/2 at Kalamazoo FW 4 – KAL 5 OTL

About last week – 

On Friday, the Indy Fuel were back at the Coliseum. After an early Nolan Volcan goal at 5:54, Indy’s Brett Bulmer tied the game at 18:03. The Komets were able to grab the lead back before the first intermission when Brannon McManus scored at 18:33, with assists from Matt Murphy and Anthony Petruzzelli. 

The Komets scored four goals in the second period. Petruzzelli struck twice, along with Alex Aleardi and McManus, who also got markers in the period to make the game 6-1. Indy’s starting goaltender, Ben Gaudreau, was relieved by Cam Gray after giving up five goals on 21 shots.

In the third period, Indy’s Nathan Burke scored on a power-play to make it a 6-2 game, but Jack Dugan quickly responded with his 17th goal of the season at 8:15 to make the final score 7-2.  Brett Brochu got the win, making 29 saves.

GAME SHEET

On Saturday, the Komets faced the Kalamazoo Wings in front of a capacity crowd at the Coliseum. They got off to a quick start when Alex Aleardi netted the game's first goal at 4:51 of the first period, with assists by Kyle Mayhew and Nick Deakin-Poot. Rookie Michael Gildon followed with his fifth goal of the season at 5:56, assisted by Mayhew. Aleardi struck again, lighting the lamp at 11:51, assisted by Brett Brochu and Mayhew. The Wings got on the board late at 16:38 to make it a 3-1 game after one period of play.

In the second period, Jack Gorniak netted the only goal at 12:31 on the power-play to give the Komets a three-goal lead after forty minutes.

In the final frame, the Wings knocked two pucks past Brett Brochu early in the period to tighten the game. With under twenty-five seconds remaining and goaltender Hunter Vorva pulled for the extra skater, Kalamazoo's Davis Cobb tied the game 4-4. 

The match was decided in overtime, as Aleardi scored his third of the game on the Komets' only shot of the extra frame at 1:50. Kyle Mayhew finished with three assists, and Brochu got the win, making 39 saves.

GAME SHEET

On Sunday, the Komets and Kalamazoo met again at the Wings Event Center. The Wings managed to gain an early lead as Max Humitz scored his 11th goal of the season on the power-play at 10:30 for the period's only score.

In the second period, Humitz struck again with his second game tally at 9:58 to give the Wings a 2-0 lead. Justin Taylor got the Komets within one with his 11th goal of the season, with assists from Nolan Volcan and Jack Dugan. 

With the Komets down 2-1 in the third period, Kirill Tyutyayev scored his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Zach Jordan to tie the contest 2-2. The deadlock didn't last long as Luke Morgan scored at 9:08 with a goal, followed by a Luc Salem goal at 11:45 to stretch the lead to 4-2. The Komets rallied late as Alex Aleardi scored twice to tie the game and send the contest to overtime for the second straight night. 

In the extra frame, the Komets controlled the tempo but were unable to muster a shot on goal. Morgan got his second tally of the night at 2:33 to give the Wings the victory. Conner Ungar got tagged with the loss, making 20 saves.

GAME SHEET

Komet streaks— 

Points: Aleardi, 3 games (6g), Tyutyayev, 2 games (1g, 2a)

Goals: Aleardi, 3 games (6g)

Home Points: 3 games, Gorniak (1g, 2a)

Road Points: Dugan, 6 games (3g, 9a)

Wins (goaltender): 2, Brochu

Komet leaders—

Points: 57 – Dugan (17g, 40a)

Goals: 20 – Aleardi

Assists: 40 – Dugan

Power Play Goals: 6 – Tufto, Dugan

Short-Handed Goals: 1 – Gorniak, Keppen, Taylor

Game Winning Goals: 7 – Aleardi

Shots: 161 – Aleardi

PIM: 105 – Dugan

Plus/Minus: +21– Brady

Home Points: 31 – Dugan

Home Goals: 12– Aleardi

Home Assists: 24 – Mayhew

Road Points: 28 – Dugan

Road Goals: 10 – Keppen

Road Assists: 21 – Dugan

Goaltenders

Appearances: 29 – Brochu

Wins: 16 – Ungar, Brochu

Saves: 844 - Brochu

Goals against Avg: 2.55 - Brochu

Save percentage: .920 - Brochu

Shutouts: 2, Ungar

Special K’s—The Komets went 1 of 10 on the power-play last week. The team skated short-handed eight times giving up two goals. 

Next week – The Komets will be at Bloomington for an 11:30 a.m. game against the Bison on Wednesday before heading to Fishers on Friday and hosting Kalamazoo on Sunday. 

Icing the puck – The seven goals scored Friday night were the second most in a game this season. Alex Aleardi’s hat trick on Saturday was the second of the season for the Komets, and Kyle Mayhew’s three assists on Saturday marked the second time two Komets had three points in a game. Aleardi has scored nine goals over the last 10 games and eight goals against Kalamazoo this season. The Komets are 15-5-5 in one-goal games. Saturday’s attendance of 10,286 was the biggest of the season and the second crowd over 10,000. Jake Dugan is tied for the league lead in assists with 41. Kyle Mayhew is tied for the league lead in points among defensemen with 48 (9g, 39a).

Upcoming Promotions

Sunday, March 9:  It's the 75th Anniversary of Peanuts and we are celebrating with special themed jerseys, apparel and more on Sunday, March 9th!  Meijer Family Nights + 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.