Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets cashed in last week, taking two games at home to maintain first place in the Central Division, with a record of 10-4-0. The team will have a busy holiday week, visiting Kalamazoo on Wednesday, hosting the Wings on Thanksgiving night, and traveling to Indy on Friday. The week will conclude with a home match-up with Toledo on Sunday. Tickets for all home games are on sale now at the Allen County War Memorial ticket office and at komets.com. 

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Fri. 11/21 vs BLM 5-2 W

Sat. 11/22 vs KZOO 3-1 W

Sun. 11/23 vs WIC 2-1 L

About last week – 

The Komets faced Bloomington in the first game of a triple-header home opening weekend at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

In the first period, the Komets got on the board when Blake Murray scored his second goal of the season at 12:42, with assists going to Matthew Brown and Alex Aleardi. James Stefan followed Murray with a strike at 15:52 to make it a 2-0 game as the Komets outshot Bloomington 21-6 in the opening frame.

The second period opened with a Bison goal at 7:24, but that marker was quickly erased when defenseman Harrison Rees found the back of the net at 7:46, with assists going to Brady Stonehouse and Stefan. The scoring ended when Jaden Grubbe picked up a loose puck in front of Bloomington netminder Dryden McKay and pushed it over the goal line to make it a 4-1 Komet lead as Stefan picked up his third point with a secondary assist.

In the third period, Bloomington got its second of the match when Jonny Evans got the puck past Komet goaltender Nathan Day at 4:17 to make it a 4-2 contest. Down the stretch, the Komets' defense did the rest by outshooting the Bison 42-28, as Aleardi added an empty net goal to solidify the 5-2 win.

GAME SHEET

The Komets hosted Kalamazoo on Saturday in the third match-up between the two rivals this season.

Both teams were unable to score in the first period, as the crowd of 9,491 waited until 4:22 of the second period, when Austin Magera took advantage of a misplay by Wings' goaltender Luke Pavicich and knocked home his third goal of the season, with assists going to Nick Deakin-Poot and Jalen Smereck. Blake Murray followed Magera's goal with a strike at 8:10, giving the Komets a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.

In the third period, the Wings' Hunter Stand collected a rebound off the pad of Komet goalie Connor Ungar and put it under the crossbar to put Kalamazoo on the board. After a would-be goal by Komet forward Jayden Grubbe was waived off, Dru Krebs put the final goal on the board at 9:30, with an assist from Matthew Brown and Smereck to put the game out of reach for a final score of 3-1. Unger finished the game with 31 saves and the win.

GAME SHEET

The Komets hosted Wichita for the first time since the 2021 Kelly Playoffs on Sunday and fell 2-1 to the Thunder.

After a scoreless first period, the Thunder got the scoring going when Ryan Finnegan knocked the puck down out of mid-air past Komet goaltender Nathan Day to give Wichita the lead at 2:02. Late in the period, with both teams skating four on four, Finnegan struck again at 19:52 to make it a 2-0 game heading into the second intermission.

In the third period, captain Alex Aleardi scored his seventh goal of the season to pull the Komets within one at 10:43, with assists going to Austin Magera and Kirill Tyutyayev. The Komets were unable to complete the comeback as Wichita goaltender Matt Davis turned away 54 Komets shots to get the win.

GAME SHEET

Komet leaders—

Points: 12 -  Stefan, Aleardi

Goals: 7 – Stefan, Aleardi

Assists: 8 – Grubbe, Tyutyayev

Power Play Goals: 1 – Murray, Tyutyayev, Stefan, Groll, Aleardi, Brown, Stonehouse

Short-Handed Goals: 1 - Janicke

Game Winning Goals: 4 – Stefan

Shots: 45 - Stefan

PIM: 21 – Blachman

Plus/Minus: +11 – Krebs

Home Points: 3 – Stefan, Brown, Aleardi

Home Goals: 2 – Murray, Aleardi

Home Assists: 3 – Brown

Road Points: 10 – Groll

Road Goals: 6 – Stefan

Road Assists: 7 – Grubbe, Tyutyayev

Goaltenders

Appearances: Nathan Day 7

Wins: Samuel Jonsson 5

Saves: 143, Nathan Day

Goals against: 7 – Connor Ungar

Save percentage: .950 – Connor Ungar

Shutouts: 3 – Samuel Jonsson

Icing the puck – Anthony Petruzzelli played in his 400th game as a Komet on Sunday. In their four losses, the Komets have outshot their opponents 138-88. Connor Ungar's 31 saves in the win on Saturday were the most in a game by a Komet goaltender this season. Unger leads the league in goals against with a 1.34 average. The Komets have killed off a season-high 16 straight power plays. The team leads the league in shots against, averaging 23.43 per game.

Upcoming Promotions

Thursday, November 27 – Bob Chase Memorial Game; the Komets will be wearing special Bob Chase Jerseys, presented by Aunt Millie's/Perfection Bakeries. Chuck-A-Puck Night: Play Chuck-A-Puck presented by All-American Stores in the 2nd Intermission for a chance to win FREE Gas for a Year, plus other great prizes from Komets Partners!

Sunday, November 30 -- 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.

Meijer Family Nights + Post Game Skate:  Visit the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office or click below to get 4 Upper Arena Tickets for just $60! 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.