Fort Wayne, IN – Despite dropping two games last weekend, the Komets held onto first place in the Central Division after shutting out Kalamazoo on Sunday. The Komets have a record of 15-6-2-0, two points ahead of second-place Bloomington. The two teams will face off on Wednesday in Bloomington at 8:00 p.m. The Komets will host Indy on Friday before facing Cincinnati at the Coliseum on Saturday. 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. 12/12 vs KC 5-4 L

Sat. 12/13 vs KAL 5-4 L

Sun. 12/14 at KAL 4-0 W

About last week –

The Komets squared off with the Kansas City Mavericks at the Coliseum on Teddy Bear Toss Night and fell 5-4.

The Komets did not waste time getting the teddy bears on the ice as Mathew Brown received a long stretch pass from defenseman Reese Harsch to score a breakaway goal past Kansas City goaltender Jake LaFontaine at 4:35. After the ice was cleared, the Komets struck again. This time, it was Trevor Janicke striking at 11:39, assisted by Brown and Matt Murphy. With time winding down in the first period, Odeen Tufto scored after a scramble in front of LaFontaine to score his first goal of the season to give the Komets a 3-0 lead at 19:05.

The Mavericks got on the board less than a minute into the second period when Justin Janicke beat Komet goalie Sam Jonsson. The Mavericks kept the momentum, scoring again at 12:27 to make it 3-2.

In the final period, Austin Magera scored on the power play at 3:37 with assists going to Tufto and Jalen Smereck to give the Komets at two goal lead. With LaFontaine pulled for the extra skater late in the match, Kansas City scored twice to tie the game. With only twelve seconds remaining, David Cotton scored unassisted to give the game to the Mavericks. The Komets outshot Kansas City 36-25 as Jonsson took the loss, making 20 saves.

GAME SHEET

The Komets faced off with Kalamazoo on a snowy Saturday night at the Coliseum and came up short 5-4.

Forward James Stefan scored the only goal of the first period at 11:13 with an assist going to Dustyn McFaul at 11:13 to give the Komets a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, the Wings took control, striking three times, including once on the power-play, ending the Komets' streak of 19 straight penalty kills at home to take a 3-1 lead.

The Komets rallied in the third period, as Matt Murphy redirected a pass under the pad of Kalamazoo’s goaltender Ty Young at 2:59 to cut the lead to one. The Wings’ Cam Knuble sent the lead back up to two with a goal at 5:37.  Odeen Tufto netted a power play goal at 10:01 from Mathew Brown and Stefan to put the Komets within striking distance. 

After Alex Aleardi, Jalen Smereck, and Dustyn McFaul were expelled from the game at 9:15, the Komet maintained the momentum after Kalamazoo’s Quinn Preston was called for high-sticking, leading to Austin Magera tying the game on the ensuing power play.

With time winding down, Harrison Rees was called for roughing as Zach Okobe ran over Komet goaltender Nathan Day at 19:04. The Wings used the power-play to score the game-winning goal at 19:32. Day took the loss, making 17 saves.

GAME SHEET

The Komets finished their three-game weekend with a trip to Kalamazoo on Sunday.

In the first period, the Komets got on the board with the only goal of the period scored by Blake Murray with assists from Jalen Smereck and Matt Miller.

James Stefan netted his team-leading 12th goal at 7:28 on the power play with assists going to Smereck and Kirill Tyutyayev to open the scoring in the second frame. Later in the period, with both teams skating a man short, Murray potted his second of the game with a blistering shot over the glove of goaltender Aku Koskenvuo, giving the Komets a 3-0 lead with another helper credited to Smereck at 18:17. The Komets outshot the Wings 21-5 in the second period.

In the final period of the weekend, defenseman Reece Harsch nabbed a goal at 12:22 as Tyutyayev grabbed the only assist to make the final score 4-0. Nathan Day picked up his second shutout of the season, making 17 saves. The Komets outshot Kalamazoo 44-17.

GAME SHEET

Komet leaders—

Points: 22 -  Stefan

Goals: 12 – Stefan

Assists: 17 – Smereck

Power Play Goals: 3 – Murray, Magera, Stefan

Short-Handed Goals: 1 - Janicke

Game Winning Goals: 5 – Stefan

Shots: 81 - Stefan

PIM: 32 – Aleardi

Plus/Minus: +13 – Krebs

Home Points: 10 – Stefan

Home Goals: 4 – Aleardi

Home Assists: 7 – Stefan, Brown

Road Points: 16 – Smereck, Tyutyayev

Road Goals: 9 – Stefan

Road Assists: 14 – Smereck

Goaltenders

Appearances: Nathan Day, 13

Wins: Nathan Day,  8

Saves: Nathan Day, 277

Goals against: Samuel Jonsson, 20

Save percentage: Samuel Jonsson, .897

Shutouts: Samuel Jonsson, 3

Icing the puck –  The Komets have maintained first place in the Central Division since November 1. Kalamazoo’s power-play goal on Saturday was the first power-play goal the Komets have allowed at home this season. Jalen Smereck has scored three points in a game three times this season. Eight different Komets have registered two-goal games. The Komets have given up only 54 goals this season, the fewest of any team in the Central Division. The team has scored 53 goals on the road. The Komets are tops in the league, giving up just 24.17 shots per game.

Upcoming Promotions

Friday & Saturday, December 19 & 20 – Ugly Christmas Sweater Night – The Komets will be wearing special jerseys presented by Treadway Pools. 

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.