Fort Wayne, IN – With two road wins last week, the Komets have extended their win streak to three games and are once again within striking distance of the division lead. The team starts the final week of January in second place in the Central Division, with a 21-10-6-0 record for 48 points. The Komets will return to Cincinnati on Friday before hosting the Tahoe Knight Monsters for their first-ever visit to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum with a special Saturday night start time of 8:00 p.m. The two teams will meet again on Sunday at the Coliseum for a 5:00 p.m. faceoff. Tickets for all home games are on sale now at the Allen County War Memorial ticket office and at komets.com.
Fri. 1/23 at IND 2-1 OTW
Sat. 1/24 at CIN 6-3 W
About last week –
The Komets visited the Fuel in Fishers on Friday and came away with a 2-1 overtime win.
After a scoreless first period, the Fuel struck first as Matt Petgrave sent a shot off of Komet defenseman Matt Murphy’s skate that bounced past goaltender Sam Jonsson at 15:00 of the second period.
In the third period, the Komets tied the match as Matt Copponi muscled the puck past netminder Mitchell Weeks for his first goal as a Komet, with assists going to Matt Murphy and Alex Aleardi at 2:06. Neither team was able to score the rest of the way, so the contest was decided in overtime, where Dru Krebs netted the game-winning goal just 28 seconds into the extra frame.
Sam Jonsson made 24 saves for the win.
On Saturday, the Cyclones started the scoring with a power play goal from Jordan Kaplan, breaking the Komets' streak of 17 straight penalty kills on the road, at 7:34 of the first period. The Komets answered when Josh Groll pushed a rebound past Cincinnati goaltender Tommy Scarfone at 19:12, with assists going to Austin Magera and Jalen Smereck.
In the second period, the Cyclones hit the back of the net at 8:55, but the Komets quickly answered when Alex Alerardi knocked in another rebound at 9:31. The Komets finished off the period with a goal in the final minute as Dru Krebs struck for the second straight game with a shot from the blueline at 19:21, with assists going to Anthony Petruzzelli and Trevor Janicke to put the Komets up 3-2.
In the final frame, the Komets nabbed a power-play goal on their fourth opportunity when Blake Murray buried a pass from Aleardi into the back of the net to give the Komets a 4-2 lead. Cincinnati countered with a goal at 5:56 only to be taken away by another tally by Murray at 13:15, with assists credited to Tyler Inamoto and Alerardi to top off a three-point night for the captain to make it 5-3. The game was sealed when James Stefan knocked the puck into an empty net at 18:19. The Komets outshot the Cyclones 41-17 as Nathan Day got the win, making 15 saves.
Komet leaders—
Points: 30 - Tyutyayev
Goals: 15 – Magera
Assists: 24 – Smereck
Power Play Goals: 7 – Magera
Short-Handed Goals: 1 - Janicke
Game Winning Goals: 5 – Murray
Shots: 123 - Smereck
PIM: 48 – Smereck
Plus/Minus: +15 – Aleardi
Home Points: 14 – Brown
Home Goals: 9 – Magera
Home Assists: 11 – Brown
Road Points: 21 – Tyutyayev
Road Goals: 9 – Stefan
Road Assists: 17 – Smereck
Goaltenders
Appearances: Nathan Day, 21
Wins: Nathan Day, 11
Saves: 449, Nathan Day
Goals against: 33 – Samuel Jonsson
Save percentage : .907 – Samuel Jonsson
Shutouts: 3 – Samuel Jonsson
Icing the puck – Austin Magera is on an eight-game point streak (6g, 4a) and a six-game home point streak (6g, 1a). Tyler Inamoto played in his 100th ECHL game on Friday. The Komets are 3-6-0 in overtime. Jalen Smereck is two assists away from 200 in his ECHL career. Friday’s win at Indy was the first time the Komets were not assessed a penalty in a game since March 29, 1989, in 3-1 win versus Flint. Alex Aleardi had his first three-point game of the season in Saturday’s win at Cincinnati, and Blake Murray had his second two-goal game on Saturday. The Komets are 7-0-0 when taking 40 or more shots.
Upcoming Promotions
Saturday, January 31 – Join Icy at the PFW Men’s basketball this Saturday. There will buy-one-get-one tickets for this game at the Coliseum versus Robert Morris University starting at 1:00 p.m. The Komets will drop the puck at 8:00 p.m. versus Tahoe.
It is Luau Night, sponsored by our friends at Crazy Pinz. Crazy Pinz will be giving away goodies, including shirts, play coupons, and more! Wear your Hawaiian shirt and beach clothes to the game and bring the warm weather inside! Special performances by Aloha Chicago Entertainment pre-game and during intermissions. Dress tropical and enjoy the chill vibes of Luau Night.
Sunday, February 1 - Remedy Live Mental Health Awareness Night: Staff from Remedy LIVE attending the game and available to speak about services within their organization and bring 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 four 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.