Fort Wayne, IN – After earning six points last weekend, the Komets have qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs. It will be the Komets' 62nd postseason appearance in 74 seasons.  The team has now crept back into a first-place tie with Toledo, which is atop the Central Division standings with 87 points and nine games remaining. Wheeling will return to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for a 7:35 p.m. faceoff on Wednesday before the Komets host Iowa this Friday and Saturday. Tickets for all regular season home and the first two playoff games are on sale now at the Allen County War Memorial ticket office and at komets.com. 

ECHL STANDINGS

Last week’s results 

Fri. 3/27 vs BLM 4-3 SOW 

Sat. 3/28 vs IND 3-2 W

Sund 3/29 at IND 2-1 W

About last week –

The Bloomington Bison were in town for the final time during the regular season to take on the Komets on Friday.

Veteran defenseman, Jalen Smereck, started the scoring with a power-play goal at 3:03 of the first period, assisted by Jens Richards and Alex Aleardi. The Bison answered with a strike at 17:19 to knot the game heading into the intermission.

In the second period, Austin Magera and Kirill Tyutyayev scored to give the Komets a 3-1 lead after two periods.

The Bison rallied in the third period, getting two markers past goaltender Sam Jonsson at 4:34 and 5:19. Neither team could break the deadlock, so the contest went to overtime, where both goaltenders made key saves, leading to a shootout. 

In the shootout, Jonsson stopped both shots he faced, as William Dufour and Aleardi scored to give the Komets the 4-3 win. Jonsson finished with 35 saves for his 18th victory of the season.

GAME SHEET

The Komets battled the Indy Fuel in the front end of a two-game set starting at the Coliseum on Saturday.

In the first period, William Dufour received a long pass from defenseman Tyler Inamoto for a breakaway goal at 15:38 to start the scoring. That strike was followed by Kirill Tyutyayev’s 19th goal of the season at 16:42 to give the Komets a 2-0 lead. Indy’s Jesse Tucker cut the lead down to one before the intermission with a goal at 18:48.

Austin Magera netted his 28th goal of the season to open the scoring in the second period, with assists going to Logan Nelson and Dufour at 4:17. Indy answered at 10:17 to cut the lead back down to one, but the Komets pushed the lead back up to two when Tyutyayev knocked the puck under the cross bar over the glove of Indy netminder Owen Flores for his second of the match at 14:34 on a power play.

In the third period, the Komet defense and goaltender Nathan Day held the Fuel scoreless as Alex Aleardi scored an empty net at 17:56, assisted by Tyutyayev for his third point of the game, to make the final score 5-2. Day got the win, making 21 saves.

GAME SHEET 

The Komets looked to extend their win streak to six and qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs, needing one point in the return match with the Fuel in Fishers on Sunday.

In the first period, Indy gained the first score of the game at 11:45, but was quickly matched by Komet defenseman Reese Harsch, scoring at 12:20, with assists going to Matt Copponi and Thomas Sinclair.

Anthony Petruzzelli scored the only goal of the second period, his 8th of the season, with an assist credited to Sinclair to make it a 2-1 game after 40 minutes.

For the second straight night, the Komets defense held in the third to carry the team to a 2-1 win. Sam Jonsson made 18 saves for his 19th win of the season.

GAME SHEET

Komet leaders—

Points: 58 - Tyutyayev

Goals: 28 – Magera

Assists: 39 – Smereck

Power Play Goals: 8 – Magera, Murray

Short-Handed Goals: 2 - Janicke

Game Winning Goals: 7 – Murray

Shots: 190 - Smereck

PIM: 93 – Smereck

Plus/Minus: +28 – Krebs

Home Points: 27 – Magera

Home Goals: 19 – Magera

Home Assists: 15 – Smereck

Road Points: 34 – Tyutyayev

Road Goals: 14 – Murray, Aleardi

Road Assists: 24 – Tyutyayev

Goaltenders

Appearances: 33 - Nathan Day

Wins: 19 - Samuel Jonsson

Saves: 756 - Nathan Day

Goals against: 63 – Samuel Jonsson

Save percentage: .915 – Samuel Jonsson

Shutouts: 5 – Samuel Jonsson

Icing the puck –   The Komets have won six straight games, the team's longest win streak of the season. The team has killed off 15 straight power plays. The Komets are 2-0 in shootouts. Sam Jonsson has 15 road wins this season. Austin Magera has 28 goals. The last Komet to score 30 goals was Shawn Boudrias (33) during the '22-'23 season. Eight of the 11 games versus Indy this season have been decided by one goal. Komets are now 8-2-1 against the Fuel. Since being shut out at home on February 8, the Komets are 15-2-2. Saturday’s attendance of 10,097 was the 40th time since the Coliseum expansion in 2002-2003 that a regular-season game has eclipsed the 10,000 mark.

Upcoming Promotions

Wednesday, April 1 –Marathon Rewards Wednesdays: Download the Marathon Rewards App and show it at the Coliseum Ticket Office for a special exclusive BOGO offer on tickets.

Friday, April 3 -  Kids Seat FREE Night:  Receive a FREE Kids ticket courtesy of Lutheran Health Network and Aunt Millie's with the purchase of any regular-priced adult ticket! 

Saturday, April 4 -  Put on your favorite superhero gear and join us for Superhero Night! Meet some of your favorite superheroes before the game courtesy of the Allen County Sheriff's Department and TAG Art Company!

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.