Fort Wayne, IN – After splitting two road games in Fishers, the Komets blanked the Fuel on Sunday to take their opening round playoff series 4-1. The team will now face Toledo for the second straight season in the Central Division final, starting Sunday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are on sale now at the Allen County War Memorial ticket office and at komets.com. 

KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS

Fort Wayne versus Indy 

Game 1 – Komets 3 - Indy 0 

Game 2 – Komets 5 - Indy 1

Game 3 – Indy 6 – Komets 4

Game 4 – Komets 3 – Indy 2

Game 5 – Komets 4 – Indy 0

Fort Wayne versus Toledo Central Division Final 

Game 1 – Sunday, May 10 at 5:05 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne

Game 2 – Tuesday, May 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo

Game 3 – Thursday, May 14 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne

Game 4 – Friday, May 15 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo

Game 5 – Saturday, May 16 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary) 

Game 6 – Tuesday, May 19 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)

Game 7 – Wednesday, May 20 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)

About last week 

Tuesday night, the Komets headed down I-69 to Fishers for game three of their best-of-seven Kelly Cup playoff series with the Fuel.

Indy came out firing on goaltender Nathan Day and scored on their first shot of the game at 2:50. The Komets answered, scoring on their first shot on Indy goaltender, Owen Flores, as Austin Magera picked up the tally at 3:34. With Thomas Sinclair and Dru Krebs in the penalty box, the Fuel scored at 10:24 and again at 11:31 to give Indy a 3-1 lead.

In the second period, Indy scored first at 6:13 to make the game 4-1, but the Komets cut the lead in half with a Brady Stonehouse score at 7:54. Indy matched the Komets score with another strike at 16:12 to end the period at 5-2.

The Komets were unable to rally in the third period, as the Fuel added to the lead at 3:26. The Komets got a late goal from William Dufour on a power-play at 10:47, and another from Matt Capponi at 19:18 to make the final score 6-4.

GAME SHEET

The Komets returned to Fishers Event Center with sights on taking a 3-1 series lead against the Fuel.

With the Fuel on the penalty kill, the Komets found the back of the net late in the first period as Austin Magera took a pass from Matt Miller that deflected off the stick of Indy goaltender Owen Flores and into the net to give the Komets the lead at 19:05.

In the second period, Miller lit the lamp to push the Komet lead to 2-0 on a power-play at 10:07, but the Fuel answered at 14:29 to cut the lead back to one heading into the second intermission.

Rookie Reid Pabich gave the Komets another two-goal lead with his first goal of the playoffs at 4:07. As time ticked away, the Fuel pressed, scoring a goal with the extra skater at 18:43 to back the lead down to one goal, but Sam Jonsson held the remainder of regulation, getting the win and making 20 saves.

GAME SHEET 

The Komets hit Sweetwater Ice at the Coliseum on Sunday with a chance to wrap up their first-round Kelly Cup playoff series against Indy.

Logan Nelson was credited with his first goal of the post-season with a strike at 16:47 for the first-period only goal. Reid Pabich and Josh Atkinson picked up assists.

After a scoreless second period, the Komets lit the lamp twice early in the third period, as captain Alex Aleardi hit the back of the net at 5:00, followed by William Dufour curling the puck under the pad of Indy goaltender Mitchell Weeks to make it 3-0. While on the power play, Matt Miller got his first home goal of the season at 9:13 to conclude the scoring. Sam Jonsson picked up the shutout win, making 29 saves.

GAME SHEET

Icing the puck –  The Komets advance to the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs for just the second time since winning the championship in 2021. Nathan Day and Sam Jonsson both registered shutouts in the opening round versus Indy. The last goaltending tandem to have two shutouts in a series was Kevin Reither and Nick Boucher in 2018. Kevin St. Pierre is the Komets' all-time leader in playoff shutouts with three. The Komets are 37-42 all-time versus Toledo in the playoffs. Austin Magera is tied for the league in scoring during the playoffs with 10 points (3g, 7a). Magera and William Dufour registered points in all five games against the Fuel. The Komets outscored Indy 10-2 in the third period.

See Komets Roster | Komets Playoff Stats

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.