Fort Wayne, IN – The Komets took a 3-0 lead in the Central Division Final on Thursday, only to drop two games to the Walleye in Toledo to force a game six at the Coliseum on Tuesday. The Komets will have an opportunity to advance to the Western Conference Final to face the Kansas City Mavericks. Tickets are on sale now at the Allen County War Memorial ticket office and at komets.com. 

KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS

Fort Wayne versus Toledo Central Division Final 

Game 1 – KOMETS 4 – TOLEDO 1

Game 2 – KOMETS 3 – TOLEDO 0

Game 3 – KOMETS 4 -- TOLEDO 2

Game 4 – TOLEDO 3 – KOMETS 2 (OT)

Game 5 – TOLEDO 4 – KOMETS 1  

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

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

About last week –

The Central Division final series shifted to Toledo on Tuesday, with the Komets blanking the Walleye 3-0, taking a 2-0 series lead.

After a scoreless first period, William Dufour broke the seal on the game with his third goal of the playoffs at 10:41, with assists going to Matt Brown and Josh Atkinson to put the Komets up 1-0

In the third period, the Komets got two power-play tallies from Dufour and Kirill Tyutyayev to give the Komets a three-goal cushion, as Komet goaltender Sam Jonsson did the rest, keeping the Walleye off the board for his second shutout of the playoffs, making 37 saves.

GAME SHEET

The Komets returned home on Thursday with a 2-0 series lead against Toledo in the best-of-season Central Division Final series. 

In the first period, the Komets skated short-handed for six minutes, resulting in a Toledo goal at 8:58. The Komets countered with an Alex Aleardi strike at 16:05 to tie the game 1-1. 

At 15:04 of the second period, Toledo reclaimed the lead, but it was erased as Austin Magera tipped the puck past goaltender Matt Jurusik with only 15 seconds remaining in the period.

Blake Murray gave the Komets the lead in the third period with his first goal of the playoffs at 5:23, with assists going to Kirill Tyutyayev and Matt Copponi. Late in the stanza, Toledo pulled Jurusik for the extra skater, and Matt Brown took advantage of a miscue by the Walleye at the Komet blueline and found the back of the empty net to give the Komets a 4-2 win. Sam Jonsson got the win, making 33 saves.

GAME SHEET

The Komets and Walleye met in game four of the Central Division Final at the Huntington Center on Friday, with the Komets leading the series 3-0.

In the first period, the two teams battled to the wire, but Toledo was able to flip the puck over the shoulder of Komet goaltender Nathan Day with eight seconds on the clock to give Toledo a 1-0. The Komets fought off a full two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play in the second period to keep the game 1-0 after 40 minutes.

In the third period, Toledo received another power play when Austin Magera was called for high-sticking. The Walleye converted at 6:32 to take a 2-0 lead, but the Komets rallied, as Magera and Josh Bloom found the back of the net to tie the game and eventually send the game to overtime.

Despite starting overtime with the power play, the Komets were unable to capitalize, and Toledo scored at 4:41 to force game five. Nathan Day made 43 saves in the loss.

GAME SHEET

After a loss in game four, the Komets returned to Toledo for game five of the best-of-seven Central Division Final leading the series 3-1.

In the first period, Toledo jumped out to a three-goal lead with scores at 11:59, 13:46, and 18:55, despite the Komets outshooting the Walleye 17-9. 

Toledo continued to put goals on the board with their fourth at 4:37 to make it a 4-0 game. Harrison Rees got the Komets on the board to break up the shutout with his first of the playoffs at 18:38, with assists going to Matt Brown and Jalen Smereck. 

The Walleye were able to hold off the Komets in the third to make the final score 4-1 to force game six at the Coliseum on Tuesday. Sam Jonsson took the loss, making 25 saves.

GAME SHEET

Icing the puck – The last time the Komets had a road shutout during the playoffs was May 3, 2023, 6-0 at Cincinnati. Sam Jonsson joins Reno Zanier, Chuck Adamson, Tom Lawson, Kevin St. Pierre, Nick Boucher, Pat Nagle, and Ryan Fanti as the only Komet goaltenders to earn two shutouts during the playoffs. Kevin St. Pierre has the most career playoff shutouts with three. William Dufour’s nine-game point playoff streak ended during Saturday’s game five loss. Dufour and Austin Magera led the playoffs in power-play points with 6. The Komets have scored 17 third-period goals.

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.