The Fort Wayne Komets are set to head back on the road after spending Saturday and Sunday at the Allen County World Memorial Coliseum. The Komets picked up four out of a possible six points this past weekend by winning at Cincinnati, losing at home against Cincinnati, and closing out the weekend with an overtime win against the Wings from Kalamazoo. The K’s currently find themselves in the final playoff spot in the central division, which is fourth place out of the seven teams in the division, but only 10 points separate first place through fourth place. The Walleye and the Cyclones are tied for first with 66 points each, and the Indy Fuel is in third with 64 points. The Komets, who have 56 points, have a slight advantage, having played two fewer games than Cincinnati, three fewer than Indy, and four fewer than Toledo.
| POS | TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | STK | P10 | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo Walleye | 51 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 66 | 0.647 | 182 | 133 | 8-0-0-1 | 8-1-0-1 | 659 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Cyclones | 49 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 66 | 0.673 | 173 | 150 | 5-0-0-1 | 7-1-1-1 | 847 |
| 3 | Indy Fuel | 50 | 31 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 0.640 | 185 | 146 | 0-2-0-0 | 4-5-1-0 | 685 |
| 4 | Fort Wayne Komets | 47 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 56 | 0.596 | 185 | 179 | 1-0-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 | 794 |
| 5 | Wheeling Nailers | 49 | 21 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 47 | 0.480 | 147 | 159 | 1-0-0-0 | 3-6-1-0 | 713 |
| 6 | Kalamazoo Wings | 49 | 20 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 0.449 | 120 | 154 | 2-0-1-0 | 3-6-1-0 | 644 |
| 7 | Iowa Heartlanders | 48 | 12 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 0.365 | 123 | 178 | 2-0-1-0 | 5-3-2-0 | 603 |
Looking ahead to this four-game Eastern Conference and South Division road trip, the K’s will start with a Wednesday morning brunch matchup with the South Carolina Stingrays; puck drop is scheduled for 10:30 am. The Stingrays currently find themselves in third place with 61 points. Bear Hughes leads the team in points (43), goals (18), and assists (25). Clay Stevenson and Tyler Wall have been splitting time in goal; Stevenson is only allowing 2.49 goals against while Wall is allowing 3.05
Fort Wayne will travel to Savannah to take on the Ghost Pirates Friday and Saturday nights. Savannah, the ECHL’s newest member, currently sits in last place in the division with 42 points. Brent Pedersen and Vincent Marleau lead the Ghost Pirates in goals with 18 each; Marleau also has 19 assists on the year, giving him the team-high in points at 38. Isaiah Saville has played most of the minutes in goal and is currently allowing 3.20 goals against average. Midday Sunday is when things close out for this current road trip as the Komets travel to Atlanta to take on the Gladiators. Atlanta is in fifth place with 56 points but is just five out from the final playoff spot. Eric Neiley leads the team in goals with 25 on the season. David Tendeck has played 27 games and allows an average of 3.49 goals against the year.
As for the Komets, Shawn Boudrias leads the team with 23 goals on the year, including two that came in Sunday night’s win. Tye Felhaber leads the K’s and the ECHL in assists at 46. fort Wayne is fourth in league with 185 goals scored on the year but has given up the sixth most this season at 179. The upcoming road trip will be a big one for the K’s as it allows them to play against unfamiliar foes outside the Western Conference. For the Komets to make a run at catching any of the three teams ahead of us in the Central, we must beat teams below us in points, which is the case for three of these next four games. Keys to this week will simply be taking care of the puck, clearing it out of our defensive zone when needed, and not finding ourselves down early in the game. A full 60 minutes of energy and smart hockey will lead to a big weekend.
