The Fort Wayne Komets are back in action for three games this weekend, starting Friday night for the first of back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Cyclones and then Sunday’s matchup against the Kalamazoo Wings. Fort Wayne is coming off two high-scoring victories against Allen last weekend and has won eight of their last nine games.
Friday night, the road trip continues as the K’s close out their final game away from the Allen County Coliseum during this current four-game stand before hosting Cincinnati on Saturday night. This will be the 7th and 8th matchups between the Komets and the Cyclones, with the teams splitting three games. Most Komet fans remember that game one of the series was the Komet’s home opener for the 2023 season and included a combined 109 penalty minutes, 73 of which came from Cincinnati. The Komets are currently 11 points behind the Cincinnati Cyclones in the Central Division but have three games in hand. This will be a significant opportunity to close the gap and continue to chase down the teams ahead of them in the division. A noteworthy transaction did take place Wednesday, with Forward Shawn Boudrias being loaned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL but has since returned back with the Komets. Shawn currently has 20 goals and 20 assists in his 40 games this year with the Komets.
Saturday night’s game is a special promotional night, as the Komets will be wearing special jerseys that will be up for silent auction throughout the game. Proceeds to benefit Braydin Lewis vs. Cancer and The Riley Children’s Foundation.
Sunday evening Kalamazoo comes to town for a 5:00 pm puck drop. The Komets are currently 13 points ahead of the Wings and have two games in hand. The Komets are currently winning the battle this year 3-1, including the last two games. Sunday’s game is one of five remaining games between the two teams. For the Komets to gain ground in this division, winning games against opponents who are currently below us in the standings is a must, as well as winning home games.
Current Western Conference Central Division Standings as of Thursday afternoon are shown below. The big thing to remember is that the Komets have games in hand versus all the opponents they are looking up to in the standings. Komets also have 11 games remaining against teams below us in the Central standings.
| POS | TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | STK | P10 | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indy Fuel | 48 | 31 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 0.667 | 181 | 140 | 1-0-0-0 | 4-5-1-0 | 659 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Cyclones | 47 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 63 | 0.670 | 162 | 140 | 4-0-0-0 | 7-2-1-0 | 800 |
| 3 | Toledo Walleye | 49 | 28 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 62 | 0.633 | 173 | 133 | 6-0-0-1 | 8-1-0-1 | 641 |
| 4 | Fort Wayne Komets | 44 | 23 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 52 | 0.591 | 169 | 163 | 2-0-0-0 | 8-2-0-0 | 755 |
| 5 | Wheeling Nailers | 46 | 20 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 0.489 | 138 | 146 | 1-0-1-0 | 3-5-2-0 | 634 |
| 6 | Kalamazoo Wings | 46 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 0.424 | 109 | 144 | 0-3-0-0 | 1-9-0-0 | 610 |
| 7 | Iowa Heartlanders | 45 | 10 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 30 | 0.333 | 110 | 169 | 0-1-0-0 | 3-6-1-0 | 536 |
