Michelle Davies – The Journal Gazette
Kenny Reiter, goaltender for the Komets, slaps the puck away after an attempted shot on goal by the Toledo Walleyes in the second period of Friday night’s game.

Fort Wayne, IN - The Komets had a chance to jump into the top spot in the North Division for the first time since Opening Day. The K’s had to mount a huge comeback, but fell short in the later stages of the game.

The first period was fairly uneventful. The two teams traded power plays that resulted in no goals.

The second period started out fast and furious. Toledo (20-16-4) got things kicked off with a goal by winger Nino Musitelli at the 1:45 mark. Walleye left winger Willie Coetzee made it 2-0 two minutes later. The Komets (22-18-2) got on the board at the 6:50 mark on Mike Hoban’s fourth of the year, and third is as many games.

The third period saw Toledo score twice within two minutes on goals by Tyler Brenner and Cody Lampl. Komet All-Star Daniel Maggio netted his fifth of the year from Brandon Marino at the 16:09 mark of the final frame to start a rally. Standout winger Luca Caputi got the K’s within one a minute and half later. Coach Al Sims tried to get the equalizer by pulling Kenny Reiter late for an extra attacker, but resulted in the Walleye icing the game on Coetzee’s second of the night.

The Komets will finish up the first half of the season tonight against the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:30 p.m. EST. Audio is available through the Komets website.

Three Stars:

1. TOL LW 15 Willie Coetzee

2. TOL RW 7 Nino Musitelli

3. FW RW 13 Brandon Marino

SOG:

Kalamazoo, MI – The Komets look to rebound from a poor showing at home last time out as they take on the Wings tonight on the road. The Komets come in the to the contest with a record of 13-11-2 and are third in the North Division. The host Wings are coming in with a record of 11-12-3 and are three points behind the Komets.

One area of focus for Fort Wayne is to improve the power play scoring. They currently rank 22nd out of the 23 teams with only 13 goals while having the man advantage 97 times. The Wings are in the middle of the pack on the kill with an 83.3% rate, so there is a decent chance to improve on power play opportunities. On the subject of special

teams, the Komets are currently 9th in the league on the kill with an 83.7% rating. The penalty killers continue to keep the pressure on the opposition by scoring 5 short-handed goals through 25 games which is good for 8th in the league.

One interesting stat as we close in on the halfway mark of the season is that the Komets are 6-4-1 when being out shot on the road, but 0-1-1 when they out shoot the hosts. In addition to this, the Komets are 8-1-1 while holding the lead going into the third.

Center Ryan Lasch
is looking to restart his hot streak from last week. He was held without a point in the 4-1 loss to the Cyclones on Wednesday and was on ice for two of the goals given up.

Team Affiliates:

Fort Wayne:

• NHL: Anaheim Ducks
• AHL: Norfolk Admirals

Kalamazoo:

• NHL: Vancouver Canucks
• AHL: Chicago Wolves

Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST (4:30 PM PST). Audio for tonight’s contest is available through the Komets website.