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Komets Become First IHL Team to Clinch Playoff Spot
Monday, Mar. 10th, 2008
ROCHESTER, MI - After capping off the week with a 4-0-0-0 record, the Fort Wayne Komets became the first team in IHL to clinch a spot in the 2008 Turner Cup playoffs. With a 27 point lead over second place Flint (65 points), the Komets have amassed a 43-12-5-1 record, giving them 92 points so far this season. Fort Wayne is currently riding an eight game winning streak, which is also a season high in the IHL.
The Komets tied a 44-year-old Fort Wayne franchise record when they won their 18th consecutive home game Saturday as they defeated Port Huron 5-2 in front of a sell out crowd of 10,462 people. They have a chance to break that record Friday night when Kalamazoo visits Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Ironically, the last time the Komets lost on home ice was Friday, December 21st to the K-Wings by a score of 6-4. The IHL record is 22 home wins, set in the 1965-66 season by the Muskegon Mohawks.
With only five weeks left in the regular season, the bottom two teams are looking to make a run into the playoffs. Finishing the week with a 3-0-1-0 record, Bloomington has come within five points of fourth place after Flint won just one game this week, and Port Huron and Muskegon both were winless. Also having an undefeated week, Kalamazoo (2-0-0-0) has moved into a tie with Muskegon for the final playoff spot, with Muskegon having one game in hand on the K-Wings.
AROUND THE “I”
Bloomington PrairieThunder - (3-0-1-0) – Don Parsons scored three straight game-winning goals, two in a shootout, during the week as the PrairieThunder scored five of a possible six points. He had a string of four straight game-winning goals snapped in a 1-0 loss at Kalamazoo on Sunday. Parsons surpassed the 650 mark for career goals scored (he currently has 651) and 1,250 career points scored (he currently has 1,252). He needs 27 goals to pass Flint coach Kevin Kerr to become the all-time goal-scoring leader in modern-day minor league hockey. The PrairieThunder won a season-high four straight for the second time this season before Sunday's loss at Kalamazoo to give the team 25 wins, which is what they finished with last year. Leo Thomas has scored at least one point in 12 of the last 15 games. Goalie Loic Lacasse has 14 wins to surpass the franchise record 12 set by Jeff Reynaert last season. Derek Dolson needs one more to equal Reynaert's mark.
Flint Generals - (1-2-0-1) – The Generals snapped a six game winless streak the longest of the season with a victory over Muskegon on Sunday afternoon. The streak was the longest of the season and it gave the Generals their first victory in the month of March. The Generals were 17 for 17 in penalty killing between Wednesday and Friday before Bloomington snapped it on Saturday night. Rookie Justin DePretis has four goals in his last five games, while Brock Wilson has four helpers and is plus three. The Generals play in their third of four education day games this week with a stop in Kalamazoo. Flint is 1-0-0-1 in morning games. Flint is 4-0-1-1 in six games at LC Walker Arena in Muskegon this season. That equals a mark they set with four victories earlier this season in Bloomington.
Fort Wayne Komets - (4-0-0-0) – Hot Komet streaks (besides the home winning streak): Komets have an eight-game winning streak, 10-game unbeaten streak (in regulation) and have out shot their opponents 20 straight games. The Komets also are riding road streaks of five straight wins and seven straight games unbeaten. Luciano Aquino (RW) is riding a six-game point streak (4g, 4a), David Hukalo (RW) has a four-game point streak (2g, 2a), Evgeny Saidachev (RW) has a three-game goal-scoring streak (3g), Mathieu Curadeau (C) has a five-game point streak (4g, 2a) and Mitch Woods (RW) has points in three straight games (1g, 2a). Goaltender Kevin Reiter has a four-game winning streak and five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1-0). Netminder Nick Boucher has a five-game winning streak and 10-game unbeaten streak. Boucher has not lost a game he has started for 16 straight games. Milestone: Luciano Aquino scored his 100th pro point (goal) Saturday, March 8th in the Komets 5-2 home win against Port Huron. The last time the Komets lost a road game was Feb. 17 at Bloomington 4-1 (which is also the last time the Komets lost a game in regulation). The Komets posted their second sell-out crowd of the season of 10,462 Saturday night for U.S. Army Night. The Komet camouflage U.S. Army jerseys worn in the game against Port Huron were auctioned for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Totals of the auction will be announced later.
Kalamazoo Wings - (2-0-0-0) – Justin Cross is one-point shy of 100 in his career. Kalamazoo will host Flint in their second Education Day versus Flint this Wednesday. All-time the K-Wings are 5-4-0-1 in games played in the morning, including 3-4-0-1 at Wings Stadium. Kalamazoo is 1-2-0-0 versus Flint in Education Games, including a 5-3 loss earlier this season. Kory Karlander is on a seven-game point streak. Nick Bootland is on a five-game point streak. Jeff Reynaert earned his second shutout of the season, stopping 25 shots versus Bloomington on Sunday. Kalamazoo is on a three-game home winning streak. The three-game streak ties a K-Wings season-high. Defenseman Jamie Vanderveeken scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the K-Wings a 1-0 win. The game-winner from Vanderveeken was his second this season, which ties him for first among all IHL defensemen. Kalamazoo has won three of their last four overall and five of their last seven at Wings Stadium. Lucas Drake recorded a hat trick Saturday versus Muskegon. The trick was Drake's first of the season and the K-Wings fourth, with three of them occurring against the Fury.
Muskegon Fury - (0-3-0-1) – Fury rookie defenseman Adam Bartholomay scored points in all four games for the Fury this week, and has a five-game point streak overall. On the season, Bartholomay has 14 goals and 11 assists in 32 games. The Fury were without third-leading scorer Mike Watt all week. Watt will be evaluated this week by additional doctors to determine when he can return. Goaltender Isaac Reichmuth retuned to action Friday, but only lasted 11 minutes in net before having to leave the game. His status is week-to-week. Forward Rafal Martynowski is recovering and should return in 1-2 weeks, while Rich Meloche had season-ending surgery this week. Muskegon’s Robin Bouchard scored his 450th goal as a member of the Muskegon Fury Friday at home against Fort Wayne. Wednesday, Kyle Kos assisted on Mark Cadotte’s short-handed goal, giving Kos 100 career assists. Muskegon’s Robin Bouchard is two points away from 1,200 for his career. He also needs 11 goals for 600 in his professional career. Philippe Plante needs nine points for 300 in his career. Mark Cadotte is eight assists away from 300 for his career and 13 goals shy of 200 for his career. Chris Kovalcik is five games away from 200 for his career, while David Segal is nine games away from 100 for his career.
Port Huron Icehawks - (0-2-0-0) – The Port Huron Icehawks fell to third place in the IHL standings with losses on Saturday and Sunday to the Fort Wayne Komets. They sit just two points behind second place Flint. With five weeks remaining in the regular season, the Icehawks face just six more road contests, including three this weekend. When the Icehawks travel to Bloomington this weekend for back-to-back games with the PrairieThunder, it will have been nearly a month and a half since the two teams met. They have not played each other since January 28. The games in Bloomington will also mark the Icehawks final trip out of state this season. The remaining road games are all with in-state opponents. With an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday, Jeff Zehr extended his point streak to six games. He has six points (3g, 3a) in that span. The Icehawks continue to lead the league for third period goals (79) and total shots on goal (2,049). They also ranked second for average shots per game (33.59). The Icehawks have the lowest total penalty minutes in the league (1,333) and average just 21.85 penalty minutes per game, which is the lowest in the league.
The Komets tied a 44-year-old Fort Wayne franchise record when they won their 18th consecutive home game Saturday as they defeated Port Huron 5-2 in front of a sell out crowd of 10,462 people. They have a chance to break that record Friday night when Kalamazoo visits Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Ironically, the last time the Komets lost on home ice was Friday, December 21st to the K-Wings by a score of 6-4. The IHL record is 22 home wins, set in the 1965-66 season by the Muskegon Mohawks.
With only five weeks left in the regular season, the bottom two teams are looking to make a run into the playoffs. Finishing the week with a 3-0-1-0 record, Bloomington has come within five points of fourth place after Flint won just one game this week, and Port Huron and Muskegon both were winless. Also having an undefeated week, Kalamazoo (2-0-0-0) has moved into a tie with Muskegon for the final playoff spot, with Muskegon having one game in hand on the K-Wings.
AROUND THE “I”
Bloomington PrairieThunder - (3-0-1-0) – Don Parsons scored three straight game-winning goals, two in a shootout, during the week as the PrairieThunder scored five of a possible six points. He had a string of four straight game-winning goals snapped in a 1-0 loss at Kalamazoo on Sunday. Parsons surpassed the 650 mark for career goals scored (he currently has 651) and 1,250 career points scored (he currently has 1,252). He needs 27 goals to pass Flint coach Kevin Kerr to become the all-time goal-scoring leader in modern-day minor league hockey. The PrairieThunder won a season-high four straight for the second time this season before Sunday's loss at Kalamazoo to give the team 25 wins, which is what they finished with last year. Leo Thomas has scored at least one point in 12 of the last 15 games. Goalie Loic Lacasse has 14 wins to surpass the franchise record 12 set by Jeff Reynaert last season. Derek Dolson needs one more to equal Reynaert's mark.
Flint Generals - (1-2-0-1) – The Generals snapped a six game winless streak the longest of the season with a victory over Muskegon on Sunday afternoon. The streak was the longest of the season and it gave the Generals their first victory in the month of March. The Generals were 17 for 17 in penalty killing between Wednesday and Friday before Bloomington snapped it on Saturday night. Rookie Justin DePretis has four goals in his last five games, while Brock Wilson has four helpers and is plus three. The Generals play in their third of four education day games this week with a stop in Kalamazoo. Flint is 1-0-0-1 in morning games. Flint is 4-0-1-1 in six games at LC Walker Arena in Muskegon this season. That equals a mark they set with four victories earlier this season in Bloomington.
Fort Wayne Komets - (4-0-0-0) – Hot Komet streaks (besides the home winning streak): Komets have an eight-game winning streak, 10-game unbeaten streak (in regulation) and have out shot their opponents 20 straight games. The Komets also are riding road streaks of five straight wins and seven straight games unbeaten. Luciano Aquino (RW) is riding a six-game point streak (4g, 4a), David Hukalo (RW) has a four-game point streak (2g, 2a), Evgeny Saidachev (RW) has a three-game goal-scoring streak (3g), Mathieu Curadeau (C) has a five-game point streak (4g, 2a) and Mitch Woods (RW) has points in three straight games (1g, 2a). Goaltender Kevin Reiter has a four-game winning streak and five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1-0). Netminder Nick Boucher has a five-game winning streak and 10-game unbeaten streak. Boucher has not lost a game he has started for 16 straight games. Milestone: Luciano Aquino scored his 100th pro point (goal) Saturday, March 8th in the Komets 5-2 home win against Port Huron. The last time the Komets lost a road game was Feb. 17 at Bloomington 4-1 (which is also the last time the Komets lost a game in regulation). The Komets posted their second sell-out crowd of the season of 10,462 Saturday night for U.S. Army Night. The Komet camouflage U.S. Army jerseys worn in the game against Port Huron were auctioned for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Totals of the auction will be announced later.
Kalamazoo Wings - (2-0-0-0) – Justin Cross is one-point shy of 100 in his career. Kalamazoo will host Flint in their second Education Day versus Flint this Wednesday. All-time the K-Wings are 5-4-0-1 in games played in the morning, including 3-4-0-1 at Wings Stadium. Kalamazoo is 1-2-0-0 versus Flint in Education Games, including a 5-3 loss earlier this season. Kory Karlander is on a seven-game point streak. Nick Bootland is on a five-game point streak. Jeff Reynaert earned his second shutout of the season, stopping 25 shots versus Bloomington on Sunday. Kalamazoo is on a three-game home winning streak. The three-game streak ties a K-Wings season-high. Defenseman Jamie Vanderveeken scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the K-Wings a 1-0 win. The game-winner from Vanderveeken was his second this season, which ties him for first among all IHL defensemen. Kalamazoo has won three of their last four overall and five of their last seven at Wings Stadium. Lucas Drake recorded a hat trick Saturday versus Muskegon. The trick was Drake's first of the season and the K-Wings fourth, with three of them occurring against the Fury.
Muskegon Fury - (0-3-0-1) – Fury rookie defenseman Adam Bartholomay scored points in all four games for the Fury this week, and has a five-game point streak overall. On the season, Bartholomay has 14 goals and 11 assists in 32 games. The Fury were without third-leading scorer Mike Watt all week. Watt will be evaluated this week by additional doctors to determine when he can return. Goaltender Isaac Reichmuth retuned to action Friday, but only lasted 11 minutes in net before having to leave the game. His status is week-to-week. Forward Rafal Martynowski is recovering and should return in 1-2 weeks, while Rich Meloche had season-ending surgery this week. Muskegon’s Robin Bouchard scored his 450th goal as a member of the Muskegon Fury Friday at home against Fort Wayne. Wednesday, Kyle Kos assisted on Mark Cadotte’s short-handed goal, giving Kos 100 career assists. Muskegon’s Robin Bouchard is two points away from 1,200 for his career. He also needs 11 goals for 600 in his professional career. Philippe Plante needs nine points for 300 in his career. Mark Cadotte is eight assists away from 300 for his career and 13 goals shy of 200 for his career. Chris Kovalcik is five games away from 200 for his career, while David Segal is nine games away from 100 for his career.
Port Huron Icehawks - (0-2-0-0) – The Port Huron Icehawks fell to third place in the IHL standings with losses on Saturday and Sunday to the Fort Wayne Komets. They sit just two points behind second place Flint. With five weeks remaining in the regular season, the Icehawks face just six more road contests, including three this weekend. When the Icehawks travel to Bloomington this weekend for back-to-back games with the PrairieThunder, it will have been nearly a month and a half since the two teams met. They have not played each other since January 28. The games in Bloomington will also mark the Icehawks final trip out of state this season. The remaining road games are all with in-state opponents. With an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday, Jeff Zehr extended his point streak to six games. He has six points (3g, 3a) in that span. The Icehawks continue to lead the league for third period goals (79) and total shots on goal (2,049). They also ranked second for average shots per game (33.59). The Icehawks have the lowest total penalty minutes in the league (1,333) and average just 21.85 penalty minutes per game, which is the lowest in the league.
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