Fort Wayne Komets Press Release

Komets collect five points in three games
Four on the road this week

FORT WAYNE KOMETS PRESS RELEASE
Fort Wayne Komet Hockey Club | 1010 Memorial Way, Fort Wayne, IN 46805 | 260.483.0011
Member International Hockey League
Contact: Chuck Bailey, Director of Communications | 260.482.6550 | chuck@komets.com

Posted Monday, March 2, 2009

Fort Wayne, IN — The Komets board the bus for four on the road this week after completing the month of February with five points in three games last week.

Week 20 of 2008-09 started with a 5-4 overtime loss to the visiting Muskegon Lumberjacks Wednesday night at the Coliseum. The Komets battled back from a 4-2 deficit to tie the game at 4-4 in regulation and gain a point in the second loss in overtime this season to Muskegon. It was the third of six Wednesday night home games for the Komets this year.

Friday the Komets rebounded with their sixth straight home win over the Flint Generals 9-2 and remain unbeaten by the Generals on Coliseum ice this season.

Saturday the Komets clipped the Wings at Kalamazoo 3-2 scoring all three goals in the third period for the come-from-behind win. It was the Komets' second straight win over the Wings and extended the Komets' road unbeaten streak to a current IHL high of nine games (6-0-0-3).

Looking ahead the Komets' four-game road tour this week starts Wednesday at Flint at 7pm. It's the 12th of 16 meetings with the Komets leading the series 9-1-0-1. The last-place G-Men are 2-11-0-1 in their last 14 games which includes three losses to the Komets in that period. The Komets are unbeaten by Flint in their last seven meetings (6-0-0-1) and have won the last four straight.

Friday the Komets travel to Muskegon to battle the first-place Lumberjacks at Walker Arena at 7pm. Fort Wayne begins the week trailing Muskegon by seven points with 21 games remaining. The Komets are unbeaten in regulation by Muskegon in the last five meetings (1-0-2-2) with Muskegon winning the last three meetings in extra time, twice in overtime and once in a shootout. The Lumberjacks are idle this week until they welcome the Komets Friday.

Saturday the Komets return to Kalamazoo for the seventh of eight games at Wings Stadium at 7:30pm. The Wings are coming off two losses over the weekend, including the 3-2 loss to the Komets Saturday night at Kalamazoo. The Komets lead the fourth-place Wings by two points. Kalamazoo will host Port Huron Wednesday and Flint Friday before facing the Komets Saturday.

Sunday the Komets finish the week back in Flint with a 4pm faceoff at Perani Arena. It will be the third game in three nights and fourth game in five nights for both teams. It will be the seventh of eight trips to Flint this season for the Komets.

Streaking Komets.....Mathieu Curadeau continues to ride a league-high 11-game point streak (6g, 11a) and three-game assist streak (5 assists). P.C. Drouin has a five-game point and assist streak (1 goal, 8 assists). Guy Dupuis also has a five-game point and assist streak (3 goals, 10 assists). Konstantin Shafranov has points in five straight games (3 goals, 7 assists). Netminder Sebastien Laplante is unbeaten in six straight appearances (3-0-2-1).

Milestones: Center Mathieu Curadeau skated his 100^th career Fort Wayne game Friday vs. Flint. Curradeau has 99 Komet career goals after scoring the game winner at Kalamazoo Saturday night.....Defenseman Guy Dupuis appeared in his 784^th career Komet game Saturday at Kalamazoo to tie Terry Pembroke for second-most games played during the regular season as a Komet. Dupuis needs 18 more games to beat Eddie Long’s record of 801 Komet career games. Dupuis has a chance to reach the record-breaking milestone of 802 games on April 4.

More I.R. time.....Center Colin Chaulk has been moved from 45-day to 60-day I.R. (1/6/09) and winger Olivier Legault has been moved from 30-day to 45-day I.R. (1/18/09).

Komets add Podelnyk.....The Komets announced Friday that rookie skater Michael Podelnyk was signed to a PTO with the Fort Wayne IHL club and was added to roster in time for Friday night's home game against Flint. Podelnyk scored his first IHL and Komet assist during the 9-2 win over the visiting Generals. Podelnyk, 22, skated two seasons with Western Michigan University (ACHA) and last season ranked second on the team with 52 points (29g, 34a) in 39 games. This season the forward has been playing single "A" hockey in the new All American Hockey Association (AAHA) with Battle Creek where he appeared in 29 games leading the Revolution with 34 assists, 63 points and +14.

One-Goal Games.....25 Komet games (45% of 55 games played, 8-6-3-8, 27pts, .540) have been decided by one goal. 11 have ended in regulation (5-6). 14 have taken overtime or a shootout to determine the winner. The Komets have lost only twice in regulation in their last 19 games (10-2-2-5, .711).

Komets 5-1-2-2 for February.....the Komets posted a .700 winning percentage for February losing only one game in regulation out of 10 played. Mathieu Curadeau led the Komets with points in each of the 10 games scoring a team high six goals and 16 points and +7. Netminder Nick Boucher registered a 3-1-0-2 record and 2.43 goals-against average in six appearances and leads IHL goalies at the start of March with a .273 goals-against average after 36 games played this season. Defenseman Guy Dupuis led the Komets with 11 assists and ranked second with 14 points for the month. Dupuis leads IHL defensemen at the start of March with 38 assists and 50 points after appearing in all 55 Fort Wayne games to date.

15 games in March.....The month of March has 15 games scheduled for the Komets, six at home and nine on the road. The Komets will play three stretches of four games in five nights, the first of which is this week. The Komets will finish the month playing seven games in 10 nights. Three home games will be played in five nights March 25-28.

Komets home again March 14 for Legends Night......The Komets are out of town all week this week to make room for Disney on Ice at the Coliseum Thursday thru Sunday, March 5-8. The Komets will return to Coliseum Ice Saturday, March 14 for a Double-Header which includes the Komet legends. The Fort Wayne Komet Legends will face the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association at 5pm, followed by the Komet-Kalamazoo Wings game at 7:30pm. Former Komet greats including Eddie Long, Steve Fletcher, Kelly Hurd, Ian Boyce, Doug Rigler, Dale Baldwin, Grant Richison and more are expected to skate against former Red Wing stars including Dennis Hextall, Joey Kocur, Shawn Burr, John Ogrodnick, Paul Ysebaert and more. The game will be played in two 20-minute running time periods. All tickets purchased for the Komets game against Kalamazoo will also be good for the Legends game. Doors will open at 4pm with warmups for the Legends game scheduled to get underway at 4:30pm.

Season Ticket Holders Exclusive Open House.....As a benefit of being a Komet season ticket holder, the annual Open House for all season ticket holders is slated for Tuesday, March 10 at Crazy Pinz Entertainment Center from 6pm-8pm. The evening includes a chance to meet Komet players and Icy, the Komet mascot. The night of fun also includes Bowling, Mini Golf, the Kids Ball-O-City, games and more. Season ticket holders planning on attending MUST call the Komet office at 483-0011 to reserve a spot at the Open House. The deadline to call is this Tuesday, March 3!!

KOMETS PLANNER
Komet games coming up
Wednesday, Mar. 4.....Komets at Flint Generals, 7pm, WOWO Radio AM 1190
Friday, Mar. 6.....Komets at Muskegon Lumberjacks, 7pm, WOWO Radio AM 1190
Saturday, Mar. 7.....Komets at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:30pm, WOWO Radio AM 1190
Sunday, Mar. 8.....Komets at Flint Generals, 4pm, WOWO Radio AM 1190
All games broadcast on radio are webcast free at www.Komets.com Comcast KometCast
Komet practice schedule
Tue. Mar. 3.....10am-11:30am at McMillen Ice Arena
Wed. Mar. 4.....10am-11am at McMillen Ice Arena
Thu. Mar. 5.....11am-noon at McMillen Ice Arena
Fri. Mar. 6.....10am-11am at McMillen Ice Arena
Tue. Mar. 10.....10am-noon at the Coliseum
Komets Schedule

Tickets.....Komet tickets are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com. The Komets offer discounts on group tickets sold at the Komet office at 1010 Memorial Way in Fort Wayne. For more information visit the Komet office, the Komets' website at www.komets.com, or call 260-483-0011.

Komet Hockey On The Web and Air.....Most Komet games are broadcast on WOWO Radio AM 1190 with Bob Chase at the Fort Wayne microphone for his 56th consecutive season. Some games will be aired on WKJG/ESPN Radio AM 1380 as an alternative when conflicts occur. All games aired on radio will also be available free on the internet at Comcast KometCast at www.komets.com. Fans can follow the official scoring of all Komet games this season by clicking on the "Scoreboard" at www.komets.com.

Komets.com.....The official website of the Fort Wayne Komets is www.komets.com. In addition to featuring free webcasting of live Komet game radio, Komets.com also provides fans and media with up-to-date team stats, news, interactive fan features and information. Fans can also follow all Komet games with real-time scoring via the IHL and Pointstreak by clicking the Scoreboard at Komets.com.


IHL STANDINGS thru games of 2/28/09
TEAM                GP    W     L     OTL   SOL   PTS   WPCT   GF     GA     PIM    HOME        ROAD        L-TEN     STREAK    
Port Huron          56    34    16      5     1   74    .661   188    149    1008   17-9-2-0    17-7-3-1    6-1-3-0   3-0-0-0   
Muskegon            56    34    16      3     3   74    .661   229    213    1342   18-8-1-2    16-8-2-1    8-2-0-0   2-0-0-0   
Fort Wayne          55    28    16      3     8   67    .609   208    167    1268   12-9-3-4    16-7-0-4    5-1-2-2   2-0-0-0   
Kalamazoo           56    32    23      1     0   65    .580   199    178    1045   18-8-1-0    14-15-0-0   5-4-1-0   0-2-0-0   
Bloomington         55    23    28      1     3   50    .455   179    210    1064   15-11-1-1   8-17-0-2    4-6-0-0   0-3-0-0   
Flint               58    17    35      2     4   40    .345   182    268    1384   11-15-1-1   6-20-1-3    2-8-0-0   0-2-0-0   
TOTALS              336   168   134    15    19   370   .551   1185   1185   7111   -           -           -         -         

FORT WAYNE KOMETS TEAMSTATS  thru games of 2/28/09
#     PLAYER              POS  GP  G     A   PTS  +/-   PIM   PPG  PPA  SHG  SHA  GWG  FG  OTG  UAG  ENG  SHOG  SHOA  SHO%  SHOTS  SPCT  
71    Drouin, P.C.        LW   55  27   45   72   +15    66    7   18    2    3    3   6     0   0   2    0      4    .000  164    .165  
2     Dupuis, Guy         D    55  12   38   50   +18    90    5   23    3    2    2   1     1   0   1    0      3    .000  221    .054  
21    Hukalo, David       RW   50  16   30   46   +19    61    7   10    1    1    5   2     0   1   0    0      2    .000  137    .117  
94    Curadeau, Mathieu   C    31  23   22   45    +9    51    9    7    1    1    4   4     1   3   0    1      5    .200  142    .162  
7     Varone, Rick        C    55  18   27   45    +8    83    3    6    3    0    2   4     0   1   0    3      11   .273  118    .153  
91    Chaulk, Colin       C    28  5    38   43    +6    46    2   21    0    3    2   1     0   0   0    0      1    .000  69     .072  
44    Thomas, Leo         C    39  18   16   34   +17    40    6    3    1    0    2   4     0   1   0    0      3    .000  129    .140  
        (TOTALS)               48  22   18   40   +10    81    8    3    1    0    3   4     0   1   0    0      3    .000  154    .143  
24    Shafranov, Konstan  LW   40  17   22   39   +14    22    6    6    0    0    2   0     0   3   0    1      5    .200  93     .183  
20    Versteeg-Lytwyn, M  LW   19  8    13   21   +10    19    1    1    0    1    0   2     0   1   0    1      4    .250  62     .129  
        (TOTALS)               39  12   21   33    +4    31    1    2    0    1    1   2     0   1   0    1      4    .250  108    .111  
29    OConnor, Sean       RW   45  15   16   31    +2    24    4    2    0    2    1   2     0   0   0    1      5    .200  136    .110  
19    Osman, Dominic      RW   33  17   11   28    +2    27    7    3    1    0    2   2     0   0   0    0      1    .000  123    .138  
28    Holladay, Jay       D    54  3    12   15   +10    79    0    4    0    0    0   2     0   0   0    0      2    .000  107    .028  
    X Warner, Brandon     D    26  7     7   14    -1    27    2    3    0    0    1   3     0   0   0    0      1    .000  45     .156  
74    Gravelle, Maxime    C    49  4    10   14    -4    52    0    1    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  52     .077  
15    MacMillan, Brad     RW   43  6     3   9     -4   200    0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  71     .085  
3     Mironovic, Danko    D    54  2     7   9     +9    55    0    0    0    0    1   1     0   0   0    0      0    .000  43     .047  
4     Boulay, Brian       D    55  3     4   7     +7    84    0    0    0    1    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  66     .045  
22    Bertram, Kevin      D    38  1     5   6    +17    95    0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  41     .024  
    X Lewis, Adam         C    22  1     5   6    -10    23    0    0    0    1    0   0     0   1   0    0      0    .000  40     .025  
14    Pence, Jake         D    16  1     5   6     +1    16    0    2    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  34     .029  
82    Legault, Olivier    LW   24  3     2   5     +1    49    0    0    0    0    0   1     0   0   0    0      0    .000  18     .167  
    X Beckett, Jason      D    8   0     2   2     +7    15    0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  21     .000  
    X Potts, Ryan         F    5   0     2   2     +2    0     0    1    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  0      .000  
52    Tarantino, Vince    D    11  0     1   1     +8    2     0    1    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  9      .000  
    X Field, Mike         F    7   0     1   1     -4    20    0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  1      .000  
23    Podelnyk, Mike      F    1   0     1   1     +1    2     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  4      .000  
33    Boucher, Nick       G    36  0     0   0     0     0     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  0      .000  
60    Laplante, Sebastie  G    12  0     0   0     0     2     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  0      .000  
    X Haun, Tim           G    8   0     0   0     0     2     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000  0      .000  
                               GP  G     A   PTS  +/-   PIM   PPG  PPA  SHG  SHA  GWG  FG  OTG  UAG  ENG  SHOG  SHOA  SHO%  SHOTS  SPCT  
      TOTALS                   55  208  345  553  +174  1268  59   112  12   15   28   35    3  12   3    7      47   .149  1947   .107  

#       GOALIE              GP  MIN      W   L   OTL  SOL  SO  GA   GAA   SHOW  SHO  SHOGA  SHOAA  SAVES  SPCT  
33      Boucher, Nick       36  2155:09  17  12  1    5    1   98   2.73  0     6    9      17     968    .908  
60      Laplante, Sebastie  12  698:43   7   2   2    1    1   35   3.01  0     1    2      11     295    .894  
    X   Haun, Tim           8   493:44   4   2   0    2    1   25   3.04  1     2    4      18     218    .897  
        TOTALS              55           28  19  3    8    3   167  3.04  1     9    15     46     1481   .899