Komets set sights on second straight Huber Trophy
Thunder rolls in Wednesday and Saturday

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, April 6, 2009

Fort Wayne, IN — The defending Turner Cup Champion Fort Wayne Komets won all three games played for week 25 to extend their winning streak to nine games and unbeaten streak to 16 games (15-0-0-1) and maintained first place in the IHL going into the final week of 2008-09. 

The Komets improved to 44-17-3-9 and have reached 100 points for the third consecutive year and fifth time in six seasons.  It's the 14th time the Komets have hit 100 points in the 57-year history of the Fort Wayne franchise.

The chase for the Huber Trophy continues into the final week of the regular season with the Komets holding a three-point edge over second-place Port Huron.  The Komets and Icehawks have each secured home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.  Week 26 will determine who takes the regular season title and who finishes in second place.

Magic number is 3.....Fort Wayne (44 wins, 100 points) and Port Huron (44 wins, 97 points) each have three games remaining.  Any combination of three points won by the Komets or lost by Port Huron, in conjunction with any combination of three games won by the Komets and lost by the Icehawks, in the final week will clinch the regular season championship for Fort Wayne for the 12th time.  If both teams finish with identical point totals, the first tie-breaker is wins.  The second tie-breaker is head-to-head wins which favors the Komets at 9-6.

The Komets will complete the 2008-09 regular season slate with three games in four nights starting at home against the Bloomington PrairieThunder Wednesday night at 7:30.  Friday the Komets travel to Kalamazoo to face the Wings at 7:30pm and Saturday the Komets return home for a rematch with the PrairieThunder and the season finale at 7:30pm at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Komet streaks.....Sean O'Connor has a six-game point streak (5 goals, 2 assists).....Konstantin Shafranov is riding a three-game point streak (2 goals, 4 assists).....goalie Nick Boucher has a nine-game winning streak, six-game home win streak, six-game road win streak and 14-game unbeaten streak (13-0-0-1).

Century Club.....P.C. Drouin is two points shy of joining the Komet's 100-point club.  With three games remaining in the regular season, Drouin has 32 goals and 66 assists for 98 points and has a chance to become the first Komet player to hit 100 points in 15 years.  21 seasons have produced players reaching the 100-point plateau in Fort Wayne's 57-year history.  The last player to hit the 100-point mark was Colin Chin when he scored 36 goals and 64 assists for 100 points in 1993-94.  In addition to Chin, Komets to score at least 100 points in a season include Len Thornson, Len Ronson, Reggie Primeau, Eddie Long, Bobby Rivard, Merv Dubchak, Johnny Goodwin, Terry McDougall, Dan Bonar, Al Dumba, Robbie Laird, Barry Scully, Ron Leef, Wally Schreiber, Doug Rigler, Bob Lakso, Lonnie Loach and Scott Gruhl.

Dupuis ties Long for most Komet games ever......defenseman Guy Dupuis, in his 12th season with the Komets, broke Eddie Long's Komet record of 801 regular season games with his 802nd Saturday night against Muskegon and tied Long's record of 866 all-time games record (regular season and playoffs) at the same time.  Dupuis can break the all-time Komet games played record this Wednesday when the Bloomington PrairieThunder visit at 7:30pm.  Dupuis' first season with the Komets was 1991-92 when he skated 10 games.

Career years.....P.C. Drouin hit career highs of both 66 assists and 98 points in a season when he added a goal and three assists to his totals Saturday in the Komets' 6-4 home win over Muskegon.....not to be outdone, winger David Hukalo also set a career high of 22 goals, breaking his old mark of 20 goals, with a pair of goals Friday at Bloomington and added an assist Saturday for a career high of 38 assists and 60 points on the season.

Previously setting career highs this season are goalie Nick Boucher who recorded win number 31 Saturday (old record was 24 wins) and defenseman Guy Dupuis with 16 goals (was 15).

Komets waive Brian Boulay.....the Komets announced Monday that they have placed defenseman Brian Boulay on waivers.  Boulay appeared in 69 games scoring six goals and 12 points.

End of Season Komet Awards Saturday.....The Komets will have their annual End of Season Awards ceremony immediately following the game against Bloomington Saturday night.  Awards to be presented are Bud Gallmeier Memorial Trophy for Community Service Award, the NOB Brick Award for the Stonewall Defensive Forward of the season (won by David Hukalo the last two seasons), the Unsung Hero Award, the Defenseman of the Year Award (won for the third straight year last year by Guy Dupuis, and his 6th overall), the Komet Rookie of the Year Award, the Komet Kuarters Most Improved Player Award, the Wiegmann Family True Komet Award, the Mr. Hustle Award and the MVP Award.

Stuff it Wednesday for Community Harvest Food Bank.....The Komets, CitiLink, and Curves announce the extension of the Big Bus Stuff at this Wednesday's Komet home game against Bloomington at 7:30pm.  Fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to the game to benefit the Community Harvest Food Bank and help supplement the urgent need for food within the Fort Wayne area.
KOMETS PLANNER
Komet games coming up
Wednesday, April 8.....Bloomington PrairieThunder at Komets, 7:30pm, ESPN Radio AM 1380
Friday, April 3.............Komets at Kalamazoo Wings, 7:30pm (Fort Wayne time), WOWO Radio AM 1190
Saturday, April 4.........Bloomington PrairieThunder at Komets, 7:30pm (FW time), WOWO Radio AM 1190
All games broadcast on radio are webcast free at www.Komets.com Comcast KometCast
Komet practice schedule
Tue. Apr. 7.....10am-noon at the Coliseum
Wed. Apr. 8......10am-11am at the Coliseum
Thu. Apr. 9.......10am-noon at the Coliseum
Fri. Apr. 10.........10am-11am at McMillen Ice Arena
Komets Schedule

Komet Playoff Tickets.....the hottest ticket in town!  Komet playoff tickets for the first two Komet home playoff games are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com.  Discounts on group tickets are also available 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 4/4/09
TEAM                GP    W     L     OTL   SOL   PTS   WPCT   GF     GA     PIM    HOME        ROAD        L-TEN     STREAK    
xFort Wayne         73    44    17      3     9   100   .685   278    207    1619   19-9-3-5    25-8-0-4    9-0-0-1   9-0-0-0   
xPort Huron         73    44    20      6     3   97    .664   254    190    1234   22-11-3-1   22-9-3-2    6-2-1-1   4-0-0-0   
xMuskegon           73    41    25      3     4   89    .610   301    290    1708   22-11-1-2   19-14-2-2   4-5-0-1   0-4-0-0   
xKalamazoo          73    42    29      2     0   86    .589   263    243    1327   23-13-1-0   19-16-1-0   7-2-1-0   2-0-0-0   
Bloomington         73    28    38      2     5   63    .432   230    282    1357   15-18-2-2   13-20-0-3   1-7-1-1   0-3-0-0   
Flint               73    20    46      2     5   47    .322   232    346    1821   14-19-1-2   6-27-1-3    2-7-0-1   0-1-0-0   
TOTALS              438   219   175    18    26   482   .550   1558   1558   9066   -           -           -         -         

FORT WAYNE KOMETS TEAMSTATS  thru games of 4/4/09
#     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   73  32   66   98   +27    86    9   29    2    3    4   6     0   0   4    0      4    .000   208    .154  
2     Dupuis, Guy         D    73  16   51   67   +32   113    6   28    3    2    2   1     1   0   2    1      4    .250   300    .053  
94    Curadeau, Mathieu   C    49  34   30   64   +21    67   13    9    2    1    5   6     1   4   1    1      6    .167   217    .157  
21    Hukalo, David       RW   67  22   38   60   +26    69   10   12    1    3    7   3     0   1   0    0      2    .000   199    .111  
24    Shafranov, Konstan  LW   57  25   33   58   +25    28    7   10    0    0    4   1     1   3   0    1      6    .167   136    .184  
44    Thomas, Leo         C    57  26   25   51   +23    61    9    5    1    1    3   7     0   1   0    0      3    .000   182    .143  
        (TOTALS)               66  30   27   57   +16   102   11    5    1    1    4   7     0   1   0    0      3    .000   207    .145  
7     Varone, Rick        C    72  23   32   55   +12   101    4    7    3    0    3   6     0   1   0    3      12   .250   143    .161  
91    Chaulk, Colin       C    35  7    42   49   +10    52    3   24    0    3    3   1     0   0   1    0      1    .000   91     .077  
29    OConnor, Sean       RW   56  21   22   43   +15    26    5    2    1    2    3   4     0   0   0    1      5    .200   165    .127  
20    Versteeg-Lytwyn, M  LW   37  13   18   31   +24    35    3    1    0    1    1   3     0   1   0    1      4    .250   111    .117  
        (TOTALS)               57  17   26   43   +18    47    3    2    0    1    2   3     0   1   0    1      4    .250   157    .108  
25    Aldoff, Rod         D    14  1     5   6     +8    12    0    2    0    0    0   1     0   0   0    0      1    .000   20     .050  
        (TOTALS)               71  8    28   36   +21    68    4   14    0    0    1   2     0   0   0    1      5    .200   105    .076  
    X Osman, Dominic      RW   37  18   12   30    +4    37    7    3    1    0    3   2     0   0   0    0      1    .000   137    .131  
    X Holladay, Jay       D    57  3    12   15    +9    81    0    4    0    0    0   2     0   0   0    0      2    .000   113    .027  
    X Warner, Brandon     D    26  7     7   14    -1    27    2    3    0    0    1   3     0   0   0    0      1    .000   45     .156  
    X Gravelle, Maxime    C    59  4    10   14    -3    60    0    1    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   55     .073  
3     Mironovic, Danko    D    68  2    11   13   +20    63    0    0    0    0    1   1     0   0   0    0      0    .000   51     .039  
14    Pence, Jake         D    32  1    12   13   +10    28    0    5    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   64     .016  
    X Boulay, Brian       D    69  6     6   12   +10   104    0    0    1    1    1   0     0   0   0    1      1    1.000  89     .067  
22    Bertram, Kevin      D    56  2     9   11   +30   129    0    1    0    1    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   60     .033  
15    MacMillan, Brad     RW   49  7     3   10    -4   231    0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   77     .091  
82    Legault, Olivier    LW   39  5     3   8     0    116    1    1    0    0    1   1     0   0   0    0      0    .000   32     .156  
    X Lewis, Adam         C    22  1     5   6    -10    23    0    0    0    1    0   0     0   1   0    0      0    .000   40     .025  
    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  
88    Hodgman, Justin     F    3   0     2   2     +1    2     0    1    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   5      .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  
    X 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    52  0     0   0     0     0     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   0      .000  
60    Laplante, Sebastie  G    15  0     0   0     0     2     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   0      .000  
19    Rodger, Keith       D    8   0     0   0     +1    5     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   10     .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  
    X Row, Dylan          D    3   0     0   0     0     0     0    0    0    0    0   0     0   0   0    0      0    .000   2      .000  
                               GP  G     A   PTS  +/-   PIM   PPG  PPA  SHG  SHA  GWG  FG  OTG  UAG  ENG  SHOG  SHOA  SHO%   SHOTS  SPCT  
      TOTALS                   73  278  461  739  +359  1619  79   150  15   19   44   48    5  14   8    9      53   .170   2589   .107  

#       GOALIE              GP  MIN      W   L   OTL  SOL  SO  GA   GAA   SHOW  SHO  SHOGA  SHOAA  SAVES  SPCT  
33      Boucher, Nick       52  3085:45  31  13  1    6    3   125  2.43  1     8    10     21     1417   .919  
60      Laplante, Sebastie  15  858:43   9   2   2    1    1   47   3.28  0     1    2      11     367    .886  
    X   Haun, Tim           8   493:44   4   2   0    2    1   25   3.04  1     2    4      18     218    .897  
        TOTALS              73           44  20  3    9    5   207  2.84  2     11   16     50     2002   .906