Fort Wayne, IN — The Komets eliminated the Kalamazoo Wings in the semifinals 4-2 and have earned the chance to become the first Fort Wayne team to repeat as IHL Turner Cup Champions in the 57-year history of the franchise.

The 2008-09 regular season champion Komets will face the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the finals with home-ice advantage starting this Thursday, April 30, at 7:30pm at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.

It's the 16th appearance for Fort Wayne in a finals series, 14th in an IHL finals.  The Komets will battle for their seventh league championship and sixth Turner Cup.

The Lumberjacks eliminated second-seed Port Huron 4 games to 2 in the semifinals to advance to the final round.  Muskegon won the regular season series against Fort Wayne 9-6.  The Komets finished the regular season winning the last two meetings against Muskegon.

This will be the third time the Komets have met a Muskegon team in the finals.  Muskegon has won both previous meetings for championships.  The Lumberjacks won the 1986 IHL Turner Cup finals against the Komets 4-0 and the Fury claimed the 2005 UHL Colonial Cup series by defeating Fort Wayne 4-1.

The best-of-seven finals series will be played under a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

2009 IHL Turner Cup Finals Best-of-Seven Series
Fort Wayne Komets vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks
Game 1:  Thursday, April 30, Muskegon at Fort Wayne, 7:30pm
Game 2:  Saturday, May 2, Muskegon at Fort Wayne, 8pm
Game 3:  Tuesday, May 5, Fort Wayne at Muskegon, 7pm
Game 4:  Wednesday, May 6, Fort Wayne at Muskegon, 7pm
*Game 5:  Friday, May 8, Muskegon at Fort Wayne, 8pm.
*Game 6:  Saturday, May 9, Fort Wayne at Muskegon, 7pm
*Game 7:  Tuesday, May 12, Muskegon at Fort Wayne, 7:30pm
* if necessary
All times are EDT.  All games will be broadcast on Fort Wayne radio WOWO AM 1190 and webcast free at www.komets.com at Comcast KometCast.

Still plenty of great seat locations are available for the Komets home playoff games Thursday and Saturday. Tickets are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com

Komet practice schedule in the week ahead
Tue. Apr. 28.......10am-noon at the Coliseum
Wed. Apr. 29... ..10am-noon at the Coliseum
Thu. Apr. 30.......10am-11am at the Coliseum
Fri. May 1..........10:30am-11:30am at McMillen Ice Arena
Sat. May 2.........no ice
Mon. May 4.......10am-11:30am at Coliseum
The remainder of the practice schedule during the finals is yet to be determined.
Komets Schedule

Looking to repeat......setting their sights on becoming the first ever Komets to earn a second consecutive Turner Cup Championship for Fort Wayne are David Hukalo, Konstantin Shafranov, P.C. Drouin, Colin Chaulk, Mathieu Curadeau, Guy Dupuis, Jake Pence, Kevin Bertram, Nick Boucher, Justin Hodgman and Olivier Legault.  Al Sims will be aiming for his third consecutive Turner Cup as head coach of the Komets. 

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.