IHL 2 Fort Wayne Komets

Komets open second half Saturday at Kalamazoo

Published on January 24, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Fort Wayne Komets News Release


Fort Wayne, IN --- The Komets enter the All-Star break with a 20-17-2 record and 42 points after 39 games and trail the 2nd place Quad City Mallards by 3 points in the Western Division with a game in hand. The Rockford IceHogs hold a commanding Western Division lead of 61 points after 40 games.

This week the UHL All-Star game will be hosted by the Missouri River Otters and is slated for Wednesday at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. Defenseman Guy Dupuis will represent the Komets at the All-Star affair. Veteran center Colin Chaulk was also selected to the UHL All-Stars but will not attend due to injury.

Dupuis, 35, will be attending his 2nd UHL All-Star game. Pepsi is a sponsor of the All-Star Classic and Dupuis will guard the blue line for Team Gatorade. The veteran defenseman also represented the Kalamazoo Wings in 2004. Dupuis' selection is his 3rd All-Star honor as a Komet. He also was a Fort Wayne IHL All-Star in 1998 and 1999. Dupuis ranks 3rd in scoring among UHL defensemen with 35 points after appearing in all 39 Komet games played to date. In the last 10 games Dupuis has registered 15 points (2nd only to winger P.C. Drouin who has posted 16 points) and leads the Komets with 12 assists.

Kevin St. Pierre goalie of the week.....the UHL named Komet netminder Kevin St. Pierre the Southern Sports Supply Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Jan. 22, 2006. The veteran goalie posted a 2-0-0 record in games played including a 4-1 win at Kalamazoo and a 6-1 victory over the visiting Quad City Mallards for a 1.00 goals-against average. St. Pierre stopped 62 of 64 total shots for a .969 save percentage. It's St. Pierre's first weekly honor of the season and 11th since joining the Komets in 2003. He was also named the UHL Goaltender of the Month for December.

Komets at Kalamazoo Saturday.....the Komets are off until Saturday when they travel to Kalamazoo to face the Wings at 7:30pm. It's the only game scheduled for the Komets this weekend. Saturday's game will be the 4th and final meeting of the season at Kalamazoo with the Wings yet to skate in Fort Wayne this season. The Komets are 1-2-0 against Kalamazoo this season after winning their last meeting Friday night, Jan. 20, 4-1. The Wings will make their first trip of the season to Fort Wayne Feb. 10. The Wings will host Rockford Friday night before facing the Komets Saturday. Top Wing is veteran center Tyler Rennette who leads Kalamazoo with 21 goals, 33 assists and 54 points going into this week's play. Wing goalie Joel Martin leads UHL netminders with a 2.08 goals-against average and .924 save percentage and has a 19-5-3 record after appearing in 27 games.

The Komets split a 4-game week last week posting a 2-2-0 record. In their last 21 games the Komets are 15-6-0 for a .714 point pace. In the last 10 games the Komets are 7-3-0. Kalamazoo has set a 10-3-3 pace (.625) in their last 16 games while posting a 5-3-2 record in their last 10.

Komets next home game Saturday, Feb. 4.....the Komets are "out of the building" while the Shrine Circus takes up residency in the Memorial Coliseum through Sunday. The Komets will host the Elmira Jackals in their next home game Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7:30pm. It's the only visit of the season by the Jackals. The Komets upended the Jackals 5-2 Dec. 7 in the only visit to Elmira this season.

A's for Komet tickets.....Saturday, Feb. 4 also features the annual Comcast Report Card Night. Students with "A" or "A equivalent" proof will be admitted free to the Komet game against Elmira. Students may get their tickets at the Coliseum Ticket Office and are encouraged to get tickets early in advance.

Comcast will make a donation to the Literacy Alliance for every "A" student in attendance.

Still plenty of good seats remain on sale for all Komet home games at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Group discounts are available by calling the Komet office at 260-483-0011.

Drouin Top Streaker.....P.C. Drouin (LW) is riding a league-high 10-game point streak of 16 points (5g, 11a).

Huck's First Hat.....David Hukalo (RW) netted his first pro hat trick Saturday night in the Komet's 6-1 win over the visiting Quad City Mallards. Hukalo added an assist for a 4-point evening.

Looking for 500, and other milestones.....Greg Puhalski has 497 career wins as a head coach....Rob Guinn (D) has 98 UHL assists.....Matt Hunter (LW) has skated 98 pro (all UHL) games.....Kelly Miller (C) has appeared in 296 pro games.

300 Komet UHL games.....defenseman Troy Neumeier set the record for UHL career games played by a Fort Wayne Komet player with his 292nd Komet game Dec. 31 vs Roanoke, besting the old record of 291 games previously held by Dustin Virag. With every game he plays Neumeier sets a new Komet record and registered his 300th Komet game Saturday, Jan. 21 against the Quad City Mallards. The veteran defenseman is in his 16th pro year and 5th season as a Komet since starting his Fort Wayne career in January, 2002.

Komets on the air.....the Komet's game this Saturday night at Kalamazoo is slated to air with Bob Chase calling the action radio-rinkside in his 53rd consecutive season behind the Komet microphone. Fans can join Bob for the Sprint P.C.S. Pregame Show 15 minutes prior to the faceoff of each Komet game broadcast. This Saturday's game will be broadcast on WOWO Radio AM 1190. All games can also be heard worldwide on the internet at www.komets.com at Comcast KometCast.

Komets.com.....the official website of the Fort Wayne Komets is www.komets.com. In addition to live game radio, the Komet's home on the web also features stats, news, interactive fan features and information as well as real-time scoring via the UHL and Pointstreak. Scoring of all Komet games can be viewed as it happens at the Scoreboard at www.komets.com.

Check out the Fort Wayne Komets Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 24, 2006


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