Komets post eight straight victories

Published on February 4, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO--- The Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League (UHL) completed the 15th week of the season with three wins, extending their winning streak to eight consecutive games.

The second-place Komets (29-11-3) trail the Muskegon Fury (29-11-4) by one point in the Western Conference. Fort Wayne continued their streak with a pair of wins over the Missouri River Otters (10-28-6) on Thursday and Saturday and a shutout of the Elmira Jackals (18-20-5) on Friday.

The Komets defeated the River Otters 4-2 on Thursday to open the week. Right wing Dustin Virag collected three assists and four different Fort Wayne players tallied goals in the Komets seventh straight road victory.

Fort Wayne shut out the visiting Jackals 5-0 on Friday. Netminder Kevin St. Pierre earned his fifth shutout of the season and third in five games. Right wing Kevin Kotyluk registered two goals to power the Komets offense.

The Komets completed the week with a 6-2 victory over the River Otters on Saturday with six different Fort Wayne scorers tallying goals. Goaltender Kelly Shields turned away 21 of 23 opponent's shots on goal to record his third win of the season.

The defending Colonial Cup Champion Komets are undefeated in regulation in their last 12 games, posting an 11-0-1 record. Fort Wayne has outscored opponents 54 to 20 during their unbeaten span. St. Pierre has been excellent between the pipes, registering a perfect 10-0-0 record, a 1.20 goal against average (GAA), a .957 save percentage (SPCT) and four shutouts in his last 10 starts.

Fort Wayne travels to Richmond, Port Huron and Muskegon before hosting the Flint Generals to finish the week.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jeff Williams-Quad City completed the 15th week of the season registering 7-points (5g, 2a) and a plus-two rating in three games. He opened the week scoring two goals and dishing out one assist in Wednesday's 6-2 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings. The 2004 UHL All-Star center tallied the week's lone hat trick and added an assist in Friday's 8-4 win over the Rockford IceHogs. Williams, a 27-year-old Pointe-Claire, Quebec native, has recorded 10 goals in the last six games and is tied for fifth in the UHL with 26 goals this season. His eight-game point-scoring streak and five-game goal-scoring streak were snapped in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Muskegon Fury.

Other players nominated for the Sher-Wood UHL Player of the Week include: Adirondack left wing Hugo Belanger, Elmira center Eddy Lowe, Flint right wing Bobby Reynolds, Fort Wayne right wing Dustin Virag, Kalamazoo center Pat O'Leary, Missouri right wing Jeff Petruic, Muskegon left wing Brant Blackned, Port Huron center Ben Genesse, Richmond right wing David Brosseau and Rockford forward Dan Davies.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Kevin St. Pierre-Fort Wayne completed the 15th week of the season posting a 2-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals against average (GAA) and a .967 save percentage (SPCT) to earn his second consecutive UHL Goaltender of the Week Award and fourth weekly honor of the season. He successfully turned away 58 of 60 shots on goal, including his fifth shutout of the season in Friday's 5-0 victory over Elmira. The 28-year-old Sherbrooke, Quebec native continues to lead the league with a 1.98 GAA and a .926 SPCT. He was named November 2003 UHL Goaltender of the Month and earned UHL Goaltender of the Week honors for Week Five (November 17 - 23, 2003), Week 12 (January 5 - 11, 2004) and Week 14 (January 19 - 25, 2004).

Other players nominated for the UHL Goaltender of the Week include: Adirondack's Scott Dickie, Elmira's Peter Aubry, Flint's Dan McIntyre, Kalamazoo's Chad Alban, Missouri's Tim Knudsen, Muskegon's Sylvain Daigle, Port Huron's Stu Dunn, Quad City's Jeff Reynaert, Richmond's Maxime Gingras and Rockford's Paul Schonfelder.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: EASTERN CONFERENCE

Adirondack IceHawks (0-2-1 for the week, 17-22-6 overall) The IceHawks have registered a 14-4-3 record when scoring first... After a nine-year hiatus, Barry Melrose returned to coaching... Melrose guided the team to a 2-1 shootout loss and garnered national attention (ESPN's SportsCenter and NHL Tonight)... Have outscored opponents 23-16 on the road in the third period.

Elmira Jackals (1-1-0 for the week, 18-20-5 overall) The Jackals posted a 3-1-0 record at home in January... Rookie Nathan Gillies led the team in scoring, registering nine-points (6g, 3a) in January... Rank second in the UHL with an 86.5 home penalty killing percentage... 12-2-0 when leading after two periods of action.

Flint Generals (1-1-1 for the week, 22-18-4 overall) The Generals ended their five-game winless streak with a 6-3 victory over the Beacons on Saturday... Right wing Bobby Reynolds tallied a team season-high five points (2g, 3a) in Saturday's win... Killed off 15 of 16 shorthanded situations this week... 15-3-2 when scoring the first goal of the game and 15-1-2 when leading after two periods of play.

Port Huron Beacons (2-1-0 for the week, 21-16-3 overall) The Beacons have posted a perfect 11-0-0 record when leading after two periods at home... Netminder Stu Dunn ranks second in the UHL with a .920 SPCT and a .875 shootout save percentage... Center Aaron Brand is currently riding a four-game point-scoring streak; notching five points (1g, 4a) during that span.

Richmond RiverDogs (3-0-1 for the week, 25-14-4 overall) The RiverDogs are unbeaten in regulation in six consecutive games... 11 games over .500 for the first time this season... Fired a team season-high 49 shots on goal in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the IceHawks... Posted a 17-5-2 record versus the Jackals and IceHawks this season.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: WESTERN CONFERENCE

Fort Wayne Komets (3-0-0 for the week, 29-11-3 overall) The Komets are currently riding an eight-game winning streak and are unbeaten in regulation in the last 12-games... 12-1-1 for the month of January and 13-1-1 in their last 15-games... Left wing Bobby Stewart is currently riding a six-game point-scoring streak, tallying 10-points (5g, 5a) during that span.

Kalamazoo Wings (2-1-0 for the week, 21-13-6 overall) The K-Wings are the only team in the UHL to have every member of their roster record at least one point this season... 6-3-1 in their last 10-games... Forward Jeff Turner ranks fourth in the league with 27 goals... Tied for second in the UHL with an 83.7 penalty killing percentage and rank third in the league with a 20.9 power play percentage.

Missouri River Otters (0-2-1 for the week, 10-28-6 overall) The River Otters are the least penalized team in the league, averaging 21.0 penalty minutes per game this season... 8-0-3 when leading after two periods... Left wing Jeff Petruic is currently riding a six-game point-scoring streak, collecting nine-points (6g, 3a) during that period... Defenseman Bob Rapoza ranks eighth among UHL blueliners with 25-points (5g, 20a) this season.

Muskegon Fury (1-0-0 for the week, 29-11-4 overall) The Fury continue to lead the league in goals (175), assists (299) and points (474)... Currently riding a three-game winning streak, outscoring the opposition 14-8 during that span... 12-2-3 in their last 17-games and 20-5-4 in their last 29-games... Remain the league's best offensive team, averaging a league-high 3.99 goal scored per game.

Quad City Mallards (2-1-0 for the week, 26-15-3 overall) The Mallards have posted a 6-0-1 record in their last seven-games... Collected eight power play tallies in their last three contests (27.6% conversion rate)... Center Martin Hlinka dished out two assists in his last two games with the Hershey Bears (AHL).

Rockford IceHogs (0-2-0 for the week, 17-25-2 overall) The IceHogs host their next six-games... Right wing Dan Davies has notched a point in three consecutive games, compiling four-points (1g, 3a)... Rank fourth in the UHL with an 85.6 home penalty killing percentage... 10-5-2 in games decided by one-goal and 7-1-0 when leading after two periods of action.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 4, 2004


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