IHL 2 Fort Wayne Komets

Komets stop Fury, romp Otters

Published on November 1, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Fort Wayne Komets News Release


Fort Wayne, IN --- The Komets earned 4 points in 3 games played for the week to improve their record at 5-2-1 and move into a first-place tie with Rockford in the Western Conference with 11 points after 8 games of the 2004-05 campaign.

Wednesday the Komets were turned back at Rockford by a 5-3 margin. The Komets outshot the IceHogs 42-28 in the match and posted goals by Tom Nemeth, Dustin Virag and Kevin Kotyluk. Goaltender Kevin St. Pierre registered his only regulation loss of the season making 23 saves. It was the first Komet regulation loss to Rockford since Oct. 11, 2002. The Komets have gone 14-1-4 in 19 games since

Friday the Komets handed the Muskegon Fury their first loss of the season 6-5 in a shootout. St. Pierre was called on to face 30 shots in the game stopping 25 and the veteran netminder stopped 4 of 5 Fury shooters in the extra frame for the win. The Komets were 2-5 in the shootout on tallies by P.C. Drouin and Chris Grenville. Drouin and Grenville also netted 2 goals each in the game as Grenville added an assist for a 3-point night and Drouin added a pair of assists for a 4-point evening. Tim Krueckl also scored for the Komets in regulation.

Saturday the visiting Missouri River Otters were overpowered by the Komets 3-1. Colin Chaulk, Danny Stewart and Virag each found the twine for the Komets as St. Pierre turned aside 18 of 19 Otter shots for his 5th victory of the season. It was the Komet's 9th straight win over Missouri counting the last 8 meetings of last season and the Komets improved to 26-14-3 overall against the River Otters all time.

This week there are 2 games slated for Fort Wayne and both are at home. Friday the Danbury Trashers make their first ever appearance on coliseum ice at 8pm. Saturday the Kansas City Outlaws make their first ever visit to Fort Wayne for a 7:30pm faceoff.

Tickets are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Group tickets and discounts are also available by calling the Komet office at (260) 483-0011. Plenty of good seats remain available for this Saturday's Komet home opener.

Komet games this week:
Friday, Nov. 5 vs Danbury Trashers at Fort Wayne, 8pm
Saturday, Nov. 6 vs Kansas City Outlaws at Fort Wayne, 7:30pm
Both games this weekend are scheduled to air on WOWO radio AM 1190 and webcast at www.komets.com at Comcast KometCast.

Komet practice planner:
Tuesday, Nov. 2.....10am-11:30am at the coliseum
Wednesday, Nov. 3.....10am-11:30am at McMillen Ice Arena
Thursday, Nov. 4.....10am-11:30am at McMillen Ice Arena
Friday, Nov. 5.....10am-11am at the coliseum
Saturday, Nov. 6.....10am-11am at the coliseum
Monday, Nov. 8....10am-11:30am at the coliseum

Komet leaders: P.C. Drouin 9 assists, 15 points,.....Chris Grenville 7 goals, +9.....Kevin Kotyluk 30 penalty minutes.....Drouin, Grenville 2 power play goals.

Streaking Komets: P.C. Drouin 7-game point and league-high 7-game assist scoring streak (5-9=14).....Chris Grenville 7-game point streak (7-6=13).....Colin Chaulk 6-game point streak (5-7-12) and 5-game assist streak (6a).....Sean Venedam 5-game point streak (1-7=8) and 3-game assist streak (4a).

Komets on top of the U.....Komets lead the league in goals scored with 32.....Chris Grenville and Rob Guinn lead the plus/minus race with +9, Guinn leads UHL defenseman with +9.....Jeff Worlton has posted a league high 6 major penalties.

Komets of the week.....
Player of the Week: Winger P.C. Drouin 2g, 4a, 6pts.
Goalie of the Week: Kevin St. Pierre (3gp, 180 min, 2-1-0, 11 ga, 3.69 gaa, 66/77, .857 spct)

Marathon Night Friday.....this Friday night is the first Marathon Night of the season. Komet fans can get Fill Up cards at any participating Marathon location around the Fort Wayne area for "buy one, get one free" ticket offers good for any Friday night Komet home game this year.

Raising #18 Saturday.....no longer will a Komet player wear number 18 on his jersey. That number was Robbie Laird's during his 11-year career in Fort Wayne and will be retired this Saturday in a ceremony preceeding the Komet's home game against the Kansas City Outlaws at 7:30pm. Laird, who will turn 50 Dec. 29, started his career playing 62 games in the 1974-75 Komet IHL season and remained in Fort Wayne through the 1978-79 season. Laird returned to Fort Wayne for the 1983-84 season for 2 additional seasons as a player before becoming Komet Head Coach for 4 years starting with the 1985-86 season. As a player Laird skated 520 Komet regular season games posting 223 goals, 276 assists, 499 points and 1,200 penalty minutes. His most productive pro season came as a Komet in 1978-79 when he scored 45 goals and added 62 assists for 107 points while accumulating a team high 296 penalty minutes. As a coach Laird served through the 1988-89 season posting a Komet coaching career record of 194-108-8 for a .604 point percentage. Laird started his professional hockey career when the Pittsburgh Penguins selected him in round 7 #116 overall in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft prior to his playing debut in 1974 with the Komets. Laird currently holds the position as Director of Pro Scouting and European Evaluation for the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and continues to reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Komets.com.....the Komet's official home on the web is www.komets.com. Updated Komet news and information plus stats, schedules, upcoming events, Comcast KometCast and more can be found at the Komet's website www.komets.com.

Check out the Fort Wayne Komets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 1, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central