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Komets continue hot streak with pair of comeback wins

Komets continue hot streak with pair of comeback wins

Monday, March 6th

With a pair of home wins against Wheeling over the weekend, the Fort Wayne Komets stretched their unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2) and kept pace with the first-place Toledo Walleye in the Central Division.

The Komets, who are 10-0-1 in their last 11 home games, have a 35-15-7 overall record this season and trail the Walleye by eight points entering the final month of the ECHL regular season.

Over their last 18 games, Fort Wayne has a record of 13-2-3 and has outscored its opponents 62-49. The Komets run has coincided with the return of goaltender Pat Nagle to the line-up after he missed over three months with an injury. Since returning on Feb. 3, Nagle has gone 5-0-3 with one shutout, a 2.68 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. Garrett Bartus has also posted impressive numbers for the Komets this season with an overall mark of 18-6-4 with three shutouts in 27 appearances. He is tied for fourth in the league with a 2.49 goals-against average and is tied for 10th with a .911 save percentage.

Fort Wayne used comebacks to earn victories in both outings last week, beginning with a 4-3 win on Saturday. The Komets trailed 3-1 entering the final period, but pulled even on goals from Mike Embach and Mason Bapstisa in the first half of the period. Trevor Cheek notched the game-winning goal on a power play with just 1:22 remaining in regulation.

On Sunday, the Komets fell behind 1-0 midway through the second period, but got the equalizer from Brett Perlini late in the second period and the game-winner from Mike Cazzola less than a minute into the third period in a 2-1 win over the Nailers. Nagle stopped 29 shots in the victory and Fort Wayne went a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Kyle Thomas, who is currently loaned to Cleveland of the American Hockey League, leads the Komets and is tied for 10th in the league with 62 points (25g-37a) in 47 games this season. Cazzola is tied for 12th overall, and is tied for second among ECHL rookies, with 61 points (21g-40a) in 60 games.

Fort Wayne heads on the road for a pair of games this weekend, visiting Indy on Friday and Saturday.