The Komets seem to have gotten their offense going, they°®¶¹appve won three straight games, but now they face a difficult and unique challenge °®¶¹app the Indy Fuel°®¶¹apps defense.
°®¶¹appIt°®¶¹apps incredible,°®¶¹app said Komets coach Jesse Kallechy, whose team is 14-7-1. °®¶¹appI don°®¶¹appt know what (the Fuel) are doing defensively, but it°®¶¹apps going to be like trying to solve a Rubik°®¶¹apps Cube in trying to figure out what we need to do to create some offense against Indy.°®¶¹app
While neither Indy°®¶¹apps overall record nor its offense have been particularly formidable, its defense has been stifling to a level that Kallechy compared it to the New Jersey Devils of the mid-1990s, when the famed neutral zone trap befuddled opponents and the Devils won the 1995 Stanley Cup.
°®¶¹appYou°®¶¹appve got to give (Indy) credit,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appHow they°®¶¹appre playing, you°®¶¹appve got to have every single guy bought in to play that way. And good for them, they°®¶¹appre doing something that°®¶¹apps not easy to do. I°®¶¹appm excited to see how we match up.°®¶¹app
Indy (10-8-3) allowed only an average of 1.75 goals and °®¶¹app incredibly °®¶¹app 15.25 shots over the last four games, which include two shutouts and a 6-0 victory over the Allen Americans in which the Fuel set a league record by allowing only seven shots on goal. In those four games, however, the Fuel went only 2-1-1 and that°®¶¹apps been the issue °®¶¹app the other parts of Indy°®¶¹apps game haven°®¶¹appt matched its defense.
For the season, Indy°®¶¹apps defense ranks second in the 29-team ECHL with 1.95 goals against per game, behind only the three-time defending-champion Florida Everblades°®¶¹app average of 1.88. Indy ranks first in the ECHL with 21.57 shots against per game. But its offense ranks only 27th with 2.14 goals per game and is 20th in shots with 28.67 per game.
Fort Wayne°®¶¹apps offense ranks 10th in goals with 3.41 per game and second in shots with 34.77 per game, while its defense is 17th in goals against per game with 3.09 and 16th in shots against per game with 29.59.
Tonight°®¶¹apps 7:30 p.m. game at Memorial Coliseum will be the first of three straight games between the teams and of 11 meetings this season. They play 7 p.m. Saturday at the new Fishers Event Center, where they meet again 7 p.m. on Dec. 27, after the holiday break.
°®¶¹appWe played good (last) weekend, but everyone in the locker room knows there°®¶¹apps room for improvement,°®¶¹app Komets forward Yanick Turcotte said. °®¶¹appEvery facet of our game, we can always improve and aways do better. We°®¶¹appve got to take every game very seriously and bring our best foot forward. When every team is playing against us, they°®¶¹appre bringing theirs.°®¶¹app
The Komets°®¶¹app 2-1 victory at he Bloomington Bison on Dec. 13 marked their sixth straight game scoring two or fewer goals, but on Saturday they walloped the Americans 8-2 at the Coliseum and then beat them again, 4-3 on Sunday, when Jack Dugan had three breakaway goals including the overtime winner.
°®¶¹appJack is back,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appWhen he wants to be and when he°®¶¹apps playing the right way, he°®¶¹apps the best player in the league and I believe that to my very core.°®¶¹app
Fort Wayne°®¶¹apps .659 winning percentage is second best in the Central Division behind the Toledo Walleye (16-6-3, .700). The Iowa Heartlanders (14-7-3, .646) have positioned themselves as a top-three team in the division, and the Fuel (.548) is in the fourth and final division playoff slot. But 70% or so of the season remains.
Last season, when the Komets missed the playoffs and the Fuel bowed out in the first round for the second straight year, Fort Wayne went 5-4-3 against the Fuel. Dugan had one goal and a team-leading 11 points in the season series and Indy°®¶¹apps Colin Bilek had five goals and 10 points.
Bilek is one of three Indy players with a team-leading 10 points this season, along with rookie Kevin Lombardi and Nathan Burke. Fort Wayne has been paced by Kyle Mayhew°®¶¹apps three goals and 23 points and Odeen Tufto°®¶¹apps six goals and 21 points.
°®¶¹appWe haven°®¶¹appt played Indy yet and it will be exciting,°®¶¹app said Dugan, who has six goals and 19 points this season. °®¶¹appI always liked playing them last year. They°®¶¹appre a hard team. They play hard and I like to play hard. I like to run my mouth to get into it a little bit, and so do they. I°®¶¹appm excited for it. A lot of our guys haven°®¶¹appt played (Indy) before.°®¶¹app
