For the first time this season, the Komets have lost 3 of 4 games.
Compared to the night before, Saturday°®¶¹app™s 3-2 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings was a significant improvement °®¶¹app“ especially considering the Komets were missing four of their best players with little-to-no warning °®¶¹app“ but it was a loss nonetheless.
°®¶¹appœI°®¶¹app™m not going to sit here and claim moral victories,°®¶¹app Komets coach Jesse Kallechy said, °®¶¹appœbut I°®¶¹app™m proud of how the guys played tonight. I thought some guys played a lot of minutes, compared to the minutes and situations they normally play, and we played well enough that we could have won that game.
"It sucks to lose, but after (Friday°®¶¹app™s) debacle, I thought the guys rebounded and showed some fight.°®¶¹app
Odeen Tufto, who leads the Komets with 20 points, was out of the lineup because of the lower-body injury that also kept him from games Nov. 30 and Wednesday. Ethan Keppen and Connor Corcoran were called up early Saturday to the American Hockey League°®¶¹app™s Chicago Wolves and Bakersfield Condors, respectively. And Jack Gorniak was ejected just 32 seconds into Saturday°®¶¹app™s game for slew-footing Jon Martin, Gorniak°®¶¹app™s match penalty an infraction that could draw a suspension from the ECHL.
°®¶¹appœ(The loss) was tough. Obviously, our effort was a lot better tonight and that°®¶¹app™s something we°®¶¹app™ve got to be consistent with,°®¶¹app said forward Nolan Volcan, who scored a goal for the Komets, as did defenseman Dustyn McFaul.
Connor Ungar stopped 22 of 25 shots for the Komets. Kalamazoo°®¶¹app™s Hunter Vorva stopped 31 of 33.
The Komets got goals from Nolan Volcan and Dustyn McFaul, and the annual Teddy Bear Toss for charity took place, during a 3-2 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings on Dec. 7, 2024. Clips from: FloHockey/Komets/ECHL
The Komets (11-7-1 overall) dropped to 4-5-1 at Memorial Coliseum, where an announced crowd of 7,616 was on hand Saturday, while the Wings (7-11-1) improved to 3-7-1 on the road.
°®¶¹appœWith our group, it doesn°®¶¹app™t matter who°®¶¹app™s in the lineup or who°®¶¹app™s out, we always expect to win °®¶¹app“ especially at home,°®¶¹app Volcan said. °®¶¹appœOn a big night like this, it°®¶¹app™s obviously frustrating, but the effort was there and we°®¶¹app™ve got to build off that. If we bring that every night, we°®¶¹app™ll always have a chance to win and always be in games.°®¶¹app
The Komets are 2-3-0 against the Wings and they meet six more times beginning Feb. 15 at Kalamazoo, Michigan.
As was the case in Friday°®¶¹app™s 5-1 loss at the Coliseum to the league-worst Cincinnati Cyclones, the Komets had a dreadful start. With the Wings enjoying a 5-minute power play because of Gorniak°®¶¹app™s retaliatory slew-foot, Collin Saccoman scored from 50 feet out for a 1-0 Wings lead 4:05 into the first period.
Volcan scored a power-play goal at 7:05, off the rebound of a Darren Brady shot, to set off the Komets°®¶¹app™ annual Teddy Bear Toss. Fans brought new or gently used stuffed animals to be pitched onto the ice after Fort Wayne°®¶¹app™s first goal, and they°®¶¹app™ll be distributed to Goodwill, the Lutheran Children°®¶¹app™s Hospital and Toys for Tots. The Komets announced 3,002 stuffed animals were collected. It was the second straight year a Volcan goal sparked the Teddy Bear Toss.
The Komets°®¶¹app™ power play, which was 0 for 10 in the previous four games combined, was 1 for 3 on Saturday. Kalamazoo°®¶¹app™s was 1 for 4.
The Komets had glorious chances to take the lead early in the second period, including a Cameron Supryka shot from point-blank range that was thwarted by Vorva and a Chase Bertholet shot that caromed off the post, but Kalamazoo°®¶¹app™s Ayden MacDonald was the one who succeeded in scoring with a shot from the left circle that caught Ungar high at 7:26.
The Komets' Kyle Mayhew, left, shows a stuffed animal to Nick Deakin-Poot after Nolan Volcan's goal Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. The Teddy Bear Toss, after the Komets' first goal against the Kalamazoo Wings, saw the stuffed animals collected for Goodwill, Lutheran Children's Hospital and Toys for Tots.
An all-too-familiar occurrence at the Coliseum °®¶¹app“ controversy over a goaltender interference decision °®¶¹app“ reared its head when the Wings°®¶¹app™ Ted Nichol scored off the rebound of a Travis Broughman shot for a 3-1 lead at 11:29. Broughman and Komets defenseman Noah Ganske collided with Ungar before the Nichol shot, impacting his ability to make a save, but referee Tyler Hascall upheld his goal call after looking at video replay.
McFaul netted a blistering slapshot from the right circle at 16:59 with the teams skating 4-on-4 because Bertholet was sent to the penalty box for tripping Ryan Naumovski, who got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for embellishing it.
Another bit of controversy came late in the second period when Kalamazoo°®¶¹app™s Zach Okabe went soaring into the boards after a scoring chance and Fort Wayne°®¶¹app™s Jack Dugan was assessed a boarding penalty for nudging him in that direction.
Vorva maintained the Wings°®¶¹app™ 3-2 lead by foiling Brandon McMcManus, who was all alone in front of the net for a shot, 9:27 into the third period.
The Komets are off until Friday when they face the expansion Bloomington Bison (8-10-2) for the first time 8 p.m. at Bloomington, Illinois.
