Ice Chips 06'-07'

Komets defeat Hounds 4-2

The Fort Wayne Komets have been looking for a few good minutes. Sixty of them, actually.

On Sunday night, they came pretty close to getting what they wanted.

In their most complete effort in weeks, the Western Conference-leading Komets defeated the Chicago Hounds 4-2 in the annual New Year's Eve game at Memorial Coliseum.

"That's as close to 60 minutes as we've played in (awhile)," Fort Wayne coach Pat Bingham said. "Well, it's never really 60 minutes. You're always looking for the elusive 60 minutes, the elusive perfect game with perfect decisions all over the ice. We made a great deal of them and carried momentum and play most of the game."

With the victory, the Komets improved to 33-13-4 all-time in Dec. 31 games at the Coliseum. This edition brought a plethora of special-teams actions -- Fort Wayne was 2 for 10 on the power play, Chicago was 2 for 9 -- and it helped erase the sting of Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Kalamazoo Wings.

"Things are starting to come together, I think," Fort Wayne center J.C. Ruid said. "For a little while, we figured that we'd win games instead of working hard to win games. We're starting to come together as a team and believe that if we play the 60 minutes, we're going to win."

Chicago (11-17-1), which is coached by Greg Puhalski, the former Fort Wayne coach, opened the scoring 9:26 into the first period. Center B.J. Radoslovich redirected a Greg Koehler shot into the net during a 5-on-3 power play.

Ruid answered during a power play at 12:37, when he jammed the rebound of own shot past goaltender Marty Magers. One minute later, Magers got in a fight with Fort Wayne's Pascal Morency, much to the delight of the 9,413 fans in attendance.

Fort Wayne (19-10-1) went ahead 2-1 on Matt Syroczynski's goal from long range at 17:27 of the first period, and Ruid set up right wing Bogdan Rudenko for a power-play goal and a 3-1 lead at 17:35 of the second period.

The Komets cemented the game with right wing David Hukalo's goal, off a rebound, at 7:10 of the third period. The Hounds answered with a Bob Rapoza power-play goal at 10:11, but they couldn't get anything else, even though they pulled the goalie for a 6-on-3 advantage in the final 1:31 of play.

The Komets outshot the Hounds 45-25, including 16-2 in the first 17 minutes of play.

Fort Wayne goaltender Kevin St. Pierre made 23 saves. Magers stopped 35 of 39 shots, while his backup, Corey Wogtech, stopped all six shots he faced.

The Komets play Wednesday at Elmira, N.Y.

• I'm not going to really delve into officiating, since I'm absolutely sick of the subject, but there are three things I would like to point out:  According to my interpretation of the rules, Magers should have gotten a misconduct for not having his jersey properly tied down, St. Pierre should have gotten a penalty for crossing the center-ice line, even though he didn't fight, and have you noticed how at the end of almost every game the number of power plays is close to equal for both teams? That's not a necessity, refs, so just call them as you see them and don't try to even things up.
• I thought it was really nice to see the players so appreciative of the fan turnout Sunday. The way they all stayed on the ice an extra second to thank the crowd was a touch this team should do more often.
• The game on Wednesday will not be on radio. Bob Chase will call the game Friday from Port Huron, Mich.
• Thanks to Icy D. Eagle for making an appearance in section 218. The kids there enjoyed it a lot.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

New photos

Janelle Sou Roberts has some good pictures from last night's Komets game. Click here.

And if you're interested, here' my column off of Saturday's Notre Dame hockey game at the Coliseum. Click here.

Finally, I need a new poll question. Any ideas? How about, "Are you sick of hearing about the officiating?"

Coach is hot, his team is not

Komets coach Pat Bingham is hot, and not just because his team coughed up a two-goal lead and lost to the Kalamazoo Wings 3-2 in an overtime shootout on Saturday night.

He was highly critical of the officiating, which he has deemed so inconsistent he doesn't know what to tell his players to do out on the ice on a nightly basis. I wish I could play the interview for you, but, well, it's just a bit too colorful.

"There's no consistency and I don't know what to tell our guys," Bingham said. "It might not be the story of this game but it's a story within a story. ... I see it and every guy on our team sees it. And it's my job to walk the line of staying calm and staying positive and not getting them to focus on the wrong things, but at the same time I have to let the referee know that this is outrageous. Nothing you do seems to be the right things."

Aside from that, the Komets need to work on playing with leads. In three of their last four games, they've coughed up leads because they lose their intensity or stop doing the things that worked.

• Center Martin Gascon has begun manning the point on the power play.
• After a slow start, Matt Syroczynski looks great. He and J.C. Ruid scored the two goals Saturday. Syroczysnki deflected credit for his success to his linemates, Ruid and Bogdan Rudenko. By the way, even though he limped off the ice in the last two minutes and didn't return, Syroczynski said he should be OK.
• Backup goalie Dan McWhinney helped Bingham select the players for the shootout. Even though the Komets failed to score, it was nice to see a coach putting that much trust in a player. McWhinney said Bingham has looked to him in that situation from the start.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

I don't believe my eyes

I can't believe what I just saw ... a Komets player police the ice.

Midway through the second period, Kalamazoo's Jason Lawmaster, one of the dirtier players in the league, evaded a hit and elbowed Fort Wayne's Bogdan Rudenko in the head. On the ensuing power play, Fort Wayne's Matt Syroczynski scored to make it 2-0.

After that, Fort Wayne's Brent Henley sent a message by fighting Jason Lawmaster. Henley won a close, short fight, by the way.

It's about time someone sent a message like this. Just a small part of the game, sure, but if someone cracks one of your star players, you've got to let them know there will be a price. Old school, and I like it.

And I hadn't seen it from this team in quite some time.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Reeds is coaching

Mark Reeds will be coaching the Kalamazoo Wings tonight. He missed last night's game because of personal reasons.

Hansen likely in

It's likely that Komets defenseman Kevin Hansen, out since Dec. 8 with a concussion, will be in the lineup tonight.

I've heard mixed statements on whether or not Kalamazoo coach Mark Reeds, who missed his team's game Friday for personal reasons, will be back behind the bench tonight at Memorial Coliseum. If he's not, general manager Paul Pickard will coach the defending Colonial Cup champions.

• A column from the Fayetteville Observer on the decrease in toughness in the Southern Professional Hockey League can be read by clicking here. I guess it's going on everywhere.
• Komets general manager David Franke attended the college hockey game at the Coliseum this afternoon, which saw third-ranked Notre Dame defeat Northern Michigan 4-3. He was hoping to find some players to bring in down the line. As for the game, it was exciting, well played and, best of all, well officiated. Mark Wilkins, who used to call Komets games in the International Hockey League, was the referee. Wish we could get him in the UHL.
• I reported several weeks back that Flint Generals star Tony Tuzzolino might leave the team to play in Europe. According to The Flint Journal, he hasn't yet decided on that, so he's still with the Generals. His brother, Nick, left the Komets last week to return to juniors.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Labarre out 6-8 weeks, at least

Komets forward J.F. Labarre broke his wrist in two places and will be out 6-to-8 weeks, general manager David Franke said. The injury occurred in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Chicago Hounds, when Labarre was checked into the boards. He had surgery, which included inserting a plate, Thursday afternoon. The Komets have no immediate plans to bring in a replacement, though forward Daniel Goneau will return to the lineup Friday at Bloomington, Ill., after being granted a four-game holiday vacation. Labarre has four goals and 10 points in 24 games this season.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets lose 5-1

The most pivotal week of the season thus far isn’t progressing well for the Fort Wayne Komets.

They lost 5-1 to the Chicago Hounds at Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Wednesday, giving them two losses in as many nights.

And they have another three games in the next four days with which to deal.

Defenseman Guy Dupuis had the Komets’ only goal, during a power play at 14:30 of the second period. That pulled them to within one goal of the Hounds, an expansion team coached by Greg Puhalski, Fort Wayne’s coach the previous six seasons.

The Hounds answered with goals from Todd Grant, Matt Amado and Maris Ziedens, the latter goal being an empty-netter.

This came one night after the Komets lost 3-1 at home to the Rockford IceHogs. Now the IceHogs remain only four points back of Fort Wayne for first place in the Western Conference.

Komets goaltender Kevin St. Pierre stopped 19 of 23 shots. Marty Magers stopped 26 of 27 for the Hounds, who have the second worst record in the UHL at 10-15-1.

Fort Wayne (17-10-0) plays again Friday at Bloomington, Ill. At that time, the Komets, who are 6-7-0 over their last 13 games, will look to re-establish their winning ways.

More inconsistency

The Fort Wayne Komets are frustrated. They may be atop the Western Conference standings with a 17-9-0 record but they've gone 6-6-0 over their last 12 games. Mystifying, to say the least.

They lost 3-1 to the Rockford IceHogs on Tuesday. Yeah, you can blame the two short-handed goals they gave up. But ask coach Pat Bingham, and he'll tell you it was also because his team wasn't playing the physical brand of hockey it had to the entire way.

But it's more than just not hitting enough; the Komets are making the same mistakes over and over again, like turning the puck over at center ice and getting caught on line changes. Bingham didn't name names, but he expressed aggravation that the same players are the ones making mistakes. He said he'll talk to them, threaten their jobs, make them go over things in practice and they'll get it for a while, then fall into their old bad habits.

Bingham's not the only one saying it; some of his leaders are, too.

• Rockford plays on the edge of out of control, and I like watching it. They were trying to hit everything in sight in the third period. Sure, they missed a lot, but the Komets didn't match that intensity.
• There were some players who really battled hard and got some bumps and bruises to show for it, like Matt Syroczynski and Pascal Morency.
• It was a heated game at times, yet they only combined for 30 penalty minutes.
• This is the biggest stretch of the season thus far for Fort Wayne, which plays five games in six days.
• I counted three blatantly missed offsides calls and two obvious too-many-men situations that were overlooked.
• So you don't have to wait until morning, here's Bingham's press conference. It's long but if you stick with it, he says some really interesting things: Download pat_binghams_press_conference_tuesday.WMA

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tempers flaring

The Komets and Rockford IceHogs behaved themselves for about 37 minutes of play, but things are getting heated now.

With the Komets trailing 2-1 late in the second period -- they gave up a pair of short-handed goals -- things got hot when Robin Big Snake collided with Fort Wayne's Pascal Morency. After that, Mario Larocque knocked off Preston Mizzi's helmet, Nicolas Corbeil responded by slashing Larocque and, just before the second period ended, Bruce Richardson knocked Nathan Lutz on his butt, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Neither coach looks too pleased right now.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Frenchy honored, Henley sitting

Fort Wayne's Kevin St. Pierre was selected as the UHL' s Goaltender of the Week. He went 2-0-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. It is the third time this season he's received the honor.

Quad City's Don Parsons was Player of the Week with five goals and seven points in three games.

• Komets defenseman Brent Henley sat out Saturday's game against Quad City and he must sit out tonight's game against Rockford because he had two games remaining on a four-game suspension from the ECHL, where he started the season with Pensacola. The various AA-level leagues are supposed to honor their respective suspensions. The Komets were unaware of the suspension, which is why Henley was able to play one game with Fort Wayne last week, general manager David Franke said. The Komets will not be penalized, Franke said, adding the UHL also wasn't aware of Henley's suspension either.
• The Komets will wear a new third jersey Sunday night, featuring the Kaptain Komet spaceman logo. They plan to wear it every Sunday the rest of the season.
• K.J. Voorhees won't play tonight because of a wrist injury, Franke said, while also out are Kevin Hansen (concussion) and Daniel Goneau, who is away two more games for the holidays, per his contract agreement.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

St. Pierre's take on playing

It's always a hot topic around here: Why don't the Komets ever play their backup goalies?

I have often stated that Kevin St. Pierre likes to play a lot of games, as one of the possible reasons for that. Well, Frenchy would like to set me straight and I'm glad he's making the effort.

According to St. Pierre, there is nothing in his contract guaranteeing he play a certain number of games, when healthy he has no input on when or if he plays and he hasn't ever demanded to play on a particular night.

He doesn't want to be known as a selfish hockey player, and I don't blame him, so he asked that this all be expressed to the fans. The coaching staff decides who's in the lineup every night. Although, there are higher-ups who have said through the years that St. Pierre likes to play back-to-back nights, etc. But that's not what St. Pierre is saying to me now.

So why do the Komets keep playing St. Pierre so much? I think it's as simple as this: They have arguably the best goalie in the UHL, he's playing awfully well and why mess with a winning streak?

I believe we need to see more of Dan McWhinney this season -- you don't want to get caught with an unexperienced backup if and when he needs to play -- and I think we will. It probably won't ever be as often as the fans would like, but if St. Pierre keeps up his torrid pace, and stays injury free, no one should complain with that.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets win ... again

The Fort Wayne Komets have been looking for consistency. Perhaps they’ve found it.

After alternating between wins and losses during an 11-game stretch, the Komets have finally won back-to-back games.

On Saturday, they defeated the Quad City Mallards 3-2 at Moline, Ill., and it wasn’t easy. The Western Conference-leading Komets fell behind 14 seconds into the game, after Justin Chwedoruk scored, but the Komets fired back with three straight goals, courtesy of David Hukalo, Matt Syroczynski and Bogdan Rudenko.

Then Fort Wayne had to hang on, as it was outshot 32-14 in the final two periods, 42-35 for the game, with the Mallards’ Chad Woollard netting the final goal 12:17 into the second period.

Goaltender Kevin St. Pierre had 40 saves, a night after he paced the Komets to a 4-2 victory over the Elmira Jackals.

Newly signed rookie center Scott Seney tallied two assists in his debut Saturday, as the Komets played without star forwards J.C. Ruid and Daniel Goneau, both granted holiday break in their contracts. Ruid will be back for Tuesday’s game against the visiting Rockford IceHogs, while Goneau will be absent another two games.

The Komets improved to 17-8-0. The Mallards are 10-13-3.

Chaulk is fine

Former Komets center Colin Chaulk is healthy, not suffering from any sort of back injury and is still playing in Italy, despite what was printed on a blog entry Friday night.

The information that Chaulk was injured had come from Komets general manager David Franke, who mixed up Chaulk and former Fort Wayne player Andrew Luciuk.

Franke apologized for the error and my apologies certainly go to Chaulk that it was on the web.

Chaulk is third on HC Alleghe in scoring with nine goals and 21 points in 20 games.

Here's the story I did on him in November: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/hockey/15969100.htm

By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

My all-star ballot

OK, I filled out my all-star ballot. It's near impossible to do when you can't choose players on your own team -- in the Western Conference, do you pick the guy that's minus-20 or has five points?

Also, how on earth does Lucas Drake, with three games played, get on the Eastern Conference ballot?

From each conference, I could pick two goalies, four defensemen, six forwards and one rookie.

Anyway, here's who I picked from the Western Conference: Goalies Marty Magers from Chicago and Frederic Cloutier of Rockford, defensemen Chris Busby from Chicago, Andrei Lupandin from Quad City, Matt Gens from Rockford and Nathan Lutz from Rockford, forwards Alex Goupil from Bloomington, Mike Brolsma from Chicago, Don Parsons from Quad City, Chad Woollard from Quad City, Nicolas Corbeil from Rockford and Kevin Ulanski from Rockford. The rookie pick: Justin Chwedoruk from Quad City.

As for the Eastern Conference: Goalies Clayton Pool of Muskegon and Tom Askey of Kalamazoo, defensemen Jeff Brown from Kalamazoo, Adam Elzinga from Kalamazoo, Philippe Plante from Muskegon and Dave Van Drunen from Muskgon, forwards Brent Cullaton of Elmira, Jeff Zehr from Flint, Nick Bootland from Kalamazoo, Rustyn Dolyny of Muskegon, Todd Robinson of Muskegon and Ryan Markham of Port Huron. The rookie I picked was Elias Godoy of Muskegon.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Ruid going ... for 1 game

It seems the Komets' holiday spirit knows no end. Center J.C. Ruid will miss Saturday's game against the Quad City Mallards to be with his family over the holiday. It was a prerequisite of him signing with the Komets last summer.

He is the second player with such a caveat, it turns out. Daniel Goneau is able to miss four games, the first of which was Friday's 4-2 victory over the Elmira Jackals.

The Komets looked good in the game, getting goals from Guy Dupuis, Bruce Richardson, Jonathan Goodwin and Ruid, but they let down a bit in the third period, giving up a pair of goals. The consensus in the locker room was they played well but still need to string together 60 good minutes of hockey.

They hope they can do so at Quad City; Fort Wayne has alternated between wins and losses over the last 10 games and the Komets want a winning streak.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

On boring game, Seney

Pretty boring game so far. The Komets lead it 1-0 on Guy Dupuis' power-play goal. And there hasn't been a hint of a fight between the Komets and the Elmira Jackals.

I'm sticking with it: Over/under on penalty minutes is 25.

• Look for center Scott Seney to make his debut with the Komets on Saturday at Quad City.
• Since I continue to get questions about this, no, there's no chance Colin Chaulk plays for the Komets this season. Because he was under contract in the UHL and then went to Europe, he's not eligible to play in the UHL this season. In fact, since other leagues are supposed to honor contacts, he may not be eligible anywhere in North American.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tuzzolino gone

Komets defenseman Nick Tuzzolino has left the team, general manager David Franke said. His rights in juniors were traded from Sudbury to Sarnia, so he's going to play there so he can get greater exposure to NHL scouts.

Tuzzolino was drafted by the New York Islanders.

"He feels that becase he's an unsigned free agent, he needs to be playing in juniors where he can be seen by NHL scouts ever night," Franke said.

Tuzzolino was scoreless in six game with Fort Wayne.

• Though the UHL reported that Elmira waived Milan Maslonka on Dec. 14, commissioner Richard Brosal said that was an error -- a player cannot be waived while he's serving a suspension, as Maslonka is for his actions earlier this month against the Komets.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

New player/All-Star ballot

The Komets have signed 26-year-old defenseman Brent Henley, 6-foot-7, 250 pounds. He had been with Pensacola of the ECHL, tallying one goal, six points and 94 penalty minutes in 16 games.

He's believed to be the biggest player ever to skate for the Komets.

He's played in the American Hockey League, too, and looks as if he'll be a physical presence. (He has eclipsed the 250 penalty-minute mark three times in his career.)

In other news, the Fort Wayne players on the all-star ballot are goaltender Kevin St. Pierre, defensemen Mario Larocque and Guy Dupuis, plus forwards Jonathan Goodwin, Bruce Richardson, J.C. Ruid and Martin Gascon.

Gascon made it the ballot as a rookie, of which there are five on the Western Conference options.

Finally, the referee for tonight's game between the Komets and Elmira Jackals will be Jim Hawthorne.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Brosal is coming

I just found out from the league that UHL commissioner Richard Brosal should be in attendance at the game Friday between the Komets and the Jackals. More reason to believe the teams will be behaving themselves.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

How many PIMs will there be?

OK, I'm putting the over/under for penalty minutes in Friday night's game at 25 -- for the Komets and Elmira Jackals combined.

This will probably be a perfect case of much ado about nothing. Lots of people will expect the brawling to continue and it will probably end up tame because the league will be watching. Although I wouldn't be completely shocked if we did see some extracurricular activity because the Jackals really do need to win this game -- they've lost 8 of 10 games, making them the coldest team in the league -- and the physical stuff is a component of their game.

So maybe Pascal Morency will square off with someone and then we can watch some hockey. If it's more than that, fine by me. Makes for a better story. But I wouldn't count on it.

• The NHL is talking about increasing the size of nets. In this story, Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla bemoans the idea.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Goodwin's ex-coach not surprised

I was recently speaking with former Komets player Paul Pooley, who is an associate coach with Notre Dame. ( I am doing a story on him next week to preview the Notre Dame vs. Northern Michigan game at Memorial Coliseum on Dec. 30.) Pooley formerly was head coach at Providence, where he groomed Komets star Jonathan Goodwin.

I asked Pooley if he was surprised that Goodwin, who was a more defensive-minded player in college, has turned into such a goal-scorer.

"I'm not surprised," he said. "I saw Jon come in as a freshman and continue to work and work. By the time he was a junior, he was on one of our top lines. He just continued to work on things in the offseason. He and Stephen Wood, who was an all-American, used to stay out on the ice after practice all the time. I'm not surprised that Jon is doing so well."

Pooley, by the way, said he hasn't seen the Coliseum since it was renovated but he's looking forward to it. His wife, Kelly, hails from Fort Wayne.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Dating back to Nov. 17

Remember the Komets' thrilling 8-1 victory over the Elmira Jackals on Nov. 17? It's amazing what that kicked off.

In hindsight, you can look at that game and reasonably extrapolate that's why there were brawls and so much tension in the teams' games Dec. 8 and 9, which included an off-ice confrontation between Jackals general manager Robbie Nichols and Fort Wayne player Bruce Richardson. Perhaps the Jackals weren't just trying to get the fans going; maybe they were just mighty embarrassed by the 8-1 loss and wanted to send a message back to the Komets.

It was also when the Jackals began to sink in the standings and the rematch with the Komets was the first game in which Nichols was behind the bench. On Wednesday, the Jackals put him back behind the bench full-time, bumping Kris Waltze to assistant coach.

The teams meet again Friday night, at Memorial Coliseum, and whatever happens, it seems you can trace it to one lopsided Komets victory.

Speaking of Friday, the Komets said ticket sales have been very high. They are expecting around 8,000 fans, which would be about 1,500 more than they expected when this game was initially scheduled.

"It's probably the most talked about game we've had in a while," Komets president Michael Franke said.

And, yes, security will be heightened at the Coliseum. I'll have more on that Friday.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Talk about timing

Robbie Nichols has added head coaching to his duties with the Elmira Jackals, two days before the Jackals take on the Komets in the first game since the teams had their brawl-filled weekend out in New York.

Kris Waltze was retained as an assistant coach.

Nichols, also the team's general manager, was suspended three games for his actions, which included a confrontation with Fort Wayne's Bruce Richardson.

Elmira is 13-13-0 and tied for fourth in the UHL with 26 points. The Komets are 15-8-0.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

The guy is Seney

The Komets have 23-year-old center Scott Seney in on a tryout. He is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and he's played 11 games this season with Arizona of the Central Hockey League, tallying three goals and four points. He's also played two games with Phoenix of the ECHL in this, his rookie season.

Pascal Morency was put on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, but that's not why he wasn't playing last weekend. The Komets are sticking to the broken skates story. They put him on IR retroactively because he does have a shoulder injury -- remember, he separated it last month -- and it saves them some roster space. But that's not why he wasn't playing.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

From the league office

According to UHL commissioner Richard Brosal, on Friday night Kalamazoo goaltender Tom Askey's pads "were measured and they were legal." He called the contrary reporting by another newspaper "negligent."

In other thoughts, do you think the loss of Daniel Goneau for four games will cause the Komets a lot of problems? I think he's more valuable than he's given credit for being.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Scoops galore

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- OK, the word on Pascal Morency is that he's not being punished by coach Pat Bingham. After playing only one shift Friday and being a healthy scratch Saturday, both said it was because of equipment problems. Morency's skates, apparently, began falling apart and he didn't have good replacements.

And here's the news on Goneau: He will miss 11 days and four games because he's leaving Sunday to be with his family over the holidays. It was written into his contract last summer that he could do so. He's the first Komets player to have such a stipulation since Brent Gretzky is 2001-02.

As for the game, the Komets lost 4-2 to the Kalamazoo Wings. In their last 10 games, the Komets have lost every other game, leading center Bruce Richardson to say: "We need to hate losing more than we like winning."

He said the Komets' don't have that mentality yet and that's why, when they tied the game at 2, the Wings were able to come right back with a couple of third period goals. I agree that the Komets let down in the third period, after they came out hitting everything in sight for 10 minutes.

• Bingham believes his team played well this weekend but he pointed out the Wings did a good job of using the "home-ice advantage" that lets them make the last line change. It enabled them to have Lucas Drake's line against more tired Fort Wayne players.
• The Komets were incensed with the work put in by referee Neil Christopher. I don't blame them. Not only did he make some phantom calls early, he missed some blatant stuff late. That included Chris McAllister spearing Jonathan Goodwin in front of the Wings net and about 10 feet from Christopher, who must have seen it. Shocking non-call.
• With Goneau gone, who's the player that'll have to step up the most? I would say Morency. He needs to show he can be more than just an agitator. It's also time for Syroczynski to prove he can be a second-line player.

By the way, Happy Hanukkah.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets trailing 2-1

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Not much to report after a ho-hum period. Both teams got power-play goals and the Kalamazoo Wings lead the Komets 2-1.

Lucas Drake has both Wings goals, while Matt Syroczynski has the Komets' tally. Interestingly, he was a healthy scratch on Friday.

Coach Pat Bingham has had good luck with getting players to respond to when they're scratched. Maybe that means Pascal Morency will break out in the next game.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

It's raining Teddy Bears

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Komets trail the Kalamazoo Wings 1-0 after one period of play at Wings Stadium. The goal came on a nice redirection by Lucas Drake, whose last goal was the Colonial Cup winner last spring.

After the goal, the fans threw hundreds of teddy bears on the ice, as part of a local promotion that gives them to charities and hospitals.

The Wings are 10-0 all-time on Teddy Bear toss nights. That's not good news for the Komets.

This game, so far, has been much better than last night's. A lot more hitting. Although, referee Neil Christopher has called some phantom penalties on the Wings. He's not my favorite official.

• Komets officials have confirmed that tonight will be forward Daniel Goneau's last game for a while. It was written into his contract that he could take the holidays off to be with his family and he will miss at least two games.  I will try to find out a more definite day of his return. I believe the last Fort Wayne player to take off like this was Brent Gretzky.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Honkanen in, along with a fracas

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Defenseman Jani Honkanen is on the ice during warm-ups, so it looks like he'll be playing after sitting for a couple weeks.

There are already a lot of Fort Wayne fans up here at Wings Stadium, so it should be a nice atmosphere.

Wings officials, including their equipment manager, are furious about a story that circulated from another media outlet saying that Wings goalie Tom Askey's pads were illegal and he had to wear the backup's in the Komets' 2-1 victory Friday. The Wings said it's untrue; a measurement took place and they were deemed legal.

I only bring it up because people keep yelling at me. Ah, mistaken identity not so nice.

The referee tonight is Neil Christopher.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

A bit boring, but good

Yes, that was a bit of a boring game. But it was a pretty impressive one for the Komets, who won 2-1. The Kalamazoo Wings are a fundamentally sound team -- Mark Reeds-coached teams always are -- and if you can cause turnovers and score on them, you're doing well for yourself.

Both of the Komets' goals, from David Hukalo and Bruce Richardson, were off turnovers.

Goaltender Kevin St. Pierre was the true hero for the Komets, stopping 33 shots, including a breakaway in the third period and an impressive glove save against Nick Bootland on a power play.

Fort Wayne coach Pat Bingham was pleased his team responded to its flat effort in Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Chicago with a much more fiery performance Friday. Now he just wants his team playing more consistently.

He also was impressed with the Wings and how hard they forecheck. He'll get to see that again Saturday night at Kalamazoo, Mich.

"That team makes you pay and they drive the net hard, too," Bingham said. "If they get the puck in the offensive zone, they drive the net hard with multiple guys."

Which probably explains why St. Pierre lost his cool a couple times, after the Wings' players were whacking at the puck with their sticks, even though he had it covered.

• Hukalo, whose goal came on a 50-foot slapshot, was surprised the puck went in. He said he just wanted it on net.
• Pascal Morency barely got on the ice tonight. I'm not sure why.
• Will we ever see Dan McWhinney play again? He hasn't been in net since Nov. 15 and the Komets have played 10 times since then. And no, I wouldn't have qualms about playing him tonight. What a better learning experience? They have to get him some action some time.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets leading; I'm confused

The Komets took advantage of another turnover to take a 2-0 lead over the Kalamazoo Wings.

This time, it was J.F. Labarre who caused the turnover with a good forecheck, then the puck came to center Bruce Richardson in the slot. He fired a slapshot past goalie Tom Askey at 14:02 of the second period.

It's been a spirited second period and the Komets are causing problems for the Wings, one of the league's most fundamentally sound teams.

There hasn't been much tension in this game, with the exception of Komets goalie Kevin St. Pierre losing his cool a couple of times when Wings players were trying to get at pucks he had covered. It is a home-and-home series, though, so things are sure to get heated at some point.

Meanwhile, I've been giving some thought to the situation in which Milan Maslonka was waived. He was the Elmira player suspended 10 games for his actions in last weekend's brawling with the Komets.

I don't pretend to know why he was waived by Elmira, but I do know this: What he did was while he was with the Jackals and he should remain a part of that club until his suspension is over. According to Fort Wayne general manager David Franke, any team that picks up Maslonka will have to sit him 10 games and since leagues are supposed to honor other leagues' suspensions, that pretty much means he won't be picked up. That doesn't seem fair to the player, who, by the way, won't be getting paid for those 10 games.

The good news is the Jackals cannot fill that roster spot until the 10 games is up.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

I didn't know he had it in him

The Komets lead the Kalamazoo Wings, defending Colonial Cup champions, 1-0 late in the first period at Memorial Coliseum.

The goal came, short-handed, from David Hukalo. He intercepted a pass, glided into the offensive zone nonchalantly, wound up and blazed a slapshot past goaltender Tom Askey. I didn't know Hukalo had that kind of shooting capability. Apparently, neither did Askey.

Still, the Komets look tentative, as they apparently did in Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Chicago.

• Just so you know, in our multimedia archive, we will be putting the old video interviews, such as the one I had with Bruce Richardson earlier in the season.
• The Elmira Jackals have waived Milan Maslonka, who was suspended 10 games for his part in the brawls between the Komets and Jackals last weekend.
• Click here to see my story on the Komets being the oldest team in the UHL, statistically.
• Does anybody happen to know where Jason Jaworski is playing? An acquaintance of the same surname is curious.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

A tight group

I was talking with a couple of the players for a story tomorrow, and they mentioned how different the leadership is on this season's team.

Whereas in the past, the older players would speak up and whatever was said would become the rule, now all the players have a say in what goes on. I thought that was interesting because it means the older players must trust the guys around them.

Of course, the veterans are making sure they micromanage a little bit. Guy Dupuis is often showing the young guys drills and things to do on the ice, Kevin St. Pierre is working with his backup goaltender a lot, and Bruce Richardson is drilling the forwards.

The players are, also, having a lot more fun than in recent seasons. After practice, people don't just hop right off the ice; they stick around and goof off, coaches sometimes included. And on the road, the players stay up all night talking and go to dinner together.

We'll have to see if this atmosphere of fun keeps up even in tough times. I hope so because it makes them much more fun to be around.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Some positive news

How about some positive UHL news for a change? Check out my story on the impact of visors in the UHL over the past two seasons by clicking here. I wasn't a big fan of this rule at the start -- I think I was influenced by the players -- but it's been a good thing.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

My thoughts, explanation on Larocque

I think the UHL got it mostly correct with its suspensions. Mostly.

I'm surprised that Elmira's general manager, Robbie Nichols, only got a three-game suspension. He was coaching the team, so he has to bear the responsibility for his players leaving the bench to fight, intending to injure and inciting these brawls. Also, it was Nichols who was in the locker room area, sources said, challenging Fort Wayne's Bruce Richardson.

His punishment amounts to not being able to coach the team for three games? He wasn't supposed to be coaching them in the first place? The UHL dropped the ball on that one, big time. Hopefully his fine was extremely substantial, or I wish he would have gotten at least as much as his worst offender, Milan Maslonka, and gotten 10 games.

The UHL did a good job in making sure that the suspended players, Curtis Tidball, Maslonka and Chanse Fitzpatrick, cannot play Fort Wayne again in the regular season.

For those wondering why Fort Wayne's Mario Larocque didn't get a suspension, it's because his misconducts fell under rule 47, general manager David Franke said, and they were his first two of the season. An accumulation of five of those would result in a suspension, Franke said.

Larocque did enter last weekend with two misconducts for instigating fights, but those fall under a separate category, and one more of those would result in an automatic suspension.

"I think what (the league) did was necessary and warranted," Franke said. "From my standpoint, the issue is closed. The league responded correctly and strongly and it sends a message that this league won't tolerate this type of behavior on the ice.

"And I'm very proud of our coach, Pat Bingham, and our players. Yeah, we fought. But we fought to defend ourselves and to do it on the ice. I'm very pleased with the fact that we didn't resort to goon tactics and didn't bring ourselves down to that level. I'm proud of our control and I think that's important. The rulings bear that out."

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Suspensions handed down

This press release just came from the UHL:

LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- The United Hockey League (UHL) announced Tuesday the following suspensions resulting from team and player actions during UHL Game #104, Fort Wayne @ Elmira, on Friday, December 8th.

Elmira Jackals right wing Curtis Tidball has been suspended six (6) games for his actions in an altercation.  The suspension is being issued under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline).  Tidball will be ineligible to participate in the following games:

UHL Game #118, Elmira @ Port Huron, on Friday, December 15th

UHL Game #122, Elmira @ Flint, on Saturday, December 16th

UHL Game #126, Elmira @ Kalamazoo, on Sunday, December 17th

UHL Game #130, Elmira @ Fort Wayne, on Friday, December 22nd

UHL Game #134, Elmira @ Chicago, on Saturday, December 23rd

UHL Game #162, Fort Wayne @ Elmira, on Wednesday, January 3rd

He was fined an undisclosed amount.

Elmira Jackals right wing Chanse Fitzpatrick has been suspended two (2) games for his actions in an altercation.  The suspension is being issued under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline).  Fitzpatrick will be ineligible to participate in the following games:

UHL Game #130, Elmira @ Fort Wayne, on Friday, December 22nd

UHL Game #162, Fort Wayne @ Elmira, on Wednesday, January 3rd

He was fined an undisclosed amount

The coaching staffs of both the Fort Wayne Komets and Elmira Jackals were issued undisclosed fines under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline). 

Both organizations were issued undisclosed fines under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline).

Elmira Jackals coach Robbie Nichols is being suspended three (3) games under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline) for being in a restricted area off the ice.

Fort Wayne Komets general manager David Franke was issued an undisclosed fine under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline) for being in a restricted area off the ice.

Fort Wayne Komets center Bruce Richardson was issued an undisclosed fine under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline) for being in a restricted area off the ice.

Elmira Jackals defenseman Milan Maslonka has been suspended three (3) games for his actions in an altercation.  The suspension is being issued under Rule 29 (Supplementary Discipline).  Maslonka will be ineligible to participate in the following games:

UHL Game #118, Elmira @ Port Huron, on Friday, December 15th

UHL Game #122, Elmira @ Flint, on Saturday, December 16th

UHL Game #126, Elmira @ Kalamazoo, on Sunday, December 17th

In addition, Maslonka has been suspended seven (7) games for receiving a Match Penalty during UHL Game #107, Fort Wayne @ Elmira, on Saturday, December 9th.  The suspension is being issued under Rule 59.4 (Cross-Checking).  He will be ineligible to participate in the following games:

UHL Game #130, Elmira @ Fort Wayne, on Friday, December 22nd

UHL Game #134, Elmira @ Chicago, on Saturday, December 23rd

UHL Game #148, Port Huron @ Elmira, on Friday, December 29th

UHL Game #153, Elmira @ Port Huron, on Saturday, December 30th

UHL Game #156, Elmira @ Port Huron, on Sunday, December 31st

UHL Game #162, Fort Wayne @ Elmira, on Wednesday, January 3rd

UHL Game #166, Elmira @ Flint, on Friday, January 5th

He was fined an undisclosed amount.

“Actions of this nature will not be tolerated in this league,” stated Richard Brosal, UHL President/CEO.  “We can accept hard-hitting and toughness within the realm of play, but these actions went beyond those boundaries.  Safety of players is very important and we do not want that compromised.  These suspensions and fines send the message that this type of behavior is unacceptable in the UHL.”

Bye George

The Komets will not be signing forward Michael George. At least not this year.

General manager David Franke said that because the U.S. has hit its yearly cap on H2B visas, required for foreign hockey players to work in this country, the Komets will not be able to arrange for him to sign with the Komets until after Jan. 1, 2007. It also means the Komets will not be able to sign any other players who don't have the H2Bs until that time.

• Still no official word on suspensions for the Komets or Elmira Jackals from last weekend's brawling. It should come down later today.
• The Komets may be without forward K.J. Voorhees on Wednesday at Chicago. He has a calf injury, Franke said.
• The Flint Journal's Brendan Savage has a column on how it's time for Jackals general manager Robbie Nichols to get out or be forced out of the league. It's an interesting perspective, since Savage has covered Nichols, a former Generals coach.
• Youtube.com has lots of video from the weekend games. Click here to see the first big melee, in which Curtis Tidball of Elmira somehow ends up with almost all of his uniform off.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Ruid honored/league discusses

Komets center J.C. Ruid was selected as the UHL's player of the week, after he had three goals and six points in two games against the Elmira Jackals.

Also, the UHL held a two-hour conference call with members of the Komets and Jackals, regarding the two penalty-marred games, which included brawls and a postgame confrontation between Jackals general manager Robbie Nichols and Komets center Bruce Richardson outside the locker rooms.

Participating in the conference call were UHL commissioner Richard Brosal, vice-president of hockey operations Brad Jones, Komets general manager David Franke, Komets coach Pat Bingham, Richardson, Nichols, Elmira coach Kris Waltze and a supervisor of officials.

The UHL will announce any suspensions Tuesday or, possibly, Wednesday morning. The UHL is reviewing video from the games and Franke submitted a five-page synopsis of things he witnessed.

The Komets play the Chicago Hounds on Wednesday night.

• If any of the Fort Wayne players gets a suspension, I suspect it will be defenseman Mario Larocque, who was the third man in a fight Saturday. Also look for Curtis Tidball of Elmira and, probably, Nichols to receive some punishment.
• Here's another idea: Instead of just a straight suspension, perhaps some of the parties involved shouldn't be allowed to play when these teams meet the rest of the season. That was a tactic used in the International Hockey League with success. What do you think?
• And why have the same referee two nights in a row with the same two teams? That's just asking for trouble, at least if he does a poor job of keeping order.
• Komets defenseman Kevin Hansen, who has a concussion, will not play Wednesday. He was hurt in a fight with Tidball.
• By the way, don't forget about my weekly foray into radio on 98.9 FM, about 9 a.m Tuesday with the TNT Morning Show. I'm sure we'll have more than enough to talk about.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets are angry

Fort Wayne Komets radio broadcaster Bob Chase summed up the weekend’s events like this: “I’ve been around the Komets for 54 years and I’ve not seen anything any worse than that.”

The Komets aren’t talking much about their weekend set of games at Elmira, N.Y., but they’re clearly peeved.

On Monday, the team will be sending videotape to the league office, in hopes that it addresses events that took place where Fort Wayne lost 3-2 on Friday and won 5-3 on Saturday.

“There were too many incidents to recite, just unnecessary stuff,” Komets coach Pat Bingham said of the Elmira Jackals.

Asked to elaborate, Bingham said, “There were just a lot of things that took place. There were several incidents and we’ll see what the conclusions are.”

Bingham had no further comment. But box scores don’t lie.

In the two games, the teams combined for 385 penalty minutes and 18 misconducts. There were penalties for things like intent to injure (Elmira’s Milan Maslonka), leaving the bench to fight (Elmira’s Curtis Tidball) and continuing an altercation (Fort Wayne’s Mario Larocque).

“Our strength as a team is to try and play hockey and to focus on sticking to hockey,” Komets captain Guy Dupuis said. “That’s our game plan and some teams, they see that we are pretty good squad and they’ll try to physically come at us. Credit our team for staying focused.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, behind Elmira’s bench both games was Jackals general manager Robbie Nichols, a former UHL coach known for fielding tough and unpredictable teams. (Kris Waltze, the Jackals’ head coach, was also behind the bench.)

Things got out of control Saturday when Elmira’s Scott Wray charged Fort Wayne goaltender Kevin St. Pierre, inciting a melee. There was another brawl in the third period that included Maslonka fighting J.C. Ruid, who had three goals and two assists in the game. An Elmira player also blindsided Fort Wayne's  Bruce Richardson. When that calmed down, Nichols was ejected for actions behind the bench with seven seconds left in the game.

That’s when things really got wild. According to sources, Nichols found his way to the area just outside the Fort Wayne locker room and, sleeves rolled up, challenged Richardson, an assistant coach. Larocque separated the two.

Fort Wayne general manager David Franke also got in a shouting match with Nichols.

Police had to be called to First Arena.

“In the league, you don’t want to see that happen,” Dupuis said. “There’s emotion on the ice. Fighting happens on the ice, hockey stirs up emotion sometimes. But you kind of hope the rink, the facilities and the arena, they would provide good enough security. It’s kind of tough for the people to shut down their emotions. … The dressing rooms are so close. You’ve got to have a couple of security guards. People have emotion and are so full of energy and stuff like that will can happen.”

Some of Fort Wayne's star players have expressed reservations about continuing to play in a league that allows things like this to go on.

“That was worse than old-time hockey,” Chase said.

Fort Wayne plays host to Elmira on Dec. 22.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Guy Dupuis video

We have a new video interview with Komets captain Guy Dupuis up. Thanks TO videographer Dean Musser for his work on this.

http://jordan.fortwayne.com/jgweb/video/120706-Dupuis.html

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Save the music

I just got this press release from the UHL. I wish this were going to be in Fort Wayne.

The United Hockey League (UHL) announced Wednesday that it is teaming up with VH1 to present the “UHL Battle of the Bands” competition.  Six UHL teams will host local bands at upcoming games that will compete for a trip to New York and an opportunity to perform for music executives.  Proceeds from the UHL Battle of the Bands will benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

“We are excited to partner with VH1 and present this unique promotion,” stated Richard Brosal, UHL President/CEO.  “These events will provide a fun atmosphere at upcoming UHL games and give some local bands a great opportunity to compete for something special.  Above all, this initiative will benefit an outstanding cause by generating funds for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.”

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America’s public schools by restoring music programs in cities across the country, and raising public awareness about the importance of music participation for our nation’s youth.  Since its inception in 1997, VH1 Save The Music has donated more than $34 million worth of musical instruments to 1,400 public schools in 80 cities, improving the lives of more than 800,000 children.

“We are thrilled to be working with the UHL on this innovative promotion that will help the VH1 Save The Music Foundation restore instrumental music programs in communities across the country,” said Paul Cothran, Executive Director, VH1 Save The Music Foundation.   “All funds raised from this partnership will help The Foundation put musical instruments directly in the hands of U.S. public schools students.  We are so very grateful for the support of the UHL and we wish all participating bands the best of luck!”

As a part of the initiative, UHL clubs will invite bands from their local area to perform at future home games.  Winners from these local competitions will then compete for the grand prize, which involves meeting and performing for music executives with the potential of earning a recording contract.  In addition to the competition, the home team for each of the games will wear special “Battle of the Bands” jerseys that will be auctioned off following the events.

The UHL and VH-1 Save The Music promotional partnership was created by UHL fan Scott Givens, Senior Director of Marketing at RCA Records, and UHL Commissioner Richard Brosal.

Dates for the band competitions are yet to be announced in the markets of Bloomington, Chicago, Elmira, Flint, Quad City, and Rockford.  More information regarding each event will be released at a later date.

Larocque misses practice

Komets defenseman Mario Larocque didn't practice today. General manager David Franke said it's because of a sore neck. He is, at this time, expected to make the trip to Elmira, N.Y., for games Friday and Saturday.

Speaking of Larocque, while there had been some concern among the Komets' players that he might be suspended for slamming Jesse Bennefield of Rockford into the ice Saturday night, Franke said he's sure he would have heard by now if any punishment were going to be handed down. Besides, if you're going to suspend Larocque, you'd have to suspend Bennefield for his two-handed slash that preceded the whole thing.

By the way, even though he was slashed, the UHL office has confirmed that it was appropriate for Larocque to be assessed an instigation penalty for starting a fight.

• Pascal Morency, the Komets' feisty forward, was on the ice this morning. He fell funnily on his recently separated shoulder Saturday, but he should be fine.
• Also making the trip to Elmira will be Michael George, the rookie forward who has been skating with the team for about a week. He will be signed this week.
• You've got to love www.youtube.com. Check out the clip of Pascal Morency's fight with Robin Big Snake by clicking here. (By the way, why do Big Snake's fights often have this huge pre-fight production, like it's Foreman vs. Ali?)
• Last week, I pointed out the resemblance between the Komets' Kevin Hansen and actor George Clooney. It was kind of popular, so let's do another one. How about Fort Wayne defenseman Mike Dombkiewicz, below left, and baseball player Johnny Damon, circa his Red Sox days.

Delving into injuries

Oh, how I wish we had an injury report in the UHL.

I cover the NFL, too, and one of the nice things about it is that teams are required to submit injury reports publicly. If a guy is out, the team is expected to say why and what his status is for the upcoming game. Unless it's pertaining to the New England Patriots, who seem to put their entire team on the injury report every day, the fans have a pretty good gauge on the health of their team and, if a player is out, whether it's because of an injury or an angry coach.

Then there's the UHL. Reporters and fans are pretty much at the mercy of the general managers, coaches and players on what they want to tell us. Often times, I get to games and a player will suddenly have developed a new "injury" or "illness." Sometimes it's legit. Often it's not. I'm constrained on what I can then tell my readers, depending on what reliable information I have and if I want to sabotage a relationship just to divulge a broken knuckle or something. (A co-worker of mine got in pretty hot water a few years back by writing what players were icing down what parts.) When Colin Chaulk busted his Achilles tendon last season, even though the team tried to hush it, I had to write about the captain's injury, which I saw with my own eyes.  The more Chaulk tried to say he was fine, the more the lies became transparent.

I understand why UHL teams are so, shall I say, creative with their injuries. They can carry only 19 players on their active rosters, so to hang on to the 21 or so they want, they have to have players injured or on team suspension. Unfortunately, you run into situations that have everyone thinking. Earlier this season, A.J. Bozoian was supposedly on team suspension to deal with a family emergency. Then he's signing autographs in the hallway. Last weekend, Bogdan Rudenko had a wrist injury, but he turned out to be OK, a healthy scratch.

It's too bad the teams can't be more honest with their injuries because they just do a disservice to the fans, who wonder what's going on with their favorite players. Unfortunately, the rules are set up in a way that's inconvenient. Come playoff time, no one's honest about anything -- a sprained ankle = a separated shoulder -- and that's a hockey tradition.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Radio will be on

Despite what you may have heard, the Komets' games at Elmira this weekend will be broadcast on WOWO, 1190 AM, according to the team's director of media relations, Chuck Bailey.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

On Rudenko, Rockford

Leave it to the Rockford IceHogs to add a touch of class to an otherwise spectacularly exciting game.

After the Komets completed their 3-0 victory over the IceHogs at Memorial Coliseum, Rockford goaltender Frederic Cloutier took his net off the moorings and flung it toward the boards. Then he gestured to the fans by grabbing his crotch.

Equally childish was the fans' reaction: They pelted the ice with debris.

Rest assured, Cloutier will probably get his. UHL commissioner Richard Brosal was in attendance and, I believe, looking right at it.

Not that I blame Cloutier; the Komets are 4-1-0 against the rival IceHogs this season.

This was a very tense game, with a lot of end-to-end action, physical play and, most of all, great goaltending. Kevin St. Pierre made 27 saves for his second shutout. Cloutier made 34 saves.

But he was foiled by Bogdan Rudenko's two third-period goals, and then an empty netter from Daniel Goneau. Rudenko has taken some heat from the fans -- he was a healthy scratch in Friday's 4-3 loss to Quad City, even though the team had tried to say he had a wrist injury -- but he showed his moxie with this performance.

"He's a big play guy," coach Pat Bingham said. "He's potentially a game-breaker and that's why he's here. He's played for me for a number of years. Him and J.C. Ruid together ... are the two best playoff players that I've coached because they want it in the playoffs."

When I think of Rudenko, I think of the word opportunistic. I expect him to come up with big goals at big times.

Here are some other thoughts on the game:

• The work of the linesmen was horrible and I can assure you the UHL brass in attendance took notice. Several offsides were missed and at one point, the puck hit the netting, and all three officials missed it and let play continue. A scoring chance ensued. Whoops.
• Jesse Bennefield incited a fight with a two-handed slash on Mario Larocque, the Komets' defenseman. Strangely, Larocque, who then pounded Bennefield to the ice, got an instigation penalty. Maybe I'm missing something, but didn't the slash instigate the fight way before Larocque did a thing? Speaking of this whole situation, I don't think referee Neil Christopher was even going to call the slash until the fight broke out. His arm never left his side.
• I thought newly signed defenseman Nick Tuzzolino looked really sharp. He did cough up the puck once in front of his own net, but considering they didn't want to play him this weekend, he looks like a real find.
• Pascal Morency was solid this weekend. As for his fight with Robin Big Snake, probably a draw.
• I feel for Dan McWhinney, the Komets' backup goalie, but how on earth do you sit Kevin St. Pierre when he's playing this well?
• Sorry to backtrack for a moment, but I mentioned Friday night that I thought Quad City was one of the least physical teams I'd seen in awhile. They had eight hits in their 4-3 victory over the Komets.
• By the way, nice photo from Clint Keller of K.J. Voorhees' Friday night fight.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tense 1st period

It has been a tense first period at Memorial Coliseum, one without any scoring between the Komets and the Rockford IceHogs. (The loudest cheer so far came when it was announced UCLA defeated USC 13-9 in college football.) Clearly, the Komets are more into this game than they were Friday, when they lost 4-3 to the Quad City Mallards.

The hero of the game thus far is Rockford goalie Frederic Cloutier, who had two great stops on close-range shots from J.F. Labarre and Pascal Morency.

• The Komets signed defenseman Nick Tuzzolino, who is 6-foot-6, 225 pounds. He was a seventh round draft pick of the New York Islanders in 2005.
• Forward K.J. Voorhees is out with a calf strain and defenseman Jani Honkanen is ill. Remaining out is defenseman A.J. Bozoian with a hip pointer.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Ugly night

I haven't heard this many expletives in the Fort Wayne locker room since, well, last season. This was the worst the Komets have looked with Pat Bingham as coach.

As Bingham put it: "It was right between the ears."

In other words, the Komets didn't play smart in their 4-3 loss to the Quad City Mallards. They didn't use their systems correctly, didn't play with enough intensity and, worst of all, took way too many stupid penalties.

Said center/assistant coach Bruce Richardson: "Did (referee Shaun Davis) call everything right? No. Should he have called some the other way? Yes. But we got those penalties. I don't want to say that, but we just need to shut up and take it and go to the box and we'll try to kill it."

The Komets were yapping, way too much. It got them three unsportsmanlikes and two misconducts. It also got them short-handed in the final minute, when they were trailing. Whoops.

All totaled, Fort Wayne was short-handed 12 times and got 74 penalty minutes. Quad City was short-handed seven times with 44 minutes.

I'm sure you will all berate me for this, but I thought Davis called a pretty good game. The Komets were hooking, holding, slashing, etc. Like Pascal Morency skating behind a guy, whacking away at him like he's chopping a tree down, that's going to be called. Sorry.

I typically think the referees call too much; tonight wasn't one of those nights. Still, the Komets, the team that one day says the referees call too much, the next they don't call enough, groaned about it all again.

"I'm not getting ...  sucked into a comment about the officiating," Bingham said, tersely. "I just thought we were bad."

The ironic thing is the Komets had a good week of practice. They took the Mallards lightly, though.

As for the more positive stuff:

• Aside from goaltender Kevin St. Pierre and Richardson, Morency was probably the Komets' best player in his first game back from a separated shoulder. He was high-energy, hit a lot and set up a goal.
• Also solid was Matt Syroczynski. This was the first game where he's really showed me something. He was hitting a lot.
• St. Pierre said he's fine after getting elbowed in the head by Matt Radoslovich. He couldn't believe the Komets ended up short-handed after Mario Larocque fought Radoslovich and it was all sorted out.
• Despite their words, the Komets wanted to be clear, they have a lot of respect for the Mallards, who they called a skilled team. The Mallards do look much improved. Still, I don't think I've seen a team this season hit less than Quad City did Friday. They are more a finesse team. But they were effective against the Komets.
• If the Komets aren't vastly improved Saturday against Rockford, I would expect some changes. Bingham really is peeved. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone sat against the IceHogs.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Finally, some policing

This wouldn't have happened last season.

Midway through the second period, with the Komets and Quad City Mallards tied at 2, Fort Wayne goaltender Kevin St. Pierre was crashed into by forward Matt Radoslovich. It took about one second for the Komets to send a message that this sort of thing is unacceptable, and defenseman Mario Larocque went and instigated a fight with Radoslovich.

Finally, a team that will protect the goalie.

Just for good measure, the Komets started hitting everything in sight. K.J. Voorhees got a charging call for taking out defenseman Nick Harloff behind the Quad City net, then Brent Currie came in and instigated a fight with Voorhees.

It all seems to have energized the Komets. Center Bruce Richardson scored off a rebound, seconds after the Voorhees fight, to make it 3-2 heading into the third period. Richardson has scored two goals in back-to-back games. I guess his scoring slump is over.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

That was quick

Forward Pascal Morency is back in the lineup after missing six games because of a separated shoulder.

It didn't take him long to make an impact.

Seconds into his first shift, his hard work deep in the offensive zone got the puck to teammate J.C. Ruid, who faked goaltender Jason Tapp to the ice before scoring tonight. The Komets lead the Quad City Mallards 1-0 after one period of play.

• Forward Bogdan Rudenko is out of the lineup with a wrist injury, general manager David Franke said. Defenseman A.J. Bozoian also remains out.
• More on Nick Tuzzolino, the rookie defenseman trying out with the Komets: He remains unsigned by the New York Islanders and decided he didn't want to be an overage player in juniors this season. As for whom this puts on the hotseat, the Komets aren't saying. Conventional wisdom suggests its either defenseman Arthur Kiyaga or defenseman A.J. Bozoian. They seem a little less sure about Bozoian, who continues to get injured.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette