Ice Chips 06'-07'

Motivating the K's

Click here to read today's story on motivating a first-place team.

All's quiet on the trading front

With the International Hockey League's trading deadline approaching -- it is Friday at 3 p.m. -- the Komets have neither fielded inquiries nor made any.

"There's really no legitimate reason to tinker with the success we've had," general manager David Franke said.

His team leading the IHL with a 36-12-6 record, coach Al Sims agreed.

"It would be hard for us to shop anybody around and say they're not doing their job here," Sims said. "Everybody's pitched in and done what we've expected them to."

The Komets play host to the Bloomington Prairie Thunder on Friday at Memorial Coliseum.

• There has been one trade this week in the IHL: Bloomington sent Donnie Margettie -- yes, the same Margettie who recently got dismantled by Mitch Woods at the Coliseum -- to Port Huron for Neil Clark. Check out this story from the Bloomington Pantagraph. Margettie hasn't played since being concussed by Woods.
• The Komets are now unsure if defenseman Brandon Warner will return from his knee injury for Friday's game.
• Don't forget the Komets' Game of the Week will air tonight at 7, plus Thursday at 4 a.m. and 11 a.m., with yours truly providing color commentary. It will be on Comcast 55 and Verizon 25. It was a different experience for me. As you'll find out, I believe a color guy should let the play-by-play man do his thing, then chime in with important analysis when need be.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

What Jones had to say

Brad Jones, the International Hockey League's vice-president of hockey operations, had this to say about the Henley incident:

“I saw the video and I saw the intent,” said Jones, noting Tyler Willis was hit in the face. “It wasn’t just one cross-check, it was two. And I didn’t see anything going on in the corner to precipitate it.”

It was Jones who gave Henley a five-game suspension.

Henley dsiagrees with five-game suspension

Fort Wayne Komets defenseman Brent Henley admitted to cross-checking Tyler Willis. And Henley expected a suspension. The five-game punishment handed down by the International Hockey League on Tuesday, however, he didn't feel was just.

"I did cross-check him and I did so high. I admit that," Henley said of an incident late in Sunday's 4-2 road victory over the Kalamazoo Wings. "But I didn't hit him in the face. If I had, I would be OK with this. And he's not injured. ... (The suspension) is definitely too many games."

The ruling was made by Brad Jones, the International Hockey League's vice-president of hockey operations, after reviewing videotape that showed Henley delivering a few cross-checks to Willis, a notorious agitator, with less than one second on the clock at Wings Stadium.

"Throughout the game, he had his regular act," Henley said. "When we went into the corner, I got slashed in the groin area, and I have a bruise to prove it."

Komets coach Al Sims, however, didn't have a major gripe with the length of the suspension.

"Everything considered, he's close to being right on the amount of games," said Sims, whose Komets lead the IHL by 18 points. "I'm not up in arms about it."

The Komets will have to skate one man short of a full 19-player lineup in the next five games, Sims said, though defenseman Brandon Warner should be back in the lineup from his knee injury beginning Friday against Bloomington, Ill.

Check Wednesday's editions of The Journal Gazette for more on the Henley suspension.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Henley incident to be reviewed

Brad Jones, the International Hockey League's vice-president of hockey operations, plans to review a late-game incident in which Fort Wayne defenseman Brent Henley cross-checked Tyler Willis in the head a few times during a late-game melee.

Jones said a decision won't be handed down until Tuesday at the earliest.

Henley did receive a major penalty and a game misconduct from referee Kevin Graber, but it sounds as if some further punishment should be coming.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Goals, cross-checks and jerseys

Komets center Terry Marchant told me the team is starting to focus on getting 50 victories as one of its goals. That happens to be exactly the number the International Hockey League's top team is on pace for this season.

The franchise record for wins? Fifty-three, set in 2003-04, when the Komets lost in the United Hockey League finals.

In other notes, The Kalamazoo Gazette has an interesting story on the late-game scrap between the Wings' Tyler Willis and the Komets' Brent Henley, from Sunday's 4-2 Fort Wayne victory.

"The guy is coward, obviously" Willis told the paper. "He goes and sticks a guy in the face. He's 6-7 or whatever he is; it's a joke. "

I never thought I'd see Tyler Willis calling another player dirty. 

I put a call into the league's vice-president of hockey operations, Brad Jones, but haven't heard back yet on whether Henley faces a possible suspension.

Finally, the Komets have some exciting promotions coming up that involve jerseys. On March 8, the Komets will wear camouflage jerseys that will be sold via a silent auction during the game to benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Some in the organization think this is the coolest jersey promotion they've ever had. Click here for details and to see the jersey.

I like these jerseys even more (the ones at the top of the page). Designed by fan Jeff Stumpp, a tattoo artist, they won the design-a-jersey contest that will benefit Arts United. Some of these jerseys, which will be worn March 22, will be sold in a silent auction that runs March 23-28. To make a bid for that, e-mail [email protected] during those dates.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

And the lead gets bigger

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Komets got two power-play goals, and another just three seconds after a power play expired, and they came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Kalamazoo Wings 4-2 on Sunday.

It was the Komets' 10th victory in 12 games against the Wings.

And while the final moments were marked by some gritty play -- Fort Wayne's Kevin Bertram continually battled with Tyler Willis, and Brent Henley was ejected with less than a second left for cross-checking Willis -- the luster appears to be off this rivalry.

For a team that had such a grueling travel schedule, the Komets looked sharp and took five of a possible six points this weekend. Of course, the Wings were playing two men short due to injuries.

The Komets' lead over second-place Flint is a whopping 18 points.

• Komets coach Al Sims admitted to having to make sure his team is properly motivated every night. That's not necessarily easy when you have such a substantial lead in the standings. He said the Komets must make sure to measure themselves against their own standards, not by the rest of the league's.
• There was an interesting call in the third period; Fort Wayne's Sergei Durdin got a penalty for clipping Glenn Detulleo. That's an uncommon call, but I did think that Durdin caught him pretty low and it looked to be on the fringe of dangerous. I was in the minority in my area of the press box, though.
• Fort Wayne now has the top-rated power play in the league at 19.7 percent efficiency.
• Here's a question: If you had to pick, what's the Komets' weakness? I have a lot of trouble coming up with a single one. But if I had to choose, I guess I'd wonder if they're physical enough at the forward position. It couldn't hurt to have more battling in front of the net and grinding in the corners.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tied at 2 after 2

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Playing their third game in as many days, in as many cities, the Komets had their work cut out for them trailing by two goals early in the second period. But the Komets' top-rated power-play unit struck back. Mathieu Curadeau and Luciano Aquino both scored with the man-advantage and it's tied at 2 after two periods at Wings Stadium.

I continue to be impressed with the Komets' energy, considering the recent schedule. And even though this is closer than the typical game with the Wings, the Kalamazoo goals came off a knuckling shot from Dan Carney, during which Fort Wayne goalie Nick Boucher was screened, and during a 5-on-3 power play that saw Kory Karlander score.

In other words, the Komets still look like the better team, and they've outshot the Wings 30-22 so far. It should be a good third period.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Back and forth

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- We're scoreless after one period here at Wings Stadium. Hard to believe, considering the way the Komets came out, outshooting Kalamazoo 10-1 in the first eight minutes.

It's been a back-and-forth game, with great goaltending at both ends. The shots are now 13-8, in favor of Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne's Kevin Hansen got a game misconduct for being the third man in a fight between David Hukalo and Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn. As I said recently after Mitch Woods took a similar penalty, I applaud the intent of sticking up for a teammate, but Hukalo helped initiate the fight and it wasn't worth Hansen getting tossed. That being said, it is hard to think about the implications of such a thing when you're in the heat of a game.

The Komets have a lot of energy so far, considering the brutal schedule this weekend. They'll have to keep it up.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Greetings from Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Salutations from Wings Stadium, perhaps the last bastion of free stadium parking in the world. And that is awesome.

Komets coach Al Sims said he's starting Nick Boucher in goal. Even though the Komets have lost three of their last four games, Sims said he's very pleased with the way the team has been playing. Why shouldn't he be? The Komets have taken three of a possible four points this weekend and are taking on a Kalamazoo Wings team today that they've dominated all season long.

I'll be doing color commentary for the Komet Hockey Game of the Week, which will be broadcast Wednesday at 7 p.m., plus Thursday at 4 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Comcast 55 and Verizon 55.

I will continue to blog throughout the game, too.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Today's story

Click here to read today's story.

Checking the hockey world

Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter was in the Quad Cities, and judging from this story from The Quad City Times, he doesn't have warm and fuzzy feelings about the average attendance (just over 3,350, ranking 27th of 29 teams) his minor-league team is drawing.

In Quad City's defense, it got the American Hockey League franchise late in the summer. However, if the novelty of the AHL didn't bring in the crowds for the first season, they've got a real uphill battle in making that franchise profitable.

I miss those boring games the Komets used to have against the Mallards. Oh, wait, I almost forgot Brian Curran is coaching in Kalamazoo now. Remind me to bring some Monster Energy drinks up to Wings Stadium on Sunday.

• I thought this was interesting: A web site that is factoring blocked shots in opposing teams' shot totals to come up with a truer number of shots on goal. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it is interesting. However, it doesn't explain what happened at Rockford last year, when the statisticians during a playoff game were clearly counting shots, not shots on goal, and I took a lot of grief from the staff for pointing that it simply wasn't possible to get 10 shots on goal in 15 seconds, when no saves were made. Ah, I do miss those games with the IceHogs and those mid-game chats with broadcaster Mike Peck.
• Were the Komets to ever fold midseason, here's hoping the players realize they don't own the Embassy Theatre. Check out what the Jamestown players did after the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League folded.
• I was looking at the list of coaches in the ECHL and was struck by how many of them have impacted the Komets in different ways. 1) Marty Raymond -- he's paid big money to bring former Komets to Bakersfield, players like Sean Venedam, Kevin Kotyluk and Steve Rodberg. 2) Bill McDonald, who is coaching Dayton, was the other finalist for the Komets' job last summer. That one worked out well for the Komets. 3) Steve Martinson of Elmira -- as the coach of the IceHogs, he developed a rivalry with the Komets, though his team was mighty dirty. 4) Mississippi's Steffon Walby -- a former Komets player, he probably had too much potential to be playing in Fort Wayne. 5) Pensacola's John Marks -- the Komets passed on hiring him for Pat Bingham in 2006. Fort Wayne did get a regular-season championship, but Bingo bolted after one season. 6) Greg Puhalski -- the man who took the Komets to their last playoff championship, in 2003, is now trying to turn things around in Wheeling.
• Think those intermission wrestling matches between Icy D. Eagle and the Fazoli's Tomato are weird? Check this out. What can I say, New York fans are weird.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Records to watch; streaks to botch

We already know that with seven shutouts, Kevin Reiter is one off the Komets' single-season record of eight shutouts. I just looked this one up -- the International Hockey League record is 10, set by the Cincinnati Mohawks' Charlie Hodge in 1953-54.

Amazingly, no other goalie in the IHL has more than one shutout this season. I find that amazing and I don't know if it speaks to the competitiveness or the lack thereof in a six-team IHL. Even more unbelievable is that only one team (Fort Wayne) has won more than three straight games on home ice. (The Komets are in the midst of a 15-game streak at Memorial Coliseum.)

On the other hand, there have been four players to record points in at least 12 consecutive games, led by the 13-game streaks of Kalamazoo's Kory Karlander and Nick Bootland. Speaking of which, note to the IHL, can we take Brian Felsner's point-scoring streak of 11 games off the active list? He's playing in Europe.

Also, no team in the league has had a losing streak longer than Kalamazoo's seven-game slump of mid-January.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

What a game. What a loss.

FLINT, Mich. -- The last Komets lost 3-2 to the Flint Generals in overtime on Saturday night.

There are two ways to view this one.

In one sense, it was a bad loss for the Komets because they dominated in most respects, outshooting the Generals 44-31, only to get stoned by goaltender Matt Spezza and cough up the win on two late defensive breakdowns. The goal that forced overtime came on a 2-on-1 for the Generals. The overtime winner, from John DiPace, came after he was left all alone in front of the net to redirect the puck above goaltender Nick Boucher.

On the other hand, to get one point in the standings against the second best team in the International Hockey League, when the Generals had a packed house of 3,362 fans, isn't too shabby.

No matter how you view the loss, the thing that stood out was the last 15 minutes or so of the game, as furious as you'll ever see. It's sort of unbelievable that no one got hurt, what with all the slashing, cross-checking and, yes, head-locking going on out there.

Mathieu Curadeau, who was victimized by a vicious cross-check from Jaroslav Cesky, called it "old school." Brent Henley used the word "ridiculous." Of all referees I wouldn't have expected to let it go on, Jim Hawthorne would have been at the top of the list, but he was the one out there.

Don't get me wrong, I loved watching it. It was amazingly intense and I couldn't take my eyes off it; I was afraid I'd miss something critical. But I'm glad I wasn't playing in that. I'm sure my doctor would be, too.

Anyway, great goaltending duel. Great everything tonight. Can't wait for these teams to meet in the playoffs and somehow I have a feeling they will. And am I the only one who thinks Josef Fojtik deserves the Luch Nasato award for being an unnecessarily dirty Flint player? I can't believe he only has 25 penalty minutes.

By the way, Fort Wayne's Brandon Warner suffered a knee injury in the first period. He won't play Sunday at Bloomington, Ill., coach Al Sims said.

Thanks to everyone who got on for the the chat session during the game. Check out Komets Korner on Sunday for more coverage from this game.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Hello from Flint's pro, not 'Semi-Pro,' rink

FLINT, Mich. -- Greetings from Perani Arena in Flint, where, as usual, it's a bit chilly. It makes me think of the hilarious looking upcoming Will Ferrell movie "Semi-Pro," a spoof on ABA basketball in which he plays for the Flint Tropics. I gotta say, it doesn't feel tropical tonight as I'm wearing my thermals. But hey, it is hockey.

Nick Boucher will be in net for the Komets tonight. So we won't be able to see if Kevin Reiter can redeem himself for the last trip up here, when he was pulled after allowing two goals on three shots. Komets coach Al Sims seems to be just rotating his goalies. Why not.

By the way, the Generals have signed Justin Depretis, who had 58 goals and 93 points in 29 games for the Indiana Ice Miners of the recently defunct Mid-Atlantic Hockey League. The Komets may be sorry they didn't give the kid a look, after he played for Fort Wayne native Brian Gratz. I guess we'll see.

As I mentioned, if you want, I'll keep tabs on the comments section tonight and answer any questions. Fire away, if you're home on a Saturday night.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

(Yawn) another shutout, another win

I could tell you about another victory, the Komets' seventh in a row. Or I could mention the 15-game winning streak on home ice, three off the franchise record, seven off the league record. Or there's P.C. Drouin's 12-game point-scoring streak. And the Komets have an 18-point lead in the standings.

But I won't linger on those impressive statistics.

Let's talk about this one: With a 19-save shutout in the Komets' 2-0 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night, Kevin Reiter now has now blanked opponents seven times this season. Don't look now, but that's one off the franchise record set by Kevin St. Pierre in 2003-04.

It's hard to believe that Reiter, who isn't even the unquestioned No. 1 goalie on his own team, and whose signing was scoffed at by more than a few fans I know, could get and, at this pace, shatter Frenchy's mark.

To be fair, Reiter hasn't always had to do that much work for those zeroes -- the defense playing in front of him rarely gives up a quality scoring chance -- but in some respects that makes Reiter's accomplishments that much more impressive. Almost any goalie will tell you it's hard to stay in the game when you're not facing many shots.

Anyway, it's a nice problem coach Al Sims has, trying to figure out whether to play Reiter or Nick Boucher on any given night. Considering no other goalie in the league has more than one shutout, I'm sure just about any team would like that tandem.

• I'm not sure tonight's was a bad game, but it just wasn't an exciting one. Matt Reynolds has quietly been putting together a monster year. With a goal and an assist, he has 17 goals and 35 points in 49 games.
• I have to admit, I think Drouin is twice the player he was on his first stint with the Komets. He's money these days.
• While I applaud Mitch Woods' intent in trying to protect Colin Chaulk, his second-period game misconduct for being the third man in a fight was well-deserved. C'mon, Chaulk went after Willis and Chaulk can take care of himself against a 5-foot-8 agitator. It wasn't worth getting booted.
• Welcome to the Blogosphere, Ron Rop of The Muskegon Chronicle, even if you never say hello when I'm up at L.C. Walker Arena. Now if we can just get the Kalamazoo Gazette's Pam Shebest into cyberspace, we'll be set.
• This story isn't IHL related, but I thought you Muskegon fans out there would enjoy the picture.
• As if that picture wasn't scary enough, whoa, we almost had another Richard Zednik moment on Tuesday. And you wonder why they mandate visors in the IHL?
• I'm scheduled to be at the game in Flint, Mich., on Saturday night, so check back. Feel free to shoot me questions during the game in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer, time and internet permitting.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Continuously blogging since 2005 ...

What do Scott Niedermayer, Roger Clemens and Teemu Selanne all have in common? Well, they sit out the meaty portion of the season and sail in for the glory of the playoffs.

I always thought that was doing a disservice to those in the trenches the whole time, gritting it out in the dull days of training camp and the monotony of long road trips. But the coaches and fans know the value of those guys, and isn't that what's really important?

If you're scratching your head on that tangent, good. If you're not, remember the loyalty, baby.

As for the Komets, don't be shocked if one of them is waived in the near future. The team can carry 19 healthy players. It has 19, plus two (Maxsim Shirokov and Olivier Legault) on injured reserve, with both probably coming off in the coming days.

The severity of Kevin Hansen's neck injury, suffered in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout victory over Bloomington, isn't yet clear, and who knows if he'll end up on IR? But I still think the Komets are going to have to make a tough decision here soon. They're not talking much about that, though.

If I were Olivier Legault, Brandon Warner, Jake Pence or Maxsim Shirokov, I don't know how comfortable I'd feel, especially knowing the Komets will be taking a look at kids out of juniors and college hockey in the next couple of weeks.

• According to the Port Huron Times-Herald, the International Hockey League will field a team at McMorran Arena again next season, despite the raging average attendance of 1,230. Here's hoping they believe a name change will breathe life into the organization. Hey it's worked before with the Icehawks, Flags, Beacons, Border Cats and Wings. OK, maybe not.
• Jeff Reyneart is now Kalamazoo's No. 1 goaltender. The best thing about Reyneart is that he was named to the United Hockey League's All-Rookie Team twice. Amazing that he didn't get a Lifetime Achievement Award, too. Boy, that kind of stuff just sums up the old UHL perfectly.
• Here's something I stumbled across: Video, including a short fight, from a 1957 game between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs. It's a cool look at not only how the game was played then, but how it looked on TV.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets win again, 3-2

So many streaks. Who can keep track of them all?

The Komets' 3-2 victory over the Bloomington Prairie Thunder extended the Komets' winning streak on home ice to 14 games, four short of the franchise record. The Komets have scored a power-play goal in 13 straight games. P.C. Drouin has tallied a point in 11 straight games.

All totaled: The Komets are just plain good.

But Wednesday night, they had to work. They worked their fists, their defense, goaltending and even their breakaways. The Komets showed some grit late, after Don Parsons' goal gave Bloomington a 2-1 lead. Then Drouin's pass out of the right corner set up Terry Marchant for his second goal of the night.

In the shootout, unfamiliar territory for the Komets, their first three shooters were all a little too fancy.  So, at the behest of David Hukalo, coach Al Sims sent out the least fancy player he has -- Guy Dupuis -- and he beat Loic Lacasse with a simple wrist shot that proved to be the game-winner.

As for defenseman Kevin Hansen, who was injured in the waning seconds of regulation, he has a neck injury and general manager David Franke characterized it as day-to-day. But Mitch Woods should be in the lineup Friday against Kalamazoo, after serving his one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of Sunday's 6-1 victory over Bloomington.

I promised a certain someone high up in the league that I'd take it easy on the referees for a while, so I don't have much to say about Kevin Graber. Except, how on earth did he dole out two game misconducts for third man in, when neither was joining another scrap? And that interference call on Brandon Warner in the third period should have been announced as two minutes for playing patty-cake. Other than that, Graber did a fine job.

Well, I'm told they're doing routine maintenance on the Coliseum internet in a few minutes, so I have to go. Be back tomorrow.

-- By Justin A Cohn, The Journal Gazette

I'm back and the MAHL is out

Thanks to Ben Smith for doing his best Dick Grayson impression while I was out of town for a funeral.  By the way, it was interesting to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area in the wake of Richard Zednik's injury, him playing for the Florida Panthers and all. No matter how many times I saw that replay -- and it was many -- it never looked any less gruesome. Frankly, it's hard to believe that stuff doesn't happen more often than it does.

Speaking of funerals, there was one today for the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League, which suspended operations midway through its inaugural season. The Indiana (Penn.) Ice Miners, coached by Fort Wayne native and former Komets goaltender Brian Gratz, were declared league champion with their sick 31-1-0 record.

I asked Gratz a couple weeks ago how they ever lost one game and his answer was: "We hit a lot of posts." Classic.

Anyway, I wonder if the Komets will take a look at any of the players dispersed by that Single-A league.

Heading into tonight's Komets game against Bloomington, the Prairie Thunder has signed for Komets forward Blake Stewart. This is Stewart's fifth team since the Komets controversially cut him in 2005's training camp.

By the way, since I know a couple of you are sadly baffled, Dick Grayson is Robin. That makes me Batman.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Guy Dupuis, tough guy

Yoo-hoo.  O ver here.

Yeah, it's me, Ben Smith, your basic Stunt Double filling in tonight for Justin, who's taking a few days off to attend to a personal matter.  And I just saw something that comes along about as often as Halley's Comet:  Guy Dupuis dropping the gloves.

Yep, that's right, the Captain dropped 'em and went at it with Donnie Margettie of Bloomington in the second period.  Well, sort of went at it. They both took a couple of swipes at each other and wrestled around some, and that was it.

Still, it was the first fight I've seen the gentlemanly Dupuis involved in since, I don't know, forever.  Maybe he was just celebrating what was his 700th game as a Komet, a milestone for which he was duly recognized between the first and second periods.

In any case, it pretty much illustrated what kind of night it's been for Bloomington. The Prairie Thunder are getting humiliated 5-0 after two periods, thanks mainly to a 33-14 shot advantage for Fort Wayne. It's going exactly the way you'd expect it to go between two teams separated by 29 points in the standings.

-- Ben Smith

The Journal Gazette

 

Nothing minor about this performance

There are nights when I wonder what some of these Komets are doing playing at this level.

This was one of those nights.

Colin Chaulk had the look of a man, from the outset, who was going to take over the game and he did. Luciano Aquino had one of the prettiest goals you'll see at this level. Evgeny Saidachev had some nice passes. Nick Boucher was solid in net.

These were American Hockey League performances.

And the Komets won 4-1.

For those who wondered earlier in the week why it was relevant the Komets had to postpone their game Wednesday, tonight gave some proof. Hockey games in Fort Wayne are a big deal. The Komets had 10,462 fans in the building, the most any team in the league has had all season.

To put it in perspective, the Icehawks have played many of their home games in front of fans numbering in the hundreds. You think 10,000 strong didn't make a difference for the Komets?

• Mitch Woods creaming Mike Olynyk in a fight early on didn't hurt the momentum either.
• The reason for the crowd was a promotion that awards kids with A grades with tickets. As part of it, Comcast contributed $7,500 to The Literacy Alliance, bringing the total of eight years of the promotion to 60,000.
• While there was much groaning from the Icehawks about the first goal, which was tipped in by Evgeny Saidachev before the net came off the moorings, replay clearly revealed that the correct call was made. And yes, IHL vice president of hockey operations Brad Jones, saw the tape.
• As for P.C. Drouin's overturned goal for kicking it in, that was a good call, too. But hey, you can't blame the guy for trying.
• The Komets have won 12 straight games at the Coliseum, six short of the franchise record set in 1963-64. No other team in the league has won more than three in a row at home. Isn't that pathetic?
• The Komets have scored at least one power-play goal in 11 straight games.
• Aquino said he had a charley horse; that's why he left the ice late in the game hurting.
• Have you noticed how many penalties for having too many men on the ice teams have taken this season? That's on the coaches, Fort Wayne's included.
• Not that I'm gloating, but my good luck charms continue. As was the case last week with Woods, I did a story on Chaulk in today's Journal Gazette and the results were clear. If I were Jake Pence, I'd be begging for an interview.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

From the Icehawks to Jinxy

As we prepare for the Komets' game against the visiting Port Huron Icehawks, it'll be interesting to see if Port Huron is the second-best team in the league, instead of Flint, now. The Icehawks have pulled to within two points of second-place Flint, though the Generals have played six fewer games, and the Icehawks are 14 points back of the Komets. For what it's worth, I think the Generals are way better, but they're clearly reeling with a four-game losing streak.

The Komets will again play without Maxsim Shirokov (thumb) and Olivier Legault (finger).

• I was having an interesting conversation with someone from the Icehawks franchise before tonight's game and he was wondering what people here think about the 8 p.m. Friday starts, which are, partly, to make it easier for fans to get to games. Do you all like them? I'm not a fan but, hey, I've got deadlines to contend with on Fridays.
• Note to Kevin Reiter: Try this.
• Apparently, the owners of the Flint Generals are attempting to buy Perani Arena. While I'd prefer they bulldoze that building -- not that I don't enjoy sidestepping rat droppings, overflowing sinks and having to wear a mink coat just to stay warm -- I do sincerely hope they can get it done and make some improvements. I feel sorry for the fans there; it's the worst kept arena I've seen in 11 seasons covering professional hockey.
• Speaking of outdated buildings, in case you're wondering how our Detroit Red Wings got walloped by the league-worst Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Joe Louis Arena, you can thank my brother, otherwise known as Jinxy. When he's in the house, the Wings lose, Henrik Zetterberg or not. Maybe if we all beg him, he'll start rooting against the Lions. It would be interesting to see those two immovable objects -- Matt Millen and Matthew Cohn -- go head-to-head in their inability to produce wins.
• Komets trainer Shawn Dundon is auctioning off more jerseys, which belonged to deceased fan Stacy Musice. They are on eBay. Check the comments section below this post for a listing of them.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

The story on Chaulk

Click here to read today's story on Colin Chaulk, preparing for an eventual head-coaching career.

Game rescheduled & some good reading

The Fort Wayne Komets' game against the Flint Generals, which was postponed Wednesday because of inclement weather, has been rescheduled for March 5, 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Coliseum. Tickets for Wednesday's game will be redeemable then. It will also be a season-ticket exchange night; unused season tickets can be exchanged for tickets to the March 5 game.

• Click here to read The Flint Journal's writer's take on today's story about the postponement. I don't know what the weather reporters were saying in Michigan leading up to Wednesday, so I'm not going to criticize the Generals for not making it. But I don't think Komets president Michael Franke was unfair in wanting: a) teams to plan ahead if bad weather is coming; b) for his business to make money and have a game when there's one scheduled;  c) to have enough notice in the event of a postponement so that ticket holders aren't at the arena already when the game is called. It's just good business sense.
• In lighter news, I have an cool Web site for you to check out, at least if you're half as into jersey logos as I am. NHL Tournament of Logos -- click here to see it -- has contests about the best and worst hockey's history has to offer.
• Check out this story from The Port Huron Times-Herald on fighting in hockey.
• Finally, the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers are 5-4-2 under former Komets coach Greg Puhalski. Click here to read a story on him from NHL.com. Asked if he considers himself a players' coach or a disciplinarian, Puhalski told the site: "I think that's the personal judgment of each player." No offense to Chief, but of the roughly 120 players who were in Fort Wayne under him, I don't remember any of them calling him a player's coach. Speaking of the Nailers, former Komets forward Kelly Miller has one goal and five points in 10 games there.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Calling for safety and weather reports

After the Flint Generals' bus had to pull off snowy I-69 three times, its windshield iced over, International Hockey League commissioner Paul Pickard decided that the Komets' game against the visiting Generals on Wednesday should be postponed.

Those with tickets to the game will be able to use them on the makeup date, which will probably be March 5.

• The Komets had more than 5,000 tickets already sold for the game, a lot for a weekday game in February.
• Team president Michael Franke said he was glad the Generals' safety was a priority. However, he plans to urge the league and its owners to be diligent in their preparation for road trips. He said teams need to leave extra early if bad weather is in the forecast.
• Komets coach Al Sims hopes the postponement of the game doesn't rob his team of its momentum.
• It was the first time a Komets home game had been postponed since March 20, 2002, when a Freon pipe below the ice surface fractured and had to be repaired. But that postponement came with three days notice, after the Komets played a game with the defect and bad ice conditions. On Jan. 3, 1999, however, inclement weather derailed a game against the Michigan K-Wings at the Coliseum. A game later that year was delayed 2 hours, 17 minutes because a snowstorm got in the way of the Ohio Gears’ appearance at the Coliseum. And the last Komets road game to be postponed came Jan. 5, 2005, when the team was on its way to Kansas City, Mo., before a flight was canceled and the game was called.
• The league office informed me it gave an incorrect ruling in regards to Mathieu Curadeau's penalty-shot goal with the team short-handed. Now the IHL is saying that Curadeau gets a plus and there are no minuses. It remains a short-handed goal.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Game postponed

The Fort Wayne Komets' game against the visiting Flint Generals, scheduled for tonight, has been postponed because inclement weather in Michigan prevented the Generals from making the voyage to Memorial Coliseum.

The game was to pit the International Hockey League-leading Komets against the second-place Generals.

The game has yet to be rescheduled -- the most likely time will be in early March -- and those who had tickets for tonight's game will be able to use them at the rescheduled game.

And the answer is ...

Add a short-handed goal to Mathieu Curadeau's statistics.

After much discussion and disagreement at Wings Stadium, the International Hockey League has settled on an answer to the question I posed Saturday night.

Curadeau, a Komets forward, got a breakaway while his team was short-handed and was pulled down from behind. He was awarded a penalty shot, on which he scored. So the questions became: Does that count as a short-handed goal? And how are plus/minus ratings affected?

According to Amy Stump, the IHL's director of media relations, the matter was discussed by the league and this ruling was made: Curadeau gets a short-handed goal, the Fort Wayne players who were on the ice when the infraction occurred get pluses and the Wings players get minuses.

Thanks for checking Amy.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Komets beat Wings

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- What happened to the Fort Wayne vs. Kalamazoo rivalry? The Komets own the Wings this season with an 8-1-1 record.

The latest game was a 5-2 Komets victory on Saturday night. The Komets were sloppy in the first and dominant beyond.

Anyone else wondering if the Wings regret not hiring Greg Puhalski last summer?

• Though goalie Nick Boucher looked a little shaky early, he recovered and stopped 26 shots in the victory. It's going to be fascinating to see how coach Al Sims makes his goaltending decisions down the stretch.
• P.C. Drouin had a goal and an assist, continuing his hot streak.
• The power play went 1 for 5. It, too, has been on a roll and the reason, according to Sims, is that he has so many players he can use on special teams he can ride the hot hands.
• If you see the post below this one about whether or not Mathieu Curadeau's penalty shot goal counts as short-handed, apparently there is disagreement. The Komets checked it all out and said it is short-handed. The Wings have ruled otherwise and are calling it even-strength. The IHL hasn't gotten back to me. I'm going to defer to the Komets' decision until I hear from the league, because I know I've seen this situation before and they've gone that way before.  (Plus, I can't find anyone who doesn't work for the Wings who thinks it isn't a short-handed goal.) I'll let you know when/if the league gets back to me on this one.
• For those wondering about Olivier Legault, a Komets official told me his finger injury is something he can't fight with right now. Since that's such a big part of his game, they figured they might as well let it heal for a while. I expect him to be out a couple weeks.
• With Flint losing 4-2 to Port Huron tonight, it makes you wonder if the Icehawks will be the Komets' stiffest competition. I still think the Generals are the ones to watch, but not if they play like they did in the third period Friday.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Figure this one out

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- OK, here's a bit of trivia.

In the first period, with the Komets short-handed, Mathieu Curadeau got a penalty shot and ultimately scored. Statistically speaking, does that count as a short-handed goal? What about plus/minus?

According to Komets officials, it does count as a short-handed goal. Only Curadeau will get a plus and no minuses will be given out to the Wings.

More interestingly, if it had been a power play goal, it wouldn't have counted as one.

Whether Pointstreak.com will see it this way, I don't know.

To announce or not to announce

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- This was sort of bush league. Apparently, the Komets' first two goals weren't announced over the public address system, or so I was told by several Komets officials. (I wasn't paying attention, myself). Perhaps the Wings didn't want to get all the Fort Wayne fans fired up? Anyway, they announced the third goal -- Fort Wayne leads 3-2 in the second on Kevin Bertram's goal -- but only after general manager David Franke said something to some Wings officials about it.

Komets, Wings tied at 2

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Late in the first period of an intense game, the Komets and Kalamazoo Wings are tied at 2.

The Wings got goals from Travis Granbois, on a redirection, and Nick Bootland, during a 5-on-3 power play with an open shot from the slot. Fort Wayne's goals came from Luciano Aquino, with a knuckling shot from 15 feet out, and Mathieu Curadeau on a penalty shot.

The penalty shot was well deserved -- although, it took referee Dean Sanborn what seemed like an eternity to call it -- after he was hauled down by Glenn Detulleo. Ironically, the Komets were short-handed at the time because Detulleo was high-sticked by Colin Chaulk.

Komets goalie Nick Boucher looks a bit shaky to me, but he's also not getting any help from his defensemen. And I hate to say it, but the Komets have to whine to the referees more than any team in the league. Seriously, during every stoppage they do it.

If you have any questions during the game, put them in the comments section.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

From A to Z, the Komets dominated

We learned a few lessons tonight.

A) Don't throw your hat onto the ice unless you're sure a hat trick has taken place. Several people lost their headgear, for no good reason, when a Mitch Woods' goal was ruled to be a Terry Marchant goal. Alas, Woods still scored twice. Not bad for a goon, eh?

B) Goal judges shouldn't push the button unless the puck actually enters the net. Otherwise, people start asking what that red light means. I'm kidding, of course, accidents do happen. Some nights they happen twice.

C) Just because you stink one week doesn't mean you stink the next. Kevin Reiter had a shutout, his league-leading sixth, after he couldn't make it out of the first period in back-to-back games last weekend.

D) The Komets and Flint Generals really don't like one another. The Komets' lopsided 5-0 victory was full of hitting, slashing, jabbering, fighting and cockiness. Even Luciano Aquino got into the act, throwing his fists into the air after a fight. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Ryan Jorde and Kris Mallette doing that all the time.  Surely not. This thing is going to get more heated with nine more meetings in the regular season. Should be fun. Frankly, the Komets aren't the team I would have been mocking, but that's just because I know they haven't played their best yet and they can take it to you -- just ask Flint goalie Eric Marvin, who faced 36 shots tonight.

E) Brent Henley needs to be a little smarter. He got an questionable interference call but then threw an absolute tantrum, slamming the penalty box door four times and screaming at referee Brett Klosowski. Henley got what he deserved. But he almost lost control the last time the Komets played Flint, cross-checking a player from behind into the ice. These antics are the kinds of things that get you on the wrong side of officials and that's not where you want to be. Plus, it cost the Komets one of their best players. And Kevin Bertram got tossed, too, for being the third man in a fight. Good thing the Komets have eight defensemen.

F) I'm a good-luck charm. Although the gymnast I wrote about a few weeks ago, who promptly tore her ACL, would probably disagree, generally when I write about a player he gets better. I wrote about  Woods in today's paper and he scores twice. I wrote about Reiter a few days ago and he get shutout in his next outing. I did a story on P.C. Drouin on Jan. 24 and he's scored a point in every game since. See, The Journal Gazette is good for you fans, so buy lots of papers.

• In case you're wondering, defenseman Maxsim Shirokov has an injured thumb and forward Olivier Legault an injured finger. Neither will play Saturday at Kalamazoo, Mich., and I expect Legault could be out a couple of weeks. I will be at Kalamazoo bringing you coverage, by the way.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Good new for Komets; bad news for Flames

Fort Wayne's Kevin Reiter won the IHL's Goaltender of the Month Award, after going 9-3-0. A Komets goalie has won the honor four straight months. Komets right wing Luciano Aquino was selected as IHL Rookie of the Month for January, after he totaled five goals and 13 points. It was the third straight month he's taken the honor. Flint's Michel Beausoliel was Forward of the Month. Flint's Shaun Fisher won Defenseman of the Month.

• I'm not shocked to read the American Hockey League hasn't been a hit in the Quad Cities. It came on late, first of all, but the support in the United Hockey League was waning, so it was naive to think the AHL would be more than a fad.
• Apparently, former Detroit Red Wings player Darren McCarty will have at least one more game in the IHL with Flint -- on Saturday at Port Huron, Mich., according to the Port Huron Times-Herald.
• Komets trainer Shawn Dundon continues to auction off the extensive jersey collection of deceased fan Stacy Musice. They are on eBay. To view what's new on there, click in the comments section of this post.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette