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

Comments

[duglaw]

looked like a goal to me in and out reak fast

[duglaw]

sorry (real) fast

[David]

Henley did get what he deserved tonight and while I love Henley and what he brings to the K's overall tonight's outburst was a little selfish on his part. THe ref did make the correct call on the penalty, but he blew the Bertram call.

[deuce]

maybe he was mad he didn't do so well in his fight?

[deuce]

hey justin, does that other paper still cover the komets? i get that one and never see the amount of coverage from them that i do with you. thank god for the internet. great job justin!

[Skoal Apple]

What call was blown on Bertram? He was the third man in on a fight. I must of missed something.

[kyle hunt]

The person Bert was protecting was not fighting, he was covering up and taking punches, so I guess he was only the second guy in on a fight.

[Canuck]

Aside from the Henley fight, which Mallette stayed away for most of it, it was total domination by the Komets. Flint sucked.

[kometfan]

From where i was sitting in 230 i saw that woods did deflect that second goal in...just how it deflected and went in there was no possible way that marchant could have tipped that in...also why didnt mallette get a third man in.....another thing you have wrong is about legault... i talked to him tonight..asked him if he was injured...HE said that he was NOT injured....he is a healthy scratch!! so whoever said he had a injured finger or whatever is wrong!! i do believe he is gettin tired of not playing!!! too bad flint was missing their two top scorers...sure looks like they missed them....cirone and bullock are big assets to that team and without them they looked lost!! great game by reiter

[kometfan]

Also that flint goal that was not called even though the red light went on was a bad call by the ref for not paying attention....everyone i was sitting by saw that the puck had went passed the red line!! just lucky that the ref was as dumb as he was and didnt pay attention

[Jungle Monkey]

Mallette is the world champion of holding Brent Henley's jersey. What a chump.

[kometfan]

Did anyone else see Boucher runnin his mouth to mallette after that fight with henley?? i thought it was hilarious...boucher was goin crazy and then he went to the penalty box after henley got tossed and was yellin at either another flint player or the ref..he was fired up..

[Jungle Monkey]

Where is everyone sitting in Kzoo tonight? Shaw, you taking your crew?

[Greg]

Great jod by Reiter to come back with a shutout. Also great job for the Komets to play a complete game. Yes a couple of mistakes made, but i thought they played hard for the entire 60 minutes.

I've watched a lot of hockey in my 37+ years and I can honeslty say that this was one of the very, very few games where I've seen a team just up and give up like Flint did in the third period. To me it looked like they just didn't care. They were going throught he motions. It was really embarrising.

[mightbite]

I'm a big Henley fan but last night he acted like a 2 yr. old. What is up with all the holding on during the fights - throw e'm like KING-KONG PROBERT!!!

[Justin Cohn]

Thanks for the comment Deuce. I'm doing my best. It's nice when people take notice. ... Boucher was going nutso, wasn't he? ... And I agree, Flint looked like they had called it in during the third period. Surprsing, especially after they were running their mouths last week.

[Hit Somebody!!!]

Woods indead had 3 goals. The 2nd goal in question was deflected by Woods in on the side of the net into the goal. He got "Rob-ed".

Henley needs to keep his head. What exactly does showing up the ref get you in that situation? UH....a game misconduct. He deserved it. We needed him on the ice in case one of the Flint players really hurt one of our guys last night. Flint is a bunch of cheapshot artists. How many times did they run or bump Reiter last night? How many times did I see elbows or high hits to the head or face last night to guys like Chaulk, Aquino, Huk, and so on? Way too many,.

Bert got screwed, plain and simple. He was protecting the #1 scorer in the league after 3 guys were mugging him after which he was ran into the net.

That was the most physical game in years last night. No kidding either. It was.

Who was the guy that doubted Curadeau's physical play. Did anyone watch him last night rattling the boards? He made the one hit that led to a penalty on Flint which led to a goal.

Woods!!! He needs a regular shift. Put him back on the #1 line. He plays awesome on that line and can protect that line too.
TOP 3 LINES:
Chaulk, Aquino, Woods
Curadeau, Hukalo, Shaf
PC, Marchant, Reynolds

Legault needs back in the lineup too.

[kyle hunt]

Hit, those lines are perfect!

[Homco]

Might see if the misses wants to go to k-zoo tonight.

Where is everyone sitting?

[Hit Somebody!!!]

Don't get me wrong, I like Saidachev alot. I think he is a good player. He would be better suited as an extra skater right now because he is a very good energy guy. He could be thrown in on nay line and make plays too. I would utilize him in that role. Woody is a very good up and coming player. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and drives the other team nuts. He has skill too. He is a better version of Tyler Willis. A much better version of him.

Legault needs to be on the line-up each night too. I am not sure who sits to make room for him though. Actually I do know who it should be. A guy that continues to struggle and I think he hurts us more than helps us at times. He turns the puck over way too much. No offense guys, but Durdin has been a major disappointment this year. He is not getting it done. Legault can add things to this team and I see Durdin as having a very rough time of it and needs some time off. Sorry about that.

[Marissa]

okay. yes, henley shouldnt have gone quite so far.[[although it was kind of entertaining.]] but i could see it perfectly from my seat...the ref could not. he didnt do any thing. totally bad call.

[Jerad Shaw]

I will not be making the trip to Kzoo tonight! Brock Lesner and Frank Mir do battle in the octagon and I need to witness that and play some cards!!! I was a healthy scratch and put on the 7 day IR!

[Homco]

Well, The wife and I are in, we are in sec 23 row e.

Hope its a good one!

[Ron]

Then Bozo of the game award goes to.................

[Andrew]

Anyone see Port Huron's attendance last night? 800something...that's really scary considering season ticket holders are included in that number.

[bidder]

I thought last night's game was excellent. Henley's fight was terrible (if you call it a fight). Not sure what Henley was doing but get after it if your going to get the 5 for fighting. It looked like he didn't want any part of it. Durdin continues to pass it to the wrong team. Lets dress Legault tonight and on Wednesday. I agree, Flint had a goal- couldn't tell who shot it but it did look like it went in from our vantage point. Reiter played awesome last night.

[kometfan]

everyone keeps talkin about legault should be in the lineup..hes not hurt so he should...like i said i talked to him at the game....he wants to play but is on IR so there is nothing he can do! he really wants to get more than 2 shifts a night also!

[mightbite]

Hit- like your lines but change Shaf & Reny around .Legualt as extra forward .Jerad- Mir wins by submission-rd.1

[TGP]

Hit Somebody,

The game last night was more physical than ANY UHL game ever. It was fabulous, and yes your boy Curedeau had some great hits last night, but most nights he DOES NOT hit like that nor do the Komets. He is usually an Ulf Dahlen type who is IN THE WAY, but not a big banger. He had some big bangs last night as did the Komets AND the Generals for that matter.

The first two periods were as good a hockey game as far as physicality, hitting, and intensity we will see. Let's hope it becomes a habit.

Most of what I had to say, has been said. Hanson...I am not a fan. He was first guy on the scene in the Aquino fiasco and he was last one to do anything, and he did nothing. Bertram did what Hanson SHOULD HAVE done.

Henley, I guess his legend status is a bit premature. He lost another one to Mallette, and as of right now Mallette is the champ, (or at least he thinks he is based on his belt gesture) IF Henley was the previous champ. Mallette fought a very smart fight, and got some good shots at the end. Funny that fight is linked on here yet!

Henley was also very selfish in his tirade. The Komets need him on the ice, not in the locker room. I wish Henley would have shown all that aggression and hostility in his fight, rather than take it out on the penalty box door. I like players with an edge, but not a ten cent head.

[brando]

TGP, I agree with ya, all but your Curedeau opinion...I see him play the body on a regular basis. You dont have to drill someone for it to be a solid hit.

First two periods were great, wished Woody had the hat trick. Reiter played good. Colin Chaulk continues to impress me. It was nice seeing Jorde didnt do squat. Henley's actions were unacceptable, its nice I bring a friend from out of town with me last night, I was bragging on Henley before the game to him, with both agreed the fight was a draw, slight edge to Mallette at the end, reason for that, Henley was trying to get free and throw some punches and it didnt work out. Then for him to act the way he did was unacceptable, it was a questionable call, I think it made him and the team look bad. Hopefully Mr. Franke and coach addressed it to him. We need him on the ice.

Bert's call was crap, I seen the replay of it, looked like a 2 minute rough. You would think Hansen would have done something. I like Hansen but, I've seen him fight 15-20 times, I cant reacall ever seeing him drop the golves, shed the helmet, and actually square off with someone.

Wish I was in K-Zoo, but I'll settle for B-2 tonight. GO KOMETS!

[Hockey girl]

You know what? You know what I don't get? When a guy gets a penatly why doesn't he just sit his butt down and SHUT UP? I just don't get that. If you want to stay in the game why don't ya just sit on down? Sometime s It looks to me as if their just trying to get attention? ALso Woods isn't a goon!!!!!

Define the word goon:

A tall awkaward dude that likes to get stuff started Um................. OH YEAH:

Jeff Ewasko!!!!!! (Bloomington) 16

[kyle hunt]

Henley was just pissed he looked bad in his fight in front of 7800 hometown fans! Tough to take when your knocked off the pedistal that 5 or 6 hometown fans put you on! He is needed on defense, that if what he is pretty darn good at, fight when it is needed, not at every drop of the hat, I never thought he was that good at it anyway.

[TGP]

"I've watched a lot of hockey in my 37+ years and I can honeslty say that this was one of the very, very few games where I've seen a team just up and give up like Flint did in the third period. To me it looked like they just didn't care. They were going throught he motions. It was really embarrising."

Greg, I agree with you on last night, but did you not watch any of a number of teams in the UHL QUIT when the Komets had any kind of lead in the UHL, especially in the 02-03 and 03-04 seasons, and especially if the team was Missouri! We called them on another message board...the Quitter Otters. Many teams have quit in the third period in Fort Wayne before, Flint last night was not the first. It was maybe more noticeable due to how intense they were in the first two periods. Many teams in the UHL were NEVER intense.

[Greg]

But that was the first time I thought it was really bad especially for a team that is supposed to be a contender. Really for me I haven't seen that in a while. And while Some other teams have packed it in, what was real noticable about it was the fact that the komets didn't. Most times when one team quits so does the other. That didn't happen in this case, the only reason this game wasn't a laugher on the scoreboard was Eric Marvin. If it wasn't for his saves, the final score would have been 9 or 10 to 0.

[Canuck]

Can't say that I remember seeing Curadeau destroy anyone with a hit but I always seeing him throwing bodychecks.

On another note, Jorde skated into Reynolds and threw a hard elbow to his head. I wish the ref had my viewpoint - it was a penalty for sure.

[TGP]

I saw that elbow as well...vicious.

Curadeau DOESN'T destroy people with hits, but he actually had some good solid contact in this game...good hits in other words. Most of the time, he just makes rather mild contact, not in this one.