What a shocker, another home victory for the Komets, 4-2 over the Flint Generals. That makes 17 in a row, one off the franchise record set in 1963-64 and five off the International Hockey League mark set in 1965-66 by the Muskegon Mohawks.
You know what was a shocker? How lopsided a game this was Wednesday. The Komets outshot the Generals 49-19, including 22-2 in the second period. Granted, the Generals are very banged up and played two men short. But the Komets played one man short and it seemed almost all of the Generals' offensive chances were a result of mistakes by Fort Wayne.
I thought Komets goalie Nick Boucher really set the tone early, stopping a Jordan Fox shot at the back end of a 4-on-1 rush to keep it scoreless.
"You rely on your defenseman to stay in the middle of the slot and take away some of the passing options," Boucher said of the sequence. "And then you hope the guy just shoots it and he kind of did that. I got lucky. He just came down the wing and fired it. It's Fox and he's a quality player. He just didn't make a really good play on it. "
- There were two brilliant saves in this game. Flint's Eric Marvin made a mid-air stop on Mathieu Curadeau, after Marvin was tripped up by his own player in the second period. Unfortunately for him, Curadeau got to his own rebound and scored. But it was pretty all the same.
- The Komets weren't happy with themselves, feeling they played poorly. After outshooting the opposition by 30? Hmmm.
- Even though the Generals pulled within a goal of Fort Wayne early in the third period, the Komets came right back and got a Luciano Aquino goal on a redirection. When leading in the third period, the Komets are 32-1-1.
- The Komets played without defenseman Brent Henley, who served the fourth game of his five-game suspension for high-sticking Tyler Willis of Kalamazoo. As part of the punishment, the Komets had to play one man short of a 19-player lineup. There were also without center Terry Marchant, who injured his ankle during practice and will be out through the weekend, and defenseman Brandon Warner (knee).
- Curadeau came off the ice late with an apparent head injury. General manager David Franke said he should be OK.
- I'm told Mitch Woods' third-period misconduct was for arguing with the officials over where a faceoff should have been.
- I couldn't help but chuckle during the second period when I overheard Flint's radio broadcaster, Denis J. Puska, refer to the Komets' "immobile" defense being a weakness. Huh? That being said, I think Puska has been a great addition to the Generals' organization. He's very entertaining.
- The writer from The Flint Journal took a shot at the people of Fort Wayne. I'll bite my tongue, but I'm sure you all can chime in. (May I suggest some references to the movie "Semi-Pro," which is set in Flint.)
-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette
where did he come up with allen park? and its funny to read him bashing our intellegence when you can read his article and find numerous gramatical errors!
Posted by: chuckitt | March 05, 2008 at 11:29 PM
I find the constant picking on the city for the name of the Komets frustrating. The history of that name is well documented and easy to find. Blaming the city and using that as an example to prove the city's stupidity makes the writer of the article look silly. How the Komets name is spelled is not the fault of the city.
If they want to pick on Fort Wayne and the Komets for stupid things, they can go after the silly ugly promotional jerseys the team has worn over the years especially in the UHL. The year they wore the pink holiday jerseys with snowflakes...there should have been some executions over that! I saw the upcoming camo jerseys...groan. The causes for these are always good, just leave the jerseys alone.
Posted by: TGP | March 05, 2008 at 11:51 PM
Who really cares what a hack like Brendan Salvage thinks anyway. He live in Flint for peats sake.... nothing to be really proud of there.
Posted by: Pat | March 06, 2008 at 12:24 AM
TGP, I completely agree with promotional jersey's that the money goes to charities.
Cohn, I have never had a difference with you, but I will take exception to your thoughts on Puska. After being directed to him on another board, I loved listening to him. He isn't like another "away" commentator I have ever listened to. He might have made a comment about the Komets "only" fault is a slower defense, but he was prasing the entire night. If the Komets had one fault, our defense is a tick slower then our offense. He seems like he sees more about the game the most of us. It was amazing to hear him call the game with no bias at all. I'm glad I can count on B2 Ft. Wayne vs. Flint to be a great commentated voice!!!!
Posted by: Jerad Shaw | March 06, 2008 at 12:50 AM
You could always post about Flint being one of the top most dangerous cities. Hey, I'd rather be living in the dumbest city than the most dangerous. I'm sure Fort Wayne has achieved a little higher status since that article last came out but I doubt Flint got better. haha
Posted by: Ashley | March 06, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Sorry I missed #17 in a row but just got home from the Blackhawks game. They totally dominated the Ducks 3-0. Great seats right on the ice and not a bad crowd for a Wednesday night, 16,666 attendance. Wore my Komets jersey and had about 5-6 people acknowledge the Fort Wayne Komets jersey. It was pretty cool. The game in person was like watching a rink full of guys Legault's size with Aquino's speed. Unreal.
Posted by: New Komet Fan | March 06, 2008 at 02:27 AM
salvage is an idiot....i had some friends who went to a komets game at flint last year and no longer than 2 minutes after gettin there at a stop light....a guy ran up to their car askin them if they wanted to buy some weed or cocaine..or both...wow what a great city to live in!!! way to go tonight k's.....i think woods got that ten for makin the ref look like an idiot..it wasn't like woods was yellin at him or goin crazy.....i thought the puck should have been brought out of the zone anyways because it looked like woods hit it out with his hand...i dont know how to rule that one! someone let me know on that
Posted by: kometfan | March 06, 2008 at 04:02 AM
I'm glad I don't remember the last time we lost at home= it means we are a WINNING team!!!!
Posted by: mightbite | March 06, 2008 at 04:27 AM
the only thing that is worse than his "writing" is flints economy
Posted by: duglaw | March 06, 2008 at 06:31 AM
Yeah, the Frankes are really pretty stupid people and so are the people of Fort Wayne. We average about 7000 folks for hockey games and it's been going what since 1953? I know that hockey will be here in 5 years but will it be in Flint? I believe we probably have more season ticket holders then Flint has seats in their rat infested arena. (Can anyone cue up the movie slapshot). So yeah, I guess were all just a bunch of idiots. Can someone give this guy a Fort Wayne welcome next time he comes to Allen County Park I mean the Memorial Coliseum. Because according to the Flint writer (and I use the term loosely) we changed the name after it was renovated.
Posted by: gman | March 06, 2008 at 06:50 AM
I bet we have more people in the restrooms during intermissions than Flint can hold in their entire rink. Savage needs to get a life and just admit his Generals STINK!! He doesn’t have anything good to report on his team so he attacks other towns and fans. Although we should take it as a compliment that he talks about us, they generally pick on the BEST!!!!!!!
Posted by: Rich | March 06, 2008 at 07:32 AM
My response to Savage in his paper and blog: Well first of all get the name of the stadium correct. Seems to me the last time I was in Flint I had to wipe rat poop off my seat and all of the toilets were backing up, kind of reminded my of the movie slapshot! For such a stupid city there are a couple of natives (the Frankes) who are pretty darn smart. Seeing that the Komets have more season ticket holders then can even fit into your rat infested arena I don't think there is really any room to criticise. I know there will still be hockey in Fort Wayne in five years, can you really say the same thing about Flint. So I may live in a stupid city but I can drive down the street without the fear of being shot.
Posted by: gman | March 06, 2008 at 07:56 AM
Savage is a clown.
As far as the game, the K's gave it 75% and still dominated. Good to see Legault get a goal and then make Tuzzilino run like a girl. =)
The Generals need a captain that doesn't stink. Marvin should have beat Mallette with his stick for laying in his crease and costing them a goal. Mallette is a slug. And Beausliol... does that guy ever shut his yap? Somebody should stick a fist down his throat.
Other than that, great win by the K's the Turner Cup Train just keeps rolling down the tracks!
Posted by: Jungle Monkey | March 06, 2008 at 08:09 AM
Hey Jerad, don't prove his point. Did you ever read what I wrote?: "I think Puska has been a great addition to the Generals' organization. He's very entertaining." How is that negative? The comment was how he thought Fort Wayne had an immobile defense was bind-boggling. What's Flint's?
Posted by: Justin Cohn | March 06, 2008 at 08:32 AM
But the Generals have those cool Reebok-Edge-style jerseys.
Posted by: Turner | March 06, 2008 at 08:35 AM
And Ft Wayne fans wonder why they are the most disliked fans in the league...
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 08:47 AM
I took a stand for the fort and posted this on savage's article today:
Well there you have it. 17 in a row and 6,802 fans there to see it. I'm just glad the generals were able to make it to the game...well at least the 1st and 3rd periods. Savage I loved your pregame notebook piece mentioning the intelligence of Fort Wayne. Maybe you should move here, or at least take a typing class - "We'll the opportunity to rest some guys (down the stretch). We have enough guys who can step up and play a regular shift. It's a nice option for us." - I think you forgot a word in there.
I love how everyone criticizes Fort Wayne for spelling Komets with a K, but no one seems to be smart enough to research why. A little history lesson for you: 56 years ago when the Komets were founded Ernie Berg used a K instead of C after his wife Kathryn. Also as far as names go I'm pretty sure anyone that knows anything about minor league hockey has heard of the Fort Wayne Komets. That is what it is all about - Pride. That is why we have 6,802 fans at the game on a Wednesday night. How many games does it take for the generals to entice that many fans. We appreciate the hockey tradition here in Fort Wayne, so worry about your own attendance and in the mean time we'll be here rockin the jungle.
Go Komets!
Posted by: Brian | March 06, 2008 at 08:47 AM
Good job by the Komets last night. Can't commet on Savage's stuff because i refuse to read his blog anymore after his Toledo disaster.
Getting ready to see the Coyotes-Canadiens game tonight.
See you all on Saturday night.
Posted by: Greg | March 06, 2008 at 09:00 AM
STEVE65497...please explain your point to why Fort Wayne fans are the most disliked? You seem contentious?
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Because HE IS contentious!
Nothing said on this particular topic should in any way make Komet fans look bad. We are reacting to an insensitive comment that really had no place in a sports blog by the writer of a sports team in a city that has SO MANY PROBLEMS it really should be looking at Ft Wayne with awe than with contempt. Komet fans can be a pain about other topics, but not this one. We are unified on this one, I think.
Get a clue, Stevie. A big one!
Posted by: TGP | March 06, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Some comments from this very Blog...
Commets From Cohn's blog.....
"Who really cares what a hack like Brendan Salvage thinks anyway. He live in Flint for peats sake.... nothing to be really proud of there."
"i had some friends who went to a komets game at flint last year and no longer than 2 minutes after gettin there at a stop light....a guy ran up to their car askin them if they wanted to buy some weed or cocaine..or both...wow what a great city to live in!!!"
"I believe we probably have more season ticket holders then Flint has seats in their rat infested arena."
"I bet we have more people in the restrooms during intermissions than Flint can hold in their entire rink"
"Seems to me the last time I was in Flint I had to wipe rat poop off my seat and all of the toilets were backing up, kind of reminded my of the movie slapshot!"
I rest my case
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 11:29 AM
I worded my comment wrong Justin. I didn't take an exception to anything. I was just kinda saying I love his commentary. My apologizes.
Posted by: Jerad Shaw | March 06, 2008 at 11:38 AM
I think Puska is very good, very entertaining, good for the organization, a nice guy.
Posted by: Justin Cohn | March 06, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Steve65497 - Perhaps none of those comments would have been made if your very own Savage was a tad more professional?
Maybe a certain writer in your town should hold his tongue a touch more and those lovely quotes you have there never would have been spoken?
Flint could learn a ton from the Komets. Imagine that, Flint learning something from the dumbest city around.. What does that tell ya??
Posted by: komets123 | March 06, 2008 at 12:05 PM
TGP...I agree, good post and to the point. Savage has been able to stir some of us up, only because we are very passionate about our Komets and our great city. Insult passionate and prideful people and the fangs come out. If our record was in the basement you could safely bet Mr.Savage wouldn't even bat an eye at us. However, that is not the case, we hold the top spot in the IHL and in attendance. We are in the crosshairs everytime it's hockey night in Fort Wayne.Now...Steve65497, I can appreciate the passion you have as a hockey fan and assuming you are from Flint,the pride you have for your city.The point is you really have no basis to say we are the most disliked fans in the league because of a few blog entries.
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Not a bad game last night.
However, the best player on the ice last night was Flints very own Kris Mallette. Without him the Komets do not score 4 goals.. So Put your hands together for our favorite D-man..
Every time the komets scored i think he was out there.. Heck, he even held his goalie out of the way for us on 1 play. .. I am starting to really like this guy.
Posted by: komets123 | March 06, 2008 at 12:10 PM
The Condescending attitude has been around for years...
Being proud about your hockey team is one thing...but just the mentality that most you guys have is another..
I have meet a number of Ft Wayne fans over the years, and i consider alot of them friends. But it is comments like..."Flint could learn a ton from the Komets" that make you guys look like you think you are bigger than what you really are.
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 12:17 PM
We are the least liked fans now since Rockford is out of the league, right Steve? ;-)
Posted by: Ashley | March 06, 2008 at 12:22 PM
come on steve are you kidding me....how come stating the truth on what i posted makes us bad?? i mean it is the truth...a guy came up to them in flint at a stop light and wanted them to buy weed or cocaine or both...how safe of a city is that?? do you see guys on coliseum walkin up to your car saying hey i got some cocaine its really good wanna buy some?? I haven't had that happen to me in all the years i have been comin to hockey games!! the komets are on a tear and his generals are ina slump he just has to have something to write about and make fort wayne seem bad....
Posted by: kometfan | March 06, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Steve, if the Komets were in last place would we fans still have the condescending attitude that you emphatically portray us to have? Better yet what if Flint was in first and the Komets last? You wouldn't even post here if that was the case. Savage took a cheap shot at us, like TGP posted earlier, the article from Men's Health has absolutely nothing to do with his hockey blog. So now your team and city are getting H.E.A.T rounds from our fans. Two wrongs do not make it right but three lefts do.
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 12:56 PM
H.E.A.T= high explosive anti tank
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 12:58 PM
I agree with Steve. We're a bunch of cocky jerks.
But when your as good as the Komets ALWAYS are.. you can be a little cocky. It's the same reason everybody hates the Yankees. Take it as a compliment folks..
Posted by: Jungle Monkey | March 06, 2008 at 01:00 PM
And i have lived in the Flint area for 30 years...not one time have i been approached to buy drugs, or seen mouse droppings at the arena...
If i was in the Ft Wayne area i would not post on a blog every shortcoming the city has....im not that pathetic.
This dosent have anything to do with that place our respective teams are in...
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 01:03 PM
Steve- You keep picking the latest quotes to use for your argument, however you fail to realize every comment has been made in retaliation. Everything said on this forum, and to you, has been provoked. Pick a new angle for your argument.
Komets nation is a large one. Naturally with a larger fan base everything is magnified more. Good and bad alike. with current circumstances you may only being seeing the bad side of things..
Under current circumstances, your beat writer called out the Komet nation. Komet faithful responded and returned fired. You have taken over from here and fired additional shots.. saying
"And Ft Wayne fans wonder why they are the most disliked fans in the league... "
Now every response to you has been provoked..
Posted by: komets123 | March 06, 2008 at 01:09 PM
"Komets nation"?!?!?!
Again...i rest my case!!
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 01:11 PM
Yes.. Komet Nation. Never heard a saying like that referring to a sports teams fan base?
Didn't mean to throw something at you so complex. will dumb it down for you flint fans next time
Posted by: komets123 | March 06, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Yea i have heard of the term....from MAJOR league pro sports team....
Posted by: Steve65497 | March 06, 2008 at 01:17 PM
You're a warrior Steve. I can see you love the city of Flint and its hockey team, you'll defend them to the end! Just like the rest of us fans here in Fort Wayne. Guess we're not that different are we?
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 01:18 PM
Steve, you're a tool, get off our blog and get back on your own. I've had enough of you.
Posted by: #1 Komet Nation Fan | March 06, 2008 at 01:32 PM
Take it easy people... Jeez..
Posted by: Jungle Monkey | March 06, 2008 at 01:39 PM
Major league sports teams are only ones permitted to use that term.. Gottcha. Will keep in mind for future debates with you. I will inform rest of Komet nation in due time..
Come on Steve. Sorry to offend, (if id did) , but am simply replying to your previous attacks. Most fans on here and the ones found at the coliseum are indeed friendly people. Sorry for your experiences and observations that may differ from this.
Perhaps next time approach a "komet blog" with a more diplomatic statement. Might get a totally different response. However, I fear your current visit to this blog is already tainted. such a shame.
Us Komet fans that defend our city and team should be punished I am sure. Next time You and Mr. Savage can have free reign at slanderous comments concerning the Komets and Fort Wayne.
well ok, maybe not.
Posted by: komets123 | March 06, 2008 at 02:14 PM
Mr. Steve likes to make inflammatory statements on other hockey sites then ducks for cover here after his own Mr. Savage takes his stabs at Fort Wayne... Good call there sir... It is truly sad that you don't see thigns for the way they actually are... Your team is underachieving BIGTIME so you take your anger out on the Komets and their fans because you don't measure up... Does that hit home enough for ya...
Posted by: Komet Gallery | March 06, 2008 at 02:32 PM
What funny blogs today and yesterday. The Komets are famous everywhere. I have even gone to Canada with my Komets jersey on after a game at Port Huron a few times and even had a guy not let me into Canada until I talked about the Komets with him for a few minutes...and I thought I was in trouble for something and really it was just someone who knew of the Komets and wanted to know more. WOWO has done a lot for getting the Komets across the airways and the number of players/coaches to go through leaves its mark on the country. How nice must it be to play for a team that has 25 people go to Bloomington (4-5 hour drive) for what is a meaningless game to the Komets? How cool is that to be cheered in every building you play in? People hate us like an earlier blogger said because we are one of the premier minor league towns around and others are indeed envious of it. I love the Yankees ananalogy although I hate the Yankees. Every city/town in the country has its flaws but in the city of Fort Wayne Kometnation is something we can call ourselves for 55+ years of having a team that is almost always near the tops of the standings in attendance/game standings. I think history and the numbers give FW fans that right...not they need it. The product on the ice and the fan support on the road is enough. I have been to every arena in the UHL then and IHL now except Flint and will be there this year and every place I have gone I have had fans thank me for coming to their building to help them keep having a team. They know the attendance FW fans bring to their building helps them tremendously. Ask Kalamazoo to take 10-15 thousand off their yearly attendance every year if FW doesn't play there. GO KOMETS!
Posted by: Tom | March 06, 2008 at 02:57 PM
sorry about the long post...but had a lot to say after reading all of this.
Posted by: Tom | March 06, 2008 at 02:58 PM
best post ever tom. how do you tell other teams fans what the komets mean to us? how can they understand? ive been around since the beginning and now 55 years later we still have a team, the same name and one of the best minor league barns to play in. i know each day i wake up and i know there will be komet hockey. how can you descibe this feeling to others? ive been able to be a komet fan, a coliseum goer and a bob chase listener for 55 years. how do you ever begin to put that into words to a dummy with a team and arena that you never know if its gonna be there tommorrow?
Posted by: chuckitt | March 06, 2008 at 03:48 PM
Glad to hear Cuadeau is ok, he looked like he was struggling to get back to the bench.
Also it has been said before that the article that says we are the stupidest city comes from Mens Health, which also has articles on how to better plaesure your lover and such, sounds like a real valid source.
Posted by: Ryne Gurney | March 06, 2008 at 03:52 PM
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if local beat writers would just stick to there own teams and not worry about any other teams unless they are specificly reporting on game action, not pre-game, and not what's going around the league. the internet let's us do that all on our own.
Posted by: Greg | March 06, 2008 at 05:36 PM
Amazing post Tom,thank you.The WOWO comment was right on...I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach last Nov.while checking out a place called the Barefoot Landing one of the vendors asked my girlfriend where we were from.His first words were "oh yeah,WOWO and the Komets".Come to find out he had grown up around the Washington DC area and remembered listening to WOWO and Komet hockey games.True story.
Posted by: St.Christopher | March 06, 2008 at 06:26 PM
WOWO needs to go back to the 50,000 watts it used to be also because people really got used to hearing the Komets. It is really sad that in Warsaw I can't hear the games over the radio and I have to watch them on the internet or over komets.com either way you have to pay for what used to be something I could do. I remember the Canada trip so well because they started talking about some Komets I didn't know and they were old Cleveland Lumberjacks fans so I remembered that team. This team means a lot to the people here...and I am glad some liked the post. It is from the heart and that is what this team has been for a lot of people through the years. Nothing is more exciting as a fan also to go to another arena and know that you can actually have enough fans to cheer for your team as loud or louder than the home crowd. That is tradition, experience, and dedication and if Steve still does not understand then I am sorry for him...would talk to him in person and try to explain but don't know what else to say. You can't win them all? Or can we?
Posted by: Tom | March 06, 2008 at 06:58 PM
HEY- 1st it was k-zoo Buckos & now flint Buckos - when King- Kong HENLEY returns saturday to put these Buckos away !!! It is fun though having others join in.
Posted by: mightbite | March 06, 2008 at 07:29 PM