When the Komets°®¶¹app™ schedule was announced back in June, something immediately jumped off the page: a set of three home games in three nights against the mighty Florida Everblades, who have won the past three Kelly Cup championships.

Those games have arrived °®¶¹app“ 7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday at Memorial Coliseum °®¶¹app“ and are even more compelling now given the way both teams have started the season and the ties between the squads.

The Everblades are an ECHL-best 12-3-0, including a 6-2-0 record on the road. The Komets are 9-4-0 for the best winning percentage (.692) in the Central Division, and are 6-2-0 at the Coliseum despite losing their last game 6-4 to the North Division-leading Wheeling Nailers on Sunday.

Komets coach Jesse Kallechy was an assistant coach under Florida°®¶¹app™s Brad Ralph, widely considered the best head coach in the league, for the 2022 and 2023 Kelly Cups before taking the Fort Wayne job.

Komets forward Alex Aleardi, who has a team-leading seven goals, was a key player on Florida°®¶¹app™s run to the 2022 Cup. Defenseman Dustyn McFaul only played three games last season for the Everblades before he was part of the trade-deadline deal with Fort Wayne for popular Matthew Wedman, who scored the overtime Cup-winning goal against the Kansas City Mavericks.

While Kallechy acknowledged the games against Florida will be a good °®¶¹appœmeasuring stick°®¶¹app for the Komets, he didn°®¶¹app™t want to make too big a deal about facing the champs.

°®¶¹appœThey°®¶¹app™ve won three Kelly Cups in a row and are first place in the league, and we°®¶¹app™ll touch on it. But I don°®¶¹app™t think anybody°®¶¹app™s going to be shocked they°®¶¹app™re a good team coming in,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appœWe know the challenge that°®¶¹app™s ahead. We°®¶¹app™ll continue to take it day by day. I like where our game is at right now. I think we°®¶¹app™re doing more good things than not.°®¶¹app

Komets forward Brannon McManus, who spent the past two seasons with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, a South Division rival of Florida, was more emphatic about the stakes facing the Everblades.

°®¶¹appœThey°®¶¹app™re big, they°®¶¹app™re strong, they play fast, they°®¶¹app™re structured. They°®¶¹app™re three-peat champions for a reason,°®¶¹app he said. °®¶¹appœIt°®¶¹app™s going to be a big test for us. I think everyone in the locker room should be juiced for it. It°®¶¹app™s a good test for our team.°®¶¹app

Fort Wayne has the ECHL°®¶¹app™s third-ranked offense (3.77 goals per game), led by Odeen Tufto°®¶¹app™s six goals and 18 points. Florida°®¶¹app™s defense ranks first (1.60 goals against per game), led by star goalie Cam Johnson, who is 8-1-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average, an even better .941 save percentage and a league-best three shutouts.

The Komets are 41-20-5 on Thanksgiving °®¶¹app“ known as the Bob Chase Memorial Game in honor of the longtime broadcaster who died in 2016 at age 90 °®¶¹app“ and Fort Wayne will wear 1980s uniforms and auction them off during the game to benefit the Voices of Unity Choir.

It°®¶¹app™ll be Kallechy°®¶¹app™s first game against Ralph, but he downplayed that, too.

°®¶¹appœIn today°®¶¹app™s coaching world, there are very little surprises. We do so much video and watch each other so much, there aren°®¶¹app™t a ton of secrets out there,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appœBrad°®¶¹app™s the best coach in the league and I know he°®¶¹app™ll make a lot of adjustments in games and between games. We°®¶¹app™ll have to make sure we°®¶¹app™re on point in terms of making those adjustments. I think our game is in a good spot.°®¶¹app

The Komets are 5-8-0 all-time against the Everblades, but they haven°®¶¹app™t met since Jan. 29, 2020, when the Everblades won 5-2 in Estero, Florida.