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°®¶¹apps 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°®¶¹apps 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 °®¶¹appmeasuring stick°®¶¹app for the Komets, he didn°®¶¹appt want to make too big a deal about facing the champs.
°®¶¹appThey°®¶¹appve won three Kelly Cups in a row and are first place in the league, and we°®¶¹appll touch on it. But I don°®¶¹appt think anybody°®¶¹apps going to be shocked they°®¶¹appre a good team coming in,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appWe know the challenge that°®¶¹apps ahead. We°®¶¹appll continue to take it day by day. I like where our game is at right now. I think we°®¶¹appre 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.
°®¶¹appThey°®¶¹appre big, they°®¶¹appre strong, they play fast, they°®¶¹appre structured. They°®¶¹appre three-peat champions for a reason,°®¶¹app he said. °®¶¹appIt°®¶¹apps going to be a big test for us. I think everyone in the locker room should be juiced for it. It°®¶¹apps a good test for our team.°®¶¹app
Fort Wayne has the ECHL°®¶¹apps third-ranked offense (3.77 goals per game), led by Odeen Tufto°®¶¹apps six goals and 18 points. Florida°®¶¹apps 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°®¶¹appll be Kallechy°®¶¹apps first game against Ralph, but he downplayed that, too.
°®¶¹appIn today°®¶¹apps coaching world, there are very little surprises. We do so much video and watch each other so much, there aren°®¶¹appt a ton of secrets out there,°®¶¹app Kallechy said. °®¶¹appBrad°®¶¹apps the best coach in the league and I know he°®¶¹appll make a lot of adjustments in games and between games. We°®¶¹appll have to make sure we°®¶¹appre 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°®¶¹appt met since Jan. 29, 2020, when the Everblades won 5-2 in Estero, Florida.
