Justin A. Cohn

A new rule in the ECHL this season upped the size of teams’ rosters from 19 players to 20 for games, but the Fort Wayne Komets have yet to take advantage and been playing one man short of a full lineup. It hasn’t seemed to hurt them as they have a 7-2-0 record, their best nine-game start since going 8-1-0 in 2014-15. The Komets have been playing short-handed because they’re so close to the salary cap ceiling they can’t fit a 20th player on the active roster and also because – and this may be difficult to understand – they don’t have as many players from the NHL or American Hockey League as they’d expected to get from the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors.

Jack Gorniak netted a goal but the Komets lost 4-1 to the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Event Center, where Wings goalie Jonathan Lemieux put on a show Nov. 15, 2024.

The Komets have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, after falling 4-1 to the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Another first also occurred: Defenseman

The Komets defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 5-3 on Nov. 16, 2024, at Wings Event Center. Wings goalie Jonathan Lemieux put on a show. Alex Aleardi had the winning goal in

With a 45-13 advantage in shots, you’d think the Fort Wayne Komets' game Saturday night wasn't close. Not the case. The Komets needed every bit of offense they could muster to depart Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a 5-3 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.

The Komets defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones 6-1 at Memorial Coliseum n Nov. 17, 2024. The game features goals, saves and rough stuff galore. Clips courtesy FloHockey/Komets/ECHL

For the first time this season, the Fort Wayne Komets really had to get down in the muck with another team. The Cincinnati Cyclones came to town with the ECHL’s worst record and a desire to play physically from the first drop of the puck. That made for an uncharacteristically exciting, sometimes dirty, Sunday game even though both teams were playing for the third time in as many days. The Komets won 6-1 in front of an announced crowd of 7,252 at Memorial Coliseum. “You never really know what to expect from Sunday games,” Komets forward Odeen Tufto said.

Komets forward Yanick Turcotte was suspended one game by the ECHL, despite a change to penalties he received in Sunday's 6-1 victory at Memorial Coliseum over the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Regardless of the situation, Komets forward Ethan Keppen wants to be on the ice. What he does out there may not always be pretty, but that’s sort of the idea.

The Fort Wayne Komets have a 9-3-0 record – their best through 12 games of a season since the 2021 Kelly Cup championship team began 8-1-3 – with the second most points (18) and top winning percentage (.750) in the Western Conference. Nine of Fort Wayne’s players were on the roster last season, when the Komets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and they often talk about how much different this season’s squad seems. Last season’s Komets were talented but also incredibly young, and the addition of experienced leaders through free agency – such as Anthony Petruzzelli, Alex Aleardi and Justin Taylor – has influenced the locker room in a profound way, the players said.