Nov. 13 is the last time this season when the Komets were in first place before tonight. That was nine games into the season and now there are nine games left. It's been a pretty remarkable 58 games inbetween.
"It's been a long chase for our team," Komets coach Al Sims said. "Since (November) we've been battling to get back to this spot, and everybody should be congratulated in that room because people were writing us off at the end of January and February, wondering if we were going to make the playoffs. It's a big deal for our hockey team."
Colin Chaulk played a lot more than I think anybody expected, but he didn't mind, saying, "I thought that was perfect. I felt OK, I wanted to be out there more. It's the only way you're going to get in shape. There were obviously some shifts where I felt slow, winded and whatever, but that's the only way is to work through that."
The Komets are 12-1-1 over their last 14 games and the schedule the rest of the way favors them as long as they don't slip up against Flint or Bloomington. They have six of their final nine games at home, and five of the nine are against Flint or Bloomington.
On Jan. 16, I wrote: "How remarkable would it be if somehow the Komets could recover from all these injuries and all the adversity and still have a strong second half? With their veteran leadership and playoff experience as defending champions, no one would want to face them in the playoffs. That could become one of the most amazing Komets seasons of all time, possibly even more historic than the way they won the Turner Cup last year."
Pretty amazing.
