The Komets came back from a 2-0 deficit to score three goals in the third period and disappoint a big Kalamazoo crowd with a 3-2 win over the Wings. The win moves the Komets ahead of Kalamazoo and into sole possession of third place in the International Hockey League.
With 21 games left on the schedule, Port Huron has 74 points, Muskegon, 72, the Komets 67 and Kalamazoo 65. The Komets, who are 16-7-4 ont he road, are off Sunday while Kalamazoo travels to Muskegon. The Wings have the best home record in the IHL at 18-8-1, but the Komets have won their two times in Kalamazoo.
The Komets have won three in a row on the road and are 6-0-3 over their last nine. They have not lost in regulation on the road since a morning game in Muskegon on Jan. 13. They are 7-2-4 on the road since 2009 started.
Despite out-shooting the Wings 23-5 during the second period, the Komets could not crack Kalamazoo netminder Jason Tapp. That quickly changed in the third period as P.C. Drouin scored his team-high 27the goal of the season off assists from Mathieu Curadeau and Konstantin Shafranov 4:44 into the period. David Hukalo scored his third goal in two games at 7:58 from Curadeau and Dominic Osman to tie the score. That set up a the game-winning goal by Curadeau, his 23rd of the season, off assits from Drouin and Guy Dupuis.
Nick Boucher made 25 saves for the win in the Fort Wayne net, keeping the Komets in the game early as they were out-shot 16-3 in the first period. Boucher is now 9-4-2 on the road this season.
Curadeau's three points extended his point-scoring streak to 11 games. He has six goals and 11 assists durng the span. He now has 104 points in 101 games as a Komet.
Dupuis also matched Terry Pembroke for second all-time on the Komets games played list with 784th appearance. With a first-period minor, he also joined Steve Fletcher, Dale Baldwin, Cal Purinton, Robbie Laird, Dave Norris, Robin Bawa and Pembroke as the only Komets players to receive 1,000 penalty minutes in a career.
The Komets finish February with a 5-1-4 mark heading into a 15-game schedule in March that starts Wednesday at Flint.
