After two days off, the Komets had a pretty healthy workout this morning at McMillen Park Ice Arena. Kevin Bertram is still out with an upper respiratory illness, and today rookie Justin Hodgman also missed practice with an illness. Defenseman Brent Henley and Sergei Durdin were back at full strength and said they'd be ready to go this weekend.
Coach Al Sims is also going to miss a couple practices this week to head to Buffalo to watch his son Jordan play in the the Tier I, Under-18 National Championships. Jordan Sims, a forward, is the leading scorer on the Mahoning Valley Phantom Fireworks Midget Major AAA team. Sims will watch a couple games in the tournament and then head home in time for Friday's game at Bloomington.
Player/assistant coach Colin Chaulk and captain Guy Dupuis will run practices in Sims' absence. Not a big deal.
One thing that I find interesting about this team is that it's near the end of the season, they have nothing to play for but they are still pretty focused and seem to be fairly well rested. Sims has been very good about giving guys extra days off.
``He's been quite clear that if you need days off to let him know,'' Chaulk said. ``If you're tired going into the playoffs on this team, it's your own fault.''
