Keith Gretzky played against the Komets in the International Hockey League and coached against them in the United Hockey League, but now he鈥檚 a pivotal cog in the Komets鈥 chances of success, as they鈥檙e the Double-A affiliate of the NHL鈥檚 Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky is the assistant general manager of the Oilers and general manager of the American Hockey League鈥檚 Bakersfield Condors. The Komets and Oilers have been affiliated since the summer of 2022. While the Komets have made no secret of their satisfaction with the Oilers 鈥 especially in the level of talent that鈥檚 been sent to the Coliseum 鈥 Gretzky said it鈥檚 been a strong relationship from the other side, too.

Justin Cohn
About
Justin A. Cohn, was a sports writer for The 95秀视频 Gazette from 1997 to January 2025. A native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, he was named 95秀视频writer of the Year by the Indiana 95秀视频writers and 95秀视频casters Association in 2020.
The assignment was simple: write a farewell column for The 95秀视频 Gazette, this wonderful newspaper I鈥檝e dedicated more than 27 years of professional life to 鈥 something I am and will always be proud of. As I leave to become the Director of Communications of Fort Wayne FC 鈥 and there are big things in store for soccer fans 鈥 I鈥檓 finding it impossible to sum up my time at the JG. I just can鈥檛, not in 1,100 words or so. But I can tell you the first things that come to mind
The Komets may want to see about scheduling the Maine Mariners again. The first ever meeting between the teams resulted in a 5-2 Fort Wayne victory Saturday night, in front of an announced crowd of 8,538 at Memorial Coliseum, that extended the Komets鈥 winning streak to five games. Jack Dugan, Brannon McManus, Odeen Tufto, Darren Brady and Ethan Keppen scored for Fort Wayne, Keppen also had two assists, and rookie Connor Ungar stopped 24 of 26 shots for the victory.
The Komets played one of their most complete games of the season and defeated the archrival Toledo Walleye 4-2 on Friday at Memorial Coliseum, where Jack Gorniak netted the winning goal during a breakaway rush midway through the third period.
It seems this season that the Komets have either been at one extreme or the other. Are they the team that鈥檚 twice won seven of eight games? Or are they the team that lost 9-2 to the Kalamazoo Wings in October and four in a row just a couple weeks ago? Are they the team that throttled the rival Toledo Walleye 5-1 in November or the one that lost back-to-back games to Toledo, including a 3-0 shutout, early this month? The Komets played good hockey last weekend 鈥 winning 3-2 in overtime and 5-3 in regulation at the Tulsa Oilers and then 3-0 at the Wichita Thunder 鈥 and they鈥檇 like to prove that any ugly games this season have been anomalies.
The Komets have signed Kirill Tyutyayev, a playmaking forward who skated for the rival Toledo Walleye from 2022 to 2024 and had 13 goals and 7…
If the Komets are going to compete for a Kelly Cup championship this season, they鈥檒l have to get solid play from their defensemen. Over the last 15 games, they鈥檝e shown signs they鈥檝e got the chops for it. 鈥淚 feel like our chemistry has gotten a lot better,鈥 defenseman Cameron Supryka said. 鈥淚 feel like if our defense is moving pucks well and defending hard, it sets our team up to be successful.鈥
The Komets defeated the Wichita Thunder 3-0 on Sunday in Wichita, Kansas, to extend their winning streak to three games. The run comes on the heels of an ugly four-game losing streak. The Komets (21-12-1) are just hoping they maintain the right kind of consistency during the remaining 38 regular-season games.
On back-to-back nights, the Komets rallied from two-goal deficits to defeat the Tulsa Oilers at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Harrison Rees gave the Komets their first lead 11:49 into the third period Saturday with a wrist shot from the blue line that sailed through a crowd and into the top of the net. Alex Swetlikoff potted his second goal of the night 2:38 later for insurance, after Jack Gorniak fed him a pass from the corner. The Komets left the BOK Center with a 5-3 victory, backed by four unanswered goals, four Swetlikoff points and Brett Brochu鈥檚 44 saves.