Komets goaltender Nick Boucher wasn't on the ice for practice Monday, as he continued to rest a thumb injury that was aggravated Oct. 31.

Asked whether he'd play this weekend, Boucher said: "Absolutely, I'll be back."

Boucher, who has guided the Komets to back-to-back Turner Cup championships, said he has suffered several minor injuries to the thumb on his right hand.

"Against Muskegon, my stick got twisted back and it snapped my thumb awkwardly. It's happened to me before," Boucher said. "There's a lot of scar tissue in there."

This is significant because it affects Boucher's ability to hold his stick properly, but with some time it should heal up fine, he said.

In the meantime, the Komets did have two goaltenders at practice -- Tim Haun and Tyler Sims.

Sims, the son of coach Al Sims, had been in training camp with the Komets but lost out to Haun in a battle for the final roster spot. He went to play for Mississippi of the Central Hockey League, but was 0-2-0 with a 5.17 goals-against average and a .831 save percentage before he was released last week.

The Komets have not signed Sims and only will if Boucher's condition worsens.

"I'm staying in shape and staying on the phone," Tyler Sims said. "I'm letting people know I'm available."

• This is interesting. You'll recall that the Oct. 31 game was the one in which there were two first-period brawls that resulted in a 15-game suspension for Brad MacMillan and a 12-game suspension for Muskegon's Robin Big Snake. During the second fracas, when Jason Lawmaster was pummeling Konstantin Shafranov, there was a moment when Boucher skated out to the blue line and almost pulled Lawmaster off Shafranov. What stopped him? His thumb had just been hurt and he knew it'd be a bad idea to join the fray.