Al Sims, 60, who guided the Komets to five championships between 1993 and 2012 with a stint coaching the NHL’s San Jose Sharks in between, retired Monday as the winningest coach in the francise’s 61-season history.
Artem Podshendyalov had the best game of his young career, and the Komets’ late charge gave them a 5-3 victory at Bloomington, Ill.
The PrairieThunder led 2-1 before the Komets rattled off four straight goals in the last 33 minutes, 18 seconds.
It began with back-to-back goals from Podshendyalov, who also had an assist, in the eighth game of the 21-year-old’s career.
Forwards Colin Chaulk and Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock also scored in the third period to cement the game, as the Komets improved their recent surge to 6-1-4.
Defenseman Guy Dupuis played in his 1,000th game with the Komets.
The Komets got a first-period goal from Neil Musselwhite, and goalie Nick Boucher stopped 30 of 32 shots, in front of 3,455 fans at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
