Komets general manager David Franke still believes he will have a coach in place by June 1, though he declined to get into specifics about potential candidates – with one exception.It was the debut of the new Ford Center in Evansville on Saturday night. That worked out OK for the IceMen, who got 8,722 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in the CHL this season.
It was also the Komets debut for goaltender Kevin Beech. That didn’t go as well.
After a 15-minute pregame delay to repair shoddy ice, Beech gave up three goals on 17 shots, and he got precious little help from the offense, in a 3-1 loss to the IceMen (3-0-1).
Josh Beaulieu scored twice for the IceMen, and former Komets forward Sean O’Conner also scored for Evansville.
Two of those goals came on power plays, when the IceMen were 2 for 5.
The Komets (2-2-0) put 22 shots on goalie Pier-Olivier Pelletier.
Brett Smith scored Fort Wayne’s only goal at 2:44 of the second period to tie the game at 1.
There were four fights, including one in the waning seconds between Fort Wayne captain Colin Chaulk and Matt Gens, who initiated the scrap with a cross-check to Chaulk’s chin.
The Komets have their third game in as many days when they play Quad City at 5 p.m. today at Memorial Coliseum.
