When the Komets last faced Arizona – a 6-3 road loss Jan. 28 – the feeling was that there was unfinished business with the Sundogs.
So much has happened since then, though, the Komets hardly remember what had them so riled up at the end of that fight-filled game.
"I don't even know if the guys remember that game after the whole Bloomington thing," Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock said, referring to last week's games with the Blaze, which included captain Colin Chaulk hitting his head on the ice at the end of a fight, and a separate brawl that left goaltender Nick Boucher suspended four games and defenseman Bryant Molle suspended three.
"I don't know how many guys even remember what happened with Arizona. It hasn't even been talked about, really. So I don't think it's an issue at all."
There were four fights and 99 penalty minutes at Prescott Valley, Ariz., including 27 for defenseman Brent Henley's mauling of Jean-Philipp Chabot. (Click here for video. Oh, and here.)
Even though they've only met five times – Fort Wayne is 2-2-1 in those games – there seems to have always been bad blood between the teams, who have engaged in nine fights. (Just look at the 2:10 mark of this video.)
But the Komets (32-16-3) aren't concerning themselves with retribution for anything. With 15 games remaining in the regular season, they trail Evansville by three points for first place in the Turner Conference.
And with only 13 points separating first and fifth place in the conference, with the fifth-place team missing the playoffs, the Komets can't afford to sacrifice points for payback against the league-worst Sundogs (16-28-7).
"We've had all these games going on, especially those three games last week with Bloomington, and that's like a new rivalry boiling up. We put (the Blaze) in the back of our minds," defenseman Frankie DeAngelis said.
"But we're going for a playoff push; we want to get first place. This game is important and we're concentrating more on winning, beating Arizona.
"Last time we played them, we lost. All hell broke loose, yeah, but that was something that happened at the end of the game. That stuff takes care of itself. We just need to make sure we come out with the two points.… We've got a really tough team, so we're not worried about that."
