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.
The Komets’ power play has been reliable. They have netted a goal with the man-advantage in four of six games this season.
But on Saturday, in their 4-3 victory over the Evansville IceMen at Memorial Coliseum, the Komets’ power play was stellar with goals on 3 of 9 opportunities.
“One thing about the power play, we’ve had a power-play goal in almost every game,” forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock said. “But I think (Saturday), we finally did really get things clicking, and the thing with the power play is guys have to get used to playing with each other a little bit and that will help a lot, too.”
There are some newcomers seeing time on the power play this season, including forwards Derek Patrosso, Brandon Naurato and Chris Francis.
But with the team believing it has five or six potential 30-goal scorers, the Komets think their talent level should make their power play more effective than it’s been.
“You would think so,” Patrosso said, “but it’s about guys getting used to the stuff we’re doing. For some guys, it’s different than what they’ve done in the past and you have to get used to that, and get used to playing with each other.
“We just need to play some games and get used to the game pressure. If you look at the box scores, we might have a decent percentage but we can be a lot better.”
The Komets are 2-3-1 and in last place in the nine-team Turner Conference. But they’ve played fewer games than anyone in the 18-team Central Hockey League heading into Thursday’s game at Dayton.
With an efficiency of 16.3 percent on the power play, the Komets rank 10th in the league.
Patrosso has a team-leading three power-play goals. Defenseman Guy Dupuis has a team-best five points with a goal and four assists.
“Chris Francis adds a lot to your power play,” Komets coach Al Sims said of the player assigned to Fort Wayne by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets last week. “He had chances (Saturday). He could have had three or four goals. He was snakebit around the net. But he’s a kid who’s going to score; he will have a lot of points if he stays here.”
Francis has one assist in two games.
Last season in the IHL, the Komets’ power play ranked third among seven teams with an efficiency of 19.66 percent.
