With four games remaining in their first CHL regular season, the Komets (29-26-7) could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in the Turner Conference.

“We know that the higher we are in the standings, the lesser our opponent will be,” forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock said. “We’ve just got to get points here. The more we get, the weaker of an opponent we’ll have, we know that. It’s all about getting points.”

Heading into tonight’s game at Bloomington, Ill., the Komets have 65 points and are tied with Dayton for seventh place. They are two points back of Quad City and seven points back of Wichita.

Things are equally muddled in the top half of the conference, where Colorado has 82 points, defending-champion Rapid City has 80, and Bloomington and Missouri have 76 points apiece.

Judging by the statistics, the Komets should probably hope for a first-round matchup with Bloomington (35-20-6), the opponent with whom they are most familiar. The Komets are 0-1-0 against Colorado, 0-2-0 against Rapid City, 3-6-0 against Bloomington and 0-3-0 against Missouri.

But the Komets’ desire to move up is more about heightening the chances for home games in the playoffs, avoiding historic powerhouses Colorado and Rapid City, and getting momentum.

“If we’re hot going into the playoffs, we don’t really care who we play. With that said, we have to get on a roll here,” Schrock said.

The Komets are 4-6-2 over their last 12 games, failing to win back-to-back games along the way, including Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Bloomington at Memorial Coliseum.

“(Bloomington) is a good team and they work hard. That’s basically their game,” Komets coach Al Sims said.

Sims said he just wants his team “to survive” the final two weeks of the season, which sees them play eight games in 11 days.

“It’s not easy on anybody,” he said.

The Komets are getting defenseman Matt Krug on loan from Chicago of the American Hockey League, general manager David Franke said. He’s expected to join the Komets on Wednesday.

jcohn@jg.net