Defenseman Jason Binkley will miss the remainder of the season, general manager David Franke confirmed today, after Binkley broke two bones in his arm sustained an open-ice check from the Wichita Thunder's Gabriel Verpaelst in overtime Wednesday at Memorial Coliseum.

“He’s been, without a doubt, our most productive offensive defenseman and his play has really picked up the last few weeks,” Komets general manager David Franke said of Binkley, who had eight goals and 24 points in 48 games.

“What can you do? It’s a really a freak injury. You just move on. We’ll address his loss either through a trade or a junior kid or college kid coming in soon.”

The Komets expect to get defenseman Sean Flanagan, who they acquired Wednesday from Greenville for future considerations, into the lineup this weekend. Flanagan had 13 assists in 50 games this season with the Swamp Rabbits.

There is other big news ...

All-star forward Justin Hodgman is expected to return to the lineup against Wichita at 8 p.m. Friday at the Coliseum.

Hodgman has 12 goals and 39 points in 32 games. He has been out since breaking his hand fighting Indy’s Zach Miskovic on Jan. 11, though Hodgman was able to score two goals while captaining the Western Conference in the ECHL’s All-Star Classic on Jan. 21 because it was a 3-on-3 non-hitting affair.

And the Komets have traded goaltender Lukas Hafner to Allen for future considerations. Hafner was 12-10-2 with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage for the Komets. This means Eric Levine won the battle to become Zach Fucale's backup.

It's the second goalie the Komets have sent to Allen this season, having already sent Kyle Hayton to the Americans as compensation for J.C. Campagna.

jcohn@jg.net