Big goals. Big saves. Big punches.

Those are the surest ways to go into Komets lore.

Tyson Fawcett, Michael Houser and Dennis Kravchenko delivered all of the above in their debuts with the team.

Fawcett had a hat trick. Houser stopped 25 shots, including three at the end of odd-man rushes. And Kravchenko had a memorable fight with A.J. Jenks in a 4-2 victory over the hated Toledo Walleye, in front of a crowd of 10,089 at Memorial Coliseum tonight.

Not only was the building packed, but legendary Komets such as Len Thornson, Chuck Adamson and Steve Fletcher were in attendance, but the newest Komets didn't disappoint.

It was a great way to start the team’s 66th season, and it was important for the Komets to start breaking from their doldrums against the Walleye.

Last season, Toledo won 5 of 6 games in the regular season and 4 of 5 in the second-round playoff series between the teams.

The Komets, built to be a speedier team this season, totaled 13 of the first 19 shots – including an opportunity from 10 feet out by captain Jamie Schaafsma that was foiled by goaltender Matej Machovsky 2:27 into the first period.

A play that began with Schaafsma intercepting a clearing attempt by Toledo’s Austen Brassard ended with Cody Sol sending a shot off Machovsky and Shawn Szydlowski sweeping the rebound just over the goal line for a 1-0 lead at 9:28.

However, Toledo answered just 48 seconds later when Kyle Bonis circled the net and slipped a wraparound shot just inside the right post.

The momentum quickly shifted back into the Komets’ favor, thanks to a pair of Fawcett goals, one from the left dasher boards and the other on a breakaway.

Machovsky kept his team in it by stopping Mason Baptista on a second-period breakaway but Machovsky came out of the game at the next stoppage and was replaced by Pat Nagle, who starred for the Komets the last three seasons and had stopped 20 shots in Toledo’s 3-2 season-opening victory Friday against the Quad City Mallards in Moline, Illinois.

Nagle’s replacement, Houser, who is in Fort Wayne through the new affiliation with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, foiled Connor Crisp at the end of a 3-on-1 rush at 7:58 to keep the score at 3-1. But Bonis soon scored his second goal by snapping the puck in from the right circle in a play that was soon followed by the frenetic Kravchenko fight.

(Video highlights above.)

Houser kept the Komets’ lead at 3-2 with a save 5:44 into the third period, when Christian Hilbrich had a breakaway and tried to put the puck between the netminder’s legs, and Houser came up big again at 10:34 by preventing Shane Berschbach from putting a rebound into what looked like an open net.

Fawcett polished off his hat trick by taking a pass from Justin Hodgman and sending a pass across the slot that caromed off Toledo defenseman Davis Vandane and into the net for a 4-2 lead.

jcohn@jg.net