Comets cruise past Wings, crowned Central Cup champions

The Kansas City Comets scored eight goals unanswered to ease their way past the Wichita Wings, winning the inaugural edition of the Central Cup at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas on Sunday evening.

Less than 24 hours after defeating the St. Louis Ambush, the Comets traveled to Wichita and pounded the Wings to claim the Central Cup as the only team with an unblemished 3-0 record.

The Wings opened the scoring after Brent Hobson assisted Nathan Clark. After that, it was all Comets as Nick McDonald replied with a fantastic effort before Kevin Ellis scored the game-winner to make it 2-1. Lucas Sousa scored his third of the tournament from the powerplay towards the end of the first quarter and John Sosa scored the only goal in the second period to give the Comets a 4-1 advantage at halftime.

Leo Gibson and Kevin Ellis added two more goals towards the Comets tally in the third period before Adam James scored his sixth goal of the tournament. Kevin Ellis put the final nail in the coffin and scored his third of the game to complete his hat trick as the Comets ran out with an 8-1 win.

The occasion wasn’t perfect for the Comets, as John Sosa was given a red card for three time penalties. Despite that, it was still a very convincing performance from KC. Sunday’s win was the second road win this season, equaling the amount they had last season.

The Comets outshot the Wings 41-17, including holding the Wings to just five shots in the second half. Nicolau Neto was forced into a handful of excellent saves in his season debut.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the entire tournament was the Comets defense, who struggled last season. Even without Robert Palmer and Stefan Stokic, the Comets defense was fantastic. KC conceded a total of seven goals over the course of the three matches. Kevin Ellis, once again, showed his flexibility in dropping into a more defensive role and still managing to rack up five goals in just two games.

Offensively, the Comets put on a clinic. Adam James played a pivotal role with six goals and showed that he can be a guy that the Comets will lean on to score this season. Mixing in different players in different games, the rookies showcased themselves well and will be able to learn quite a bit from this tournament.

Kansas City’s three-game sweep of the Central Cup included wins over the Dallas Sidekicks, St. Louis Ambush, and now the Wichita Wings. The Comets outscored their opponents 23-7. With high expectations for the Ambush, who went 0-3, the Comets opened some eyes as a team that may be able to push for the championship with some new talent.

The Comets will kickoff their regular season with a four-game road trip, beginning on Saturday, January 2nd when they visit the Dallas Sidekicks.

Central Cup Final Standings

1. Kansas City Comets (3-0)- 6 points
2. Dallas Sidekicks (2-1)- 4 points
3. Wichita Wings (1-2)- 2 points
4. St. Louis Ambush (0-3)- 0 points