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Independence, MO —
If you haven’t visited the Independence Events Center to watch the Missouri Comets, do yourself a favor and check out tonight’s 7:35 p.m. playoff game against the Milwaukee Wave.
This year’s Comets team is as easy to embrace and support as the wildly popular Missouri Mavericks CHL hockey team.
Once you get to know guys like goalkeeper Danny Waltman, reigning MVP Byron Alvarez and Brian Harris, a tough-guy defender with a heart of gold – just ask little Blue Springs cancer patient Dalton Burner – and no-nonsense coach Kim Roentved you’ll be kicking yourself for not attending a game earlier in the season.
Tonight’s opponent is the reigning MISL champion Milwaukee Wave, and there is no love lost between these two teams. There were a few pretty decent wrestling moves thrown into the mix when these teams met in the regular season finale, with the Comets walking away with a 21-6 victory.
The winner of this series will advance to play either Baltimore or Rochester in the MISL Championship Series.
Following tonight’s game, the series moves to Milwaukee for a 3 p.m. game Sunday. If each team wins one game, a 15-minute mini-game will immediately follow Game 2 to determine the representative in the MISL Championship Series.
“Crazy man, it can all come down to a mini-game,” Waltman said, grinning. “But I say bring it on. We’re ready for anything.”
The 15-9 Comets won six of their last seven games and were 4-1 in February, thanks in part to the play of Waltman, who was recently named MISL Goalkeeper of the Month.
“I got the award, but I shared it with the guys on the team,” Waltman said. “We played some amazing soccer at the end of the season. When you see a team have success, it’s not just the goalkeeper or the offense or the defense – it’s a collective effort by everyone.”
The 18-6 Wave will surely be looking for revenge as they seek their sixth championship. After starting the year 16-2, Milwaukee dropped four of six in the final weeks of the season. The Wave went from allowing 9.4 points per game in the first 18 contests of the year to 15.8 points per game in the final six, including a season-high 21 to the Comets.
“With our offense, we can score on anyone,” said Alvarez, who had six goals and 13 total points in that win over the Wave. “We are so excited about the playoffs. We want to bring a championship to Independence and share it with our fans.”
If you haven’t visited the Independence Events Center to watch the Missouri Comets, do yourself a favor and check out tonight’s 7:35 p.m. playoff game against the Milwaukee Wave.
This year’s Comets team is as easy to embrace and support as the wildly popular Missouri Mavericks CHL hockey team.
Once you get to know guys like goalkeeper Danny Waltman, reigning MVP Byron Alvarez and Brian Harris, a tough-guy defender with a heart of gold – just ask little Blue Springs cancer patient Dalton Burner – and no-nonsense coach Kim Roentved you’ll be kicking yourself for not attending a game earlier in the season.
Tonight’s opponent is the reigning MISL champion Milwaukee Wave, and there is no love lost between these two teams. There were a few pretty decent wrestling moves thrown into the mix when these teams met in the regular season finale, with the Comets walking away with a 21-6 victory.
The winner of this series will advance to play either Baltimore or Rochester in the MISL Championship Series.
Following tonight’s game, the series moves to Milwaukee for a 3 p.m. game Sunday. If each team wins one game, a 15-minute mini-game will immediately follow Game 2 to determine the representative in the MISL Championship Series.
“Crazy man, it can all come down to a mini-game,” Waltman said, grinning. “But I say bring it on. We’re ready for anything.”
The 15-9 Comets won six of their last seven games and were 4-1 in February, thanks in part to the play of Waltman, who was recently named MISL Goalkeeper of the Month.
“I got the award, but I shared it with the guys on the team,” Waltman said. “We played some amazing soccer at the end of the season. When you see a team have success, it’s not just the goalkeeper or the offense or the defense – it’s a collective effort by everyone.”
The 18-6 Wave will surely be looking for revenge as they seek their sixth championship. After starting the year 16-2, Milwaukee dropped four of six in the final weeks of the season. The Wave went from allowing 9.4 points per game in the first 18 contests of the year to 15.8 points per game in the final six, including a season-high 21 to the Comets.
“With our offense, we can score on anyone,” said Alvarez, who had six goals and 13 total points in that win over the Wave. “We are so excited about the playoffs. We want to bring a championship to Independence and share it with our fans.”
The Comets were led offensively this season by midfielder Geison, the MISL’s regular-season scoring champion and goal scoring champion. His 90 points and 37 goals were tops in the league by significant margins. He scored at least one point in all but one game this season and finished the year strong with six points in each of the final two games against Milwaukee.
Alvarez finished with 78 points on the year, third best in the league.
The biggest area of concern for the Comets heading into the postseason is injuries to three starters – Tiguinho, who is out for the season with a torn ACL; Vahid Assadpour, who has a neck injury; and defender Ryan Junge, who has an ankle injury.
“Do we miss those players? Sure we do,” Roentved said. “But we have a deep bench and some very talented players who can take their place. In all sports, injuries are a part of the game. We don’t like it, but we have to deal with it.”
I personally can’t wait for the game. Geison and Alvarez are as explosive as the solar flares that are bombarding the earth; Waltman is so acrobatic he can stand in the center ring spotlight at the circus; and Harris and the take-no-prisoners defense will defend Waltman and the net as if their lives depend on it.
I really believe this underdog team is going to win the MISL championship, and all the fun and excitement begin tonight.
