KC Comets set for playoff challenge vs. St. Louis after hectic regular-season finish
The playoff pathway has been set for the Kansas City Comets after a regular-season campaign that went down to the wire.
The Comets entered the final weekend hopeful to win the MASL Shield, but a pair of overtime defeats to the San Diego Sockers took the wind out of their sails.
The Comets had to settle for a No. 5 seed in the Ron Newman Cup Playoffs. They will now face the St. Louis Ambush in a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals, starting Monday, April 6, at Cable Dahmer Arena.
An 11-10 home defeat in overtime on March 27 was a tough pill to swallow for the Comets, who led most of the second half until conceding the equalizing goal inside the final minute. It was a similar story for the team two days later in the season finale in San Diego, where the Comets let a second-half lead disappear in the fourth quarter before losing 5-4 in overtime.
Veteran forward Rian Marques was among the top players throughout the regular season for the Comets. He added seven points in the final two games to end the season as the league’s leader in points and became the co-winner of the passmaster award for most assists.
The Comets finished the regular season 2-6 in overtime, a theme that has been consistent for much of the team’s history. Now, the Comets hope to regroup for a deep postseason run.
There’s no reason why they can’t, even after finishing four spots below the intended target. Only four points separated them from the first-place Sockers in what was the most competitive season in the league’s history.
The first obstacle for the Comets to overcome will be an Ambush team that was also competing for the MASL Shield on Sunday, but STL was unable to finish the job after losing in overtime against the Empire Strykers.
The Comets won the regular-season series against the Ambush 4-2, but it was against St. Louis that this season’s overtime woes first appeared. While the Comets won in overtime against STL on Dec. 21, they suffered back-to-back overtime defeats on Dec. 31 and Jan. 4.
Since then, the Comets’ four most recent overtime defeats came against the Sockers. The good news for the Comets is that the Ambush also have not fared well in overtime, going 3-6 during the regular season.
The Comets plan to treat the playoffs as an entirely new season, where different players can step up and deliver. That is what helped them to the Ron Newman Cup Finals in 2024.
The only previous playoff history between the two modern franchises was when the Comets swept the Ambush in two games back in 2021 en route to a semifinals trip. They hope that part of history repeats itself five years later.
After Game 1, both teams will meet for Game 2 at Family Arena in St. Charles on Wednesday, April 8. Fans can secure playoff tickets by calling 1-888-9-COMETS or by visiting kccomets.com/tickets.