Like everyone else in the International Hockey League, the Fort Wayne Komets have been looking for a sniper, and General Manager David Franke has a long memory.

The Komets claimed forward Justin Chwedoruk from the Quad City dispersal draft in 2007, and the winger is expected to sign today and play in Friday's game against Muskegon. Chwedoruk, 5-foot-9, 170-pounds, has been playing this season in Europe where two teams went out of business while he was on the roster.

“I've been in touch with him off and on since we drafted him,” Franke said. “He's not a veteran, and he knows what Fort Wayne is all about. I think he'll be a good addition.”

In his best season, Chwedoruk scored 24 goals and 68 points in 71 games with Quad City in 2006-07. He also had 110 penalty minutes.

The Komets are also planning on activating defenseman Kevin Bertram for this weekend's games, meaning they have to make two roster moves to get under the IHL's 20-man roster limit.

Assistant coach and center Colin Chaulk will miss Friday's game as he has returned to Toronto for his grandmother's funeral. The Komets will fly him into Bloomington in time for Saturday's game against the first-place PrairieThunder.

The Komets also hope to find out today the status of forward Matt Syroczynski, who has played 11 games with Norfolk of the American Hockey League where he has one goal and three points.

The scoring average in the league is down to 3.0 per team per game. Last year it was 3.54 and Bloomington was the lowest at 3.1 per game. No team is averaging as much as 4.0 goals per game, and 10 goaltenders have a save percentage of .900 or higher.

When Brandon Warner set up Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock's third-period goal on Sunday in Muskegon, it was the first time in the Komets' 58-year history that two Fort Wayne natives had combined on a goal.

Most of the Fort Wayne natives have been goaltenders: Chris Wright, Rick Wynn, Joe Franke and Brian Gratz and Ron Ullyot never played with another player from the Summit City. Ryan Potts scored two points last year playing in a game when Warner was injured. John Baldasarri and Colin Chin played 20 games together at the start of the 1986-87 season but never hit together on the score sheet.

The home teams are dominating so far, going 28-10-4 and giving up 2.69 goals per game.

Bloomington has scored on 37 percent of its home power plays...

December is reverse jersey month in the IHL when teams will wear their road uniforms at home... With six Wednesday home games after Feb. 1, the Komets are going to offer $1 Pepsi products and $2.50 beers.