Komets Conquer Generals in Annual Turkey Day Contest

The Fort Wayne Komets (10-4-0) finally broke out of their goal-scoring drought on Thanksgiving night, and that was a very good thing, as it turned out that they needed every single point to top the struggling Flint Generals (3-12-2). The Komets had scored 3 or fewer in 8 straight prior to their annual turkey day bought. Fort Wayne drew first blood just 5 minutes into the opening frame when the crowd cheered local favorite Brandon Warner upon getting his first goal of the season, giving the K’s a 1-0 lead. Kevin Bertram and P.C. Drouin picked up the assists. At 11:20 something that vaguely resembled a fight took place between Bertram and the Generals’ Pascal Rheaume. The crowd indicated their disapproval of the hugging match with a smattering of boos. Flint finally got on the board at 18:07 with an unassisted short-handed goal by John Mori that evened the score at 1-1. Former Komets defenseman Jake Pence, who was traded to the Generals prior to the start of the season, was in the box for roughing at the time. The second period got off to a fast start when Komets scoring leader P.C. Drouin netted his 4th goal and 14th point in 14 games just 57 seconds in to put the K’s up 2-1. At 8:15, Rick Varone made it 3-1 on a power play just before time expired on Armando Scarlato’s tripping penalty. Assist were awarded to Guy Dupuis and Leo Thomas on the play. But the Generals’ weren’t about to surrender. At 11:39 they responded with a power play goal of their own by forward John Ronan, a tally that reduced the deficit to 3-2 and snapped the Komets home penalty killing streak at 30 successful kills. Fort Wayne’s Frankie DeAngelis had been sent off to serve a too many men on the ice penalty just 7 seconds prior to the goal. It was the first time this season that a team had scored on the power play against Fort Wayne at the Memorial Coliseum. Pascal Rheaume and Steve Silver picked up the helpers. Another fight broke out at 12:57 when Bobby Phillips took exception to Tyler Willis’ interference with Fort Wayne goalie Tim Haun. Both picked up 5 minute majors for fighting, but Willis received an additional 2 minutes for goaltender interference. Exactly 3 minutes later, tempers flared again with the Generals’ Armando Scarlato trying his luck with Komets forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, who didn’t take long to best his opponent. Fort Wayne stretched their lead to 4-2 to end the period when Justin Chwedoruk scored at the 17:53 mark. After going scoreless in his first Komets game, Chwedoruk now has 3 goals and 4 points in the 4 games he has played for Fort Wayne. Guy Dupuis got the assist. The back and forth play would continue into the third period as Flint’s Jamie Schaafsma pulled his team to within 4-3 striking distance at 4:05. Brandon Gentile and John Mori assisted on the tally. But the Komets pulled away again following a controversial play just under 1:30 later. Keith Rodger’s rush up the ice appeared to be off-sides, but no call was made, so the game continued. Rodger went on to set up teammate Sean O’Connor for what would become the game-winning goal. Goalie Tim Haun was awarded his 2nd assist of the evening on the play that restored Fort Wayne’s 2 goal cushion. Flint cut the Komets lead to 1 again at the 9:11 mark when Nathan Ward’s shot got by Haun. Chris Bogas and John Mori were assigned the helpers. But the second half of the third period was a fruitless one for both teams, despite Flint pulling goalie Jean-Francois Labbe for the additional attacker. The Generals could draw no closer as the clock ticked down, and the Komets held on for the 5-4 victory.

Notes: This was the 48th consecutive year that the Komets have played on home ice for Thanksgiving, and the team is 30-14-4 in that time. Announced attendance was 8243. Flint was 1-5 on the power play. Fort Wayne went 1-4 with the extra man. Jean-Fracois Labbe stopped 24 of 29 shots. Tim Haun made 23 saves on the 27 shots he faced. Rick Varone suffered a minor knee injury during the game and is listed as day-to-day. The Komets have won 3 straight games. Flint has lost 7 straight. Former Komets tough guy Olivier Legault attended the game.