Gems "Kill" Komets 3-0

On a night that had been dubbed "Kill the Komets Night" by the team's previous owners, the Dayton Gems (10-8-3) and their new ownership group did just that. Fort Wayne (11-6-1), coming off a shootout loss to Quad City the previous evening, seemed less than sharp throughout the contest. The Komets did outshoot the Gems 13-7 in the opening frame, but the period ended scoreless for both teams. Dayton forward Derek Parker received a boarding penalty just 14 seconds into the game, but it was the only penalty called by referee Scott Hoberg on the Gems all night. The second period was going much the same until Komets forward David Hukalo was given a hooking penalty at 18:57. He disputed the call and was given an additional 10 minute misconduct. On the ensuing power play 29 seconds later the Gems got on the board when defenseman Nathan Oke put a shot past Komets goalie Tim Haun. Forwards Dan Lapointe and Matt Auffrey assisted on the play. Shots on goal were even at 11 for both teams in the middle frame. The third period began inauspiciously for Fort Wayne when forward Tomas Klempa missed a wide open net and Haun had to deal with several aggressive opposing forwards going to the net and then some. At 10:28 Datyon forward Jonathon Ornelas broke through again to put the Gems on top 2-0. Defenseman Bryan Nathe and forward Mike Vaskivuo were awarded the helpers on the play. Just 14 seconds later, Derek Parker got an insurance goal to cap the scoring at 3-0 and seal the win. The tally was assisted by defenseman Phil Youngclaus and forward Tim Hartung. The Gems outshot the Komets in the final frame 13-10. Clearly frustrated by the performance, Haun was the first Komets player off the ice. Haun made 28 saves on 31 shots in the loss. Datyon goalie Derek MacIntyre stopped all 34 shots he faced for the shutout. It was the first time the Komets have been shutout this season.

Notes: The IHL announced on Friday, December 4, 2009 that the Gems would now be under the ownership of GDHP, LLC, a group managed by Rob Garfield, Kathy Rupp, and Dr. Paul Nitz. Announced attendance in Dayton was 1591. The Gems were 1-4 on the power play. The Komets were 0-1 with the extra man.