Komets Fall to Icehawks 6-1

The Fort Wayne Komets (23-13-0-2) missed a golden opportunity to move closer to the league leaders in the standings Tuesday night, losing to the rival Port Huron Icehawks (28-9-0-3) in Port Huron, MI. In fact, it turned into the sort of game that couldn't end soon enough. Play in the first period was an ominous indication of what was to come as Port Huron rattled off three unanswered goals. At 10:39, forward Mickael Bedard put the puck between Komets goalie Tim Haun and the post after the puck was stolen from Fort Wayne's defense. Defenseman Jamie Lovell and forward Nick Lindberg picked up the assists. Then at 13:01, forward Derek Patrosso netted a rebound goal with Lovell earning his second assist, bringing the score to 2-0. Just 9 seconds later, Komets forward Kaleigh Schrock, probably hoping to spark his team, got into a fight with Port Huron defenseman Mike Gershon. In addition to the fighting majors, referee T.J. Luxmore slapped Gershon with a 2 minute minor for high sticking. But Fort Wayne's struggles to find the net continued. The power play went nowhere despite the Komets getting good scoring opportunities. Such was the story of the night. At 17:54, The Icehawks punctuated that fact by jamming up the goal crease and moving the puck seemingly at will until they found a favorable shot. Forward Pete Rouleau tallied to make it 3-0. Patrosso and Bedard got the assists. Late in the third, Port Huron goalie Larry Sterling went down following a play and was attended to by the team's trainer Kristie Hittle. Sterling stayed in the game, but did not return after the first intermission. If Fort Wayne was hoping his replacement, Adam Russo, would be any less sharp, they were sadly mistaken. But then, they weren't helping the situation much. At 6:11 of the middle frame, Icehawks defenseman Adam Maccarone put the puck past Haun to make it 4-0 after a confused play that included one Komets player losing his stick in front of the net. Lindberg and forward Brandon Kaleniecki were awarded the helpers. Fort Wayne defenseman Guy Dupuis finally got his team on the board at 14:03 with a shot from the right point on the power play. Lindberg had been sent to the box for hooking at 13:33 to give the Komets the man advantage. The goal was Dupuis' 118th with the Komets, breaking the team record for goals scored by a defenseman, previously held by Jim Burton. Assists went to forwards P.C. Drouin and Colin Chaulk. But Port Huron was undeterred, making the count 5-1 at 18:59 when Bedard put a hard snap shot from the left wall just under the crossbar on Haun's glove side. Patrosso picked up a helper on the play. That ended the night for Haun, as he finished out the second period but was relieved by back-up Nick Boucher for the third. The change did little to change the momentum of the game, however. At 5:33 of the final frame, Komets forward Justin Chwedoruk was whistled for interference, and at 5:56, Lovell cashed in on the resulting power play after Fort Wayne failed to control their defensive zone despite one Port Huron player breaking his stick. The goal capped the scoring at 6-1. Patrosso and Rouleau assisted. But The Komets still had some fight of the literal kind left in them. At 11:35, forward Brad MacMillan took on Icehawks forward Jason Kostadine. Then at 12:47, Komets defenseman Bobby Phillips had a go with Port Huron defenseman Rob Cowan. But for the remainder of the period, the 5 goal deficit proved too daunting, overcoming any spark the fights might have ignited. Haun made 15 saves on 20 shots. Boucher stopped 9 of 10 in relief. Sterling left the game a perfect 7 for 7, and Russo posted 18 saves on 19 shots.

Notes: Announced attendance was 1150. The Komets were 1 for 5 on the power play, while the Icehawks went 1-3. With the win, Port Huron moved into a tie with the Muskegon Lumberjacks for first place in the IHL. It was Fort Wayne's second loss in a row. It was Haun's first game in Port Huron since his suspension for taking a swing with his stick at Patrosso in a 2-0 shutout by the Icehawks on December 12. Komets defenseman Keith Rodger missed a second game due an eye injury he sustained in practice. Rodger was scheduled to have additional testing on an orbital bone the following day. Hittle is currently the only female athletic trainer employed by an IHL team.