One Goal Rules Them All as Muskegon Defeats Komets

The Fort Wayne Komets (23-12-0-3) saw their 6 game winning streak snapped in Muskegon, MI on Friday night as they fell 1-0 to the first place Muskegon Lumberjacks (27-9-0-3) in what was essentially a goaltending duel. At 5:28 of the first period, Fort Wayne forward Konstantin Shafranov received the first penalty of the game -- a rare slashing call for one of the league's most sportamanlike players -- and Muskegon took advantage of the Komets tendency to get a slow start in games by capitalizing on the resulting power play. At 7:05, defenseman Matt Krug tallied with a shot from the left point after being set up by forward Todd Robinson for the 1-0 lead. After that, Muskegon goalie Sebastien Centomo shut the door. It wasn't that Fort Wayne didn't have it's chances, though. At one point, Shafranov missed an open net with a shot. At another, forward Matt Syroczynski sent the puck sailing over the crossbar. Such occurrences are to be expected in the course of a game, but in a contest such as this with the score so close, each near miss looms especially large. On the other end of the ice, Komets goalie Nick Boucher was nearly flawless in his own performance, making several remarkable saves. Unfortunately, without any additional scoring, it wasn't enough. At 5:08 of the second period, Fort Wayne had a 5 on 3 power play for 55 seconds when Lumberjacks forwards John DiPace and Robin Bouchard were in the box for high sticking and hooking, respectively, but the Komets failed to convert. At 16:13 of the final frame, a fight broke out between Fort Wayne defenseman Bobby Phillips and Muskegon forward Matt Robertson. Komets defenseman Danko Mironovic and Lumberjacks forward Brian Bicek were sent off with roughing minors, as well. At 17:24, Muskegon forward J.T. Dahlinger was called for slashing, giving Fort Wayne one final chance to tie things up, but once again, the score stood. Boucher, who was not pulled by the Komets as time ran out, made 35 saves on 36 shots. Centomo was a perfect 30 for 30 in the victory.

Notes: Announced attendance was 2656. Muskegon was 1-7 on the power play. The Komets were 0-6. The Lumberjacks extended their winning streak to 5 games, with their last loss having been to the Komets on January 9, 2010. Komets forward P.C. Drouin's 6 game point streak and 4 game goal scoring streak ended as did the five game point streak of Shafranov. Komets defenseman Keith Rodger missed the game due to an eye injury suffered during practice. Fort Wayne was outshot (36-30) for the fifth time in 6 games. The Lumberjacks lead the season series with the Komets 4-3.