Gems Outshine Lifeless Komets 2-1

After playing one of their best games of the season in Port Huron, MI on Sunday, the Fort Wayne Komets (25-14-0-2) gave what many are calling their worst performance on Wednesday night at home against the fifth place Dayton Gems (18-22-3-1). Perhaps it was for the best that a meager crowd of only 5258 was on hand to watch the lackluster affair. From the game's very beginning, even Fort Wayne's star players were missing gift-wrapped chances to score over and over again. Considering that it was February 3, it might as well have been a sequel to the Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day. The game itself got off to a peculiar start when at 4:13 Komets forward Colin Chaulk was whistled for the contest's first penalty -- a slashing call -- after a Dayton player's stick was sent soaring nearly to the rafters before inevitably succumbing to gravity's pull. The Gems did not receive a penalty until the 15:08 mark when defenseman Nathan Oke was sent to box for holding. The resulting power play was one of the few things to go right for Fort Wayne all night. Komets forward Konstantin Shafranov tipped in a rebound goal for the 1-0 lead. Forwards Matt Syroczynski and Colin Chaulk picked up the assists. After a dreary middle frame and uneventful beginning of the third, Fort Wayne forward Brad MacMillan took exception to what appeared to be a slash to the face, getting into a fight with Dayton forward Justin McCutcheon. In addition to a fighting major, McCutcheon received a 2-minute minor penalty for holding from referee Dan Rankin. MacMillan left the ice with a large gash on his right temple which required 4 stitches to close. But Dayton successfully killed the penalty and came to life in it's wake. At 11:59, just 1:02 after the Gems returned to full strength, Dayton forward Jonathan Ornelas beat Komets goalie Nick Boucher with a wrist shot from 30 feet out, high between the circles to knot the score at 1-1. Defenseman Cody Hamilton and forward Mike Olynyk were awarded the assists. Then at 13:33, Gems forward Mike Vaskivuo got the go-ahead goal with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 breakaway after a shot by Fort Wayne defenseman Bobby Phillips was blocked at the red line. Finding themselves suddenly down 2-1, the sleep-skating Komets made some effort to even the score, but found themselves thwarted by more of the same bad luck and execution issues that had huanted them throughout the game. By the final 15 seconds, with Boucher pulled for the extra attacker, any semblance of hope had long since turned to frustration on the Komets bench. At 19:45, Fort Wayne Forward Matt Syroczynski took that frustraion out on Dayton defenseman Gred Labenski in what was at-best a message-sending fight and at worst, a lack of discipline. Just 4 seconds later, Komets forward Mitch Woods followed that bout with a brief altercation of his own versus Gems defenseman Preston Briggs that was ultimately labeled roughing. Boucher stopped 26 of 28 shots in the loss. Dayton goalie Derek MacIntyre made 40 saves on 41 shots for the victory.

Notes: The Komets 6 game home win streak was snapped, while the Gems snapped a 3 game losing streak. Fort Wayne went 1 for 3 on the power play while Dayton went 0 for 3. The Komets badly outshot the Gems 41 to 28. Before the game, it was announced that Fort Wayne forward David Hukalo, who had been out due to a concussion, would miss at least 3 more weeks with back problems. Komets defenseman Keith Rodger returned to the line-up wearing a cage after missing 4 game with an eye injury. Before the game there was a moment of silence for Dick Zimmerman who passed away earlier in the week. Zimmerman had spent the better part of 6 decades as a member of the Komets organization and had many close friends therein.