Icehawks Ebarrass Komets 4-1

It wasn't a 9-1 beatdown, but it was still an embarrassment. The Fort Wayne Komets (29-16-1-2) were sent a message by the Port Huron Icehawks (31-16-0-3) on Friday night in Fort Wayne, IN in front of 9057 fans. That message? Keep practicing. Port Huron jumped out to an early lead just 1:33 into the first period when forward Nick Lindberg outraced the Komets down the ice and nailed a wrist shot from a tough angle for the 1-0 lead. Assists went to forwards Brandon Naurato and Mickael Bedard. Fort Wayne forward Brad MacMillan got into a fight with Port Huron defenseman Daniel Tetrault at 13:16, perhaps hoping it would wake up his team, but Fort Wayne was still looking for its game when the Icehawks stretched the lead to 2-0 just 44 seconds later. Forward Tab Lardner surprised Komets goalie Nick Boucher by faking a pass, then ripping a wrist shot from near the left sideboards at 14:00. The puck squeaked between Boucher and the post on the near side of the net for what Fort Wayne coach Al Sims later implied was a soft goal. Naurato and forward Brandon Kaleniecki picked up the assists. Another fight broke out at 19:04, this time between Fort Wayne forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock and Icehawks forward Jason Kostadine. But beyond the fisticuffs, the Komets didn't have much "fight" in them. For Boucher, it was the end of the night. He was replaced by Tim Haun to start the second. It wasn't until 16:45 of the middle frame that things looked up for Fort Wayne. Port Huron forward Kerry Bowan had been sent off for hooking at 14:45, and just as the penalty was expiring, Komets forward Justin Chwedoruk put the puck past Icehawks goalie Adam Russo when he redirected a shot by defenseman Frankie DeAngelis, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Forward Leo Thomas was also credited with an assist. But when the Komets should have been pressing to tie the game at the start of the third, it was Port Huron that was pressing instead. And just 50 seconds in, they were rewarded for it. Kaleniecki came out from behind the net and beat Haun with a backhander to restore the Icehawks 2 goal lead, 3-1. Just over 5 minutes later, Lardner drove another dagger into the hearts of the on-looking fans. With Komets forward Konstantin Shafranov serving a too many men penalty, Lardner stole the puck from Fort Wayne defenseman Danko Mironovic and hit the twine to cap the scoring at 4-1. Any hope the Komets could muster was all but crushed by referee Ryan Hutchison at 6:08, when he slapped MacMillan with 17 minutes worth of penalties after the forward pounded on a turtling Kostadine. MacMillan got 2 minutes for roughing, 5 minutes for roughing, and 10 minutes for being the aggressor. Kostadine and the rest of the Icehawks received no penalties from the altercation. Boucher stopped 10 of 12 shots in the first. Haun stopped 10 of 12 for the rest of the game. Russo made 34 saves on 35 shots for the victory. The loss denied the Komets the chance to move into a second place tie with the Icehawks, instead putting Port Huron 4 points up on Fort Wayne.

Notes: The Komets went 1 for 5 on the power play. The Icehawks were 0 for 3. The Fort Wayne outshot Port Huron 35-24 overall and 12-4 in the third, when the Icehawks scored 2 of their goals. It was Fort Wayne's second loss in a row. Port Huron has won 2 in a row after losing 7 of the previous 8. The Komets are 21-3-2 when scoring first, but 8-13-1 when the opposing team scores first. The Komets trail in the season series with the Icehawks 3 games to 5. Prior to his tally, Chwedoruk had gone 30 games without scoring a goal.