Komets Polish Off Gems 4-2

The Fort Wayne Komets (32-16-1-2) picked up another 2 much needed standings points on Friday night by defeating the struggling Dayton Gems (20-30-3-1) on a night in which the weather was an even bigger story than the game. As it was, the contest had to be delayed 15 minutes after the Komets bus arrived late due to the hazardous road conditions. But once the game was on, it was the Komets who arrived first, at least on the scoreboard. With Fort Wayne defenseman Guy Dupuis in the box for interference as of the 14:04 mark, forward Leo Thomas took a perfect pass from forward P.C. Drouin and put a shot past Dayton goalie Derek MacIntyre for a shorthanded goal at 15:21. Defenseman Danko Mironovic also picked up an assist. The Gems evened things up early in the middle frame. With the Dayton offense pressuring the Komets in their own end, the Gems took advantage of a missed pass, stealing the puck, and forward Mike Vaskivuo put it in the back of the net at 1:43. Assists went to forwards Tim Hartung and defenseman Joe Van Culin. But Fort Wayne took the lead again at 5:10 when forward Brad MacMillan, fresh from the penalty box where he had been serving a slashing penalty, put the puck on the net from the goal line. MacIntyre misplayed it, and it bounced off his back and into the goal for the 2-1 lead. Defenseman Brandon Warner was credited with an assist. Things were looking even brighter for the Komets at 7:26 when Vaskivuo was called for hooking, but this time it was the Gems who picked up a shorthanded goal to knot the game at 2-2. Dupuis fell down on the play, leading to a 2-on-1 rush up the ice, and forward John Snowden put the puck past Fort Wayne goalie Tim Haun. Hartung assisted. The latter half of the second period was highlighted by fisticuffs and penalty killing when a skirmish involving multiple players broke out at the 10:55 mark. Komets defenseman Bobby Phillips, who was playing in his first game since missing nine due to a groin injury, and Gems forward Justin McCutcheon picked up fighting majors. Dayton defenseman Russell Smith and Komets defenseman Danko Mironovic picked up roughing minors in the fracas, as did MacMillan, whose additional 2-minutes put the Gems on the power play. Then at 11:59, Komets defenseman Kevin Bertram was sent off for slashing, giving Dayton a 5-on-3 man advantage for 56 seconds. Fort Wayne successfully killed the penalties, however, and it was a brand new hockey game to begin the third. With Snowden in the box for hooking as of 3:49, puck luck was with the Komets as forward Colin Chaulk bounced the puck off MacIntyre's side for a power play goal at 5:10 and a 3-2 lead. At around the 11 minute mark, Warner fell down on a play just as Dupuis had earlier, but a diving save to knock the puck off the stick of a Gems player kept Fort Wayne 1 goal up. Such was the story of Dayton's night for the rest of the way. With the clock running down, they opted to pull MacIntyre for an extra attacker, but their hopes were dashed at 19:05 when Komets forward Matt Syroczynski got the empty net goal to cap the scoring at 4-2 and seal the victory. Chaulk assisted on the play. Haun made 31 saves on 33 shots for the victory. MacIntyre stopped 34 of 37 shots he faced in absorbing the loss.

Notes: Announced attendance was 897, in part due to the adverse weather conditions. The Komets were 1 for 6 on the power play. The Gems went 0 for 7. MacMillan's goal matched his career high for goals in a season with 7. As with previous games in Dayton, the official recorded times for certain goals were inexplicably off from what the arena scoreboard had shown. Fort Wayne has won 3 in a row, while the Gems have lost 4 in a row and 7 of the last 8. The Komets lead the season series with Dayton 6-3 with 5 games remaining.