Komets Repulse Generals 6-5

So far this season, the Fort Wayne Komets (33-16-1-2) have become famous for doing more with less when it comes to goals, while maintaining a strong defense. Saturday's game against the visiting Flint Generals (19-29-2-4) turned all that on its head. With a sellout crowd of 10,480 looking on, the Komets made their mark on the scoreboard first after Flint forward Dan Lapointe was sent to the box for holding at 7:42. On the resulting power play, Fort Wayne forward Justin Chwedoruk grabbed a loose puck and raced up the left wing before cutting to center to put it behind Generals goalie Sergei Zvyagin for the 1-0 lead at 9:34. Defenseman Danko Mironovic and forward Sean O'Connor picked up the assists. Flint broke through at 16:35 after Komets defenseman Kevin Bertram tried to clear the puck from behind the net. Generals forward Pascal Rheaume intercepted it along the right boards a few feet from the goal line and passed it to forward Nathan Ward in front of the net, who deflected it past Fort Wayne goalie Nick Boucher, tying the game at 1-1. At 17:47, Komets forward Leo Thomas was whistled for slashing, putting the Generals on the power play, but it was Fort Wayne that benefited from the situation. O'Connor intercepted a bobbled pass near the Komets blue line, but promptly ran over referee Jim Hawthorne along the left boards in his attempt to move the puck up the ice. Chwedoruk chased it down in the neutral zone, flying up the left boards on a breakaway to net his second goal of the night at 19:27 for the 2-1 lead. Hawthorne returned to his skates a bit slowly but was able to continue after taking a few moments to shake off the hit. At 3:41 of the middle frame, the Komets were called for too many men on the ice and defenseman Keith Rodger was sent to the box. This time, the Generals made it count. At 5:27 with just 14 second remaining on the man advantage, Rheaume tallied to knot the score at 2-2. Assists went to forward John Ronan and defenseman Brandon Gentile. At 6:10, Lapointe was sent off for kneeing Fort Wayne forward and leading goal scorer Leo Thomas. Thomas returned to play a shift later in the second, but opted to sit out the final frame. At 13:42, Flint forward John Mori found the net and the Generals pulled out to a 3-2 lead. Lapointe and forward Chris Kovalcik were awarded the assists. But the advantage was short-lived, as the Komets answered with 4 unanswered goals in a span of 3 minutes, 19 seconds. The barrage began after Flint defenseman Steve Silver was whistled for cross checking at 14:36. On the resulting power play just 21 seconds later at 14:57, Fort Wayne forward Matt Syroczynski's shot hit the twine to tie it up at 3-3. Komets defenseman Guy Dupuis and forward Colin Chaulk got the helpers. Then at 15:15, Syroczynski did it again, putting another shot past Zvyagin for a 4-3 lead. Bertram and defenseman Brandon Warner assisted. That was the end of the night for Zvyagin, who was playing in his first game with the team. He was replaced by Flint's regular goaltender, Rob Nolan, who promptly let in two more goals. The first came at 17:45 from Fort Wayne forward Konstantin Shafranov, bringing the count to 5-3. Syroczynski and Chaulk got the assists. The second was tallied at 18:16 on a breakaway by Fort Wayne forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, giving the Komets a comfortable 6-3 lead to begin the third. Bertram picked up the assist. But the Generals weren't about to surrender, and against the odds, managed to claw their way back into the game. At 7:12 of the final frame, Ronan put the puck behind Boucher, cutting the deficit to 6-4. Forward Rick Smith got the assist. Rodger was sent to the box for cross checking at 12:47, giving Flint the man advantage, and Ronan cashed it in just 7 seconds later to pull the Generals within striking distance at 6-5. From there, the Komets simply held on. There was a brief skirmish at 13:07 in which Fort Wayne forward Mitch Woods and Flint forward Ben Boudreau picked up roughing penalties, but the Generals could draw no closer. As the final minute ticked down, Flint pulled Nolan in favor of the extra attacker, and while they managed to defend successfully against an empty net goal, the Komets 6-5 lead stood when the horn sounded. Boucher stopped 24 of 29 shots in the victory. Zvyagin made 25 saves on 29 shots, and Nolan stopped 8 of the 10 shots he faced in the loss.

Notes: Fort Wayne went 2 for 7 on the power play, while Flint was 2 for 6. The Komets outshot the Generals 15-7 in the first, 18-6 in the second, and 39-29 overall. Chwedoruk's 2 goals came after 41 games in which he had scored only 7. Fort Wayne now has a 4 game winning streak and moved into a tie with the idle Port Huron Icehawks for second place in the IHL standings. Conversely, Flint has lost 4 in row. The Komets lead the season series with the Generals 5-2 with 5 games remaining.