Komets Fall to Flint Again 3-2

In many ways it was "déjà vu all over again" for the Fort Wayne Komets (35-18-1-2) on Sunday evening when they dropped the second of back-to-back games against the Flint Generals (22-30-2-4), this time in Fort Wayne, IN. But it didn't start out that way. Both teams were out to send a message from the opening face-off, and that message took the form of a fight between Fort Wayne forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock and Flint forward Rick Smith just 2 seconds after the first puck hit the ice. And it wasn't just the fists that flew early. The Komets very first shot yielded a goal when forward Colin Chaulk put the puck past Generals goalie Sergei Zvyagin at the 1:34 mark for the 1-0 lead. Defensemen Frankie DeAngelis and Matt Woodard picked up the assists. At 8:17, Flint tied the game 1-1 when forward Jamie Schaafsma sent a pass across the slot to forward Dan Lapointe whose shot made it past Fort Wayne goalie Nick Boucher before he could react. Defenseman Chris Bogas was also credited with an assist. The Komets peppered Zvyagin with an astounding 22 shots in the period, a theme that would continue throughout the night. The Generals took a 2-1 lead at 11:20 of the middle frame after a Komets turnover at the blue line. Flint forward Pascal Rheaume skated the puck around the back of the net before sending a centering pass in front. The puck bounced towards the net, where Boucher made the stop but gave up the rebound which Generals forward John Ronan quickly skated in on at the left side of the net. As before, Boucher couldn't get over in time to make the save. At 14:10 Komets forward Sean O'Connor picked up a loose puck at the Flint blue line and maneuvered past a defender before blasting a shot top-shelf over Zvyagin's shoulder to knot the score 2-2. The rest of the second period was a penalty fest of mutual hostility. At 14:42 Generals defenseman Tyler Howells and Fort Wayne forward Brad MacMillan were both sent off for roughing. At 17:33, Flint forward Chris Kovalcik got into a fight with Komets defenseman Kevin Bertram. Both picked up 5 for fighting, while Kovalcik was handed an additional 2 minutes for roughing. And as the second period ended, MacMillan got into a full-fledged fight versus Generals defenseman Brandon Gentile. Each was assessed a 5 minute major at the 20:00 minute mark. The bad blood spilled over into the final frame when Fort Wayne forward Matt Syroczynski and Flint defenseman Craig Cescon were sent to the box for roughing at 4:31. With the teams skating 4 aside, the Generals again took the lead at 5:44. Komets forward P.C. Drouin fell to the ice when he became entangled with a Flint player. Generals forward Matt Moffet picked up the loose puck and skated in on Boucher. Using Fort Wayne defenseman Bobby Phillips as a screen, Moffet lifted a wrist shot over Boucher, who fell forward reaching for it. But the Komets still had their chances. At 12:42, referee Bob Langdon called a delay of game penalty on Flint defenseman Armando Scarlato for throwing his mouth guard onto the ice from the bench. But the resulting power play proved fruitless and at 14:58, Fort Wayne picked up a disheartening late penalty of their own for the second night in a row when defenseman Guy Dupuis was sent off for tripping. Though the Komets were able to withstand the man-advantage, they were, once again, simply unable to even the score as the clock ticked down. They did come close when O'Connor rang a shot off the crossbar and out of play, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Even with Boucher pulled for the extra attacker in the final minute, Fort Wayne couldn't generate an effective offensive. Unlike the night before, there was no empty net goal, but victory went to the Generals all the same. Boucher stopped 27 of 30 shots taken against him. Zvyagin made an astonishing 54 saves on 56 shots for the win, which moved Flint 2 points ahead of the Dayton Gems for 6th in the IHL standings.

Notes: Announced attendance was 7044. The Komets were 0 for 3 on the power play. The Generals were 0 for 2. Fort Wayne outshot flint in every period, and 56-30 overall. Komets forward Konstantin Shafranov was scratched for the third game in a row, as was forward David Hukalo, who is expected to return to the line-up this week. Woodard, Chaulk, and Syroczynski were all +1 for the game, while Drouin had an off night with -2. Despite dropping both games to the Generals, Fort Wayne still leads the season series with Flint 5-4.