Komets Falter Against Lumberjacks Again, Lose 4-1

As the Fort Wayne Komets (41-20-1-2) drove away from L.C. Walker Sports Arena in Muskegon, MI for what could be the last time tonight, pondering their most recent loss to the IHL's top ranked team, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (45-18-0-3, they were no doubt wondering what went wrong. Was it the injuries that have stricken a few of Fort Wayne's key players? Did they simply run into a hot goalie? Are the Lumberjacks just too good? Nah. But whatever the reason, be it bad luck or bad effort, the Komets now find themselves 8 points behind Muskegon in the chase for the Huber Trophy and home ice advantage throughout the Turner Cup playoffs. Both teams got off to an uneventful start in the first period. Only two penalties were issued by referee Craig Welker -- tripping on Fort Wayne forward Matt Syroczynski at 2:54 and boarding on Lumberjacks defenseman Matt Krug at 14:57 -- but no goals were scored. Things picked up early in the middle frame when Komets goalie Nick Boucher mimicked the heroics he demonstrated last Sunday in Dayton, OH, by throwing himself across the net to prevent a tally by Muskegon forward Todd Robinson. It was a remarkable effort, but it didn't keep the Lumberjacks off the scoreboard for long. At 4:15, Muskegon got two men in front of the Fort Wayne net, and defenseman Nick Schneider used the advantage to put the puck past Boucher for the 1-0 lead. Assists went to forwards Michel Beausoleil and Damian Surma. The Komets struck back at 6:36. Defenseman Guy Dupuis, who was following the play, took a drop pass from forward Konstantin Shafranov and rifled it past Lumberjacks goalie Sebastien Centomo stick-side to knot the score at 1-1. Syroczynski also picked up an assist. There was one fight as the second period drew to a close. Fort Wayne defenseman Keith Rodger took exception to some blows from behind delivered by Muskegon forward Matt Robertson. Both picked up 5 minute fighting majors. At 1:58 of the third period, Fort Wayne forward Justin Chwedoruk took a hooking call, and the wheels began to fall off the Komets bus, at least figuratively. During the resulting power play, the puck bounced high into the air at the Fort Wayne net. Boucher attempted to play the puck, but it rolled down his arm, bouncing off his glove and into the net to put Muskegon up 2-1. Lumberjacks forward Robin Bouchard was credited with the fluky goal, while Krug and defenseman Mario Larocque assisted. Muskegon stretched their lead to 3-1 at 6:55 when forward Brian Bicek caught the Komets out of position. With Boucher defending the right side of the net, Bicek hit the twine by putting a rebound into the wide open left side. Robertson and forward J.T. Dahlinger were awarded the assists. Sensing the game could be slipping away from them, Fort Wayne's frustration began to boil over on the ice. At the 7:50 mark, Bouchard and Komets forward P.C. Drouin were sent off with coincidental roughing penalties. Then at 9:32 there was a full-blown fight between Krug and Fort Wayne forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, which ended with the combatants falling to the ice, Schrock on top. But it was too little, too late to turn the momentum of the game around. At 17:07, Bicek capped the scoring at 4-1 after he took the puck away from Komets defenseman Brandon Warner a foot from the blue line. Beausoleil assisted on the play. Centomo finished with 36 saves on 37 shots for the victory. Boucher stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced in absorbing the loss. The Komets and Lumberjacks will meet once more during the regular season on Wednesday, April 7 in Fort Wayne, IN.

Notes: Announced attendance was 2957. Fort Wayne went 0-4 on the power play. Muskegon went 1-4. Shots on goal were even overall at 37 aside, but Fort Wayne edged the Lumberjacks 12-10 in the first and 15-14 in the third. With Muskegon leaving the IHL to field a junior level team next season, there was a ceremony before the game to retire Bouchard's #32 jersey. Bouchard recently became the all-time leading goal scorer in minor league hockey history. Fort Wayne forwards Brad MacMillan (shoulder) and Leo Thomas (concussion) missed the game, while forward Mitch Woods left the contest early in the second period with a lower leg contusion. It was announced after the game that Woods will be out of the line-up for the remainder of the weekend. The Komets have lost 2 games out of the last 7, with both losses being to the Lumberjacks. Muskegon has won 3 in a row and 5 of the last 6. With this victory, the Lumberjacks have won the season series versus Fort Wayne. They lead 6-4 with 1 game remaining.