Komets Shut-Out Prairie Thunder 5-0

The Fort Wayne Komets (36-18-1-2) set the tone for a busy weekend ahead in which they will face the league's top two teams -- the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Port Huron Icehawks -- on Fort Wayne ice by downing the fourth place Bloomington Prairie Thunder (25-25-2-5) in convincing style on Wednesday evening. In front of a small midweek crowd of 5813 fans, the Komets gave what many felt was one of their best defensive performances of the season. Or maybe it was just that the bad luck that has sometimes plagued the Komets had found another target, as Fort Wayne frequently benefited from missed Bloomington opportunities and other close calls, especially in the first period, when it quickly became evident that it wasn't going to be the Prairie Thunder's night. Komets forward Konstantin Shafranov was the first to break through at 4:01 of the opening period. Fort Wayne forward Colin Chaulk stole the puck from Bloomington defenseman Jason Lepine along the left boards in front of the Komets bench. He and Shafranov then skated in on Prairie Thunder goalie Kevin Armstrong on a 2-on-1 rush. Chaulk passed the puck to Shafranov, who was breaking in from the right, and he put a quick wrist shot into the wide open right side of the net for the 1-0 lead. Forward Matt Syroczynski also assisted. At 7:12, Komets forward Sean O'Connor stretched the lead to 2-0, though initially, the goal was mistakenly credited to O'Connor's teammate, forward Mitch Woods. Syroczynski carried the puck all the way up ice on a break. Armstrong made the initial save but went down on the play. Woods proceeded to jab repeatedly at the puck, trying to get it under Armstrong, but it wound up bouncing to the right, and O'Connor swooped in to knock it into the net from the top of the crease. At 9:26, referee Nick Suhy called a couple of penalties that seemed to agitate Bloomington further. Komets forward Brad MacMillan picked up 2 minutes for cross-checking but Prairie Thunder defenseman Justin Sawyer was also sent off for roughing. After the penalties, players on both sides continued to mill about and yap at each other in a manner that suggested the matter was not settled until 9:56, when Suhy abruptly tossed Bloomington forward Craig Macdonald from the game with a 10-minute misconduct and 10 minute game misconduct. Everything returned to normal after that, including Fort Wayne's scoring touch. At 11:28, they made it 3-0 after forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock beat former Komets defenseman Brian Boulay to a loose puck behind the Prairie Thunder net. Schrock passed it out front to O'Connor who was breaking to the net from the right, and O'Connor's shot hit the back of the twine before Armstrong could react. Tensions spilled over into the middle frame as Bloomington was no doubt hoping desperately to get back into the contest. At 1:54 Prairie Thunder forward Greg McGauley was sent to the box with an unsportsman-like penalty, and at 5:44, the 5'10" MacMillan fought with 6'4" Bloomington forward T.J. Schneider. After that, Fort Wayne hunkered down defensively, thwarting the Prairie Thunder's every attempt to tally. And at 19:33, the Komets sent Bloomington to the dressing room facing a 4-0 deficit. Shafranov had turned the puck over, teasing the Prairie Thunder with yet another opportunity that just as quickly evaporated after Shafranov and Fort Wayne defenseman Bobby Phillips broke up the resulting 3-on-1 rush. Bloomington forward Robin Gomez tried a shot that deflected off Phillips foot, and just like that there was an odd-man rush headed in the opposite direction. Shafranov made up for his earlier gaff by sending a cross-ice pass to Chaulk, and Chaulk deflected it past Armstrong. It was a clearly frustrated Prairie Thunder team that took the ice to start the third, and their luck wasn't about to change. At 5:28, the Komets put the final nail in the coffin when forward Justin Chwedoruk hit the back of the twine to cap the scoring at 5-0. Assists went to Schrock and defenseman Frankie DeAngelis. There was one final bit of mutual hostility -- a spontaneous fight between Fort Wayne forward Leo Thomas and McCauley at 8:42 -- but even as the fists flew, the night was already over the struggling Prairie Thunder. Komets goalie Tim Haun stopped a perfect 25 of 25 shots for the shutout, his third of the season. Armstrong made 41 saves on the 46 shots he faced in absorbing the loss.

Notes: This was the final meeting between Fort Wayne and Bloomington of the 2009-2010 regular season. The Komets won the season series with the Prairie Thunder 9-3. Fort Wayne outshot Bloomington in all three periods, including 18-7 in the second, and 46-25 overall. The Komets went 0-4 on the power play while the Prairie Thunder were 0-5. Haun currently leads the league in victories with 22 and is tied for the lead in shut-outs. Fort Wayne forward David Hukalo returned to the line-up. He had not played since Friday, January 8 -- also against Bloomington. Komets defenseman Matt Woodard was waved to make room on the roster for Hukalo's return. Shafranov also returned to the line-up after missing 3 games with the flu. Bloomington's loss left them clinging to a 1 point lead for fourth place in the IHL standings over the Quad City Mallards. Fort Wayne's victory put them 1 point behind second place Port Huron.