Komets Lose Home Ice Advantage in 4-3 Loss to Icehawks

After a tough overtime loss in Port Huron the night before, the Fort Wayne Komets were hoping for a strong showing on home ice Sunday night to get their playoff hopes back on track. Instead, it was the Port Huron Icehawks who again came out of the contest with the upper hand, and this time, that also included the coveted prize of home ice advantage for the remainder of the series. As was the case on Saturday, the Komets came out strong in the opening frame. Forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock put a big hit on Icehawks captain Kevin Hansen seconds after the puck had dropped. But just moments later, Port Huron returned the favor when forward Mickael Bedard, the Icehawks hero from the night before, had a hard hit on Schrock from behind. In many ways, those incidents represented the game in a microcosm. The Komets wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. At 3:33, forward Colin Chaulk was skating across the offensive zone from right to left with Port Huron defenseman Rob Cowan on his shoulder. Chaulk spotted forward Justin Hodgman cutting towards the front of the net from the left and passed him the puck when the alignment was such that Icehawks goalie Larry Sterling would not see. Hodgman then knocked the puck into the net at close range for the 1-0 lead. It was Hodgman's third goal in as many playoff games. Defenseman Brandon Warner picked up the other assist. At 12:29 Fort Wayne defenseman Kevin Bertram and Port Huron forward Kris Vernarsky were sent off with coincidental roughing minors, but while in possession of the puck, the Icehawks weren't displaying much "punch". Fortunately for them, Sterling was having another stellar night in goal. For the most part. He made great saves on Hodgman, Chaulk and forward Justin Chwedoruk, all around the 16:00 mark, but was finally beaten by Komets defenseman Guy Dupuis at 18:21. Icehawks forward Derek Patrosso had been sent to the box for holding by referee Craig Welker as of 17:20, giving Fort Wayne the man advantage. Hodgman set up the goal by working the puck free in the left corner and sending it to Dupuis at the top of the slot for a low slap shot that squeezed between Sterling and the post, extending the Komets lead to 2-0. Syroczynski was also credited with an assist. But early in the second period, Fort Wayne began to run into penalty trouble. At 1:07, Chwedoruk was whistled for hooking. At 1:38, Bertram joined him in the sin bin for tripping, giving Port Huron a 5-on-3 power play. At 2:18, they cashed it in when defenseman Jamie Lovell took a pass from forward Brandon Naurato, who was positioned to the right of the net. Lovell's shot from the edge of the left circle slipped past Komets goalie Tim Haun to cut the deficit to 2-1. Vernarsky was also awarded an assist. Then at 10:36, Lovell struck again to knot the game at 2-2. After patiently waiting for the ideal shot, Lovell sent a slap shot top-shelf from the point and into the twine. Assists went to defenseman Mike Gershon and forward Peter Flache. Alarmed to have lost their 2-goal advantage so quickly, the Komets answered just 29 seconds later at 11:05, hoping to put a damper on Port Huron's sudden momentum. On a 2-on-1 break, Hodgman carried the puck up the ice on the right before passing it to Syroczynski on his left for a shot from the edge of the left face-off circle that made the count 3-2. But Fort Wayne once again began to draw unnecessary penalties as the period came to a close. At 18:37, forward Leo Thomas was sent off with a 2 minute infraction for high sticking -- a penalty that wouldn't expire until 37 seconds into the final frame. Though the Komets successfully killed that penalty, it would later stand as the turning point in the game. At 2:58 of the third, Chaulk took a hooking call which led to power play goal by Icehawks forward Matt Auffrey. At 3:10, forward Mike Kinnie sent a crossing pass from the left circle to Auffrey, who was waiting at the right corner of the goal crease. Auffrey tucked it in behind Haun to draw Port Huron even again at 3-3. The Icehawks handed Fort Wayne a 5-on-3 power play after forward Brandon Kaleniecki and Hansen were sent to the box at 6:13 and 7:38 respectively, both for slashing. Hansen also drew a 10-minute misconduct for complaining about the call. Things were suddenly looking up for the Komets. Except that they failed to capitalize with the man advantage and were soon on the penalty kill again. Chwedoruk took a pair of penalties at 10:03 for tripping and 14:28 for interference. The second penalty was a questionable call, but it was the one that proved fatal. From in front of the net, Naurato batted in a rebound of a shot by Auffrey from the left point to give Port Huron its first lead in regulation of the series to date -- 4-3. After that, the Icehawks merely had to hold on. At 17:33, Komets forward Brad MacMillan and Gershon were whistled for roughing, but MacMillan picked up an additional 10 minute misconduct that ended his night. Chwedoruk was sent back to the box to serve MacMillan's roughing penalty since he was so well acquainted with it already. The final minutes of the game ticked away in a blur. With 1:14 remaining, Sterling made an impressive save on an attempt by Thomas, after which Komets coach Al Sims opted to pull Haun. With 27 seconds remaining, Chwedoruk was reportedly blocked from coming out of the box by Welker. Neither team was able to find the net. And then it was over. As the horn sounded, Sterling appeared to charge at Hodgman, who had directed a couple of postgame slashes at Port Huron forward Nick Lindberg, but he was quickly restrained by teammates who surrounded Sterling to congratulate him on the win. Sterling stopped 33 of 36 shots for the victory. Haun made 24 saves on 28 shots. The Icehawks now lead the IHL Turner Cup semifinals series 2-1 with game 4 scheduled to be played in Port Huron, MI on Wednesday night.

Notes: Announced attendance was 6591. The Icehawks were 3 for 7 on the power play; the Komets went 1 for 6. Fort Wayne outshoot Port Huron 13-4 in the first period and 36-28 overall. Defenseman Keith Rodger was a healthy scratch for the Komets. Rodger suffered a broken nose after being hit by Hodgman's stick in practice on Thursday and was having breathing problems. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum's new jumbotron scoreboard was damaged during a Friday night "Rock and Worship" rock concert. The south facing side pointing towards the press box had a large white area where game statistics should have been. Statistics were provided to broadcasters by either moving them or via a special feed.