Komets Pushed to Brink; Lose in Port Huron 4-2

When the Komets gave up home ice advantage to the Port Huron Icehawks in game 3 of their IHL Playoffs semifinal series last Sunday night, they wound up losing a lot more than just the game. Recently returned Komets forward Justin Hodgman -- the team's "golden boy" through two previous Turner Cup runs in 2008 and 2009 -- lost his composure and committed a vicious slash to the ankle of Icehawks forward Nick Lindberg as the buzzer sounded. In one moment of thoughtlessness, he may have ended Fort Wayne's hopes for a "three-peat". Or at least put them in great jeopardy. On Tuesday, the Komets learned that they would have to play without Hodgman, one of their most prolific scorers thus far and a player who has the ability to energize the entire team, for games 4 and 5 -- games that could potentially decide the series. Heading into Wednesday's contest, the team vowed that it would make no difference, and indeed, it was the closest thing to a must-win for the Komets short of an elimination game. Yet as the contest began, something seemed to be missing. In each of the previous 3 contests, Fort Wayne had been the one to jump out to the early lead, but this time it would be the Icehawks that got on the board first at 17:23 of the first. Komets forward Colin Chaulk had been sent to the box for hooking by referee Bob Langdon at 16:29, giving Port Huron the man advantage -- something Fort Wayne had wanted to avoid as much as possible. Just under a minute later, Port Huron had a 1-0 lead on a shot from the right faceoff circle by forward Mike Kinnie that found the back of the net after a series of back and forth touch passes typical of Port Huron's surprisingly lethal power play. Assists went to forwards Brandon Naurato and Nick Lindberg. The Komets had their chances as well, but they never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Their strategies were too easily predicted and countered. In short, they just seemed to be missing something -- or someone. As the second period began, Komets forward Matt Syroczynski appeared to be favoring one leg due to a possible minor injury sustained near the end of the opening frame, but he did not leave the game. Fort Wayne wasn't the only team that would have to deal with injury. There was a scary moment at the 7:42 mark when Icehawks goalie Larry Sterling was involved in a collision behind his net that also involved Port Huron forward Paul Cianfrini and Chaulk. Sterling's leg got clipped by the players' sticks, and he hit his head on the ice, lying motionless for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally awoke, he seemed confused, and was soon escorted back to the team's locker room by Icehawks' athletic trainer Kristie Hittle. Meanwhile, Port Huron's new junior league goalie Raffaele D'Orso was pressed into service. Talk about a baptism by fire. When play resumed, it was initially the Icehawks who were pressing their advantage, no doubt fired up over losing Sterling. At 10:46 there was a hard hit on Fort Wayne forward Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock that could be deemed retaliatory. Then at 11:33, Port Huron Forward Brandon Kaleniecki got to a rebound and extended the lead to 2-0. Assists went to Kinnie and defenseman Mike Gershon. The announced crowd of 1230 broke into a taunt of Komets goalie Nick Boucher, heartily enjoying their team's success. But as Fort Wayne could have told them, 2 goal leads can be quick to evaporate. At 18:06, Naurato was whistled for an overly aggressive slash from behind on Komets defenseman Danko Mironovic, while Icehawks forward Matt Auffrey was sent off with an unsportsman-like penalty, giving Fort Wayne 2 full minutes of 5-on-3 time. At 18:34, they cashed it in. Komets forward P.C. Drouin tallied with a shot from the left circle that cut the deficit to 2-1. Syroczynski and Chaulk were awarded the assists. The goal not only got the Komets on the scoreboard, it was an attitude changer as well. Suddenly Fort Wayne was actually making a game of it. The Komets newfound fire didn't fade during the second intermission and just 4:52 into the final frame, they knotted the game 2-2. Defenseman Kevin Bertram fired a shot at a hard angle from the bottom of the left circle, and the puck bounced in off the side of D'Orso's pads. Chaulk was credited with an assist. Immediately after the goal, play was again stopped for several long minutes as some cracked glass behind the net had to be replaced. It is unclear as to whether the delay took its toll on Fort Wayne's momentum or if it was merely the will of the hockey gods, but just when things had finally started looking up, they were just about to fall apart entirely for the Komets. At 11:56 they failed to score on a prime opportunity -- arguably the best of the game. Forward David Hukalo had a 2-on-0 breakaway with Syroczynski, but when Hukalo passed the puck, Syroczynski's shot went into the corner. Moments later, Syroczynski had the puck again, but was unable to handle it a second time. At 13:13, the Komets got a lucky break when Langdon missed a roughing call on Fort Wayne forward Sean O'Connor, instead sending off Icehawks forward Kris Vernarsky for his retaliatory roughing actions. But even that good fortune soon turned sour. At 14:24, Chaulk took an interference penalty that ended the man advantage. Then at 15:08 -- just 5 seconds before Vernarsky's penalty was set to expire -- Bertram joined Chaulk in the box, also for interference, thus handing Port Huron 1:11 of 5-on-3 time with just under 5 minutes remaining in the game. The first half of the power play passed without incident, but the Icehawks weren't about to waste a gift-wrapped chance like this. A timeout was called by head coach Stan Drulia, and when the game resumed, Port Huron capitalized with just 6 seconds remaining before the Chaulk penalty expired. A shot from the point by Icehawks defenseman Jamie Lovell was knocked down by Mironovic but Vernarsky was there to pick up the puck and put it past Boucher for a 3-2 lead. Defenseman Daniel Tetrault picked up the other assist. Then to add insult to injury, the Icehawks scored again at 16:58, this time with a 5-on-4 advantage, to cap the scoring at 4-2 and seal the victory. Kinnie got the rebound goal while Vernarsky and Lovell assisted on the play. With 1:31 left to play, Fort Wayne pulled Boucher, but unlike Port Huron, could do nothing with the man advantage. The Komets and Icehawks now head back to Fort Wayne for game 5 in the series to be played at 8 PM on Friday night. The win gives Port Huron a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, and puts them just 1 game away from advancing to the Turner Cup Finals. Sterling stopped all 14 of the shots he faced before leaving the game. D'Orso made 26 saves on 28 shots in relief. Boucher made 25 saves on 29 shots for the loss.

Notes: The Komets went 1 for 6 on the power play; the Icehawks went 3 for 6. Fort Wayne outshot Port Huron 13-10 in the first, 15-6 in the second, 14-13 in the third, and 42-29 overall. Komets forward Brad MacMillan did not play after having an operation to fix his broken nose on Tuesday. Defenseman Keith Rodger returned to action after being a healthy scratch for 3 games. For Port Huron, Lindberg, who apparently escaped serious injury in the Hodgman incident, did play. The Komets also trailed the Icehawks 3-1 in their 2008 Turner Cup Finals series after losing the first 2 games, winning game 3, and losing game 4. Fort Wayne came back to win the championship that year by taking the next 3 games in a row. This year, it is the Icehawks that have won 3 games in a row after losing game 1 of the series in Fort Wayne.