Flint Strikes Back With 7-6 OT Victory Over Komets in Game 3

Oh, there it is! And in the Flint Generals' locker room, a collective sigh of relief. After falling 2-1 to the Fort Wayne Komets in game 2 of the Turner Cup Finals on Monday night -- the only goal they could muster being scored inadvertently by Fort Wayne forward Justin Hodgman against his own goalie -- the Generals found their missing offense on Wednesday night. And like a misplaced remote control, it turned out to be exactly where they left it -- at Perani Arena in Flint, MI. The Generals showed that they weren't going to play tentative hockey from the moment the first puck dropped. Just 26 seconds in, referee T.J. Luxmore called Flint forward Jamie Schaafsma for hooking, but the Generals took the penalty in stride. Just 31 seconds after killing it, Flint forward Matt Moffat took advantage of a Fort Wayne turnover when a Komets defenseman fell down on the play. Moffat grabbed the puck and netted an unassisted goal to give the Generals the 1-0 lead at 2:57. As bold as the Generals were playing, Fort Wayne was on the other end of the spectrum, looking unusually tense. It wasn't long before the Komets committed yet another turnover. This time it was Flint forward Mike Olnyk who capitalized on the chance, finding the back of the net at 5:37 to put the Generals up 2-0. Assists went to Moffat and forward Nathan Ward. The announced crowd of 2421 cheered on their underdog Generals in glee. Meanwhile, the Komets knew they had to break out and break out quickly. This was a job for Superman! Or forward Matt Syroczynski. One of the two. Syroczynski pulled Fort Wayne within 1 at 6:47 after taking a pass from forward David Hukalo and quickly firing the puck short-side, top-shelf, cutting the deficit to 2-1. With his teammates still looking a bit ill-at-ease, Syroczynski struck again with a power play goal at 10:28. Generals defenseman Craig Cescon had been sent off for roughing as of 9:02, and Syroczynski used the man advantange to send a shot from the high slot past Flint goalie Rob Nolan to tie the game 2-2. Hodgman and forward P.C. Drouin picked up the assists. But what comes around goes around. At 10:43 Komets defenseman Kevin Bertram took Fort Wayne's first penalty -- a tripping call -- and the Generals responded with a power play goal of their own. Another Fort Wayne turnover led to Flint forward John Ronan putting the puck past Komets goalie Nick Boucher from close range at 11:08, vaulting the Generals back on top 3-2. Assists went to forward Pascal Rheaume and defenseman Tyler Howells. So naturally it was up to Syroczynski to complete his hat-trick just 16 seconds later at 11:24 with a rebound of a shot by Hodgman, knotting the game at 3-3. Defenseman Brandon Warner was also awarded an assist. The Generals had to be wondering at this point what they had to do to stay ahead of the Komets. It certainly didn't help when Flint forward Rick Smith was whistled for elbowing at 16:05. But bad luck soon turned to good for Flint, as a Drouin turnover at the blue line and the Komets slow reaction coming out of their zone led to a short-handed goal by Flint Forward John Mori. Three Fort Wayne players homed in on his teammate, forward Bryan Smolinski, leaving Mori unguarded in front of the net for the easy tally at 16:46, giving the Generals a 4-3 lead going into the first break. Smolinski and defenseman Chris Bogas assisted. As the second frame began, the Komets again closed the gap. Forward Justin Chwedoruk capitalized on a Flint turnover, breaking behind the defense and tucking a shot underneath Nolan to bring the count to 4-4 at 1:18. Hodgman and defenseman Frankie DeAngelis picked up the helpers. Fort Wayne had finally settled in and was looking much more comfortable. At 5:46 a pair of unsportsman-like penalties were handed out to Komets forward Brad MacMillan and Generals forward Chris Kovalcik after the two made a show of antagonizing each other, though neither would take the bait. For a while it seemed as it Fort Wayne might just clamp down defensively and take control just as they had in the first two contests. Then Dupuis took an interference penalty at 13:05, and suddenly the game was afoot again. Rheaume hit the twine with a drive at 14:11, putting Flint back on top 5-4. Howells and Schaafsma were credited with the assists. The Komets replied just 39 seconds later at 14:50 when forward Colin Chaulk picked up a rebound of a Syroczynski shot and scored with a wrap-around, tying the game yet again at 5-5. About a minute later, Hodgman squandered an opportunity to give Fort Wayne its first lead when he missed the open corner of the net on a breakaway, so the score remained knotted for the third time in 3 games to begin the third. And third periods have been kind to the Komets of late. This time it took until 14:08 of the third, but Chwedoruk finally gave Fort Wayne the lead on a rebound of a Hodgman shot after a Rheaume turnover led to a 2-on-1 breakaway. As in the previous 2 games, the Komets seemed content to nurse their 6-5 edge through the final minutes as Flint looked on in frustration. At the 1:44 mark the Generals pulled Nolan, and it was déjà vu all over again. Except this time, something changed. Fort Wayne forward Sean O'Connor was sent to the box for hooking at 18:23, handing Flint a 6-on-4 advantage with the extra attacker. They made it count with just 9.8 seconds remaining on the clock. Smolinski faked a shot, and then faked another before finally wristing the puck over Boucher's stick to pull Flint into a 6-6 tie and force overtime. The Komets only consolation was Olnyk taking a high sticking penalty with 3/10ths of a second left in regulation, setting the stage for a pivotal power play in overtime. But once back on the ice, Fort Wayne couldn't get organized and wasted the opportunity, managing perhaps one shot on goal before Flint returned to full strength. About 7 minutes into overtime, Drouin had another prime chance on a breakaway, but he waited too long and was unable to get the puck to either of the 2 teammates skating in with him. Flint finally broke through at 11:52, after Smolinski chipped the puck into the offensive zone and it rolled on edge to the net as Mori and Dupuis raced after it. Boucher thought he had the puck, but it wound up behind the net, where Schaafsma was able to grab it and tuck it just inside the right goal post to give Flint the 7-6 victory as Dupuis and defenseman Danko Mironovic stood on either side of Boucher, flat-footed and bewildered, while the Generals and their fans celebrated. The win cut their deficit in the Turner Cup Finals series to 2-1. Game 4 will be in Flint, MI on Friday night. Boucher made 31 saves on 38 shots. Nolan stopped 33 of 39 for the win.

Notes: Fort Wayne was 1 for 5 on the power play; Flint was 2 for 4. The Komets outshot the Generals 17-9 in the first, but Flint outshot Fort Wayne 14-9 in the second and 7-4 in overtime. Defenseman Keith Rodger was the scratch for the Komets. MacMillan returned to the line-up after missing game 2. He was still wearing a full cage to protect his surgically repaired nose. For Flint, Dan Lapointe was the scratch due to injury. Former Red Wings and Bruins coach Dave Lewis and the owner of the "A" level Evansville IceMen attended the game as they reportedly consider becoming the new owners of the Flint Generals for the 2010-2011 season. This was the highest scoring Komets playoff game since 1995 and the first time a Komets playoff series began with 3 games decided by 1 goal since 2000 vs. Quad City.