Komets Bring Down Icehawks 4-3, Tie Series

Last Wednesday night, the Fort Wayne Komets were staring up at the Port Huron Icehawks from a 3-1 series deficit in the IHL 2010 Semifinals, vowing that they had been there, done that and were not intimidated. While technically true -- the Komets had bounced back from 3-1 deficits against Rockford in 2005 and Port Huron in 2008 -- every season's team is different, and given the Komets inconsistent performance this year, it was impossible to say if they could actually back up those words on the ice. Would this Komets team rise to the occasion or go quietly into the night? In Port Huron, MI on Saturday night, they rose, setting the stage for the final act of what could be yet another improbable game 7 comeback. The Komets took control of the game early when forward Leo Thomas skated out of the corner, got around Port Huron defenseman Daniel Tetrault and fired a wrist shot top-shelf from the bottom of the right circle at a hard angle for the 1-0 lead. Defenseman Guy Dupuis assisted on the play. Port Huron goalie Larry Sterling was in goal, having started the game despite having appeared to suffer a concussion in game 4 of the series on Wednesday night. After the first 20 minutes, Sterling apparently thought the better of it and was replaced by Raffaele D'Orso to start the second. According to reports, Sterling did not "feel comfortable" in the net. At 3:46 of the middle frame, referee Scott Hoberg called coincidental roughing penalties on Icehawks forward Kris Vernarsky and Fort Wayne forward Colin Chaulk while also whistling Komets forward Matt Syroczynski for slashing. Then at 4:48, Hoberg sent Fort Wayne defenseman Kevin Bertram off as well with an illegal stick infraction, handing Port Huron a 5-on-3 man advantage. The Icehawks made the most of it at 5:44 when forward Derek Patrosso picked up a rebound from a scramble in front of the net to pull Port Huron even at 1-1. Assists went to forward Mike Kinnie and defenseman Jamie Lovell. The Icehawks got a second 5-on-3 man advantage for 23 seconds moments later when Komets defenseman Danko Mironovic was called for roughing at 6:25, but nothing came of that power play. Fort Wayne responded by retaking the lead again at 12:15. On a 2-on-1 rush, forward P.C. Drouin passed the puck to forward Sean O'Connor, and O'Connor's shot hit the twine for the 2-1 edge. But at 18:56, the Komets took another pair of costly penalties -- defenseman Keith Rodger for roughing and goalie Nick Boucher for hooking -- giving Port Huron yet another 5-on-3 power play, this time for a full 2 minutes. Just 15 seconds later, they made it count. Lovell buried a shot from the point to knot the game 2-2. Vernarsky and Kinnie were credited with assists. The remaining 5-on-4 man advantage spilled over into the final frame, but Fort Wayne successfully killed it off. Hoberg decided to swallow his whistle for the remainder of the contest, and it was whole new hockey game. Once again, it was the Komets who tallied first to break the deadlock. At 14:39 of the third, Fort Wayne forward Justin Hodgman whiffed on a shot from about 35 feet out, but Chaulk was able to pick the puck up and wrist it past a screened D'Orso for the 3-2 lead. Seeing the back of the net puff, Chaulk jumped for joy. The celebration was a bit premature, however. Port Huron scored their first even strength goal of the night thanks to a wrap-around by Kinnie that caught Komets goalie Nick Boucher out of position, drawing the Icehawks even again at 3-3. Forwards Brandon Naurato and Peter Flache were awarded the assists. About 30 seconds later, O'Connor rang a shot loudly off the post in what might have been Fort Wayne's best chance to break the tie before overtime. Might have been except for the monumental, literally last-second effort put together by Thomas, Drouin, and Bertram. Drouin was on his knees when he passed the puck up the boards to Bertram, who threw it on net from about 10 feet inside the blue line. Thomas skated in just in time to reach out and deflect it in, all with just 2.1 seconds remaining in the game. That sealed it, forcing a game 7 in the series, which will be played in Fort Wayne, IN on Monday night. So far, Fort Wayne does seem to be following a familiar script. Whether the Icehawks can write a different ending for themselves this time around is yet to be seen. Sterling stopped 7 of the 8 shots he faced before leaving the game. D'Orso made 13 saves on 16 shots in relief. Boucher stopped 31 of 34 for the victory.

Notes: Announced attendance was 1729 and included a large contingent of Fort Wayne fans. The Komets were 0 for 2 on the power play; the Icehawks were 2 for 8. Port Huron outshot Fort Wayne 20-8 in the second period and 34-24 overall. Hodgman returned to the Komets line-up after serving a 2 game suspension for a postgame slash to Icehawks forward Nick Lindberg in game 3 the previous Sunday. Not playing for the Komets was forward Brad MacMillan, who had surgery on his broken nose Tuesday morning. D'Orso was backed up once again by emergency signee Pat Street. For Port Huron, defenseman Brian Deeth was a healthy scratch.