Komets Take Game 1, Beat Flint 3-2

The 2009 IHL Turner Cup Finals got off to an orderly yet closely contested start on Saturday night in Fort Wayne, IN when the second-seeded Fort Wayne Komets downed the underdog Flint Generals 3-2 to take an early 1-0 series lead. The action in the first period was surprisingly slow given the Generals extremely physical play against the top-seeded Muskegon Lumberjacks in the semifinals. Other than a spectacular save that Flint goalie Rob Nolan made on a shot by Komets forward Sean O'Connor with roughly a minute left in the frame, the only highlights from the first 20 minutes were the two penalties that referee Jim Hawthorne called on Fort Wayne, both for interference. Defenseman Danko Mironovic was sent off just 2:01 into the game, and at 9:00 forward David Hukalo was whistled after colliding with Generals forward Ben Boudreau, the son of Washington Capitals coach and former Komet Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau lay on the ice for a couple of minutes before being helped to the dressing room. He was later able to return to the game. The Komets successfully killed both penalties, and the contest remained scoreless at the first intermission. Things heated up significantly in the second period, beginning with Flint taking its first penalty of the night, a hooking call on defenseman Jake Pence at 1:12. Fort Wayne capitalized at 1:18, just 6 seconds into the resulting power play. Defenseman Guy Dupuis' shot from the top of the right circle hit the left goal post, but the rebound bounced to the stick of forward Justin Hodgman, who wristed it into the top of an open net from the lower left circle, giving Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead. Forward Colin Chaulk picked up the other assist. At 3:18, the Generals got that one back with a power play goal of their own. Komets defenseman Bobby Phillips had been sent to the box for cross checking at 2:43 to set up the man advantage. Forward John Ronan then picked up a rebound at the top of the crease and sent it sailing high over Fort Wayne goalie Nick Boucher to knot the game at 1-1. The goal was controversial since Mironovic has slid into the net on his side, looking like he was posing for a magazine photo shoot as he dislodged it from its moorings just before the puck crossed the line. According to the rules, because the puck would have entered the net normally had it not been dislodged, Hawthorne was allowed to award the goal, and he did just that. Defenseman Brandon Gentile and forward Jamie Schaafsma were credited with the assists. Flint took a pair of penalties at 5:59 and 6:21 -- hooking on defenseman Steve Silver and tripping on forward Rick Smith -- to hand the Komets a 5-on-3 power play for 1:38, but the Generals successfully killed the penalties after only allowing Fort Wayne a couple of good chances at the net. Upon returning to full strength, Flint pulled out to a 2-1 lead at 8:54. Forward Bryan Smolinski skated out from behind the net and sent a pass from the bottom of the left circle to Schaafsma at the right corner of the crease, who beat Boucher. Silver was awarded the other assist. The Komets tied things up again at 13:34 when Dupuis chipped the puck towards the net from the right boards and forward Justin Chwedoruk, who was waiting at the right corner of the crease, jumped up to catch the puck, dropped it to the ice and knocked it past Nolan. An assist also went to Mironovic on the play. Fort Wayne spent the last 5 minutes of the period pressing hard for the tie breaker, and finally got it at 3:39 of the third. As with their first goal, it came on the power play. At 1:46, Flint defenseman Craig Cescon was sent off for hooking Chaulk, and the Komets cashed it in just 7 seconds before it was set to expire. Forward P.C. Drouin's slap shot from the top of the left circle hit a post, but Fort Wayne got another lucky bounce when the puck headed directly for Dupuis in the right circle. Dupuis then swept a backhand shot top-shelf past Nolan to cap the scoring at 3-2. Hodgman got the other assist. Flint nearly answered a few seconds later, but the play was thwarted. With about 8 minutes to go, the Generals had a goal quickly waved off because the puck was poked in after the whistle had ended play. Flint continued to press as the clock ran down, pulling Nolan with 45 seconds remaining, but it wasn't enough as Boucher and the Fort Wayne defense held the line until the horn sounded. The two teams next meet for game 2 in Fort Wayne on Monday, May 10, 2010. Nolan stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced. Boucher made 22 saves on 24 shots for the victory.

Notes: Announced attendance was 8089. The Komets were 2 for 4 on the power play; the Generals were 1 for 4. Fort Wayne outshot Flint in all three periods and 31-24 overall. For the Komets, Brad MacMillan returned to the line-up wearing a cage to protect his surgically repaired nose. Forward Mitch Woods was Fort Wayne's only scratch. Scratches for the Generals were forward Dan Lapointe and defenseman Tyler Howells. Flint's "green man", who is hoping to draw attention to the team to prevent it's folding, attended the game. The Generals reached the finals after recovering from a 3-1 series deficit against Muskegon. The Lumberjacks won games 1 and 2 in Muskegon by margins of 2-1 and 6-4, respectively. Flint took game 3 in Flint 4-1, but Muskegon won game 4 in Flint 5-2. The Generals then rattled off three straight 5-2 victories, two of them in Muskegon, for the victory. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was once again experiencing technical difficulties after lighting had damaged the P.A. system on Friday night. The system was not checked until 90 minutes before game time, and the speakers facing the Komets' bench were not functioning for the contest. During the Komets semifinals series with the Port Huron Icehawks, the jumbotron scoreboard malfunctioned, most notably during game 3, but also during games 5 and 7.