FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Fort Wayne Komets scored early and often, delighting the home crowd as they rolled to a 7-3 win over the Wichita Thunder before 7,105 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Game Three of the Ray Miron President’s Cup Final. 
The Komets now lead the best-of-seven series 3-0 with a chance to clinch the Central Hockey League championship on Saturday night. Colin Chaulk led Fort Wayne with three points (2 G, 1 A) while Kaleigh Schrock added two goals. Leo Thomas also had a goal and assist while Mike Vaskivuo and Jean-Michel Rizk had two assists each. Nick Boucher continued his solid play in the final, stopping 26 of 29 Wichita shots.
Rough night for the Thunder%27s Bryan Hogan%2C who surrendered seven goals.
The Komets special teams were on point, scoring two power play goals on four chances. The Thunder, who were without the services of standout goalie Adam Russo, were 0-1 on the man advantage. Bryan Hogan surrendered all seven goals, even though he stopped 34 of 41 shots. Shortly after the fans settled into their seats, the Komets exploded for two goals in a matter of just 32-seconds. Schrock took a feed from Tom Mele 3:22 into the opening period and slapped the puck home to Hogan’s left from just inside the right circle to make it 1-0. Following a face-off moments later, Bryant Molle released a shot from near the blue line that found the back of the net to put the Komets up by two. Wichita’s Aaron Davis cut Fort Wayne’s lead in half six minutes later, scoring on a wrist shot from an odd angle near the boards to Boucher’s right side at 9:43, sending the two squads to the first intermission at 2-1. Fort Wayne’s special teams came to life in the middle frame, as they extended their lead to 5-1 in a matter of 1:33 in the middle of the period. Daniel Maggio netted the Komets’ first power play marker at 8:34, sending a shot in on net from the point, through traffic and into the net. Chaulk added another power play goal 25-seconds later when he took a pass from Bobby Chaumont and bounced the puck over Hogan’s right shoulder to make it 4-1. Thomas added another tally during a delayed Wichita penalty, beating Hogan from in front of the net at 10:07.
The Komets celebrate their victory.
Wichita’s Matt Summers attempted to spark a comeback for the Thunder, adding two goals of his own later in the second period to cut the deficit to two. Chaulk and Schrock, however, had different plans. Chaulk added his second of the night at 2:24 of the third on an assist from Vaskivuo and Chris Auger, making the score 6-3. Just over two minutes later Schrock added his second, sending a wrister pas Hogan from the right circle to equal the final score. The Komets can now claim their first CHL championship with a Game Four win Saturday. Opening face-off is set for 8:15 pm EDT. Contact the writer at:
john.hall@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at
johnrothwell@prohockeynews.comRelated
