FORT WAYNE, Ind. – In contrast to the result of Fort Wayne’s first two games of its opening round series with Cincinnati, the Komets are in the drivers seat of the ECHL Western Conference Semifinal series with the Utah Grizzlies. Using a three-goal third period, the Komets closed out the Grizzlies 5-3 in front of 6,217 home fans Saturday night to take a 2-0 series lead.
Much in the same way it happened in game one, Fort Wayne jumped out to an early lead. This time it was Brett Perlini getting the opening goal, 22-seconds into the game on assists from Shawn Szydlowski and Jordon Southorn. Perlini jumped on a rebound in the slot and knocked the puck past a sprawled out Mark Owuya to make it 1-0.
It took the rest of the period, but Utah responded to tie the game with one-second remaining in the first. With time ticking down, Eric Knodel sent a between the legs pass across the crease of goaltender Pat Nagle to Barry Almeida, who smacked it into the net with fractions of a second remaining on the clock. T.J. Syner picked up the second assist on the score.
Almeida struck again on a power play goal 4:10 into the middle frame, with assists going to Ryan Hayes and Syner. With the puck to the right side of the net, Almeida banked a shot off of Fort Wayne’s Justin Hamonic and into the net for his fifth of the playoffs, making it a 2-1 Utah lead.
That lead, though, would last just over a minute before the Komets answered.
Alex Belzile took control of the puck and fired a shot high, blocker side to tie the game at 5:31. Kyle Thomas and Mike Embach assisted and the two sides remained knotted at 2-2 heading into the second intermission.
5:57 into the third period, Belzile struck again, adding his six playoff goal on an assist from Troy Bourke. With Owuya handling the puck behind his own net, Bourke hustled down ice, stealing the puck from Owuya and passing to Belzile, who knocked it into the wide open net to make it a 3-2 Fort Wayne lead. From there, the Komets went to work, peppering Owuya with 17 shots in the period.
Perlini found the net for his second of the night at 13:50 on assists from Southorn and Szydlowski. Southorn sent the puck around the boards, where Szydlowski collected it and sent it towards the net. Stationed just inside the right circle, Perlini re-directed the shot past Owuya to increase the lead to two.
But Utah wasn’t finished just yet.
While on the penalty kill, Hayes took possession of the puck then skated ahead with two defenders draped on him and Charles Sarault to his right. As they approached the net, Hayes sent a pass to Sarault, who buried it past Nagle for his league-leading seventh of the postseason at 15:10, making it a one-goal game.
With Owuya pulled for an extra attacker, Szydlowski slung the puck down ice and into the open net to make it 5-3 with 11-seconds left.
The series now shifts to The Maverik Center in West valley City, Utah. Game three is set for a 7:30pm MDT start, while game four is scheduled for Friday. Game five, if necessary, will take place on Saturday.
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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