FORT WAYNE, Ind. – After a very well played and competitive first period with no goals scored and the Eagles and Komets each registering 10-shots on goal, the tone of game three turned chippy once again late in the second period.
At 9:42 of the middle frame the Komets took a 1-0 lead on a tip-in from the side of the net by Garrett Thompson. Assisting on the goal were Ryan Culkin and Marc Olivier Roy.
#21 Marc-Olivier Roy from the Ft. Wayne Komets – #3 star of the game
Colorado answered back quickly when Eagles defenseman Jake Marto unloaded from the blue line and beat a screened Michael Houser for the tying goal at 12:03, assisted by Michael Joly and Ryan Harrison.
#25 Jake Marto from the Colorado Eagles – 2nd star of the game
Both teams continued to work hard and play a relatively clean game until late in the second period when defenseman Colin Bowman took an ill-advised penalty with less than a minute to go in the period. Creating an even greater challenge for the Eagles penalty kill, defenseman Matt Register was called for high sticking less than 30-seconds later to give the Komets’ league-best power play a full 1:30 of a five-on-three advantage with the Eagles lacking both of their best defenders.
It took Gabriel Desjardins only 45-seconds into the third period to score on the five-on-three advantage to give the Komets a 2-1 lead, which became a 3-1 lead a few minutes later when Marc-Olivier Roy took a pass in the low slot and beat Cannata for the score at 16:37.
#14 Gabriel Desjardins of the Ft. Wayne Komets – #1 star of the game
With only eight seconds left in regulation, Marto scored again to bring the Eagles within one goal. Unfortunately, instead of the Eagles getting that desperate tying goal, even after winning the faceoff off at center Ice and with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, the Komet’s Desjardins stole the puck and scored an empty-net goal with four seconds remaining for a final score of 4-2.
With the Komets up two games to one in the series, game four will be played on Friday, May 18, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Game time is set for 6:00 P.M. ET.
Article and photos courtesy of terry.sanford@prohockeynews.com
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