FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Eagles defenseman Adrian Vedieman scored the game-winning goal, while Colorado goaltender Clarke Saunders turned aside 36 of the 40 shots he faced as the Eagles defeated the Ft. Wayne Komets 5-4 in overtime on Sunday.
The contest would begin with a bang, with three first-period goals being scored by the two clubs in a span of just 18 seconds. Colorado forward Sean Ringrose would begin the offensive onslaught by notching his first goal in an Eagles sweater, as he stuffed home a rebound in the crease off a Kyle Kraemer shot to give Colorado a 1-0 lead just 5:51 into the contest.
That lead would be short-lived, as the Komets would win the ensuing face-off and forward Garrett Muers would streak between the circles and beat Eagles goaltender Clarke Saunders to tie the score at 1-1 at the 6:05 mark of the first period. Ft. Wayne would again win the draw following the goal and once again Muers would unfurl a shot that would light the lamp and give the Komets a 2-1 lead. Muers’ two goals in four seconds would also set a new Komets’ team record for the quickest two goals in succession.
Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes, the Eagles would strike back in the second period scoring a pair of goals just 1:29 apart. The first came after the Eagles earned a power play and forward Curt Gogol pumped a shot from the low-slot into the goal to tie things up at 2-2 with 3:06 remaining in the middle frame.
Shortly after, rookie forward Peter MacIntyre would give the Eagles their second lead of the game, stuffing home a loose puck on top of the crease, making it 3-2 Colorado.
The Eagles lead would again be short-lived, as Komets forward Jamie Schaafsma cleaned up a rebound in front of the net of Saunders to knot the game at 3-3.
With the contest deadlocked after forty minutes, Colorado began the third period on the man-advantage, but a turnover would send Komets forward Shawn Szydlowski on a short-handed breakaway which would finish with his 16th goal of the season and a 4-3 Komets lead with only 1:05 gone in the third.
Following a scuffle at the Komets’ bench, Eagles forward Jesse Mychan received a five-minute major for spearing. During the subsequent penalty kill, defenseman Teigan Zahn was booked for cross-checking, putting Ft. Wayne on a 5-on-3 power play. Colorado would hang tough on the kill and after getting back to five-on-five action, defenseman Jake Marto would tuck home his 8th goal of the year off a Johnny Lazo rebound to knot the game at 4-4 with 11:23 left in the third.
60 minutes wasn’t enough to decide a winner, as the game eventually evolved into a sudden-death overtime. With only 1:46 left in OT, forward Darryl Bootland wrapped behind the Komets net and hit Veideman with a pass on the wide-side post which Veideman would rifle home to give the Eagles the 5-4 win in overtime.
The Eagles return home to begin a three-game series against the Alaska Aces on Wednesday, February 24th at the Budweiser Events Center.
With Colorado Eagles release