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It was a night that began with 10,480 fans of the Fort Wayne Komets going wild. It ended the same way.
Right wing Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn scored the game-winning goal in the second period, after center Colin Chaulk set him up from behind the net, and Fort Wayne dominated the rest of the way in a 4-1 victory over the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
The Komets won the Turner Cup Finals series 4-1.
On a night marred by a series-high 23 penalties, it was a non-call that cemented the championship for Fort Wayne. Muskegon defenseman Darryl McArthur was skating out of his zone, but he was getting hooked and harrassed by center Colin Chaulk, who eventually stole the puck. Then he took off on a 2-on-1 rush and fed the puck to Leo Thomas, who scored at 4:45.
On the next shot of the game, center Justin Hodgman skated out from behind the net and tucked the puck underneath goaltender Kevin Armstrong, who stopped 34 shots.
Fort Wayne goaltender Nick Boucher stopped 22 shots, joining Chuck Adamson as the only Komets goalies to win two Cups. Coach Al Sims became the first coach to win three. Kevin Bertram, Guy Dupuis and Colin Chaulk became the first players to win three Cups with Fort Wayne.
Right wing David Hukalo was selected Playoff MVP; he led the team in scoring with eight goals and 14 points, and his defense was, as usual, tremendous. He helped the Komets limit the prolific-scoring Lumberjacks to nine goals in the series.
Amid the postgame celebration, there was a long emotional embrace between general manager David Franke and team president Michael Franke. Dupuis carried his son in his arms on the ice. All eyes were on the Turner Cup, which broke when commissioner Paul Pickard presented it to Dupuis last year; this time, it was fine.
Boucher had trouble lifting the Cup, after blocking a shot and injuring his arm in the game. He said he was so tired -- partially because the Coliseum was so hot -- that he couldn't have played another period.
When the Cup was finally presented, Dupuis first circled the ice. Then it was time for Rod Aldoff, then Leo Thomas, then Konstantin Shafranov, who was probably the runner-up for MVP, then Chaulk, then Boucher. Then it wen to Kevin Bertram and P.C. Drouin, since Drouin couldn't lift it with his broken right forearm that kept him out of the playoffs. Then it went to Sims, then Sebastien Laplante, who didn't play a single playoff minute, and then to Sean O'Connor.
Then I lost track.
Now it's almost two hours after the game ended and the players are in the locker room partying. David Franke is clamoring at Coliseum staff that they're already out of beer, which is no surprise, and I can still hear fans chanting at players as they catch a glimpse of them in the doorway.
This is an amazing scene. It's been an amazing playoff run, and an amazing season. I will admit, I didn't think the Komets would get here because of all the ups-and-downs, the injuries, the early woes at home. But in the end, I think they had a lot of heart.
That wins championships, and the Komets did that.
