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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets center Dennis Kravchenko taking a shot at the net in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets center Marco Roy passing the puck in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets left wing Garrett Thompson chasing down the puck in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets center Dennis Justin Hodgman setting up for a play in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets center Jamie Schaafsma closely watching the puck in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets left wing Taylor Crunk getting held back by a Kansas City defender in the second period Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets left wing Garrett Thompson racing for position in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets center Tyson Fawcett moving into position in the second against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
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Mike Moore | The Journal Gazette Komets defense Cody Sol taking a shot at the net in the first period against Kansas City Saturday night at the Coliseum.
Saturday, October 21, 2017 10:20 pm
K's lose 1st game of season
JUSTIN A. COHN | The Journal Gazette
More Ice chips
- Komets' Binkley: Out for season February 21, 2019 4:50 pm
- Shootouts stink, K's stink in them February 21, 2019 8:49 am
- Another shootout loss for K's February 20, 2019 10:50 pm
- Komets make moves February 20, 2019 3:10 pm
- Roy released in AHL February 19, 2019 8:56 pm
- Komets, Vera Bradley to 'Pink the Rink' February 19, 2019 6:00 pm
- K's feel snakebit after another shootout loss February 17, 2019 9:20 pm
- Looking at K's as season's biggest game looms February 17, 2019 12:10 am
- Komets bemoan defensive problems February 16, 2019 12:10 am
- Komets dismantled 8-2 February 15, 2019 10:50 pm
- No Szydlowski for K's February 15, 2019 8:40 pm
- How do you feel about the K's? February 14, 2019 11:50 pm
The Komets fell for the first time this season, losing 3-2 night to the Kansas City Mavericks, a team that looked vastly improved over Friday.
It took great goaltending for the Mavericks to win, though, as they were outshot 45-23.
After crushing the Mavericks 8-2 on Friday night at the Coliseum, led by two Garrett Thompson goals, the Komets expected more of a battle tonight and they got it in front of 7,696 fans.
Though Fort Wayne’s Ralph Cuddemi opened the scoring 2:19 into the game, spinning and shooting from the right circle, Kansas City’s Bryce Aneloski answered 1:38 later. And Kansas City’s Mike McMurtry, who had set up that goal, made it 2-1 by finishing off a 2-on-1 rush at 6:18.
It would have been worse had Fort Wayne center Justin Hodgman not thwarted a Matt Robertson shot at 16:10, when goaltender Garrett Bartus was caught out of position, and the sequence came after Kansas City goalie Tyler Parsons withstood a 2-on-1 rush that saw Tyson Fawcett’s cross-ice pass set up Jamie Schaafsma for a shot.
The second period was marked by remarkable goaltending with Parsons foiling Cuddemi and Ryan Culkin from point-blank range during a power-play and stopping Fawcett on a spinning, breakaway shot. Meanwhile, Bartus faced an odd-man rush and stopped shots by Dan Correale and Darren Nowick only to be defenseless for Patch Alber to chip a shot in from just off the left post for a 3-1 lead.
As happened in their previous two games, a fight was needed to help energize the Komets. This time, it was Shawn Szydlowski fighting Justin Breton late in the second period.
It worked.
Marc-Olivier Roy scored by getting to the rebound of a Culkin shot, snatching it out of the crease, switching to his backhand and shooting 1:34 into the third period.
But the comeback ended there.
The Komets are off until this Friday’s 8 p.m. game at Memorial Coliseum against the Cincinnati Cyclones, in which Fort Wayne goalie Michael Houser could face his former team.
Notes: Former Komets captain Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock, a Fort Wayne native, joined the roster of the short-handed Brampton Beast before its game at Kalamazoo, Michigan. Schrock, 33, who retired in 2015, is the head of athlete development at the SportOne/Parkview Icehouse and head of player and coaching development for the Fort Wayne Amateur Hockey Association. Brampton is coached by Colin Chaulk, Schrock’s former teammate with the Komets. … Former Komets goalie Kevin St. Pierre was the Mavericks’ emergency backup goalie for a second straight night. … The referee was Lucas Martin.
jcohn@jg.net