Fort Wayne Komets Use Strong Second to Beat Evansville Icemen
By Kris Hill
Brandon Marino Powers Komets Past IceMen
Photographs by DANIEL R. PATMORE / SPECIAL TO EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS
Evansville, IN – The Fort Wayne Komets got out to a slow start tonight against Evansville giving up two goals in the first period (both off of penalties). The good news though is those were the only two allowed in the game by rookie goalie Kenny Reiter.
First Period:
The first period of play saw the IceMen (16-25-4) get a power play goal off the stick of defenseman Daniel Tetrault 6:03 into the first frame after Komet winger Garrett Klotz was called for tripping. The All-Star selections from both teams got into some penalty trouble starting with Komet defenseman Daniel Maggio who got five for fighting when he and IceMen winger Mark Cody dropped gloves at the 8:06 mark. Reiter also accumulated some penalty minutes tonight. He was first penalized for playing the puck outside the trapezoid and then again before the end of the period for tripping. The later resulted in Evansville scoring their final goal of the game with 14 seconds left in the opening frame.
Second Period:
Fort Wayne native Kaleigh Schrock also got five for fighting, but was able to get the roughing minor included on Evansville winger Jim McKenzie just seconds into the middle frame. The Komets (23-19-2) went on the man advantage once more in the frame, but could do nothing. Brandon Marino finally got the Komets on the board with a 20-foot backhander at the 13:09 mark. John Dunbar netted his third of the season off of Eric Giosa’s pass two minutes later. Marino notched his 14th of the year to bookend the scoring in the frame with just over a minute left.
Third Period:
In the final frame, duel penalties were awarded at the 6:06 mark. A minute later Evansville All-Star selection Nathan Moon was hit with an unsportsmanlike minor, major and game misconduct for abuse of official. This led to the Komets sealing the game on Brett Smith’s ninth of the year from Marino 8:07 into the final frame.
Game Statistics:
SOG:
| SHOTS | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Wayne Komets | 11 | 17 | 6 | 34 |
| Evansville IceMen | 11 | 7 | 4 | 22 |
Power Play Efficiency
| Prd | FW | EVN |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 0-1 | 2-3 |
| 2nd | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| 3rd | 1-4 | 0-1 |
| Total | 1-7 | 0-4 |
Three Stars:
1. FW – 13 Brandon Marino
2. FW – 41 Brett Smith
3. EVN – 7 Daniel Tetrault
The Komets will take the ice again on the road Wednesday. This time in Kalamazoo at 7:00 p.m. EST. The radio broadcast for the game is available through the team’s website or wowo.com