Komets fall 2-1
K's unable to rebound after falling behind early

Fort Wayne, IN- Revenge is a dish best served cold. Both teams accounted for 42 penalty minutes in a contest that saw plenty of choppy play. The Fort Wayne Komets fell to the Tulsa Oilers by a score of 2-1 Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fort Wayne defeated Tulsa 3-2 the night before.

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It seemed to be all Oilers early as the K’s held their breath and avoided tragedy in the onset of the first period. A Tulsa goal was waved off with just 35 seconds gone due to the puck being played with a Tulsa high stick. The first period woes continued for the Komets who have had recent struggles getting on the board in the opening frame. Tulsa struck first on a Mike Ullrich (17^th) tally midway through the period. Ullrich stickhandled through traffic and split the Fort Wayne defense to find the net. Physical play was the obvious sight as both teams wasted no time in setting the tone. Tulsa capitalized on a Marty Standish (4^th) shorthanded opportunity at 17:30 to pile up a 2-0 first period lead. The Komets showed their offensive brawn by outshooting the Oilers 13-7 in the opening twenty minutes of play.

Tulsa preserved their 2-0 lead in the second period but not without some noise from the Komets. Both teams combined for 24 penalty minutes as a brash attitude was all the rage. Tempers flared and tension reached its pinnacle when Fort Wayne’s David Starenky and Tyler Sheldrake of Tulsa engaged in a lengthy battle at center ice near the end of the period. The confrontation occurred when words were exchanged prior to a faceoff in the neutral zone. Both skaters respectfully removed their helmets and went to work. Starenky got the upper hand when he overwhelmed Sheldrake with a hard takedown. Fort Wayne finished the period with an 18-15 edge in total shots.

The emotion was electric to start the third period. Fort Wayne came out soaring with what seemed like one scoring opportunity after another including a Bobby Chaumont breakaway that was turned away by the Tulsa net minder Ian Keserich. It all paid off at 9:15 of the period when Komet defenseman Frankie DeAngelis (9^th) sent a howitzer from the left faceoff circle into the back of the Tulsa cage. Stephon Thorne and Kaleigh Shrock assisted on the goal that cut the deficit to one. Energy was in the home team’s corner as the Komets opted for six attackers in the final minute. Despite several close efforts, Tulsa escaped with the 2-1 win.

Notes: 3 Stars: 1^st Star: Ian Keserich (34 saves) 2^nd Star: Frankie DeAngelis (1-0-1) 3^rd Star: Gary Festa (19 saves) The Komets were 0-7 on the power play while Tulsa was 0-3…Final shots were 35 to 21 in favor of the Komets…Gary Festa made 19 saves for the Komets while Ian Keserich stopped 34 for the Oilers…Defenseman Dustin Molle, and Forward Brett Smith were scratches for Fort Wayne…The Komets entered tonight’s game first place in the Turner Conference and 2^nd  place in the Central Hockey League, trailing the Wichita Thunder, with 48 points…Tulsa sat 5^th in the Berry Conference with 37 points…Fort Wayne came off a 3-2 win against the same opponent the night before…This weekend marked the first 2 times these teams have ever met…Tulsa broke their 6 game losing streak…Tulsa is (1-5-1) in their last 6 games…The Komets have a home record of 12-6-1…Tulsa is 8-11-1 on the road…The Komets are 4-4-1 in January…Komets are 1-2-1 against Berry Conference opponents …Fort Wayne is currently tied with Arizona for the CHL lead in fighting majors with 46…Frankie DeAngelis has scored in each of the last two games…Artem Podshendyalov ended his point streak at 4 games (3-2-5)…Tulsa forward Mike Ullrich ended a 9 game scoreless drought…Attendance was 8,112

Fort Wayne’s overall record falls to 23-12-2
Tulsa improves to 18-15-3