Komets strike early, even series with Blaze

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, fell behind early and lost on Sunday afternoon, 5-3 to the Fort Wayne Komets at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Komets took only 19 seconds to open the scoring when Jean-Michel Rizk went top shelf at close range at the right post. The Blaze tied the game at 1-1 with 15:32 left in the first period when Doug Krantz plugged home a rebound, with assists going to Brandon Richardson and Omar Pacha. The Komets caught a break to take a 2-1 lead with 5:15 left when the Blaze clearance hit the linesman, allowing the Komets to regain the puck as Brett Smith tallied from the left circle. The Komets made it 3-1 just 70 seconds later when Kaleigh Schrock picked up a slow deflection and slid it inside the right post.

The Blaze cut the deficit to 3-2 when Jon Booras completed a 2-on-1 breakaway with a deke in front of the net for his 17th goal, assisted by Jordy Trottier. The Komets regained the two-goal advantage when Tom Mele slapped a rebound home with 14:36 left in the second period, ending the night for Blaze goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson, who was replaced by Zane Kalemba. The Blaze cut the margin to 4-3 quickly with a rebound tally from Jordy Trottier, assisted by Jon Booras and Craig Cescon, with 12:28 left in the middle chapter. The Komets took advantage of a Blaze turnover in their own zone when Artem Podshendyalov scored on the doorstep when Brett Smith stole the puck in the left circle with 1:45 left in the second to take a 5-3 lead into the second intermission and end the scoring for the night.

Neither team scored on the power play, with the Blaze given three chances and two man-advantages handed to the Komets. The Blaze outshot the K’s 38-34. Gerry Festa took the win in net for the Komets with 35 saves, and Brian Mahoney-Wilson picked up the loss with 14 saves. The season series is now even at 5-5-0 with one game against the Komets remaining, on February 29 at Fort Wayne.

The Blaze are next in action for three games this weekend in Texas, facing the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees on Friday and Saturday nights at Sunday afternoon at Laredo against the Bucks. The Blaze return home on March 1 for a Thirsty Thursday game against the Quad City Mallards, featuring Bud and Bud Light drafts for $2. Blaze information is available at www.bloomingtonblaze.com, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 309-434-2980. All Blaze games are also available online at WJBC.com and CHL-TV.

Blaze coach Paul Gardner looks back at the game with Greg Halbleib:

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