In the 30th Game 7 in CHL playoff history, an offensive explosion led to a 6-4 win for the Fort Wayne Komets over the Missouri Mavericks at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Thursday night.
The Komets will now advance to the Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals to face the Wichita Thunder.
Many thought that goaltending would be the story of this game but instead it was special teams as five total power play goals were scored in the contest (three by Fort Wayne and two by Missouri).
In a back-and-forth first period that saw both teams hold leads, the Komets started the scoring with a power play goal from Frankie DeAngelis at the 4:27 mark.
The Mavs would bounce back with a pair of power play strikes, the first coming from Ryan Jardine at the 10:25 mark and the second coming from Andrew Courtney in the final minute of the period giving Missouri a 2-1 lead after one period.
The Mavericks had the numbers on their side with the first intermission lead entering the game with a 5-0 record when leading after 20 minutes and conversely, the Komets were 0-2 when trailing after one period.
The Komets struck twice in the second period compared to Missouri’s one goal. Tom Mele tied the game at the 5:57 mark but it was quickly answered with the second goal of the night from Jardine less than a minute later. Fort Wayne would tie the game for the third time with a power play score from Jamie Lovell at the 8:29 mark.
With the score tied at three, the third period was owned by the home team. The Komets began the period with a man advantage and they capitalized just 35 seconds into the period regaining the lead for the first time since 1-0. Bobby Chaumont scored the goal assisted by Colin Chaulk and DeAngelis.
The Komets added to their lead at the 9:11 mark with Chris Auger scoring his fifth goal of the post-season making the score 5-3 but the Mavs showed heart with a late third period goal giving themselves a chance.
But it fell short as Auger put home an empty net goal sealing the win.
Nick Boucher made 35 saves earning the win and Effinger stopped 33 shots taking the loss.
