After nearly pulling off another big comeback in their first road game of the season, the Fort Wayne Komets watched, as the Kalamazoo Wings handed the Komets their first loss of the young season with a 4-3 victory on Saturday night at the Wings Event Center.
It was a big second period for the host Wings, as they put in three goals to build a 3-1 lead, but as they did on opening night, the Komets recovered from a two-goal deficit in their attempt to battle back.
Fort Wayne actually scored first just three minutes into the opening period when Anthony Petruzzelli scored off a put-back that deflected off the boards, and the veteran took advantage of his chance to break open the scoring and give Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead. Nick Jermain and Zach Tolkinen picked up the assists on the first goal of the contest.
The Komets, who dominated shots on goal 39-23, could not take advantage of an early power play in the second frame, as Kalamazoo managed to knot up the game on a shorthanded goal just over a minute into the period. Collin Saccoman beat Jiri Patera, tying the game at 1-1.
Six minutes later, Michael Davies broke the tie with his first goal of the season, giving Kalamazoo the lead, now up 2-1 lead. Just 22 seconds later, the hometown K-Wings struck again. Justin Taylor, who assisted on the Davies goal, put the puck past Patera to push their lead to 3-1.
As Fort Wayne continued in their attempt to climb back, defenseman Will Graber tallied a power play goal at the 11:23 mark, and Matt Murphy tied the game with his first goal since returning to the Komets. The Murphy goal occurred with just 32 seconds left on the clock in regulation.
With the clock winding under a minute and headed toward overtime, Canadian Justin Murray sealed the deal in style, scoring the game-winning goal, sending K-Wings fans home happy.
Fort Wayne returns home on Friday against Cincinnati, as they welcome the visiting Cyclones to town at 8:00pmET.