Blaze Win Physical Battle in Fort Wayne

February 17, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bloomington Blaze News Release


FORT WAYNE, Indiana - The Bloomington Blaze, presented by Mid-Illini Credit Union, used a physical start and an extended power play early in the game to defeat the Fort Wayne Komets 5-4 on Friday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Action began with a physical theme with only 1:53 gone in the game when Fort Wayne's Bryant Molle punched Bloomington's Ryan Palmer while Palmer was down on the ice. During the same confrontation, Komet goaltender Nick Boucher skated the length of the ice and punched Blaze netminder Brian Mahoney-Wilson. Boucher was handed a game misconduct, while Molle was given a match penalty. The ensuing penalty time gave the Blaze ten full minutes of power play, the first five of which were 5-on-3. Mahoney-Wilson left the contest and was replaced in the Blaze net by Zane Kalemba. The Blaze scored two quick goals on the two-man advantage, as Kyle Laughlin added to his team goal lead with his 17th at 5:11 into the period, and Doug Krantz scored from the right point just 38 seconds later. Frank DeAngelis broke up a Blaze pass and scored a shorthanded unassisted goal just 25 seconds after Krantz's tally, but just 62 seconds later at 7:16 into the period, Jon Booras registered his first goal since his return to place the Blaze ahead 3-1. The Komets put another shorthanded goal on the board at 9:03 of the period to cut the Blaze lead to 3-2, again by DeAngelis when he scored from the right wing. The Blaze regained a 4-2 lead on the first even-strength goal of the contest, a Travis Granbois rebound putback with 3:00 remaining in the opening period to conclude the scoring for the first 20 minutes.

The second period was considerably more peaceful, as the Blaze took the only two penalties of the frame, but scored the only goal when Travis Granbois collected his second goal of the game, a shorthanded score with 3:52 left to send the Blaze into the second intermission with a 5-2 lead.

The Komets collected a power play goal with 14:34 left in the third period when Jamie Milam redirected a pass to the slot to cut the Blaze lead to 5-3. The Komets cut it to 5-4 when Jean-Michel Rizk slammed a drive top shelf from the right wing with 11:47 remaining. The Blaze held the K's off the board for the remaining time, including the final minute with an extra Komet attacker, for the fourth win over Fort Wayne in the last five games.

The Komets outshot the Blaze 49-39. Zane Kalemba earned his 14th win with 42 saves. Gerry Festa took the loss in net with 32 saves.

The Blaze conclude the brief road trip on Saturday night with a visit to the Dayton Gems. Face-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central at Hara Arena, with a 5:45 pre-game on WJBC.com and CHL-TV. Fans can watch the game at Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill Street in Bloomington. The Blaze return home on Sunday for a 4:05 p.m. face-off against the Fort Wayne Komets on Kitchen Cooked Family Day, with $5 admission for children 12 and under and $3 kids meals of a hot dog, popcorn and drink. Fans are invited to skate with the team after the game. Pre-game on WJBC.com and CHL-TV is at 3:45, and starting on Sunday, fans may listen to the game inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum by bringing a radio and tuning to 93.7 FM.

For more information on Blaze hockey, follow the team on Twitter (BLMBlaze), like the Blaze on Facebook, visit www.bloomingtonblaze.com or call 309-434-2980.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2012


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