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Dayton Shoots Past Fort Wayne 3-2

December 4, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH- Returning home to complete a tough three games in three night's weekend, the Gems took to the ice to take on the Fort Wayne Komets in front of an energetic crowd at Hara Arena tonight. All of the fans in attendance were anxiously anticipating the Gems scoring their first goal of the night because it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion and they (the fans) would get to throw the bears out onto the ice when the goal occurred.

Within the first 30 seconds of the game, the fans almost got their wish when leading scorer Chris Lipsett took the opening face-off into the Komets zone and hit the crossbar with his first shot of the night. The next few minutes of the period were dictated by the Komets as they generated 14 shots towards Gems starter Jeff Jakaitis. Fort Wayne took an early 1-0 lead when, right after a Komet power play expired, Leo Thomas re-directed a shot in behind Jakaitis at the 9:23 mark. Thomas would then pick up his second on the night and stretch the lead to 2-0 for the Komets at the 16:45 mark. Nick Boucher stopped all nine Gems shots in the period and for the fifth straight game, the Gems would have to play from behind.

Dayton completely turned the ice in their favor in the second period and outshot the Komets 13-6 in doing so. Lipsett cut the lead down to 2-1 with a power play goal from the slot at the 6:34 mark, but that would be the only goal of the period for either team and the Gems trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes of play.

It would not take long for the Gems to tie the game early in the third when somehow Lipsett was left wide-open in the slot again and he made no mistake about where the puck was going as he sniped Boucher on the short-side to make it 2-2 at the 2:34 mark. The Gems continued to put the pressure on Boucher and the Komets defenseman, firing a total of 16 shots in the period. Corey Couturier gave the Gems their first and only lead of the night at the 6:00 mark when he miraculously beat Boucher on a wide-angled shot that had eyes on its way into the net giving the Gems a 3-2 edge with over half of the period remaining. Fort Wayne Head Coach Al Sims immediately called a timeout after the Couturier goal but it wouldn't matter because the Gems defense was stifling the rest of the way only giving up six total shots in the period to allow the Gems to send the fans home with a 3-2 win.

The Gems are now 11-6-1 through the first 18 games this season and a majority of that success is due to their strong play on home ice (8-3-1 at home). Dayton remains unbeaten against their closest rival this season with a perfect 3-0-0 record (2-0 at Hara) and has outscored the Komets 9-4 in the first three games of the series. The Gems also tied a season-high for shots on goal tonight with 38 and picked up their first win of the season when outshooting their opponent in a game (previously 0-3-0). With his two goals in tonight's win, Chris Lipsett finished the weekend with five points (3G 2A) in the three games and continues to lead the team in scoring with 18 points (8G 10A).

Individual game tickets are available for purchase in advance. For more information call the Gems offices at 937-275-7777 or log onto our website at www.daytongems.com . You can also catch us on facebook at facebook.com/daytongems. The Gems return home to Hara Arena Thursday night (December 9th) to take on the Rapid City Rush at 7:00 p.m. Thursday's game will be another Thirsty Thursday, meaning there will be $1.00 Bud Light Drafts on sale throughout the arena at the concession stands (with proof of legal ID). The U.S. Marines will be there as well to collect Toys for Tots and Santa Clause will make an appearance for the kids. The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.

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