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Gems Fall to Komets 5-2 on Saturday Night

November 26, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - The Dayton Gems would be unable to rebound from an early deficit, ultimately falling at home to the Fort Wayne Komets on Cassano's Italian Ice inside the historic Hara Arena on Saturday night. Scoring for the Gems was Brandon Naurato and Matt Larke.

While the rivalry was continued peacefully in the stands while fans continued to stream through the turnstiles, the Komets would be more forceful on the ice, controlling the play right from the opening faceoff. A bevy of shots towards Gems starting netminder Bryan Hogan in the early minutes would set the tone while the Komets would capitalize on a scramble in the slot to light the lamp and take the 1-0 lead just 3:22 into the game. Fort Wayne continued to physically dominate the play, extending their lead with yet another rebound goal just over three minutes later at the 6:39 mark to make it a 2-0 Komets led game through the midway mark. Dayton would be limited in their chances in the attacking zone, but would have a pair of powerplay opportunities in the stanza without a point. Fort Wayne would add their third goal of the night with less than two minutes to go in the period, taking their 3-0 lead into the intermission after twenty minutes of play. Shots on goal favored the Komets 10-3.

Dayton would skate into the middle period with a new goalie as Larry Sterling replaced Hogan to between the pipes, while the Gems would waste little time starting to chip away at the Komets shooting deficit, earning quality chances in front of Komets netminder Nick Boucher in the first half of the period. The period would remain scoreless for either team until the 16:31 mark, when Fort Wayne would crash the net for their forth goal of the night while shorthanded. During the course of the goal, Komets forward Chris Auger would collide with Sterling, ultimately resulting in a Goaltender Interference penalty assessed on the play while Sterling would leave the game. Back in net, Bryan Hogan would watch his team set up on the powerplay, leading Damian Surma and Brett Lutes to feed a pass to Brandon Naurato who sent his shot past Boucher and sending the hometown crowd into a cheering frenzy with three minutes left in the second period. Thanks to their surge in the middle frame, the Gems would outshoot the Komets in the second 12-20 for a forty minute total of 20-15 while the Komets held onto the 4-1 lead at the intermission.

Looking to catch up on the scoresheet, the Gems would step up their intensity in the Komets end throughout the third period, posting numerous chances, but would be unable to catch a break against a stellar Boucher in between the posts. Dayton's special teams play would once again help propel the team, with Matt Larke sniping the corner off a Brett Lutes centering pass from the far corner to cut the Komet lead back down to two at 13:30. The goal, while scored even strength, was the result of a Gems powerplay, which finished 1 for 8 on the night. While the Gems had closed the gap to two, they would be unable to best Boucher any further, and would see the Komets pick up their fifth goal as it was automatically awarded to Fort Wayne by referee Jason Schultz due to the Gems throwing a stick at the puck as it slid towards the empty Dayton net with just 5.4 left on the clock. At the final horn, the Gems would fall to the Komets by a final score of 5-2, and would outshoot the Komets 25-25 after a full sixty minutes of play.

With the loss, the Gems record now stands at 6-5-4 with 16 points, while the season record against the Komets falls to 1-2-0. Dayton returns home to host the Missouri Mavericks for the first time this season on Thursday night at 7pm on Cassano's Italian Ice inside Hara Arena. Thursday night is another "Thirsty Thursday", with select $1 drafts and the debut of the Gems stadium cup giveaway for the first 500 fans.

The Kettering Medical Center is the official presenting sponsor of the Dayton Gems.

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