Fort Wayne scores four goals in final 6:30 to force OT, but Zay wins it for Evansville.)
| Scoring | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
| Evansville | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Fort Wayne | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Shots | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Total |
| Evansville | 11 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 29 |
| Fort Wayne | 7 | 13 | 30 | 3 | 52 |
| Â | PP | Penalties |
| Evansville | 0/3 | 4 for 8 minutes |
| Fort Wayne | 1/4 | 3 for 6 minutes |
Records:Â Â Evansville: 28-32-7-2; Fort Wayne: 39-21-7-2
Goalies: FW – Martin (-), 9-8-0-1, 13 saves, 4 GA
FW – Nagle (OTL), 27-11-7-1, 11, 1 GA
EVN – Bengtsberg (W), 10-13-4-1, 48 saves, 4 GA
Scoring:
1st Period: 1. EVN – Thrush 3 (Moon, Rumble, 3:18); 2. EVN – Wideman 14 (Fawcett, Sims, 4:11)
2nd Period: 3. EVN – Harrison 7 (Monteith, :35); 4. EVN – Fawcett 21 (Himelson, Strandberg, 10:45)
3rd Period: 5. FW – Friedmann 2 (Barczuk, 13:30); 6. FW – Montgomery 6 (PP, Szydlowski, Denis, 17:45); 7. FW – K.Thomas 15 (Crunk, 18:56); 8. FW – Schaafsma 24 (Crowder, 19:45)
Overtime: 9. EVN – Zay 9 (Strandberg, 3:56)
FORT WAYNE, IN – The Evansville IceMen saw a 4-0 lead disappear in the final 6:30 of the third period, but Matthew Zay scored an overtime goal to redeem the IceMen Sunday in a 5-4 win over the Fort Wayne Komets.
The IceMen scored early in the first period, when Casey Thrush deflected a shot into the net off of a faceoff win 3:18 into the game. Alex Wideman gave Evansville a 2-0 lead 53 seconds later when his shot fooled Komets goaltender Spencer Martin and trickled into the net. IceMen goalie Christoffer Bengtsberg stopped all seven shots in the frame.
Andrew Harrison beat Martin with a backhander 35 seconds into the second period to make it 3-0. It was Harrison’s third goal in as many games this weekend. Then Tyson Fawcett added his team-leading 21st goal of the season from the slot at 10:45, which chased Martin from the net for backup Pat Nagle. The IceMen carried the 4-0 lead into the second intermission, as Bengtsberg stopped 20 shots through two periods.
Fort Wayne posted an ECHL season-high 30 shots in the third period and put together a miracle comeback in the final 6:30 of play to force overtime, including three with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker. First, David Friedmann spoiled Bengtsberg’s shutout with a wraparound goal. Then, Brock Montgomery tipped a shot into the net on a late power play to cut the IceMen lead to 4-2.
Kyle Thomas scored from low in the slot out of a goal-mouth scramble with 1:04 left to cut the Komets’ deficit to one. Then Fort Wayne captain Jamie Schaafsma completed the comeback with 15 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Both goalies stopped breakaways in the extra period, and Evansville failed to covert on a power play, but the IceMen got redemption when Zay buried the winning goal with 1:04 left in overtime. Bengtsberg stopped a career-high 48 shots for his tenth win of the season.
The IceMen finish the season next week with three games in Texas on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday against the Allen Americans at 7:05pm each night. The games will be broadcast at www.evansvilleicemen.com and ECHL.TV.
REMAINING GAMES
Wed. 4/6 – Evansville at Allen (7:05pm) – Allen Events Center (Allen, TX)
Fri. 4/8 – Evansville at Allen (7:05pm) – Allen Events Center (Allen, TX)
Sat. 4/9 – Evansville at Allen (7:05pm) – Allen Events Center (Allen, TX)         Â
FINAL JERSEY AUCTION
The final chance to bid on game-worn player jerseys will be in a live auction Monday, April 11 at 6pm at Beef O’ Brady’s in Newburgh. Following the team’s final three games in Allen, Texas on April 6, 8 and 9, all of the Evansville IceMen players will sign their jerseys for the winning bidders.
Visit us at www.evansvilleicemen.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @EvvIceMen for more information about your hometown professional hockey team.
