IceMen Drop Preseason Finale 6-2 to Komets

After leading for most of the opening period, the Evansville IceMen dropped the second of two preseason games against the Fort Wayne Komets 6-2 Saturday night at the Allen County War Memorial Arena.

Evansville jumped out to a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the game, when Joe Zarbo scored his second goal of the weekend on a shot that ricocheted off the arm of Fort Wayne’s goaltender and into the net. It was the first lead of the preseason for the IceMen. The Komets tied the game on the power-play at 16:32 of the frame when Shawn Szydlowski’s shot deflected off of goaltender Branden Komm and in.

Fort Wayne took the lead with 43 seconds left in the period, when Brock Montgomery tipped in a shot from the point. The Komets never gave up the lead. Garrett Meurs scored his first of two goals at 3:35 of the second period when Alex Belzile set him up on a 2-on-1. It was the only goal of the period, and gave the Komets a 3-1 at the end of two.

Mike Emback scored on a breakaway at 11:07 of the third to make it 4-1, and Trevor Cheek added a fifth goal for Fort Wayne at 15:45. With 2:30 to play, Justin MacDonald found the score sheet for the second straight night as he lifted a backhander into the top shelf off of an Evansville faceoff win. But it was too little, too late for the IceMen, who gave up a second goal to Meurs in the last minute of regulation.