Komets Blank IceMen on St. Patty’s Day

Fort Wayne wins final meeting at Ford Center after ice delay and second period melee.

 

Records:  Evansville: 24-29-6-2; Fort Wayne: 35-19-5-2

Goalies:  FW – Nagle (W), 25-9-5-1, 25 saves, SO

EVN – Greenham (L), 8-6-1-1, 14 saves, 2 GA

EVN – Bengtsberg (-), 9-12-4-1, 10 saves, 2 GA

Scoring:

1^st Period: 1. FW – Belisle 2 (Babtista, L.Thomas, 10:51)

2^nd Period:  2. FW – Schaafsma 19 (unassisted, 7:30)

3^rd Period:  3. FW – Barczuk 13 (Baptista, L.Thomas, 3:37); 4. FW – Szydlowski 18 (unassisted, 4:28)

EVANSVILLE, IN – The Fort Wayne Komets shut out the Evansville IceMen 4-0 Thursday in a game riddled with 141 penalty minutes on St. Patrick’s Day at the Ford Center.

Fort Wayne scored the game’s first goal, when Louis Belisle jammed a loose puck behind the left skate of IceMen goalie Scott Greenhammidway through the opening period. The Komets outshot Evansville 14-4 in the frame.

The Komets made it 2-0 when Jamie Schaafsma through a puck to the front of the net from behind the cage, and it ricocheted off of the skate of an IceMen defenseman before trickling into the net. Greenham was replaced after the goal by Christoffer Bengtsberg. There were 114 combined penalty minutes and five ejections in the second period due to a melee during a media timeout at 8:01.

Daniel Barczuk deflected in a power play goal to extend Fort Wayne’s lead to 3-0 just 3:37 into the third period. Then Shawn Szydlowskiripped a shot over Bengtsberg’s glove 49 seconds later to complete the scoring. Nagle posted a 25 save shutout, while Greenham took credit for the loss as he stopped 14 of 16 shots. Bengtsberg made 10 saves in relief. The two teams meet twice more at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne on March 26 and April 3.

The IceMen travel to Toledo Saturday for a 7:15pm EST battle with the Walleye at Huntington Center in the final meeting of the year between the teams. Evansville then wraps up the weekend at home against the Cincinnati Cyclones at 5:15pm Sunday at the Ford Center. Season ticket holders and Blizzard Buddies will have the opportunity to skate on the ice after the game.

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FINAL HOME GAMES

Sun. 3/20 – Cincinnati at Evansville (5:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Season Ticket Holder/Blizzard Buddies Postgame Skate

Fri. 4/1 – Cincinnati at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

                        Autism Awareness Night

Sat. 4/2 – Tulsa at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center

Home Finale – TRCI Mini Stick Giveaway – Zooperstars

                       

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POSTGAME SKATE – MARCH 20

IceMen Season Ticket Holders and Blizzard Buddies are welcome to participate in a postgame skate Sunday, March 20 after the IceMen take on the Cincinnati Cyclones at 5:15pm at the Ford Center. Fans are encouraged to bring their own skates if they have them, as a limited number of skates will be provided.

FAITH SUNDAYS

Bring any pamphlet or program from your faith service to the Ford Center Ticket Office and receive a $5 discount on tickets anywhere in the building for Sunday home games! This Sunday, March 20, is the last Sunday game of the season, as the IceMen host the Cincinnati Cyclones at 5:15pm.

 

SUNDAY – SUBWAY FAMILY NIGHT

Bring your friends and family out to the Ford Center Sunday by taking advantage of the Subway Family Night ticket special. It includes a Goal Zone or Corner ticket to the game, an IceMen Subway t-shirt, and vouchers for popcorn and a soda, all for just $21. There is also an opportunity to upgrade to Center Ice or Club seats for just $4 more. Evansville hosts Cincinnati this Sunday at 5:15pm.

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.