Fort Wayne, IN-- The Komets were eliminated from the playoffs after falling 4-3 in overtime Wednesday at Colorado in the seventh game of the ECHL Western Conference Finals.
The Komets opened the scoring quickly with Cody Sol's third marker of the playoffs at 2:07 of the first period. After Drayson Bowman pulled Colorado even at 4:50 the Komets finished the first period with a 2-1 lead on Jamie Schaafsma's tally with 41 seconds remaining.
Neither team could find the twine in the second frame. Shawn Szydlowski gave the Komets a two-goal cushion at 8:02 of the third with his fourth goal of the post-season. The Komets lead was cut in half when Matt Garbowsky scored for the Eagles at the 12:00 mark and Joey Ratelle tied the game at 3-3 at 16:51 to send the game into the third overtime of the series.
In the extra session Colorado's Ryan Olsen netted the clincher on the power play at 10:34 to give the Eagle's the series 4-3 and the right to defend their ECHL crown in the Kelly Cup Championship Finals against the Florida Everblades.
Goaltender Michael Houser made 26 saves on 30 shots while Joey Cannata logged the win for Colorado making 32 saves on 35 shots.
End of Season Party and Jersey Auction Friday-- The Komets will present their 28th annual End of Season Party and Charity Jersey Auction this Friday night in the Appleseed Room at the Memorial Coliseum. The doors open at 6:30pm and the auction begins at 7pm.
Last year the charity auction raised $22,600 with Mike Cazzola's #13 jersey attracting the highest bid of $1,600.
There will be refreshments available including chips, pretzels, dip and hot dogs.
Admission is $5.00. However, season ticket holders and kids under 12 will be admitted free.
The Komets' 2018-19 season home opener is slated for Saturday, Oct. 20 against the Kalamazoo Wings. Season tickets with special early bird pricing are on sale at the Komet office at 1010 Memorial Way in Fort Wayne. For more information visit the Komet office, Komets.com or call 260-483-0011.