Vaskivuo named MVP
Fort Wayne, IN -- The Komets capped their 60th anniversary season with their ninth league championship Monday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne with a 6-3 win over the Wichita Thunder to take the best-of-7 CHL Presents' Cup Finals four games to one.
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9,560 Fort Wayne faithful witnessed the Komets' fourth league crown in five years. The K's have won eight of their nine championships in front of Fort Wayne fans with the lone title win on the road at Port Huron in 1973.
Wichita's Aaron Davis put the Thunder up on the board first when he connected on a penalty shot at 2:29 into the first period. The Komets streaked back with four unanswered goals in a span of 3:26 by Colin Chaulk, Kaleigh Schrock, Frankie DeAngelis and Bobby Chaumont to give the K's a 4-1 lead. Before the first period could end the Thunder struck at 9:45 when Matt Robinson hit the net and the Komets countered with a tally by Mike Vaskivuo at 14:27 to send the game into the first intermission with Fort Wayne holding a 5-2 lead.
The Komets tied the franchise's record of five goals in a playoff period with their outburst in the first. It was the eighth time a Fort Wayne team has accomplished the feat with the last five-goal frame April 30, 2010 when the Komets upended the visiting Port Huron Icehawks 7-2 in the first round of an eventual IHL Turner Cup Championship.
The only scoring in the second frame was Chaumont netting his second marker of the night at 6:38 for his first multiple-goal game of the playoffs to give the Komets a 6-2 lead at the end of two stanzas. Wichita's only answer in the third was Thomas Beauregard's eighth goal of the post season to finish the scoring with the Komets capturing a 6-3 win for the cup.
Komet goaltender Nick Boucher collected his fourth Fort Wayne Championship in five seasons stopping 22 of 25 shots and tied former Fort Wayne netminder Pokey Reddick with a franchise record 12 playoff wins.
Thunder goalie Bryan Hogan suffered the loss making 19 saves on 25 shots.
Vaskivuo MVP-- Forward Mike Vaskivuo was awarded the CHL Playoff MVP. Vaskivuo added a goal and assist to his playoff totals Monday night to complete the post season with 10 goals and team highs of 14 assists and 24 points. Vaskivuo partnered the Komets' power line with center Colin Chaulk and winger Chris Auger who all together accounted for 26 goals, 39 assists and 65 points during the 18 playoff games. Vaskivuo, a third-year pro, came to the Komets on March 15, after skating most of the season with Rapid City, and posted two goals and nine points in the final six games of the regular season.