FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The Fort Wayne Komets kept their season alive Sunday night, defeating the Kansas City Mavericks 4-1 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum to force a Game 6 in the Western Conference Final.
Facing elimination and trailing the best-of-seven series 3-1, the Komets delivered one of their strongest performances of the postseason.
Fort Wayne struck first with goals from Alex Aleardi and Jalen Smereck in the opening period to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Komets added to their advantage early in the second period when Matt Copponi scored off an assist from Matt Brown just 2:40 into the frame, extending the lead to 3-0.
Kansas City got on the board late in the second period with a power-play goal from Landon McCallum at the 15:14 mark, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
After a scoreless start to the third period, Copponi netted his second goal of the night at 11:43, sealing the victory and keeping Fort Wayne’s playoff hopes alive.
The Komets will travel to Missouri for Game 6 on Tuesday night at Cable Dahmer Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Eastern time.
