FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The Fort Wayne Komets are back home Tuesday night with another chance to punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final after Toledo battled back with two straight wins in the Central Division Final series.
Fort Wayne jumped out to a commanding 3-0 series lead before the Walleye defended home ice in Games 4 and 5 to cut the series deficit to 3-2.
The Komets can still close out the best-of-seven series Tuesday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and advance to face the Kansas City Mavericks in the Western Conference Final.
Puck drop for Game 6 is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. If necessary, Game 7 would also be played Wednesday night at the Coliseum.
Tickets are available through the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum ticket office and at the Komets’ website.
Fort Wayne opened the series with a 4-1 win in Game 1 before shutting out Toledo 3-0 in Game 2 behind a 37-save performance from goaltender Sam Jonsson. William Dufour scored twice in the victory, including a pair of power-play goals.
The Komets returned home Thursday night and earned a 4-2 win in Game 3. Alex Aleardi tied the game in the first period before Austin Magera scored late in the second to even the contest again. Blake Murray netted the game-winning goal in the third period and Matthew Brown sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Toledo avoided elimination Friday night with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4. The Walleye carried a 2-0 lead into the third period before Fort Wayne rallied with goals from Austin Magera and Josh Bloom to force overtime. Toledo scored the game-winner at the 4:41 mark of the extra session despite 43 saves from Komets goaltender Nathan Day.
The Walleye continued their momentum Saturday night in Game 5 with a 4-1 win at Huntington Center. Toledo scored three first-period goals and added another early in the second before Harrison Rees broke up the shutout bid late in the middle frame with his first playoff goal.
Despite the recent losses, Fort Wayne has continued to produce offensively throughout the postseason. The Komets have scored 17 third-period goals during the playoffs, while Dufour and Austin Magera are tied for the playoff lead in power-play points with six each.
Sam Jonsson also joined an exclusive list of Komets goaltenders with multiple playoff shutouts after recording two clean sheets during this postseason run.
