Samuel Dove-McFalls Three Points Helps Spur Komets Victory in Iowa
CORALVILLE, IA – Samuel Dove-McFalls scored a goal and added two assists to help lead the Fort Wayne Komets to a 5-2 victory over the Iowa Heartlanders on Friday evening. Dove-McFalls was one of five players to score goals for Fort Wayne and he was one of four who had two assists in the contest. Tommy Parrottino and Tyler Busch scored the goals for Iowa. The Heartlanders have now lost seven straight games.
The Komets took the lead 3:06 into the contest when Adam Brubacher netted his fifth goal of the season. Seconds after Hunter Jones made a spectacular pad save on a one-timer, Tye Felhaber fed the puck across the slot to Brubacher at the left face-off circle. He buried a one-timer in the upper corner to give the Komets a one goal lead.
Iowa tied the score 13 minutes later when Parrottino scored his ninth goal of the season. Ryan Wheeler set up the play, stealing the puck in the neutral zone, then driving into the Fort Wayne end. He moved around a Komets defender before sliding a backhand pass across the crease to Parrottino, who redirected the puck by Ryan Fanti for his ninth goal of the season.
The Heartlanders were outshot 15-9 in the first, but came out of the frame tied at one. However, the Komets took control of this contest with two goals in the second. The first came just before the five-minute mark when Dove-McFalls netted his second goal of the season. The Komets were controlling the puck inside the Heartlanders zone. Graham McPhee had the puck along the half boards, firing a wrist shot that Jones saved, but no one cleared out Dove-McFalls, who put the rebound in to make it 2-1.
Just after the 12-minute mark, the Komets made it a two-goal advantage. With Fort Wayne on the power-play, the draw was won back to the point to Brubacher, who slung it along the blueline to Dove-McFalls. He passed the puck to Matt Alvaro who was just outside of the right faceoff circle. Alvaro fired a laser over the glove of Jones for his fifth tally of the year.
The Komets extended the lead to three when Garrett Van Wyhe scored 3:09 into the third. Fort Wayne entered the Iowa zone on a rush, taking a shot that was initially saved by Jones, but the puck went back to the point to Scott Allan, who lifted a wrist shot that Van Wyhe redirected for his fifth goal of the season.
Iowa made this a two-goal game three minutes later when Busch scored his eighth goal of the year. With the Heartlanders on the 4-on-3 power-play, Clayton Phillips made a great play, waiting for the defenseman to slide across before firing a perfect pass to Busch at the far post who redirected the puck past Fanti to make it 4-2.
Iowa was suddenly back in the game, but the Komets crushed their hopes 18 seconds later when McPhee took a shot that Jones saved, but the rebound went right to Blake Siebenaler, who put it in for his third of the year. That made it 5-2, which was the final.
Kielb, McPhee, and Allan each finished with two assists for the Fuel. Fanti saved 31 shots. Jones gave up five goals on 42 shots in his return to the Heartlanders.
The Iowa Heartlanders (7-21-9) will look to snap their seven-game losing streak when they welcome the Fort Wayne Komets (16-14-6) on Saturday. The puck drops at 7:05.