Wichita was unable to sustain the momentum from scoring first and lost Game Two of the CHL Finals to Fort Wayne, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at INTRUST Bank Arena. Chris Auger scored twice for the third game in a row and the Thunder find themselves in a 2-0 hole as the series will shift to Fort Wayne on Thursday night.
The Thunder scored first for just the third game this post-season with a goal from Kevin Seibel at 9:40 of the first period. After Chris Chappell carried the puck around the Komets zone, his pass to Aaron Davis ended up on the side of Boucher. Seibel was able to elevate it up past the Komets goalie and it popped in over the line to make it 1-0. Fort Wayne tied the game at 12:53 in what appeared to be a dead play. Adam Russo came out of his net to clear a dump-in and as he turned it over to Jean-Michel Rizk, Kevin Young went sliding into the post to block the shot. Rizk continued to make his way to the net and put it in with the net off its pegs. The official ruled it a goal and the game was tied at one.
The Komets came out firing in the second period. Colin Chaulk won a face-off and Daniel Maggio blasted it past Russo to make it 2-1 at 7:36 to begin a string of three unanswered goals for Fort Wayne. Chris Auger scored his first of two at 10:31 on the power play to make it 3-1. Mike Vaskivuo added to the lead at 14:58 after stealing a puck deep in the Wichita end to make it 4-1. At that point, Adam Russo was lifted and Bryan Hogan entered the game. Wichita took advantage of a power play with four minutes left and tried to gain some momentum heading into the locker room. Chris Chappell (5) found a rebound in front of Boucher and was able to get the Thunder back into the game, trailing 4-2 heading into the second intermission.
The Komets would not be denied as they added two more in the third period.Bobby Chaumont and Chris Auger scored 16 seconds apart to extend the lead to 6-2. Erick Lizon scored his first of the post-season late in the game, but it was not enough and the Komets won Game Two, 6-3.
Wichita scored its first power play goal against the Komets this season, now 1-for-18 in four meetings including the regular season. Kevin Young extended his point-streak to four games while Thomas Beauregard added an assist and has 16 points (6g, 10a) to lead the team in the playoffs.
Wichita went 1-for-3 on the power play while Fort Wayne was 1-for-2.
Wichita will look to regroup with Game Three of the President's Cup Finals taking place next Thursday. With the series shifting to Indiana, the start time for Game Three is 6:30 p.m. central time. Game Four will take place on Saturday, May 5th at 7:15 p.m. central time. A possible Game Five would happen on Monday, May 7th.
