2020-21 ECHL Season Thread

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Period 2 underway ...

 

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Komets killed off 2 minors, and went over 8 minutes w/o a shot on goal, until Brandon Hawkins scores on a screen by a Rays D-man to make it 4-2 with about 9 minutes to go in the second.

 

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End of two, Ft. Wayne 4 - South Carolina 2. Three more minor penalties to the home team, all killed off. Rays now have a 30-18 SOG advantage, reflecting their offensive efforts in trying to catch up. SC had a two-minute sequence early in the period where the puck never left the Komets' zone, but they could not get the puck past Dylan Ferguson who is playing more confidently with every stop. The Komets had a poke at a loose puck in the Rays' crease in the closing minute, but the net came off its mooring before the disc crossed the line.

 

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Period 3 of Game 3 underway ...

 

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30 seconds in, Matt Boudens leans in on the defender & beats Shepard to take a 5-2 lead. Stingrays respond with a goal 90 seconds later to make the score 5-3. SC goal to Caleb Herbert.

 

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Szydlowski rips a wrister in as a power play was winding down, his second of the night. Ft. Wayne leads 6-3 with 12 minutes left. Crowd: "He Shoots ... He Scores!"

 

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Nick Boka & Tyler Nanne drop the mitts with 4:06 left. South Carolina get a man advantage out of it, and they eventually pull Shepard with over 3 minutes left.

 

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1:31 left, Rays with the extra attacker, SC scores to make it 6-4 on a goal by Mark Cooper.

 

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Final Score = Ft. Wayne Komets 6 - South Carolina Stingrays 4. Final SOG count was 49-24, but the visitors were denied the benefit of that advantage.

Game #4 is on Friday night @ FTW, with the Komets one win away from their first ECHL Kelly Cup championship.

 

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Courtesy of WANE-TV ... Komets sting South Carolina in game three, one win away from Kelly Cup

 

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BTW, tonight's official attendance @ WMC was ... 7777 .................

 

[Cyclones Rock]

BTW, tonight's official attendance @ WMC was ... 7777 .................

Probably closer to 5500 or 6000, but a decent crowd nonetheless.

Odd game. First period was just fire wagon hockey with tons of scoring chances by both teams-was 3-2 FTW at end of first period. After that, the difference was the goaltending. Shephard was awful after the first period for South Carolina in net. I thought 2 of the first period goals against were virtually unstoppable, but the last 3 goals were all bad ones, IMO. I asked one of the SC players who was sitting in the stands if game one (7-2 FTW win) was as bad as the score made it out to be. He said that it wasn't but the goalie (Shepard) had a bad game. Seems like a goaltender switch is in order for SC.

Shots were 49-24 in favor of SC, but it didn't seem like that. The game wasn't played in FTWs defensive zone all night as those numbers might seem to suggest. SC had 8 PPs compared to 4 for FTW, so that's probably the main reason why the shot numbers were so much in favor of SC plus the fact that FTW had a 2 goal lead midway through the game and didn't want to get caught up ice and give up odd man rushes-which they didn't.

Ticket sales look pretty good for Friday night. I expect a sell out as I would for a Saturday game if needed. I scored some great seats for both games. In any case, I'll see my 7th Kelly Cup deciding game. 3 in Cincinnati (2008/2010/2014), 2 in Dayton (2002/2007), 1 in Florida (2018) and now this year. I hope I get a chance to see Mr. Kelly Cup himself, Pat Kelly, and talk a bit of hockey with him. A true gentleman and minor league legend. He told me a great Barry "Bubba" Beck story one year from the time when he coached him in Colorado (Rockies) in the late 70s.

The series is far from over. SC could easily take the last two-though I hope that's not the case. Fort Wayne will be entering its 70th season next year and the Kelly Cup would be a wonderful addition to the great history of the Komets.

 

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Friday night Game #4 preview, courtesy of the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette ... Komets staying focused on goal

Including the daily doses of trivia for each side ...

The Komets are 11-0-0 in Friday night games at the Coliseum this season, including a 3-0 first-round victory over the Wichita Thunder. ...

Much like the Komets, the Stingrays' persona is based on resiliency. In the first round, the Stingrays twice faced must-win situations against the regular-season champions, the Florida Everblades, and won both games – on the road. After getting shellacked in the opening game of this series, 7-2 on June 25 at North Charleston, South Carolina, the Stingrays controlled play and defeated the Komets 4-2 in Game 2 on Sunday. ...

 

[Cyclones Rock]

The game is sold out on the lower levels and the Suites. There appears to be about 750 tickets left in the 500 level. I'm sure they'll be gone by game time.

https://www.ticketmaster.com/fort-w...yne-indiana-07-02-2021/event/05005AB4DC8E59A9


The Komets will host 10,500 for their game tonight. The Montreal Canadiens will host 3500.

The ECHL is now 3 times more popular than the NHL.

 

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From: Tbe ECHL > News

ECHL TODAY - July 2

8 hours ago (July 2, 2021)

Kelly Cup Finals (Best of Five)

South Carolina Stingrays at Fort Wayne Komets 8:00 p.m. ET

Fort Wayne leads series 2-1

Series Matchup Sheet

• South Carolina’s Matthew Weis leads the playoffs with seven power-play points (1g-6a).
• Brandon Hawkins leads Fort Wayne in the series with four goals and seven points.
• Stingrays lead the playoffs with 31.83 shots per game.
• Komets are second on the power play at home at 26.7 percent (4-for-15).
• South Carolina’s Max Gottlieb is tied for the playoff lead among defensemen with five assists.
• Fort Wayne’s Dylan Ferguson leads the playoffs in minutes played (697) and saves (336).
• Game 5, if necessary, is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne

2021 Kelly Cup Finals

Game 1 – FORT WAYNE 7 at South Carolina 2
Game 2 – Fort Wayne 2 at SOUTH CAROLINA 4
Game 3 – South Carolina 4 at FORT WAYNE 6
Game 4 – Friday, July 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Game 5 – Saturday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana (If Necessary) ...

 

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A quick-read Game 4 preview from FloHockey.tv while the Zambon takes its final swipes @ WMC ... Komets Look To Close Out The 2021 Kelly Cup Finals

 

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Game #4 first puck is down, hold on tight ...

 

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Stingrays' turnover in tbeir zone 90 seconds in, Hunter Sheperd nabs the K's shot from the point. Sheperd tested on the ensuing shift, but holds the post.

 

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Rays' Tyler Nanne takes a slapper to the face, and needs help off the ice.

 

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5 minutes in, first sustained offense around the Komets' net by South Carolina.

 

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12:37 left in the first period, no score. SOGs tied @ 6. South Carolina looks tentative, Ft. Wayne pressing them.

 

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The puck seems slow on the ice tonight.

 

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Nanne back on his shift with 9 minutes left in the opening period.

 

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End of the first, 0-0. Stingrays caught up in shots, and lead the K's 11-10. Both goalies sharp tonight. Not the sort of game I expected tonight, with the vibe of two teams still feeling each other out even after 3 games. I still think the ice conditions are messing with both sides, with passes and dumps being sluggish & skaters seeming to be a quarter-stride off as they've tried to create rushes.

 

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2nd period underway ...