Monday, April 30, 2012 (Finals Edition)

Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals

all times local

2012 Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Finals Schedule
Wichita Thunder vs. Fort Wayne Komets (FTW leads series 2-0)
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 28 – Fort Wayne 5 at Wichita 3
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 29 – Fort Wayne 6 at Wichita 3
Game 3 – Thu., May 3 – Wichita at Fort Wayne, 7:30 PM
Game 4 – Sat., May 5 – Wichita at Fort Wayne, 8:15 PM
Game 5 – Mon., May 7 – Wichita at Fort Wayne, 7:30 PM (if necessary)
Game 6 – Fri., May 11 – Fort Wayne at Wichita, 7:05 PM (if necessary)
Game 7 – Sat., May 12 – Fort Wayne at Wichita, 7:05 PM (if necessary)

Series Notes:
-Fort Wayne’s power play has scored in four of the last six games going 7 for 20 over that stretch (35%).  The Komets are 1 for 4 in the Finals.
-Chris Auger and Mike Vaskivuo are 2/3’s of the Komets top offensive line (also includes Colin Chaulk) and so far in the Finals have been very tough to contain.  The due are tied for the league lead in post-season points with 19 as Auger has nine goals and 10 assists and Vaskivuo has eight goals and 11 assists.  Auger was thought to have scored two goals in three straight games but a scoring change after Sunday’s game credited his second goal of the game to Vaskivuo giving Auger five goals over his last three contests.
-Colin Chaulk made Komets history on Saturday when he played in his 95th career playoff game in a Fort Wayne sweater beating Guy Dupuis all-time franchise record.  Chaulk has three goals and 11 assists so far in the post-season and is two games away from earning his fifth ring with the Komets as he was a member of the 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Fort Wayne championship teams.
-Fort Wayne broadcaster Bob Chase will be calling his 100th Komets Finals game on Thursday night in Game 3 of the series.  The veteran voice of the Komets has been behind the mic for 59 years in Fort Wayne.
-Bobby Chaumont has the second longest goal streak in the CHL’s playoffs this year scoring a goal in four straight games.  Both Ed McGrane (MIZ) and Mike Vaskivuo (FTW) had five-game goal scoring streaks earlier in the post-season.
-Matt Summers led the Thunder in scoring during the regular season with 61 points (19-42=61) but so far in the playoffs, he has been held in check with just one goal and two assists.
-Wichita goalie Adam Russo was pulled from Sunday’s game after allowing four goals in nearly 35 minutes of work.  It marked the third time this post-season that Russo has been pulled from a game (Game 3 at RGV and Game 3 at Texas) and in the both previous cases he came back to start the next game and went 1-1 beating RGV in Game 4 but losing to Texas, 2-1, in Game 4. 
-The Thunder’s two losses this past weekend on home ice marked their first defeats at the INTRUST Bank Arena during the post-season (had won six straight entering Saturday’s game).  Wichita had just one two-game slide at home during the regular season and it came during the final two home games of the 2011-12 schedule.
-Thunder forward R.G. Flath had eight goals in his first eight games of the post-season but has not lit the lamp in the last five playoff contests.  Flath has eight goals and two assists overall in this year’s post-season.
-Late season signing Kevin Young has been a big offensive boost to the Thunder’s blue line leading all Wichita d-men with three goals and six assists.  In eight regular season games with the Thunder, Young (a member of the 2011 CHL Champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs) had two goals with two assists.

This Date in Playoff History (April 30, 2008)
On this date in 2008, the Texas Brahmas faced off against the Colorado Eagles in the Northern Conference Finals in what resulted in a tough physical battle; the Brahmas won the game 5-2, but ended up losing the series in seven games. Both teams racked up numerous penalties and spent a majority of the game with a guy in the box. At the end of it all, Texas had recorded 59 penalty minutes on 20 infractions while Colorado recorded 51 minutes on 20 infractions.