The Komets first-round Kelly Cup playoff series shifted to Iowa on Monday, and the Komets escaped with a 7-6 overtime win.
Iowa struck first for the third straight game with a goal at 4:19 from Nathan Noel. Jack Dugan scored his third of the playoffs with assists coming from Matt Murphy and Odeen Tufto at 12:08. Noel struck again at 18:02 to put the Heartlanders back on top, but Ethan Keppen erased the lead with a tally at 19:21 to tie the game.
Blake Murray scored for the Komets in the second period at 1:03, with helpers from Zach Jordan and rookie Josh Groll to give the lead to the Komets. With time winding down in the period, Noel was charged with a double-minor for high sticking, leading to Keppen scoring his second of the match at 18:29 to give the Komets a two-goal lead.
The Komets’ Darren Brady was called for interference at :24 of the third period, leading to Iowa pulling within one 10 seconds later. The Heartlanders tied the game at 1:27 with an even-strength goal. The Komets rallied back quickly with two scores to push the lead back up to two, but the lead didn’t hold as the host Heartlanders scored a power-play goal at 5:11 and another even-strength goal at 16:58 to send the contest to overtime.
In extra time, the game was ended when Jack Gorniak beat goaltender Kyle McClellan at 2:17 to give the game to the Komets a 2-1 series lead.
