The No. 2 seed Fort Wayne Komets returned home Monday night confident they could get the upper hand in their Central Division Finals series against the top-seeded Toledo Walleye.
The series was knotted at 1-1 after Fort Wayne dominated in a 6-1 win on the road in Game 1.
Sure enough, home cooking tasted mighty good for the Komets, who got goals from two blueliners for the only tallies they would need on the night.
The Walleye killed off two crucial Komet power plays, a two-minute minor and a four-minute double minor in the first period. Fort Wayne came into the contest leading the playoffs on the power play at home at 54.5% (6-for-11).
Just as they had done in the previous two games of the series, the Komets got on the board first. ECHL Defenseman of the Year Kyle Mayhew scored the only goal of the opening period, putting in a shot in the final 15 seconds to put the Komets up 1-0.
After a scoreless second period, Toledo's Colby Ambrosio scored at 7:46 to tie the contest 1-1. Assists went to Sam Craggs and Brandon Kruse.
The Komets got the eventual game-winner as defenseman Darren Brady scored on a shot from the blue line with assists from Alex Swetlikoff and Jack Dugan to retake the lead 2-1 at 14:58. It would turn out to be the final score, putting the Komets ahead 2-1 in the series.
Brett Brochu shut the door in net for the Komets, making 16 saves in the third period for a game total of 32 for his second win of the series.
Game 4 is Wednesday in Fort Wayne, with puck drop set for 7:35 Pm ET.