The game between the Fort Wayne Komets and the Wichita Thunder was tight through all 60 minutes, but in the end Fort Wayne emerged with a 5-3 win.

The Komets gained the winning advantage on a goal by Chris Auger 8:04 into the third period and hung on until final buzzer.

The win gave Fort Wayne a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

Auger had a great game for the Komets, netting two goals.

Wichita's power play was ineffective against Fort Wayne's penalty kill, which allowed zero goals while shorthanded.

The Komets excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in seven chances. Fort Wayne's defensemen were a huge part of the offense, scoring two goals and taking 11 shots.

Fort Wayne additionally got points from Bobby Chaumont, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Fort Wayne also got a goal from Jamie Lovell as well. More assists for Fort Wayne came via Colin Chaulk, who had three and Mike Vaskivuo and Brett Smith, who each chipped in two.

The Komets were unable to stop the Thunder from sending pucks towards the net, and Wichita eventually piled up 33 shots on goal.

The Thunder were led by Thomas Beauregard, who grabbed two goals. Beauregard scored the first of his two goals at 17:16 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Fort Wayne. Kevin Young picked up the assist. Beauregard's next tally made the score 3-3 with 1:26 left in the second period. Alex Bourret assisted on the tally. Garrett Bembridge also scored for Wichita. In addition, Wichita received assists from Kevin Seibel and RG Flath, who contributed one a piece.

Fort Wayne's Nick Boucher stopped 30 shots out of the 33 that he faced. The Komets incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors. Adam Russo made 21 saves for Wichita on 25 shots. The Thunder incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.