Comets Make Dramatic Comeback Against Wichita

For the first quarter and a half of play it looked like the Comets season debut was not going to be one they would want to remember. Midway through the second quarter they found themselves down 13-0.  Coach Kim Roentved wouldn’t allow his team to get down on themselves as they scored 16 unanswered points for an eventual 18-15 Opening Night victory.

The Comets vs Wings rivalry was reborn last season with some of the most exciting games in the league all year. This year’s matchups were sure to be just as thrilling as both teams seemed to add firepower over the offseason. The Wings signed Geison and Tiguinho away from the Comets and, in turn, Roentved went all the way to Denmark to add to his team’s arsenal with forwards Mats Falck and Kevin Jorgensen.

The Wings seemed to have the upper hand throughout the first quarter, even though the Comets were outshooting them 7-4. Andrew Hoxie started it off with a three point goal in the second minute, and then Geison beat his former goalkeeper Danny Waltman five minutes later for a 5-0 first quarter score.

It didn’t get any better for the Comets in the second quarter. Brady Bryant, Hoxie and Tiguinho each had tallies in the first ten minutes before Hoxie completed his hat trick in the eleventh minute for the 13-0 lead. Comets’ Captain Vahid Assadpour kept his team alive as he fed Byron Alvarez and Leo Gibson late in the quarter. When the halftime buzzer went off it was 13-4 Wichita.

Kim Roentved is known for being great at many things and after tonight, motivational speaker might have just been added to the list. Whatever he said in the locker room, it made the Comets come out with a passion and excitement that had been missing up until that point. Two minutes in, John Sosa found the back of the net off a pass from recently acquired Will John.  John scored a goal of his own at the twelve minute mark off a restart. Then Ryan Junge followed thirty seconds later with a shot hit so hard it might still be buried behind the goal in the Independence Events Center.

The fourth quarter began with the Comets down by one goal and suddenly everyone in the building began to believe that a home victory was within reach. Sosa scored his second of the night from newcomer Milan Ivanovic only five minutes in and completed the 16 point rally to put the Comets ahead. Alvarez added his second of the night four minutes later to give his side a two goal cushion. As the Wings pushed to try and regain what at one time seemed an insurmountable lead, Danny Waltman proved once again why many think he is the best goalkeeper in the league. He made several saves, including one diving to his right keeping the ball inches from going in. Although Geison added his second goal on a penalty kick at the 14 minute mark, the Comets were able to hold off any other attempt at a Wichita comeback. Stefan Stokic finished off the scoring with 1.7 seconds left and the Comets walk away tonight 18-15 winners.

These two teams face each other again on Sunday afternoon in Wichita at 3:00pm. Fans can watch follow all the action on the Comets official Gameday Twitter account, @CometsGameday and watch live on MISLNation.com. The Comets return home on November 11th to face the Syracuse Silver Knights at 7:35pm.