Comets complete comeback, still fall to Wave 9-7
The Kansas City Comets (2-1-2) completed a five-goal comeback before conceding two goals in the final minute to come home emptyhanded after a 9-7 loss to the Milwaukee Wave (2-1-0) at UW-Panther Arena on Friday night.
Down 6-1 in the third quarter, the Comets scored six of the next seven to tie it 7-7 before a pair of late Milwaukee goals gave the Wave all three points.
The Comets found the early breakthrough within the first two minutes. John Sosa sent a ball to the corner, which was met by Lucas Sousa who scored with an overhead kick.
Milwaukee equalized 5:43 into the contest when Derek Huffman corralled a loose ball in the right corner, setting up Ben Ramin for a simple finish.
Milwaukee took the 2-1 lead 3:35 into the second quarter when Ian Bennett found Huffman on the right. Milwaukee went 3-1 up on the power-play when Alex Bradley smashed in Marcio Leite’s pass from a restart.
The Wave scored a fourth straight when Huffman smashed a volley into the top right corner. The Wave went 5-1 up towards the end of the first half after they broke away as Alex Steinwasher found his brother, Javier, streaking down the left for a tap-in.
The hosts continued to pile it on in the third period as Alex Steinwasher fired in his first career goal after dancing through the Comets defense, giving Milwaukee a 6-1 advantage.
The Comets finally stopped the bleeding towards the end of the third quarter with a pair of goals from distance. Sousa scored his second of the evening with a lethal finish to the top left corner before James Togbah rifled in his fourth of the season off the crossbar 11:55 into the third quarter.
Leo Gibson cut the deficit to two goals as the Comets player-coach made it 6-4 with a power-play goal. The Comets made it 6-5 when Togbah scored on the power-play. The Wave finally punched back on the counter attack when Marcio Leite made it 7-5, dinking the ball over an onrushing Nicolau Neto.
With 1:43 remaining, the Comets made it 7-6 when Mike Da-Silva scored a tap-in after a deflected shot fell kindly for him. The Comets completed the comeback when Sousa found the equalizer and completed his hat trick with the sixth attacker jersey on, firing a shot from distance low to the far post.
It looked like the Comets would head home with at least a point if the level scoreline held to force overtime. But Milwaukee was not done yet.
Huffman completed his hat trick with 33 seconds remaining to put the Wave up 8-7 after a sharp turn in the corner before scoring the game-winning goal. Bennett made it 9-7 with an empty net goal with 17 seconds left.
With seven goals, six coming in the second half, Friday’s contest was the first time this season the Comets’ offense really got going.
The Comets turn around quickly as they come home to Cable Dahmer Arena on Saturday, December 17 at 6:05 p.m. CT for another rival matchup with the St. Louis Ambush. Tickets are available at www.kccomets.com/tickets.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – KC Sousa (Sosa) 1:48; MKE Ramin (Huffman) 5:43. Penalties — MKE Hayne (bc- contact above the shoulder/elbow).
2nd – MKE Huffman (Bennett); MKE Bradley (Leite) 7:02 pp; MKE Huffman 8:11; MKE J. Steinwasher (A. Steinwasher) 13:46. Penalties — KC Gibson (bc- charging).
3rd – MKE A. Steinwasher (Bennett); KC Sousa (Gibson) 10:43; KC Togbah (Sosa) 11:55. Penalties — KC Flores (bc- striking) 5:49.
4th – Gibson (Sousa) 0:44 pp; KC Togbah (Sousa) 3:16 pp; MKE Leite 6:48; KC Da-Silva 13:17; KC Sousa (Sosa) 13:57; MKE Huffman (Leite) 14:27; MKE Bennett 14:43. Penalties — MKE Hayne (bc- dangerous play) 0:08; MKE J. Steinwasher (bc- handling) 3:02; KC Abreu (bc- kicking) 8:52.
Power Play – Comets 2/3, Milwaukee 1/3
Penalty Minutes – Comets 6, Milwaukee 6
Shots – Comets 27, Milwaukee, 32
Attendance – 1,825