COMETS DROP A CLOSE ONE TO FLASH, 6-5 IN OVERTIME
INDEPENDENCE, MO. – The Comets (3-2-2) out-shot the visiting Monterrey Flash (3-1-0) by a 40-29 margin but came up one short in the goals column and dropped a 5-4 overtime decision in front of 4,571 fans at Cable Dahmer Arena Thursday evening. Nicolau Neto stopped 14 shots in goal for the Comets in the losing effort. His counterpart for the Flash, Christian Hernandez turned away 21 Kansas City shots in the win.
The lone goal of the 1st quarter took just 38 seconds after the kick-off and was an unassisted effort by Luis Angel Mendoza to put the Flash up 1-0 and Monterrey held that lead for the remainder of the opening frame.
Kansas City got the equalizer on the power play after Luis Carlos Esteban was sent off for tripping. John Sosa sent a pass to his left and Leo Gibson blasted a low shot past Hernandez for the goal with 12:03 left to go in the half. For Sosa, it was his league-leading 10th assist of the season.
The Flash tallied the final two goals of the first half with the first coming from Erick Rosas, who put home a rebound off the post to give the Flash a 2-1 lead with 5:57 left in the 2nd quarter.
The next goal was a power play marker for Monterrey after Gibson was sent to the penalty box for seven minutes following a blue and yellow card. Erick Tovar connected with Jorge Luis Cortez for the goal to make it a 3-1 Flash lead heading into halftime.
The Flash lead did not last long when play resumed. In fact, it took 46 seconds for the Comets to pick up two goals and level the game at 3-3. Ramone Palmer netted the first when he deflected a pass intended for the Flash keeper from a defender to the back of the net to make it a 3-2 Monterrey lead eight seconds into the 3rd.
Palmer was involved in the next Comets goal as well when he found Mike Da-Silva on a wall pass for the goal to even the game at 3-3 with 14:14 to play in the 3rd quarter.
It was Cortez’s second goal for the Flash, this one assisted by Cristofher Castillo that put the Flash back up by one at 4-3 with 6:47 left in the quarter.
The Comets had one more goal in them for the 3rd quarter. Lucas Sousa pushed a wall pass to Nacho Flores who, while falling backward. Beat the Flash keeper to tie the game up at 4-4 which was the score headed to the final quarter.
The back-and-forth scoring continued to open 4th quarter with Ivan Monroy giving the Flash the lead again, 5-4 with 11:59 to go in the game.
The Comets have a quick turnaround as they are back in action on Saturday, New Year’s Eve on the road in St. Louis. Kick-off is set for 3:05 pm and if you can’t make the trip, the game will be broadcast on Twitch. The Comets return home on Saturday, January 7 when the Tacoma Stars make their only trip to Cable Dahmer Arena this season. Tickets for that matchup and all Comets home games are available at www.kccomets.com/tickets.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st – MON Mendoza 0:38. Penalties – None.
2nd – KC Gibson (Sosa) 3:02 pp; MON Rosas (Mendoza) 9:13; MON Cortez (Tovar) 10:26 pp. Penalties – MON Esteban (bc- tripping) 1:06; KC Alejo (bc- holding) 5:47; KC Gibson (bc- kicking) 9:51; KC Gibson (yc- major penal penalty) 9:51.
3rd – KC Palmer 0:08; KC Da-Silver (Palmer) 0:46; MON Cortez (Castillo) 8:13; KC Flores (Sousa) 10:54. Penalties – Monroy (bc- contact above the shoulder) 12:56.
4th – MON Monroy 3:01; KC Gibson (Togbah) 12:15. Penalties – None.
OT – MON Mendoza (Cortez) 1:06. Penalties – None.
Power Play – Comets 1/2, Monterrey 1/2
Penalty Minutes – Comets 9, Monterrey 4
Fouls – Comets 12, Monterrey 14
Shots – Comets 40, Monterrey 29
Attendance – 4,571