IHL recaps for Feb. 27, 1998

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 11:16 a.m.

From Sports Report Service.

Cincinnati Cyclones 5, Grand Rapids Griffins 3

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Brent Fedyk scored twice, and Jeff Wells scored the game-winner on a power play at 18:00 of the second period, as the Cincinnati Cyclones (31-22-10) beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-3 Friday night. A sellout crowd of 10,834 was at Van Andel Arena as the Cyclones won their fifth straight. Fedyk put the Cyclones on the board 1:50 into the second period, and the Cyclones went on to a 4-1 lead as Don Biggs, Martin Menard and Wells scored before the intermission. Fedyk capped the win with 18 seconds left in the game. Marc Greig paced the Griffins (30-25-6) with a third-period goal, plus assists on earlier tallies by Danton Cole and Claude Boivin. Cyclones goalie Parris Duffus held off a 36-shot attack, making 33 saves to post the win. Ian Gordon stopped 20 of 24 for the Griffins.

Detroit Vipers 2, Quebec Rafales 0

QUEBEC CITY--Dan Kesa scored in the first and third periods to help the Detroit Vipers (39-14-11) shut out the Quebec Rafales (22-34-6) 2-0 Friday before 7,981 at Le Colisee. Kesa's two goals tie him with Chicago's Steve Maltais for the IHL goal scoring lead, with 35. Goalie Jeff Reese made 36 saves on the way to his 25th win, and fourth shutout, of the season. Quebec netminder Tom Draper turned away 20 of the Vipers' 22 shots.

Fort Wayne Komets 3, Michigan K-Wings 2

FORT WAYNE, Ind.--The Fort Wayne Komets (33-21-5) defeated the Michigan K-Wings 3-2 Friday on Roman Oksiuta's goal at 18:18 of the third period. The Central Division rivals opened their weekend home-and-home set in front of 6,587 at Memorial Coliseum. Andrei Bashkirov and Konstantin Shafranov helped the Komets' cause with a goal and an assist each in the second period. Dan Hendrickson accounted for both Michigan goals, at 19:41 of the first period and 9:51 of the third. Winning goalie Bruce Racine faced 35 shots and made 33 saves. Michigan's Manny Fernandez turned away 30 of 33.

Milwaukee Admirals 5, Kansas City Blades 4 (SO)

MILWAUKEE--Mike Harder's shootout goal gave the Milwaukee Admirals (32-25-4) a 5-4 win over the Kansas City Blades Friday in front of 9,542 at the Bradley Center. Goalie Danny Lorenz made 25 saves in regulation, and shut out the Blades on five shootout attempts, to help the Admirals take sole possession of second place in the IHL Midwest Division by a single point over Kansas City (29-24-9). Milwaukee's Mike Tomlak scored the first goal of the game, but Dean Sylvester and Jason Cirone gave Kansas City a 2-1 advantage before the first intermission. After a scoreless second period, the Admirals got two goals from Martin Gendron and one from Brent Peterson. Dave Chyzowski scored twice for the Blades. Like Lorenz, Blades goalie Pokey Reddick faced 29 shots and made 25 saves in regulation.

Manitoba Moose 2, Utah Grizzlies 0

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah--Kent Fearns snapped a scoreless tie at 8:03 of the third period with the game-winning power play goal as the Manitoba Moose (27-31-5) defeated the Utah Grizzlies 2-0 Friday before 9,087 at the "E" Center. With five seconds left, Bill Bowler capped the win with an empty-netter. Scott Arneil assisted on both Manitoba tallies. Moose goalie Johan Hedburg was recognized as a star of the game for stopping 34 Utah shots. Mark MacArthur made 27 saves on 29 chances as the Grizzlies fell to 37-17-7.

Las Vegas Thunder 6, San Antonio Dragons 5 (SO)

LAS VEGAS--Shootout goals by Patrice Lefebvre, Russ Romaniuk and Brett Punchard pushed the Las Vegas Thunder (27-28-6) past the San Antonio Dragons (18-36-7) 6-5 Friday in front of 8,212 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Ken Quinney sparked the Thunder's comeback from a 3-1 first period deficit, scoring twice and assisting on a goal by Lefebvre in the second period. He and Lefebvre assisted on Justin Kurtz's first-period tally. Quinney's four points move him from seventh into a tie for fourth in IHL scoring with 74 points. Trevor Roenick also scored in regulation to help the Thunder snap a two-game losing streak. Daniel Shank led the way for San Antonio with two goals and an assist to Todd Reirden, who tied the game 5-5 with a goal 39 seconds into the third period. Darrin Kimble and David Payne also scored for the Dragons, who have lost their last five. Tim Cheveldae started in goal for Las Vegas, making 10 saves on 13 first period shots. Replacement Konstantin Simchuk stopped 19 of 21 in regulation, and allowed only one shootout goal, by John Purves. San Antonio's Scott Bailey finished with 29 saves on 34 chances.

Long Beach Ice Dogs 5, Houston Aeros 4 (SO)

LONG BEACH, Calif.--The Long Beach Ice Dogs (41-16-8) scored twice in the shootout to defeat the Houston Aeros 5-4 Friday before 6,895 at Long Beach Arena. Patrick Stefan scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker, which the Ice Dogs won 2-1. Shootout scorers Stefan and John Byce also had goals in regulation, along with Vitali Yachmenev and Victor Ignatjev. Mark Freer scored in regulation and the shootout for Houston (37-18-7), who are winless in three starts. Brian Wiseman had two goals, and an assist on Ken McRae's game-tying power play tally in the final minute of the third period. Winning goalie Kay Whitmore faced only 22 shots, and made 18 saves. Ryan Bach kept Houston in the game by stopping 33 of the Ice Dogs' 37 shots.