Tommy Mele was an opportunistic player for the Komets from 2011 to 2012. He’s turned into a frequent scorer with the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Tonight, he put his ability to score – at important times – on display with two goals in the Cyclones’ 3-2 victory over Fort Wayne in the Game 1 of their playoff series.

Mele played 65 games with the Komets and totaled nine goals and 23 points, including two goals and five points in 20 playoff games, helping them to the Central Hockey League championship. In his first 37 games with the Cyclones, who got him in a trade with Norfolk during the regular season, he had 17 goals and 32 points.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals will be 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. (Video highlights of Game 1 are above.)

Before the game, Cincinnati got a boost with the return of Brad Thiessen, a goalie with NHL experience, who had been with Lake Erie of the American Hockey League. Thiessen, who played five NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011-12, was 12-4-4 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage this season for Lake Erie of the AHL.

In the first period, Thiessen had two big stops – on Shawn Szydlowski and Jamie Schaafsma from point-blank range – while Fort Wayne’s Pat Nagle did his best work against a Zach Budish shot off a rebound.

Fort Wayne was assessed four of the period’s seven penalties and the Cyclones took advantage for a 1-0 lead at 19:04, when Jack Downing netted a slapshot from the left circle during a 5-on-3 advantage.

Cincinnati had a great chance to increase its lead when Mele got a couple of shots from within 10 feet early in the second period, but Nagle was equal to the task.

Seconds after Nagle came up with another big save, stopping a Joe Wilson 10-foot shot, Troy Bourke tied it for the Komets with a shot from the left circle at 10:03 of the second period. Bourke returned Sunday from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, for which he had two goals and nine points in 56 games.

While on a power play, the Komets backtracked into their own zone and Garrett Thompson attempted a backhand pass that went astray and onto the stick of Mele, who then beat Nagle for a short-handed goal and a 2-1 lead at 13:54. With the Komets still enjoying the man-advantage, Trevor Cheek netted a 30-foot to tie it.

Mele netted his second goal at the end of a 2-on-1 rush with 15 seconds left in the period, after teammate Colin Mulvey sent a pass across the slot, and the Cyclones had a 3-2 lead.

Notes: Allen forward Chad Costello, who led the league with 103 points, was selected MVP after voting by coaches, reporters, broadcasters and media-relations directors. Fort Wayne forward Shawn Szydlowski was fifth. … The ECHL unveiled a two-referee system for the playoffs and Zak Blazic and Tyler Puddifant called the Komets game. … Cincinnati had 12 short-handed goals during the regular season, 12th most in the league. … The Komets’ scratches were David Friedmann, Brett Perlini, Taylor Crunk and Randy Cure. … Cincinnati scratched Steve Weinstein, Levko Koper, Brett Ferguson, Peter Quenneville and goalie Brandon Whitney.

jcohn@jg.net