Ice Chips 06'-07'

New poll

Can be found by clicking here.

Trades could be upon us

Fort Wayne Komets general manager David Franke and coach Pat Bingham met Monday to discuss their options heading into Friday's 3 p.m. trade deadline.

"We're trying to see if we can upgrade the team, if possible," Franke said. "I had a meeting with the coach, and we talked for awhile, to see which players we might be willing to part with and what we might need."

Asked what the Western Conference-leading Komets need, Franke was vague, saying, "Maybe a forward or maybe a defenseman."

There's reason to believe defense would be the priority, though, because Mike Dombkiewicz is out indefinitely with a back injury.

"Right now, I'm not holding out hope he'll be able to play anytime soon," Franke said. "I just don't know. Maybe in the playoffs."

Dombkiewicz, who has five goals and 16 points in 40 games, returned last weekend from a month-long absence with the same back injury.

The Komets also will be missing defenseman Brent Henley from Wednesday's game against Quad City, as he serves the final segment of a three-game suspension for physical abuse of an official.

In better news, the Komets expect to get forward J.F. Labarre, who has four goals and 10 points in 24 games, back from a broken arm sometime this week. Forward Kelly Miller, who has a separated shoulder and one assist in seven games, is at least a week away. David Hukalo, who has a broken finger and 13 goals and 25 points in 50 games, is at least two weeks away from returning.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

In case you missed it

My story on plus/minus rating, a controversial statistic, can be read by clicking here.

Yuck

Now I know Gallagher and his whistle need to move into separate domiciles.

I don't want to sound like Pat Bingham, who tried like crazy not to obsess about the officiating in this one and failed, but I have to agree.  Had to be the worst officiated hockey game I've seen in a long time, and I've been around for a long time.

And not just because the Komets got shut out for the first time all year, either.  As Bingham pointed out in the postgame, if you're going to continually put people in the box -- and do it with such wild inconsistency -- eventually you change the character of the game. A game that ought to have some flow to it becomes  5-on-3, 4-on-3, 4-on-4, wearing out your forwards, forcing your D-men out of their normal function, disrupting everything.

Bingham said afterward he didn't think Port Huron really won this, just sat back and didn't lose it, but I'm not sure I buy that entirely. Port Huron just adapted better to what was going on. And on a night when there were no real victories, I guess that was as close as we were going to get.

Later.

-- Ben Smith

 

Blow me down

Ken Gallagher and his whistle need a trial separation.  They're ruining a good hockey game.

(Just so you know, this isn't Justin talking.  It's Ben Smith, aka Stunt Double.  You'll be putting up with me for a few weeks while Justin's on baby watch, so if you read something you absolutely think is complete bushwah, do not address any replies to the Chief Idiot. Address them to the Stunt Idiot).

Anyway . . . Gallagher, the referee for tonight's game, whistled 10 infractions in the first period tonight, eight in the last seven minutes, turning what had been a pretty up-and-down, uneventful game into a lot of 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 hockey. Port Huron leads 1-0, but has just six shots. I don't like the way this is headed.

In other news, Mike Franke confirmed tonight that there is now an official search committee to replace outgoing UHL commish Richard Brosal, but can't say who's on it. I'm guessing he is.

More later.

  -- Ben Smith

The bobblehead Chase

The voting is done and the bobblehead that will be given to the first 1,000 fans at the Komets' game April 6 will be of .... radio broadcaster Bob Chase.

The determination was made after an on-line vote. The giveaway is sponsored by Source One Solutions.

By the way, in case you're interested in seeing the brawl between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators -- yes, the goalies went at it -- click here.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Tatts and tales

I know this may not directly be related to the UHL, but here's a link to an interesting story I came across from the Toronto Sun about athletes, including those in hockey, and their tattoos. I must say, I've noticed some tattoos penetrating minor-league hockey in recent years.

Some accompanying stories specifically about hockey players can he found by clicking here, here, here, and here.

Meanwhile, as for the Komets, forward David Hukalo had surgery on his broken finger and is expected to be out at least three weeks, general manager David Franke said. J.F. Labarre could return to the lineup from his broken arm March 2. Kelly Miller, who has a separated shoulder, is still a few weeks off. And Mike Dombkiewicz, who has a back injury, is getting checked by doctors but for now is day-to-day.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

What about Frenchy?

Brendan Savage of The Flint Journal had a piece about goings on in the league, and he said it's a "no-brainer" that Todd Robinson of the Muskegon Fury will win the MVP Award.

Hmm, Fort Wayne goaltender Kevin St. Pierre might have something to say about that. He is first in wins (31), minutes played (2,723) and, the most important category, save percentage (.925). He's second in goals-against average (2.27) -- Ryan Nie of Kalamazoo, who leads that category, has played fewer than half of St. Pierre's number of games -- and St. Pierre is second in shutouts (four).

Robinson leads the UHL with 99 points, 29 more than second-place J.C. Ruid of Fort Wayne, but Robinson is on the highest scoring team in the league and he's got 35 of his points from power plays.

Something to consider.

• According to the Rockford Register Star, IceHogs co-owner Craig Drecktrah took ownership of the Chicago Hounds from Eric Margenau, the former Fort Wayne Wizards owner. This signals the Hounds may survive another season, while it's further sign the IceHogs will be on to the American Hockey League.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

New photos

There are photos from Sunday's game, courtesy of Samuel Hoffman. Click here.

They said to blame it on fatigue

The Fort Wayne Komets lost 2-1 to the league-worst Bloomington Prairie Thunder on Sunday night. There were two  pervasive explanations doled out by those in the Fort Wayne locker room: Fatigue and missed opportunities.

Uh, OK.

I don't dispute the Komets are correct on either account. They did just play eight games in 10 days and that's a horrendous stretch. They also dictated most of the play, outshooting the Prairie Thunder 32-24 and getting a plethora of great chances down the stretch.

Still, I thought Bloomington did a good job. No matter how you cut it, they have taken the last two against the Komets, so they must be doing something right. They played with only 16 players in this one, so give the expansion team some props.

The Komets did credit Bloomington goalie Steffan Braunlich for having a stellar game. But that was about it. The rest of the talk was about how the Komets didn't get the job done themselves. That's true. They couldn't finish things off around the net and sometimes didn't make the easy pass to the open man. You should want your team believing the only way they lost was through fault of their own. So I don't know why they would have entered fatigue into the equation. Bloomington was playing its third in three nights, so it wasn't exactly rested.

All in all, the K's played a good game. And they've taken 12 of their last 15 games. Fans should be pretty happy.

By the way -- Pascal Morency, color me impressed. He's making a lot of things happen.

• The Komets are appealing the instigation penalty against Brent Henley from Saturday night. If they lose, he'll have to serve a one-game suspension for getting it in the final five minutes of the game.
• David Hukalo will probably be out a few weeks; he broke a knuckle when he was slashed Friday.
• J.F. Labarre and Kelly Miller have been back on the ice working. Still, they're a couple weeks away with their injuries, I think. Labarre has a broken arm. Miller has a separated shoulder.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

New poll

We've got a new poll on Komets Korner. Click here.

Seen this site?

I'm probably behind the times on this one, but have you seen the web site www.hockeyfights.com? It's kind of a gas. You can search all of the leagues, see videos, fight cards, statistical fight leaders, and even fan reviews of bouts? Not sure how accurate everything is, but it's worth a chuckle.

Of course, that got me searching and brought me to: www.hockeyfighters.com, www.goonblog.com.

Funny stuff all around.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

The story on Richardson

In case you missed it: Click here.

Ready for Richardson

The Komets did practice today, and they were laughing a little bit about Fort Wayne's response to the weather. What can I say? These guys are from Quebec, so this is nothing to them.

Their plan is to leave for Chicago by noon on Wednesday, figuring eight and a half hours should be plenty of time to make that trip. And they will go directly from Chicago to Moline, Ill., for Friday's game against the Quad City Mallards.

Here's hoping this trip goes better than the one in 2005, when they were headed to Kansas City via air before their flight was canceled. The Komets ended up getting stranded in Detroit and needing a vehicle to get back to Fort Wayne. But somehow, their equipment did make its way to Kansas City.

In more positive news, center Bruce Richardson will be back in the lineup Wednesday, after missing 19 games because of a torn labrum in his hip. He can hardly contain his excitement and has no worries that he'll jinx the Komets, who have won 10 of their last 11 games. (The Komets are 19-10-1 with Richardson in the lineup.)

Head coach Pat Bingham commended Richardson for his assistant-coach work when he was out. Bingham said it made things much easier in terms of line changes, monitoring who was tired and who wasn't and just managing everything behind the bench.

Aside from Richardson, look for right wing Bogdan Rudenko to return to the lineup Friday. He missed the last three games with a broken nose, suffered in practice.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

The story Ben did on Jersey guy

Here's the Ben Smith story I mentioned on "Jersey Guy." The photo is by Cathie Rowand.

Stacy Musice holds up the jersey for you, orange-and-white, fireball "K,"
and what have we got here, a quiz? A quiz here in his living room on Mulberry
Street, just behind the high school, Musice pulling hockey jerseys out of
closets and back rooms like a magician pulling Monsieur Cottontail out of a
hat?

Musice holds the jersey, grinning. It turns a bit on its hanger, and you
see the number, 18, and something clicks in some nether reach of your brain.

"Robbie Laird?" you guess.

Musice nods.

"Robbie Laird," he confirms.

He hangs it with the others, and together you look around the room at the
man's, ah, avocation. Jerseys dangle from the venetian blinds. They hang from
the mantle. They spill in a waterfall of shouting color down the back of the
couch and over the cushions and onto the floor.

Some guys collect stamps, butterflies, rare coins.

Musice, 37, collects the lives of Komets, jersey by jersey.

"So how many do you have?" you ask.

"Game-worn?" Musice replies.

Another grin.

"Forty-five."

Forty-five jerseys, game-worn, all signed, all found in card shops or on
the Internet or bought at the Komets end-of-the-year auctions by Musice or a
friend of his, a fellow Komets fan.

This is a man obsessed, and cheerfully so.

This is a man who loves his hockey team.

This is a man who never has to say, "It's game night and I don't have a
thing to wear."

He wears Komets goalie Doug Teskey's Anchorage Aces jersey. He wears Dave
Lemay's jersey from his juniors days with the Newmarket Royals. He wears the
college jersey of Fred Slukynsky, a Lake Superior State grad.

"Guy came to the game once, saw me in it, said, 'You from the U.P.'?"
Musice says. "I said, 'Noooo.' He said, 'Well, that's where that jersey's
from.' And I said, 'Thanks, now I found out where that's from'."

Musice grins.

He works over at Broadview Lumber in Auburn, and he's been going to Komets
games for a decade. Been a season ticketholder five years, down in row AA of
section 56, right behind the opposing team's penalty box. Been collecting
jerseys since the Turner Cup year of 1993, when he bought team captain Kevin
MacDonald's.

"I started seeing everybody having (jerseys), and I said, 'Well, let's
start collecting the silly things'," Musice says. "Boy, have I gotten into
it."

Boy, has he. He's got Laird's jersey, close to 20 years old now. Todd
MacDonald's jersey from the defunct Beasts of New Haven (Conn.) Three Igor
Malykhins. Three Teskeys. Konstantin Simchuk's preseason Nashville Thrashers
jersey. At least a couple of the garish holiday jerseys the Komets wore last
December, and one of the special Y2K jerseys, and a Steve Fletcher jersey from
the Sherbrooke (Que.) Canadiens, and a Viacheslav Butsayev jersey from the
Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

"Know how many games he played there?" Musice says, grinning again.

He holds up seven fingers.

"Just got a little scuff mark on the arm," Musice adds.

He never knows, he goes on, which jersey he's going to wear each night; he
just "puts them in a jumbled order" and goes from there. But after eight years
of collecting, they fill the living room closet, they're in his bedroom,
they're in a shed in the backyard.

"If I ever buy a house, I won't have to buy curtains," he jokes.

"So what do the players say when you show up in one of these?" you ask.

"I get some weird looks," Musice admits. "It's like, 'Where did you find
THIS?' I always say I've got a friend that finds them."

And sometimes Musice finds them himself, like the very first one, and the
Steve Fletcher jersey from the Turner Cup year, which hung on a mannequin in a
card-shop window for two years until the owners finally said they would sell
it.

"I said 'Give me three seconds ... strip the dummy'," Musice recalls.

Now he looks around at his living room, at a crowd of jerseys representing
an army of stripped dummies, and he has a sudden thought.

"I know what jersey I must wear the first game back this year," he says.
"That's Mr. Gretzky's."

That would be Brent Gretzky, No. 49, Komets circa 2000-2001.

But, hey. You knew that, right?

All content herein is Copyright © 2007 The Journal Gazette and may not be republished without permission.

This is sad news

A few years back, we did a special section celebrating the Komets' first 50 years of play. Columnist Ben Smith and I argued over who would get to do one feature in particular -- the one on "Jersey Guy."

Stacy Musice, an avid Komets fan, had seemingly millions of jerseys, some game worn, some not, of players with the team.

Musice died Friday at the age of 43. Click here to read the obituary.

It was one of my favorite moments of Komets games to see what "Jersey Guy" was wearing, because he had some inventive ones. He would track down sweaters K's players had worn with other teams, things like a Houston Aeros jersey for Kelly Hurd or a Brandon Wheat Kings jersey for Brad Twordik.

I was never really sure how he came up with the money for it. But he always added a moment of pleasure to my crowd watching.

I will see if I can find the story Ben did on him and post it. It was a story I always regretted I didn't get to write.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Wild game

What a wild game. The Komets cough up leads three times, but they still defeat the Kalamazoo Wings 5-4 in an overtime shootout at Memorial Coliseum.

So much to cover, where to begin? How about with goaltender Kevin St. Pierre. He stopped 43 shots in regulation and really kept the Komets in it. Strange because early on, I thought he looked a touch off. Shows how much I know. Just about everyone in the locker room credited Frenchy for the victory. Probably true considering the Wings played one of the best games I've seen them play in a while.

Except for Kalamazoo goalie Ryan Nie, that is. He gave up two weak goals, to Guy Dupuis and David Hukalo, from long range, and that hurt the Wings' cause. But they still were able to tie it up with less than two minutes remaining and Nie pulled for the extra attacker.

In the shootout, St. Pierre was good against a team he's had problems with in shootouts. And the game-winnning goal came from Daniel Goneau, who gave 'em the "Top Gun" treatment. He put on the brakes and Nie flew right by.

The unheralded star of this game was Pascal Morency. He was hitting everything in sight, against a Wings team that was running the net and throwing everything they could at St. Pierre. Also, how about Martin Gascon, Morency and Hukalo getting it done on the power play. About time they were out there for that.

Not sure what Brent Henley was thinking with his temper tantrum in the  first period. He got booted for arguing a call and slamming the door to the penalty box shut. Yeah, the officiating was bad again, but you can't do that stuff in a game of this magnitude.

Bogdan Rudenko didn't play because his nose was broken in the morning skate when a puck hit him. He's day-to-day.

The Komets have won nine in a row, their longest streak in the UHL. The franchise record of 14 dates back to 1959 in the International Hockey League. Apparently, coach Pat Bingham coached a Wheeling team that won 13 in a row. On that team: J.C. Ruid and Mario Larocque.

I asked Bruce Richardson if he was superstitious and, if so, would he delay his return to the lineup if the Komets were still on their winning streak. His response: "No, and I'll just make sure to tell them the streak would have been longer if I had been playing."

Finally, I just learned there's yet another blog in the UHL: This one by Brendan Savage of The Flint Journal. Eh, just remember who was blogging first in these UHL parts.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Some new stuff

Janelle Sou Roberts has some good pictures from Wednesday's game. Click here.

There's a new poll at Komets Korner. Click here.

I was a little lax with it, when I was off at the Super Bowl, but the Ask the Reporter section is back up. Click here.

And finally, we have a new feature on the Ice Chips blog. Check out the left pane, where there's a new poll function, too.

Gillis back in

Citing health issues, Robbie Nichols has stepped aside as coach of the Elmira Jackals. He has been replaced by Paul Gillis, who has coached Quad City, New Haven and Danbury.

Click here to read more.

Nichols will remain as general manager of the Jackals.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

On the commish

So, Richard Brosal didn't return my phone call today. Yup, that pretty much sums up his tenure as commissioner to me.

Brosal is a very nice guy. Great to talk to in person. Always has a funny story or a cute e-mail to show you. I've shared many a laugh with the guy. But his public-relations skills? No so good. He never realized returning a phone call goes a long way, that the fans would like explanations on things like suspensions or retirements of the league's leader, and that the media is the fans' link to those words.

When there's been bad news, Brosal can't ever be found. When there's good news, it's all about how great the UHL is and why don't you ever write about it?

Brosal announced today he is leaving the UHL to take a position with B2 Networks. There's some irony there, since so many people in the league have been irked with the B2 Networks' products and that Brosal was so firm in insisting the league use its systems, which provide pay-per-view games via the internet.

I'm a bit sad to see him leave because he's gotten a really unfair rap from the fans. This is a tough job, trying to take a 'AA' level league no one knows about and make it relevant, do it with modest finances, in an age when hockey is having problems. He's overseen some great things -- the introduction of teams like Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo, increased attendance, the accruing of sponsorships, and additions of safety netting, etc. -- and he's saved more situations than I can think about now.

But he's let some bad things go on, too. Why did he allow the league to go into places like Roanoke, Va., and Columbus, Ohio? Why do we call this a developmental league when it develops so little in the area of future stars?

That there will be a new leader is a good thing. It's time for fresh perspective. Personally, I think the UHL needs more of a hockey guy, someone who can look at the product and realize that the officiating stinks, among other things. The league also needs someone who will connect with the fans, smart enough to know almost no one in the league wants Elmira out on an island, that Robbie Nichols should have been banned from the league long ago, that Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo should be playing more often, that weekly awards and Colonial Cup MVPs should be decided by a vote of knowledgeable parties not just by an anonymous figure in the league office.

OK, here's the best news for the league. According to Michael Franke, the Komets' president, Brosal's departure will be the first step in getting the league office moved from St. Charles, Mo., where there isn't even a team. Expect the office to wind up in Fort Wayne -- it is the most central location in the UHL.

Maybe we'll actually see the higher-ups from the league more than twice a year, then.

I asked Scott Sproat, the Komets' vice president in charge of sales and marketing, if he's interested in becoming the next commish. He said he hadn't thought about it much yet, but he wouldn't rule it out.

Brosal will stay on until the end of the season -- I hope to hear from him before then, but it'll probably have to wait until he shows up at a game -- and in the meantime, there will be a search committee to determine his replacement.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Brosal resigns

UHL commissioner Richard Brosal has resigned his position -- he will leave after this season -- to become executive vice-president of sales and marketing with the B2 Networks.

Click here to see the press release.

I will have much more on this later in the day, so check back.

See, I'm not a jinx

Whew, I'm happy to see I'm not a jinx. I was in the building and the Komets still won, 4-2 over the Port Huron Flags.

It wasn't a pretty game. In fact, it was a downright snoozer, until the third period. There was end-to-end action in the final frame.

The Komets twice came back from deficits and showed plenty of moxie in this one. How about David Hukalo? Two goals and a fight. Not bad.

Coach Pat Bingham said he was happy his team got better and better as the game progressed. Better than mailing it in and just passing it off as a bad night. Agreed.

I was impressed with some players tonight: Matt Syroczynski, who was a beast in the early going; Brent Henley, who really moved some bodies out from in front of the net; Daniel Goneau who had some great offensive things going and, yes, I saw throw a couple of checks out there; much-maligned Arthur Kiyaga, who was solid in moving the puck to all the right places; I also thought Kevin Hansen was solid.

You know how else impressed me? The referee, Adam Fish. To my recollection, this was my first time seeing Fish and he did a good job. There wasn't much to miss in this one. But I've heard good things and he didn't do anything to disappoint me in this one.

The mood around the locker room has been great. You'd expect that with an eight-game winning streak, tied for the longest by a Komets team in the UHL. They will have a chance to set a new mark Friday against the Kalamazoo Wings, but that won't be an easy game.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

A few good men

The Port Huron Flags have looked to some interesting players in their rebuilding phase.

They re-signed Bobby McKillop who coached in Port Huron in what, 1985? No, actually, it was 2001-02 when McKillop coached Port Huron. He played the next two seasons with that team and with Elmira before retiring for a second time. He is 36. Tonight, he's been manning the No. 1 power-play unit against the Komets.

Meanwhile, another familiar face is on the ice: former Komets defenseman Josh Vanderbreggen. He began this season with Pee Dee of the Southern Professional Hockey League, where he was suspended 20 games -- the longest in league history -- for swinging a stick at fans. 

As for the game, the Komets and Flags are tied at 1 in the first period. Bobby Kukulka's redirection goal gave Port Huron a lead and David Hukalo tied it.

The Komets' Bogdan Rudenko has had several good scoring chances but keeps getting stonewalled by goalie Dustin Traylen.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

I'm baaack

Sorry for the lull in coverage here. But I've been in Miami for the Super Bowl. It was freezing. No fun at all. Never saw the beach.

Just kidding.

Now that I'm back, first order of business was to figure out what's going on with the Komets. They've won seven straight games, taken a six-point lead over conference-rival Rockford and (gasp) pulled within 15 points of UHL-leading Muskegon. OK, that's still an almost insurmountable lead, but it's worth mentioning the Komets have played four fewer games than the Fury.

So what happened here? Where's the team that was so inconsistent?

"It was time," Komets coach Pat Bingham said.

Time for more consistency, time for the players to start doing the little things, like win one-on-one battles, block shots, not mail it in for periods at a time. That's what I'm hearing anyway.

Word is Kevin St. Pierre, the Komets' goaltender, is on fire. (He's been named Goaltender of the Week three straight weeks.) J.C. Ruid, the center, is too. (He is third in the league with 58 points) And stay-at-home defenseman Ryan Jorde has been a solid pickup.

But as Bingham said, there's a long way to go.

"You're only as good as your last one, so we have to stay on track," he said. "It's easy to get off track, sidetracked, and every other track. There are a ton of games coming up and they're all big games."

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Seney feature

Click here to check out LaMond Pope's feature on Scott Seney. Seems as if he's been a good pickup. What do you think?