Here's his comment on the situation:
As to why he left, "I'm excited to back. I just had to take care of something back home It was unfortunate but I had to do it.''
Here's his comment on the situation:
As to why he left, "I'm excited to back. I just had to take care of something back home It was unfortunate but I had to do it.''
Just talked with Komets' GM David Franke who saw the games in Roanoke and Richmond over the weekend.
"I thought we played with a real sense of urgency,'' Franke said. "I thought everybody played hard. We had our best weekend of the year, and I think the changes we made are going to pay off.''
Can you say Kevin St. Pierre, UHL Goaltender of the Week? Slam dunk.
OK, here's a discussion topic that ought to keep you busy: Are the Komets getting better or is the Eastern Division that bad? I think we'll find out for sure next Friday when Adirondack comes to town, but what do you think?
Next trivia question: Where did the Komets once play on an NHL rink? Clue: Mid-80s and they played an NHL farm club.
This one from a more recent vintage:
Bob Chase's birthday will be on Jan. 22. How old will he be?
The Komets are going to have at least one very difficult decision to make next week in terms of their roster. Currently, the Komets are at the league-maximum with 19 healthy bodies. Jason Kean and Brent Rumble are on injured reserve, Lance Galbraith is coming back off team suspension, and Justin Laverdiere will also be activated. That means at least two players have to go on injured reserve or be released. Kelly Miller will be released to return to coaching in Toledo.
For taking the time to read this blog every now and then. I have to admit, when the bosses first approached me about doing this, I said absolutely no way without a significant raise. When they got done laughing, they said, "You're doing it.''
It hasn't been as bad as I feared. I can't believe anyone wants to hear me blather on about my personal thoughts on hockey. Oh, you don't? Thank goodness, I was starting to think there was something wrong with you.
Fort Wayne signed former Komet center Kelly Miller for the weekend as an emergency player to fill in the roster. Miller played 50 games with the Komets in 2001-02 scoring 9 goals and 19 points, and then five scoreless games the next season. He played 52 games last year with Amarillo of the CHL, scoring 9 goals and 22 points.
Ed Campbell just told me he intends to sign with Danbury this week. Danbury is two hours from his South Boston home, and his wife Shannon, whom he married this summer, has a job and would not be able to travel to Fort Wayne with him. She's from Portage, Mich.
"If she was in Kalamazoo, I'd be in Fort Wayne in a heartbeat,'' he said. "The Frankes were great about it and told me they'd fly her out every couple of weeks, but this way I can come home after practices and games and stuff.''
I'm sure many fans thought it was going to be a much more exciting "name'' than Ed Campbell, but think about it for a minute. How often do AHL-caliber players come to this level, and better yet, would be delighted to come here? And what's the biggest problem with this team right now? A down in the dumps attitude, which is completely understandable. Eddie the prankster would be perfect in the room to help fix that, plus he would give the Ks potentially the best defense in the league, which automatically helps Frenchie, right? That potentially solves three problems with one player.
Some of Dusty's reaction:
"It's a good hockey situation there (in Kalamazoo). They have a good record. They have a good coach there. In that perspective it's a plus. Personally it's obviously a little difficult right now. I bought a house and I'm engaged here. I like it here and that's why I bought a house here.
If you haven't heard, which I'm sure all of you have, it's Dusty Virag to Kalamazoo for the rights to Andrew Luciuk. Terms of the contract have been agreed upon, but there's a need to get his immigration papers in line before he can play. He's hoping to go by this weekend.
It's a shame for Dusty who has done so much for the Komets. Haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but I'll bet he's upset.
Luciuk seems like a standup guy and said he can't wait to get here.
There are so many potential options that I really have no clue (insert your own joke here). I think for the first time in the 15 years I've been covering the team that anything is possible, and no one is automatically discounted from being involved in a trade. It's all going to depend on which player the opponent wants, just as it did with Danny Stewart two weeks ago.
I asked Komets General Manager David Franke about Galbraith and he said he's coming back. "He's already got a return ticket.''
I talked with Guy Dupuis after Friday's 8-5 loss to Muskegon, and it reminded me that he has been through a start like this twice before with the Komets, in 1994 and 1996. Each time the team seemed to continue to get worse, just as is happening now.
I was talking with UHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Brad Jones today about a few topics and he gave me some interesting statistics I thought I'd share.
Six weeks into the 2004-05 season there had been 125 high sticking minors, 134 for holding, 134 for hooking and 181 for slashing.
Six weeks into this season -- with 10 more games on the schedule for one more team -- there have been 159 calls for high sticking, 188 holding calls, 340 hooking call and 203 slashing minors.
I don't know how many of you got to read the story I did about a month ago about Kevin St. Pierre and his relationship with Zach and Ethan Shlater. Ethan has diabetes, which has always been a big topic for Kevin and his charitable work.
At the time, Kevin talked about creating T-shirts which could be sold to help raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. The T-shirts are now on sale at the Komets games, at Komet Kuarters or by calling the Komets office at 260-483-0011.
One thing I have always suggested the IHL and UHL do is come up with a defenseman of the week category for their weekly awards. Here's why: Guy Dupuis had a great week last week with three goals and one assist along with a plus-3 rating, so the Komets nominated him for the league's player of the week award. He did not receive the award because Rockford's Billy Tibbett's had four and three assists in four games.
After Saturday's game, Komets coach Greg Puhalski expressed his frustration with the number of "cheap'' penalties his team was taking. The Komets are averaging one fewer power play per game than their opponents, which is often crucial considering the Komets have been skating short-handed and often with four defensemen. They're wearing out on the penalty kill.
Here's our first (and likely last the way it's going) trivia question:
1. Besides Tod Hartje, what former Komet wrote a book and what was the title?
2. OK, here's another clue. He's probably the most successful Komet of all-time. C'mon, now, that's a huge clue, and I'll just settle for the player and skip the title. And no, I didnt' write it (wish I had).
Oh, man, this truly DOES prove that I'm the most desperate person around in terms of needing to get a life. Oh, the shame!