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Fort Wayne Komets

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The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They have won post-season championship titles in 1963, 1965, 1973, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2021. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Original Six teams of the NHL and the Hershey Bears of the AHL have played continuously in the same city with the same name longer than the Komets.

Fort Wayne Komets
CityFort Wayne, Indiana
LeagueECHL (since 2012)
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Home arenaAllen County War Memorial Coliseum
ColorsOrange, black, white
     
Owner(s)The Franke family/Scott Sproat
Head coachJesse Kallechy
Media96.3XKE (96.3 FM) (WXKE)
AffiliatesEdmonton Oilers (NHL)
Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Websitekomets.com
Franchise history
First IHL Franchise
1952–1990Fort Wayne Komets
1990–1991Albany Choppers
Current ECHL Franchise
1985–1990Flint Spirits
1990–presentFort Wayne Komets
Championships
Regular season titles12 (1959–60, 1962–63, 1972–73, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Division titles2 (2016, 2018)
Conference titles2 (2012, 2021)
Turner Cups7 (1963, 1965, 1973, 1993, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Ray Miron President's Cup1 (2012)
Colonial Cups1 (2003)
Kelly Cups1 (2021)
Current season

History

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There have been two different hockey teams known as the Fort Wayne Komets. The original Komets franchise was founded in 1952 in the International Hockey League. In 1990 they moved to Albany, New York and became the Albany Choppers. They only played part of one season in Albany before folding on February 15, 1991.[1]

The second team was founded in 1985 in Flint, Michigan where they were known as the Flint Spirits. In 1990, only two days after the first Komets team left Fort Wayne, the Franke family of Fort Wayne bought the Flint Spirits, moved them to Fort Wayne, and took the Komets name and history. From 1985-1999 they also played in the IHL, then in 1999 they moved to the United Hockey League (UHL). In 2007 the UHL changed its name to the International Hockey League, which became available when the previous IHL ceased operations in 2001. In 2010 that league also ceased operations, and the Komets joined the Central Hockey League (CHL) along with the surviving members of their former league. In 2012 they left the CHL for their current league, the ECHL.

Affiliations

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For the 2014–15 season, the Komets entered into a one-year affiliation with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, providing a direct line to Colorado's American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.[2][3] After a successful season and partnership proving beneficial to all parties, on July 21, 2015, the Komets announced a continuance of the affiliation with the Avalanche and new AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage on a two-year deal through the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons.[4] However, the Avalanche and Komets mutually agreed to end the affiliation one season early in 2016.[5] After a season operating independently of an affiliation, the Komets agreed to a one-year affiliation deal with the Arizona Coyotes and their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners,[6] but did not extend the affiliation after the deal ended.[7]

On August 21, 2018, the Komets announced a new one-year affiliation agreement with the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves.[8] The affiliation was later extended for the 2019–20 season.[9] The affiliation with the Golden Knights ended on May 19, 2022.[10]

On July 27, 2022, the Komets announced a new affiliation agreement with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.[11]

On May 28, 2024, the Komets and Edmonton Oilers extended their affiliation agreement for the 2024-25 season.[12]

Season-by-season results

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This is a partial list of the last ten seasons completed by the Fort Wayne Komets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Fort Wayne Komets seasons

Regular season Playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup
2012–13 72 33 35 1 3 70 205 246 1385 4th, North 2013 Did not qualify
2013–14 72 36 24 7 5 84 215 215 954 3rd, North 2014 W, 4–1, REA L, 2–4, CIN — —
2014–15 72 48 18 2 4 102 251 200 1033 2nd, North 2015 W, 4–1, KAL L, 3–4, TOL — —
2015–16 72 40 23 7 2 89 240 200 1196 1st, Midwest 2016 W, 4–3, CIN W, 4–0, UTA L, 1–4, ALN —
2016–17 72 45 19 6 2 98 264 210 1292 2nd, Central 2017 W, 4–1, QC L, 1–4, TOL — —
2017–18 72 46 20 5 1 98 290 216 1078 2nd, Central 2018 W, 4–1, CIN W, 4–2, TOL L, 3–4, COL —
2018–19 76 36 26 4 6 82 233 248 1132 3rd, Central 2019 L, 2–4, TOL — — —
2019–20 62 31 23 6 2 70 218 220 1044 3rd, Central 2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 51 29 17 3 2 63 170 136 925 3rd, West Conf. 2021 — W, 3–2, WIC W, 3–1, ALN W, 3–1, SC
2021–22 72 40 25 6 1 87 267 225 1271 2nd, Central 2022 L, 3–4, WHL — — —
2022–23 72 34 31 4 3 75 270 275 1450 4th, Central 2023 L, 3–4, CIN — — —
2023–24 72 35 30 3 4 77 224 226 996 5th, Central 2024 Did not qualify

Records as of the conclusion of the 2023–24 regular season.[13]

Players

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Retired numbers

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The Komets have honored over 40 personnel in three sections - Executive Builders, Team Personnel and Media - in the Komets Hall of Fame established in 1988. They have also retired numbers to honor 16 people over the course of their history.[14]

Fort Wayne Komets retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure Date of honor
1 Chuck Adamson G 1962–1967 October 26, 2013
2 Guy Dupuis D 1991–2011 October 29, 2011
5 Terry Pembroke D 1964–1978 1988
6 Lionel Repka D 1958–1969 1988
11 Len Thornson C 1957–1969 1988
12 Reg Primeau C 1960–1969 1988
16 Eddie Long RW 1952–1966 1988
18 Rob Laird LW 1974–1989 March 6, 2002
26 Colin Chin C 1986–1996 November 17, 2007
30 Robbie Irons G 1967–1981 1988
33 Nick Boucher G 2007–2012 October 26, 2013
40 Bob Chase Media 1953–2016 1993
58 Ken Ullyot Owner 1958–1982 1988
59 Colin Lister Owner 1959–1985 1988
77 Steven Fletcher LW 1990–2002 November 17, 2007
91 Colin Chaulk C 2002–2013 February 19, 2017
504[a] Al Sims[15] Coach 1989–93, 2007–13 March 25, 2017
  1. ^ For his career wins as coach

Notable NHL alumni

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List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played more than 100 games in the IHL and 100 or more games in the National Hockey League/World Hockey Association.

List of Fort Wayne Komets alumni who played more than 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

Franchise records

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Scoring leaders

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These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; * = still active with the team

Player Pos GP G A Pts
Len Thornson C 763 412 807 1219
Eddie Long RW 801 425 427 852
Colin Chaulk C 581 187 497 684
Terry McDougall C 507 249 395 644
Colin Chin C 660 246 390 636
John Goodwin LW 480 200 387 587
Guy Dupuis D 945 126 417 543
Reg Primeau C 452 200 342 542
Merv Dubchak RW 437 321 218 539
Robbie Laird LW 520 223 276 499

Regular season

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  • Most goals in a season: Merv Dubchak, 72 (1965–66)
  • Most assists in a season: Len Thornson, 93 (1966–67)
  • Most points in a season: Len Thornson, 139 (1966–67) & Terry McDougall, 139 (1978–79)
  • Most penalty minutes in a season: Andy Bezeau, 590 (1995–96)
  • Most wins in a season: Kevin St. Pierre, 43 (2003–04)
  • Most shutouts in a season: Kevin Reiter, 7 (2007–08) & Kevin St. Pierre, 7 (2003–04)

Team records

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  • On March 28, 2008, the Komets set a new professional hockey record of 23 straight home wins. They defeated the Kalamazoo Wings 4–3.[16] The record ended at 25.
  • On April 12, 2008, the Komets set a new Fort Wayne hockey record of 56 wins in a season. The previous record of 53 was set in 2003–04.[17]
  • On May 15, 2010, the Komets defeated the Flint Generals in Game 5 of the IHL Turner Cup Finals to win the series, four games to one, earning the Komets a "three-peat" after winning the Turner Cup in 2008 and 2009 as well.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Miller, Chuck. "The IHL's Dirty Little Secret: the 1990-91 Albany Choppers". Chuck the Writer.
  2. ^ Bailey, Chuck (July 24, 2014). "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Avalanche and AHL's Monsters". WANE-TV. Archived from the original on July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  3. ^ Sebring, Blake (July 24, 2014). "Colorado affiliation could be different and better for Komets". The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Sebring, Blake (July 21, 2015). "Komets put together two-year deal with Avalanche". The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "Komets, Avalanche Terminate Affiliation". OurSports Central. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Coyotes Announce ECHL Affiliation With Fort Wayne Komets". Tucson Roadrunners. July 31, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  7. ^ Sebring, Blake (June 18, 2018). "Fort Wayne Komets, Arizona Coyotes and Tucson Roadrunners end affiliation". The News-Sentinel. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Komets announce affiliation with NHL's Vegas Golden Knights". Fort Wayne Komets. August 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Golden Knights And Fort Wayne Komets Renew ECHL Affiliation Agreement". Vegas Golden Knights. August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "Komets Seek New Affiliation". Fort Wayne Komets. May 19, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Komets Announce Affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers". Fort Wayne Komets. July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Komets to continue partnership with Edmonton". Fort Wayne Komets. May 28, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  13. ^ "Fort Wayne Komets Statistics and History [ECHL]". HockeyDB. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  14. ^ "Komets Hall of Fame". Fort Wayne Komets. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  15. ^ Cohn, Justin A. (March 23, 2017). "Sims thrilled about Komets saluting 504". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  16. ^ "Komets Historical Win". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008. [dead link]
  17. ^ "54th win sets new Fort Wayne franchise record". Fort Wayne Komets. 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008. [dead link]
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