The Fort Wayne Komets began in 2012-13 as a franchise in the
ECHL but the team’s history dates back to 1952. The team played in the IHL from
1952-53 to 1998-99. For the next decade, the Komets played in the UHL (later
becoming the reincarnation of the IHL). For the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons,
Fort Wayne played in the Central Hockey League.
The individual single season scoring records of the Komets
have stayed undisturbed since the 1978-79 season. Two records remain from the
1960’s.
Merv Dubchak - Goals
Merv Dubchak set the Fort Wayne record for goals in a season
with 72 in 1965-66. He led the IHL that season but with just a one goal lead
over Gary Schall of the Muskegon Mohawks. Schall was awarded the James Gatschene
Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player over Dubchak.
Merv played pro from 1963-64 to 1969-70, all with the Komets
with exception of one game played in the Eastern Hockey League with the
Philadelphia Ramblers in his rookie season. With Fort Wayne, Dubchak played in
the IHL finals on three occasions. The team fell to the Toledo Blades in his
rookie year. The following season, Fort Wayne defeated the Des Moines Oak Leafs
for the championship. In 1966-67, it was once again the Toledo Blades spoiling
the party for the Komets.
Dubchak played 437 career regular season games with the Fort Wayne
Komets, scoring 321 goals and assisting on 218 for 539 points. He had three
consecutive 50+ goal seasons between 1964-65 and 1966-67. He totalled more than
100 points twice, in 1964-65 and 1965-66.
Len Thornson – Assists, Points
Len Thornson was an amazing setup man during his 819 career
regular season IHL games. In that time, he assisted on 826 goals for a more
than 1 assist per game average over his entire IHL career. He also scored 426
goals for 1,252 points. Amazingly, he sat just 101 minutes in the penalty box
over that time.
Len holds the Fort Wayne Komets record for assists in a
season with 93 in 1966-67. He is also tied for the record for most points with
139, also set in 1966-67. That year he was awarded the James Gatschene Trophy
as league MVP. It was the fifth of six times that he would win that award. His
139 points led the league and he won his third of three Leo Lamoureux Trophies.
Thornson played pro from 1952-53 to 1968-69 in the AHL, WHL,
QHL and IHL. He played for the Komets from 1956-57 to 1968-69. In his final
season, Len was also the head coach of the team.
Terry McDougall - Points
Terry McDougall tied Len Thornson’s record of 139 points in
1978-79. McDougall finished the season with 57 goals and 82 assists for 139
points over 79 games. He was awarded the Leo Lamoureux Trophy as the league’s
scoring champion. He was also awarded the James Gatschene Trophy as MVP.
Terry played pro from 1973-74 to 1983-84, all in the IHL. He
was a member of the Komets from 1975-76 to 1981-82. 1978-79 was the second of
two times in his career that McDougall exceeded 100 points in a season. His 57
goals account for his only time exceeding the 50 goal plateau.
