Allison has Komets blasting off

Some would call Dave Allison a genius. Others simply a pretty good hockey coach.
Whatever the case, Allison once again has turned a young, expansion hockey team into a winner in just its first season.
His latest project is the Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League, and he has them battling with the Quad City Mallards in a best-of-seven semi-final showdown for the Colonial Cup.
Not bad for someone who was out of pro hockey just a year ago, plying his trade with the Fort Frances ‘AA’ Canadians Midget team.
“I think when you start, you hope to win it all so we’re not done yet,” said Allison, whose team was tied 1-1 in their series with the Mallards heading into Game 3 last night.
“At this point, we’ve had the best of the experience. The guys have been receptive and we’ve had a lot of achievements,” he noted. “I’m fortunate to be back in the game . . . this is what I do for a living.”
Allison has had several head coaching jobs in the minor ranks, as well as a stint behind the bench for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators a few years back.
Under Allison this season, the Komets earned several individual awards en route to a 40-27-7 record and sixth overall.
Jason Goulet, a native of Warroad, Mn., was named the UHL’s rookie of the year while centre Keli Corpse was honoured as the league’s most sportsmanlike player.
Doug Teskey, who hails from Dryden, was named to the league’s all-rookie team.
Even their media relations person, Chuck Bailey, got into the act by being named Public Relations director of the year.
But life in the minors is no easy task. There are injuries, trades, and call-ups to keep Allison close to the phone during the season, and no two lineups in a row are the same.
But the Fort Frances native has done his best with what’s been in front of him. And the results have been pretty good.
“We lost a lot of players to call-ups and recalls, more than anyone else in the league,” said Allison, whose team is affiliated with the IHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.
“[Our style] changes from day-to-day based on personnel,” he noted. “Dallas [Stars] had a lot of injuries so there were a lot of call-ups to Kalamazoo and so on.”
So how does a first-year coach in the UHL turn an expansion team into one that could skate away the league championship?
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” said Allison, hired by the Komets just eight months ago. “One thing is we have good hockey players. The players have been very receptive and they have gotten better during the course of the year.”
And where does a head coach find these guys? If you look at the Komets’ roster, several players hail from places within a few hours’ drive from Fort Frances.
Allison said Neil Sheehy, an International Falls native and former NHL player turned agent, helped him “a lot.” But he also did quite a bit of legwork himself.
In fact, he signed Goulet after having lunch with him in Warroad and inked Jon Austin, an International Falls native, after a meeting at–you guessed it–the Border Bar. The team’s playing assistant coach is Bruce Ramsay, another Dryden native, while Dan Tompkins is from Minnetonka, Mn.
“I like getting players from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario,” said Allison.
Meanwhile, a successful season with the Komets could open a few doors for Allison next year. But the veteran coach of eight different teams in five different leagues said he’ll simply wait and see what transpires, especially since his wife, Marion, and their three daughters, Avery, Olivia, and Isabella, stayed behind in Fort Frances during the 25-week season.
“They’re still in Fort Frances so we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said Allison about what lies ahead. “I enjoy Fort Wayne and I appreciate how I’ve been treated.
“It’s a paradox to the profession. [I miss the family] very much so there’s a downside but they were down three times and I was able to see them at Christmas,” he added.
“I’d like to work it out so that they’re down here more often.”