Pokey durfte nach langer Zeit mal wieder spielen, weil der Nummer-Eins-Torwart der Komets von einem anderen Verein abberufen wurde. Pokey ist während des Spiels kolabiert (Dehydration = Austrocknung???) und es musste der 42-jährige Zeugwart zu Ende spielen:

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KOMETS EQUIPMENT MANAGER NETS PRO HOCKEY WIN
42 Year Old Joe Franke Earns Fort Wayne UHL Win In First Ever Pro Appearance

Fort Wayne Komets Press Release
December 14, 2002
For Immediate Release

Fort Wayne, IN --- Joe Franke, the Equipment Manager/Trainer of the Fort Wayne Komets Hockey Club since 1979, snagged his first pro hockey win in his first ever pro hockey appearance tonight.
Franke, 42, and a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, earned a 4-3 shootout win over the visiting Elmira Jackals after entering the game at 8:57 of the 3rd period when starter Pokey Reddick had to remove himself due to dehydration. The game ended in a 3-3 tie after regulation as Franke stopped 4 of 6 shots in the remaining 11:03 of the final frame. Franke went on to stop 3 of 4 Elmira attempts in the shootout as his teammates netted 3 of 4 shots in the extra frame for the win.
The Komets, playing their 51st season of pro hockey in Fort Wayne, had to find a quick backup for veteran netminder Reddick for tonight's contest against the visiting Elmira Jackals after goalie Tom Lawson was recalled to Milwaukee of the AHL earlier today. Franke has been on the bench only a few times in the past as an emergency backup for the Komets but never has been called into duty before.
To add icing on the cake for Franke, the 42 year old also dished an assist on the Komet's 3rd goal of the game when center Colin Chaulk scored to put the Komet's up 3-2 at 16:17 of the 3rd.
Franke snagged the shootout win in front of 6,497 Fort Wayne fans and helped the Komets snap a 5-game winless skid at home (0-3-2) and move into 2nd place of the UHL's Eastern Conference, 2 points behind first-place Port Huron.
The Komets are off until Friday, Dec. 20 when they skate at Missouri at 8:15pm. The Komets will host back-to-back home games again next weekend as Quad City visits Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7:35 and Rockford is here Sunday, Dec. 22 for a 5:05pm faceoff. Tickets for all Komet home games are on sale at the Coliseum Ticket Office and online at http://www.ticketmaster.com.

Go Komets!

Fort Wayne Komets Zeitungsartikel

Komets enjoy 'fairy tale' on ice in Jackals game

Tear up the historical records. It's time for some revision.
Fifty-one seasons makes for plenty of Fort Wayne Komets history, but this franchise has enjoyed few nights like Saturday.
Equipment manager Joe Franke, 42, was forced into emergency action as a goaltender, stopping 4-of-6 shots in regulation and 3-of-4 attempts in an overtime shootout as the Komets defeated the Elmira Jackals 4-3.
"There's no better guy to see something like that happen to than Joe. It's a fairy tale story," said Komets center Bobby Stewart, after his team departed the ice below a deafening standing ovation from 6,497 fans. "Everybody in this room loves Joe as a guy. For him to do something like that, you don't get to see it every day."
It was Franke's first professional action, but not the first time he's donned a Komets jersey. Since joining the team as an assistant equipment manager in 1977, Franke has dressed as a backup about 28 times. But he hadn't skated onto the ice until Saturday, when starting goalie Pokey Reddick came out of the game at 8:57 of the third period because of muscle cramps stemming from a virus. Reddick, now the UHL's second-oldest player at 38, collapsed from pain upon leaving the ice.
"I went in the (locker) room, said a little prayer, and just came out on the ice," said Franke, believed to be the oldest player ever to appear in a UHL game. "I didn't have any time to think about it. I was getting nervous though, when they started putting shots in."
The Jackals scored on their second shot against Franke, as left wing Brad Wingfield poked a rebound into the net for a 2-1 lead at 12:55.
"Then they started shooting from far away," Franke said. "But they don't know I can't see from far away. We're so used to practicing in the dark, I can't see the puck (in a game). The lighting is bad, but not at game time."
The Komets buckled down defensively with Franke in net and scored the next two goals, both during power plays. Center Colin Chaulk netted a slapshot from the left circle at 14:40 - Franke earned an assist on the goal - and right wing Jason Selleke scored on a rebound at 16:19.
But the Jackals forced the overtime session during a power play at 17:01, when defenseman Corey Neilsen ripped a slapshot from the blue line past Franke.
Fort Wayne (14-9-3) received shootout goals from Chaulk, Kelly Perrault and Dustin Virag. Franke stopped the first three Elmira shots he faced in the shootout, including a diving stop on right wing Aaron Phillips that brought teammates and fans to their feet.
"I didn't even know I had it," said Franke, popping open a beer, as hundreds of fans chanted his name outside the locker room in an hour-long vigil.
Franke's fellow Komets were astounded with the save nonetheless.
"You won't see NHL goalies make that save," Stewart said. "It was meant to be. Tonight was meant to be."
If it was fate, it couldn't have come at a better time for the Komets. They entered the game on a deplorable 1-5-2 skid at home and the future wasn't looking any brighter. Goaltender Tom Lawson, arguably the UHL's best, was called up to the American Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals on Friday, leaving Fort Wayne with only Reddick to tend to the net. And Reddick had played only two games in their entirety because of a shoulder separation he suffered in the season opener.
The Memorial Coliseum fans were jeering with regularity throughout the better part of Saturday's game, even after Stewart tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 18:41 of the second period. Reddick left the game having stopped 18-of-19 shots, making way for Franke, a franchise fixture who plays in a local senior league twice a week.
"It was fun," Komets coach Greg Puhalski said. "Joe got the first (assist) of his career, his first win, and a shootout win to boot. We've had our struggles in the shootout (going 1-3). I think it shows you when guys make up their minds to do something, then they can do it."
Elmira coach Todd Brost, whose team dropped to 13-10-4, didn't tell his team to change it strategy with an equipment manager in the opposing net.
"We didn't change our game too much (when he came in)," Brost said. "He made three pretty big stops in the shootout. I don't know who he was or anything like that, but he make some key stops against three of our guys."
The Komets might have to sign another goalie early this week, depending on the health of Reddick and if Lawson is returned from the AHL. But Franke isn't seeking the job.
"Hell no! I hope this is a one-night deal, and that's it," Franke said. "I'll go out like Wyatt Earp and Clint Eastwood, out through the valley on a horse. I've had enough. I can't do this. I'm 42 years old."
Notes: Reddick played his first game at Memorial Coliseum since the 1998-99 season in the now-defunct International Hockey League. . . . Reddick's assist on the first Komets goal was the first by a Fort Wayne goalie this season. . . . The referee was Derek Martin, who used to call Komets games in the IHL. . . . Jackals goalie Jeremy Symington stopped 34-of-37 shots in regulation and 1 of 4 in the shootout. . . . Fort Wayne was 3 for 9 on the power play. Emira was 1 for 6.
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