FORT WAYNE – Right wing Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock was buying into the hype in 2010 that he would be a prolific goal scorer.
The front office said he would be one of the team’s five 30-goal scorers and he was selected as an alternate captain.
But like most of the rest of the Komets, Schrock struggled to score, netting 15 goals in 60 games.
It was a lesson for Schrock.
“After what I went through last year, it helped calm me down this year and let me know, it’s going to happen,” Schrock said. “If everyone was scoring, we’d be undefeated, so I’ve got to keep that in mind.”
And Schrock, a native of Fort Wayne, also tries to remember that the strengths of his game are hustle, grit, defense and toughness. That’s what made him a fan favorite as a rookie out of Neumann College in 2009-10, when he had 20 goals, 31 points and 168 penalty minutes.
This season, Schrock, 27, has gotten back to basics. He has two goals, eight points, 58 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating, helping Fort Wayne to a Turner Conference-best record of 16-7-1 heading into today’s game against the Bloomington Blaze (8-15-2) at Memorial Coliseum.
“The one thing about Kaleigh is he’s just putting shots to the net and getting as many as he can,” Komets coach Al Sims said. “He figures, if he gets four or five shots a night, one of them will go in. And with his speed, he’s creating a lot of chances.”
Schrock, who has 42 goals in 155 games with Fort Wayne in the regular season and playoffs combined, would like to be more of a consistent goal scorer.
He’s just not going to get wound up about it.
“I think me not scoring early (this season) helped me do other things better,” Schrock said. “I realized, ‘OK, if I’ not scoring, I’ve got to be exceptional in the other things I do,’ whether it’s penalty killing, getting the puck out (of our zone) or winning battles.”
