Today in history: April 28

Today, we have a happy memory of the Ice playing Green Bay in the postseason, and a slew of birthday greetings. 

2009: Thanks to four second-period goals, the Ice beat Green Bay 5-3 to clinch a spot in the Clark Cup Finals. Max Cook, Ben Albertson, Zach Golombiewski and Grant Blakey score to give the Ice a 4-2 lead. The Ice defense makes it stand up, allowing the Gamblers only four shots in the third period. 

Birthdays 

George Hayes: Center who scored 17 goals and added 27 assists for the Chiefs' first playoff qualifier in 1956-57. He helped center the team's second line, and helped lead the team to a spot in the Turner Cup Finals. George played 12 years professionally, primarily in the IHL, eventually retiring in 1959. A native of Toronto, he was born in 1926.  

Joe Connors: Center who played briefly with the Chiefs in 1960-61. He would come to Indianapolis from Omaha at about the same time popular Chief (and the team's highest scorer) Pierre Brillant was traded to the Knights. A native of Reserve Mines, Nova Scotia, he was born in 1933.

Howie Menard: Member of the short-lived Capitols team in 1963, which was forced to move after the Coliseum explosion. The team continued on to Cincinnati that year, and he ended up being its leading scorer with 25 goals and 37 assists. His game-tying goal to secure a 2-2 decision against St. Louis on Oct. 26, 1963 would be the last goal scored in the Coliseum in a regular season pro hockey game for nearly 18 years -- and secure the team its only non-forfeit point in its short Indianapolis tenure. Menard would go on to a strong pro career, playing 151 games for the Red Wings, Kings, Blackhawks and Oakland Seals from 1962-70, and he'd continue to play in the minors until 1976. Menard is known for holding the AHL record for points in a playoff game with seven. A native of Timmins, Ontario, he is 69 today.

Frank Beaton: "Seldom" Beaton was a popular winger for the Checkers, tallying 13 goals, 28 assists and 270 penalty minutes in the Adams Cup championship year of 1981-82. He also totaled three goals and six assists in the playoffs that year. He was a veteran player for that squad, as that marked his ninth professional season. He had been a veteran of 178 NHL/WHA games with Cincinnati, Birmingham, Edmonton and the New York Rangers. After helping the Chex win a title in 1982, he would be on the losing side in the 1983 Adams Cup Finals, playing for the Birmingham South Stars when they were defeated by the Checkers. A native of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, he is 58 today.

Garnet McKechney: Winger who played three games for the IHL Checkers in 1985-86, tallying one assist. He had been a second-round pick of the Islanders in 1983, but played just one full pro season for the IHL's Peoria Rivermen in 1986-87. A native of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, he is 46 today. 

Colin Pepperall: Fifth-round pick of the Rangers in 1996 who played nine games and tallied two goals and two assists for the Ice's final IHL outfit in 1998-99. That would be his first full pro season, which was split between Indy, AHL Portland and ECHL Greenville, where he played the majority of the year. He would play nine more years, primarily in the ECHL, tallying 20+ goals three times. A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, he is 33 today.