Today in history: May 1

1982: The Checkers beat the Dallas Black Hawks 5-2 in the opening game of the Adams Cup Finals in Dallas. It is their CHL-record eighth straight playoff victory. They would go on to win the Adams Cup.  

Birthdays

Bill Brennan: A goaltender who came up from USHL Omaha to play 12 games for the Capitals in 1950-51, spelling veteran "Sugar" Jim Henry (who would go on to play five solid seasons with the Boston Bruins). Brennan would be a career minor-leaguer, spending four seasons in the Pacific Coast and old Western Hockey Leagues after his stint in Indianapolis. A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he was born in 1925. 

Sid Finney: Center who scored two goals and had three assists for the Capitols in their short-lived 1963 season. The team played eight games as the Caps before the Coliseum explosion forced them to move to Cincinnati for the balance of the season. Finney was the team's second-leading scorer in that its stint as an Indianapolis team. He was at the end of a long career that included 59 games with the Blackhawks before an 11-year stint in the old Western Hockey League. A native of Bainbridge, Ireland, he was born in 1929. 

Mike Greeder: Defenseman who played 57 games for the Checkers -- all but one in the 1982-83 season -- and one more in the 1983-84 year. He had nine goals, 19 assists and 127 PIMs in that stint with the 1983 Adams Cup champs, also playing three postseason games and scoring a playoff goal. A native of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, he is 54.

Scott Clements: Defenseman who played 23 games for the inaugural Ice team in 1988-89 at the end of a five-year minor pro career. He had two goals and six assists in that stretch. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, he is 49.

Jamie McKinley: Winger who began his career with the Ice in 1988-89, playing four games. Other than six games in the Colonial Hockey League three years later, they'd be his only North American pro experience. He once had a 63-goal, 63-assist season while playing in Germany, where he played several seasons through the mid-2000s. A native of Fredericton, New Brunswick, he is 44.