Today in history: Sept. 22-27

Another week to catch up on in TIH. Look for a Tale of the Tape -- it's hockey time!

September 22
Birthdays
Brian Coates: Racers winger in their heyday, playing 75 games from 1975-77, both of their playoff years. Brian had 12 goals and 21 assists as a Racer. He also played four of the seven games in the 1976 playoff series loss to the Whalers. He also played 202 WHA games, suiting up for the Chicago Cougars before his Indianapolis stint, and the Cincinnati Stingers afterward. He retired after scoring 50 goals in 1978-79 in the old Northeastern Hockey League, and 26 goals for Saginaw in the IHL the following year. A native of Carman, Man., he is 59.
Leif Holmquist: Racers goaltender in the 1975-76 season. He had a 6-9-0 record in 15 games, posting a 3.00 GAA. The Swedish goaltender never played in the WHA after that. A native of Gavle, Sweden, he is 69.
Milan Tichy: Ice member from 1991-93, playing 98 games. A strong playmaker, he had 13 goals and 55 assists in those two years. He also had five assists in four playoff games in a five-game loss to the Atlanta Knights in the 1993 IHL Playoffs. He played 23 NHL games from 1994-96 with Chicago and the Islanders, totaling five assists. He also won the Turner Cup in 1995 with the Denver Grizzlies, for which he posted a 54-point season. Tichy has been a scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets since 1999, and is a full-time amateur scout, based in Europe. A native of Plzen, Czechoslovakia, he is 42.

Ethan Moreau: The last Indianapolis Ice player to be active in the NHL, Moreau is currently a member of the Los Angeles Kings. A solid defensive forward, he showed scoring touch during 71 games for the Ice in 1995-96, totaling 21 goals and 20 assists. He also had four goals in five playoff games that season. He has been an NHL regualar ever since. The Blackhawks' first-round pick in 1994, Moreau scored 15 goals for Chicago in 1996-97, then was dealt to Edmonton midway through the 1998-99 season. Moreau played 11 seasons for the Oilers -- the only break was when he spent the lockout year in Sweden -- and suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets this past season. He had 20 goals and 32 points in 2003-04, his highest-scoring NHL season. Moreau has played 900 NHL games, with 146 goals and 137 assists. He played in the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals with the Oilers and was named the team's captain the following year. A native of Huntsville, Ont., he is 36.

September 23
Birthday
Kelly Davis: A rugged defensemen for the Checkers in their heyday, playing 285 games for the blue and orange. He had 13 goals and 62 assists in that time, as well as 333 penalty minutes. He was key player on the blueline for a team that won the Adams Cup in 1982 and 1983. He had seven goals and eight assists in 37 playoff games. He also played 18 games for the WHA Cincinnati Stingers in 1978-79. A native of Grand Prairie, Alberta, he is 53.

September 24
Birthday
Paul Carey: A high-scoring forward for the Ice in 2007-08, where he totaled a team-high 34 goals to go along with 32 assists. Since his year with the Ice, he has played for the Boston College Eagles, recently posting a 13-13-26 line in 38 games as a junior. He is entering his senior season with BC. A native of Weymouth, Mass., he is 23.

September 25
Birthday
Dale Henry: A winger who broke into the pros with the Checkers in 1983-84, playing two playoff games. The following year, he was in the NHL with the Islanders -- splitting time that season and the next five between Long Island and the team's AHL affiliate in Springfield that replaced Indianapolis upon the CHL's folding in 1984. Henry had 13 goals and 26 assists in 132 NHL games. He also had 263 PIMs. He played in the minors before retiring in 2002 -- after 1994, doing so in the CHL and WPHL with Memphis, San Antonio and Bossier-Shreveport. A native of Prince Albert, Sask., he is 47.

September 26
Birthdays
Cliff "Fido" Purpur: "Fido" -- given his nickname by a Minneapolis sportswriter -- played for the Capitals in 1944-45, scoring eight goals and 14 assists in 22 games. He played in the NHL in 1934-35 with the St. Louis Eagles. He stayed in town to play six years with the AHA's St. Louis Flyers from 1935-41 -- and was a popular big scorer despite being just 5-foot-6. He played the WWII years in the NHL with Chicago and Detroit. He had 25 goals and 35 assists in 144 NHL games, playing in the 1944 Stanley Cup Finals with Chicago and the following year with Detroit, although his teams lost the series both times. He is the first North Dakota native to play in the NHL, and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974. Upon retirement, he coached high school hockey in North Dakota and also was the head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. A native of Grand Forks, ND, he was born in 1912 and passed away in 2001.
Don Chiz: The leading scorer for the short-lived Capitols team in 1963, with five goals and an assist in eight games. He finished with 21 goals and 26 assists in the full season -- the team was forced to move to Cincinnati after eight games due to the Coliseum explosion. Chiz played nine pro seasons, primarily in the Western Hockey League, before retiring in 1970. A native of Edmonton, he is 71.
Wes George: Left wing who played nine games for the Racers in their short-lived 1978 season. He had four goals and two assists in those games. He also played three games for Edmonton that season. A high-scoring junior player, George played three pro seasons before retiring in 1981. A native of Young, Sask., he is 53.

September 27
Birthdays
Jim Malwitz: Checkers center in 1984-85, with 17 goals and 26 assists in 68 games. He also had five goals and three assists in a seven-game postseason loss to Peoria that year. That would be the lone pro season for the high-scoring Minnesota Golden Gopher. He was also the North Stars' fourth-round pick in 1981. A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., he is 49.
Greg Spenrath: Defenseman who played nine games for the Ice in 1992-93, totaling one assist and 68 PIMs. Spenrath played 14 pro seasons, including one with 407 PIMs with ECHL Erie in 1990-91, his rookie pro season. A notorious tough guy, he eclipsed 200 PIMs 11 times. He retired in 2002-03 and began coaching the ECHL Fresno Falcons -- a team he played six seasons for. A native of Edmonton, he is 42.