Today in history: October 27

October 27 in Indianapolis hockey history

1945: The Capitals and St. Louis Flyers saw a then-AHL-record 13,848 show up at the St. Louis Arena to see the Caps win 5-1. Norm McAtee scored twice and Larry Wilson made 25 saves in goal. 

1946: Cliff Simpson sent down by the Red Wings, beginning a very successful tenure with the Caps. 1978: Wayne Gretzky scores his final point as a Racer, assisting on Don Larway’s first-period goal in a 4-2 loss at Birmingham.

Birthdays
Peter Driscoll: Racers left wing from 1977 through the early part of the aborted 1978 season. Driscoll scored 25 goals in 56 games for the Racers in 1977-78, and in total had 28 goals and 22 assists in 64 games as a Racer. He was a footnote in one of the most infamous moments in local hockey history, as he and Eddie Mio were traded to Edmonton along with Wayne Gretzky eight games into the 1978 season. Driscoll had three productive seasons with Edmonton before retiring in 1983 as a member of the CHL's Wichita Wind. A native of Powassan, Ont., he is 57.
Gerry Minor: A high-scoring center with the Checkers in 1985-86, where he had 28 goals, 46 assists and 108 PIMs in 72 games. He also had three goals and four assists in five postseason games that year. Minor played 140 NHL games from 1979-84, all with the Vancouver Canucks, with 11 goals and 21 assists. He would play one more season after his stint with the Checkers, scoring 17 goals for Muskegon in 1986-87 before retiring. A native of Regina, Sask., he is 53.
Brad Lauer: Member of the Ice from 1991-93, where he was a high-scoring left wing. The New York Islanders' second-round pick in 1985, Lauer immediately burst onto the scene in the NHL, scoring 17 goals for the Isles in 1987-88, his second pro season. He would play in the NHL from 1986-96, with 44 goals in 323 games with the Isles, Blackhawks, Senators and Penguins. But it was his stint in Indianapolis that turned heads. He had 24 goals in 1991-92, but then followed up with 50 goals and 41 assists in 1992-93, helping lead the Ice to the playoffs. He also had three goals and an assist in the five-game playoff loss to the Atlanta Knights. Lauer remained in pro hockey -- primarily in the IHL -- through 2001. While a popular Ice player, he also was involved in ending a season prematurely, as his overtime goal for the Cleveland Lumberjacks eliminated the division champion Ice in the 1997 first round. Since retirement, he has coached as an assistant with WHL Kootenay, AHL Milwaukee and the Ottawa Senators. He is currently an assistant with the AHL Syracuse Crunch. A native of Humboldt, Sask., he is 45.