This date in Indianapolis hockey history: May 2

In today's installment, the 2009 Ice take a big step toward a title, the 2007 Ice take a step toward getting to the league final four, Mike McNeill has a Gordie Howe hat trick in 1990, the 1983 Checkers get to within a game of a championship, and the 1977 Racers are eliminated by the Nordiques. Also, birthdays for former Racer Jim Hargreaves, former Checker Steve Stoyanovich, CHL Ice Ryan Reid and USHL Ice Mike Gurtler and Tristin Llewellyn, as well as a posthumous recognition of ex-Capital "Jud" McAtee. 


May 2 in Indianapolis hockey history
2009: The Ice become the first team in the USHL playoffs to solve Fargo goaltender Mike Lee with a four-goal blitz in the last half of the game. Tied 1-1, John Parker scores with 3:45 left in the second to give the Ice the leads. Grant Blakey, Sebastian Goeffrion and Brandon Richardson would add third-period goals to give the Ice a 5-2 victory and even the Clark Cup Finals at 1-1. The Ice would go on to win the next two games and clinch the championship. 
2007: Mike Embach scores his second OT goal of the playoffs. Eric Miller also has a hat trick as the Ice beat Waterloo 4-3 in the first game of a three-team round-robin series. This gives the Ice the upper hand in advancing to the USHL final four. 
1990: Bob Bassen has three assists, while Mike McNeill and Mike Eagles tally a goal and an assist each as the Ice throttle Salt Lake 5-1 in Game 3 of their IHL Western Conference Final series at the Coliseum. Mike Rucinski, Eagles and McNeill score second-period goals, while Jim Playfair and Mike Stapleton score two goals 22 seconds apart in the first 1:21 of the third to give the Ice a 5-0 lead. A fight breaks out moments later, and McNeill completes the Gordie Howe hat trick by getting involved. Jim Waite stops 19 shots in the win for the Ice, who take a 2-1 lead in the series.
1983: The Checkers put themselves on the cusp of a title, as Scott Howson scores a power play goal 6:08 into the second overtime to beat the Birmingham South Stars 3-2. Dave Simpson's first period PPG gives the Checkers a 1-0 lead, but Birmingham takes an advantage midway through the third. Ron Handy scores unassisted with 2:29 left to tie it before Howson wins it. The Checkers dominate the game, outshooting Birmingham 46-27. Kelly Hrudey stops 25 shots for the win. The Checkers take a 4-2 lead in the best-of-9 series back to Birmingham. 

1977: The Racers' run into the second round of the WHA playoffs ends with an 8-3 loss in Quebec, allowing the Nordiques to win the series 4-1. Blair MacDonald scores twice, and Pat Stapleton has a goal and an assist, but Real Cloutier's hat trick is too much.

Happy birthday to ... 
Jerome "Jud" McAtee: Capitals center from 1940-46, he played 203 games for the Caps over six seasons. He had 52 goals and 77 assists in that time. His pro career ran from 1940-50. He played 46 NHL games -- all but two in the 1944-45 season with the Detroit Red Wings. He had 15 goals in that year, and 28 total NHL points. He had three goals and three assists for the Caps in their 1942 Calder Cup championship run, and six goals and five assists overall in 17 playoff games with the Caps. He had a hand in two of the biggest goals in the 1942 title run, assisting on the game-winning goal with 2:02 left in Game 4, then scoring unassisted at 9:52 of the second overtime in the deciding Game 5 of the semifinal series against Springfield. He also scored the game-winning goal in the title-clinching game that season  He also played in the 1945 Stanley Cup Final with the Red Wings, losing in seven games to Toronto. He was one of two McAtees to play for the Caps, joining his brother Norm. A native of Stratford, Ont., he was born in 1920. He settled in Tulsa -- where he played his final two seasons -- upon retirement. He passed away in 2011.  
Jim Hargreaves: Defenseman who played 37 games for the Racers in 1974-75, their inaugural season. He had two goals and five assists. Drafted in the second round by the Vancouver Canucks in 1970, he played 240 NHL/WHA games with the Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Racers and San Diego Mariners, scoring 13 goals and 40 points. Known as a strong two-way player, he retired after the 1975-76 season. A native of Winnipeg, he is 64.
Steve Stoyanovich: Center who joined the Checkers in 1981 -- after finishing college hockey and taking a year off. He immediately made an impact, and was twice a 40-goal scorer for the Checkers, helping them win two championships in 1982 and 1983. In 159 games with the Checkers, he had 83 goals and 73 assists. He also had 13 goals and 11 assists in 26 playoff games those two years, and spent the end of each hoisting the Adams Cup. He went to the Whalers' organization the following year, and played 23 games for Hartford, with eight points. He would move on to play in Europe in the later part of the 1980s. He was the Islanders' fourth-round pick in 1977, and also was drafted by the Calgary Cowboys in the same round of that year's WHA draft. A native of London, Ont., he is 57.
Ryan Reid: Defenseman who played 10 games for the Ice at the end of the 2000-01 season, tallying a goal and an assist. He joined the Ice near the end of an eight-year pro career that took him through the Southern, Colonial/United, East Coast, Western Professional and Central Hockey Leagues, playing for five different CHL teams before retiring in 2003. A native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, he is 43.
Mike Gurtler: Ice winger who scored seven goals and four assists in 29 games during the 2006-07 season. He went on from the Ice to play four years at Mercyhurst College, and has since played professionally in the ECHL, CHL and SPHL. This past season, he had 15 goals and 45 points with the SPHL's Huntsville Havoc. A native of Rochester, NY, he is 27.  
Tristin Llewellyn: One of the original USHL Ice players, he played 65 games for the Ice, with four goals and nine assists, as well as 159 PIMs, from his defense position, from 2004-06. He was dealt to Tri-City midway through the 2005-06 season, and played three full USHL seasons before going on to Michigan for college hockey. He turned pro in the 2010-11 season and has played in the ECHL, CHL and SPHL. He is currently playing for the CHL's Rapid City Rush, where he had 24 points in 39 games this season. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he is 26.