Indy's title teams: The 1942 Capitals

This is the 8th in a nine-part series looking at Indianapolis' championship-winning hockey teams. Previously: the 2009 Indiana Ice (USHL), the 2000 Indianapolis Ice (CHL), 1990 Indianapolis Ice (IHL), 1983 & 1982 Indianapolis Checkers (CHL), the 1958 Indianapolis Chiefs (IHL) and the 1950 Indianapolis Capitals (AHL). Next week: the 2014 Indiana Ice.  
 
Much was changing around the world as the 1941-42 hockey season approached. Pearl Harbor was a few days away, and many players would be called to military duty, causing great turnover in rosters and shortages of professional hockey players in North America - and claiming some lives.
And for the Indianapolis Capitals, there was a bit of an overhaul, too, as the team tried to rebound from a disastrous 1940-41 season in which the team went 17-28-11 and finished last in the AHL West.

The most obvious new face when the Caps convened in Detroit for training camp was that of goaltender Joe Turner, a teenager out of Windsor, Ont. with a stellar amateur record. He replaced Jimmy Franks, who had been the Caps' netminder for most of their first two seasons.
Franks was available, but Turner quickly proved his services wouldn't be needed.

Another Cap defensive mainstay - Archie Wilder - was called into the army before the season. More would follow as the United States entered the war in December.

Those that stuck around would put something special together. With Turner leading the way, the Capitals rolled to the AHL West title, survived a hair-raising first-round series with Springfield - which the Caps won in OT of the deciding game - and then brought home the Calder Cup, giving Indianapolis its first-ever postseason hockey championship.