This day in Indianapolis hockey history: May 29

A big birthday day: former Capital Ken MacKenzie, Chief Bernie Hill, Racer Larry Mavety, IHL Ice Brian Noonan and USHL Ice Lukas Laub.

This day in Indianapolis hockey history: May 11

 On May 11, the 2000 Ice force a seventh game in Columbus in the Miron Cup Final, and the 1990 Ice take a 2-0 lead in the Turner Cup Final on Brian Noonan's late PPG. Also, birthday celebrations for USHL Ice Locke Jillson, Rinat Valiev and Brian Pinho.

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 30

To close out April, we have the 1990 Ice staging a futile rally, who would win the next seven games to win a title. The 1982 and 1983 Checkers post championship-series wins, and the Racers get a shutout from Paul Hoganson in 1977. Also, birthday celebrations for former Racer Charles Constantin, Checker Dave Parro, IHL Ice Geoff Peters, and USHL Ice player Viktor
Shakhvorostov and coach Jeff Brown.

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 26

Today sees Todd White scoring an OT goal in 1998, Brad Lauer and Dave Roche team up to end a great Ice season in 1997 in double OT, the 1990 Ice continue their title march behind a GWG from Mike Eagles, and the 1985 Checkers finish their inaugural IHL season. Also, a number of birthdays -- former Capitals Sandy Ross, Cecil Dillon, Red Almas and George Blake, ex-Chief Ed Calhoun, former Checker Pat Ribble, former IHL Ice Shane Doyle and ex-USHL Ice Joshua Shellman.

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 15

April 15 in Indianapolis hockey history
2011: The Ice sweep the Waterloo Black Hawks in a best-of-3 series, winning 6-3 at the Coliseum. Sean Kuraly and Alex Barron score 1:36 apart late in the first, and Blake Coleman and David Johnstone both scored PPGs 1:16 apart in the second. Daniil Tarasov (G, 2A) and Brian Ferlin (3A) each had three-point games, and Casey DeSmith made 27 saves.
1991: Brian Noonan scores with 18 seconds left in regulation to give the Ice a 2-1 win and a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. Sean Williams - who tied the game at 6:32 of the period - and Mike Peluso assisted on the goal.
1981: An epic playoff series between the Checkers and Wichita Wind needs overtime. However, Ron Roulston spoils the party at Market Square Arena, scoring at 14:42 of OT to complete a hat trick and send the Checkers to a 6-5 defeat in the deciding fifth game of the series. Monty Trottier had two goals and an assist, Charlie Skjodt three assists for the Checkers.

Happy birthday to ... 
Sergei Krivokrasov: A perennial Iceman, Krivokrasov was the 12th overall pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, and immediately had a stellar rookie year, with 36 goals, 69 points and 157 PIMs for the Ice in 1992-93. He played 169 games for the Ice from 1992-96, with 71 goals, 79 assists and 374 PIMs. He split time between Indianapolis and Chicago throughout his Ice tenure, but stuck in the NHL in 1996-97. Krivo played 450 NHL games, with 86 goals and 195 points for Chicago, Nashville, Calgary, Minnesota and Anaheim through 2002, playing in the 1999 NHL All-Star Game, and won the silver medal with Russia in the 1998 Winter Olympics. He played six more seasons in Russia before retiring in 2008 and settling in Denver. A native of Angarsk, Russia, he is 40. 
Jim Waite: Another Ice mainstay, Waite is best-known for backstopping the Turner Cup championship team in 1990. He was the eighth overall pick by the Blackhawks in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Waite had a 2.53 GAA in 54 games with the Ice in the Turner Cup year, in which he won the James Norris Trophy as top goaltender. He also had a 3.47 GAA the following season in 49 games, in which he split net time with Hasek and Ray LeBlanc. Waite played briefly in 1991-92 before the Blackhawks dealt him to San Jose. He returned to the Ice in 1994-95 and played three more seasons with the team. His 215 games were the most ever played by an Ice goaltender. He also played 106 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Sharks and Coyotes between 1988-99. Waite played another decade in Germany before retiring in 2010. A native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, he is 45. 

Today in history: December 31

New Year's Eve in Indianapolis hockey history

1998: Dave Hymovitz and Brian Noonan both post four-point games for the Ice against the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Ice win 5-4 in a shootout. 

Birthdays

Kurt Kleinendorst: Checkers forward in 1985-86, where he had 11 goals and 22 assists in 45 games. The Providence College grad was drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He played on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, and was also a part of the Tulsa Oilers team that defeated the Checkers in the 1984 Adams Cup Finals as a rookie. After his stint with the Checkers, he played several years in Europe. He retired after the 1990 season and turned to coaching, starting when he was named the head coach of ECHL Raleigh in 1991. He got the NHL callup after coaching in Europe, and was a New Jersey Devils assistant in 2001-02. He coached the USNDTP U18 team in 2009-10, leading the team to the gold medal at the 2010 IIHF U18 World Championships. In 2010, he became the head coach of the AHL Binghamton Senators and led them to the Calder Cup championship. A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., he is 51. 

Paul Gillis: Ice center in 1991-92, where he had 10 goals and 15 assists in 42 games. His pro career began in 1982-83 with the Quebec Nordiques, and included 11 NHL seasons -- from 1982-90 with Quebec, then joining the Blackhawks organization for two seasons, and finishing with two years in Hartford. The Nordiques' second-round pick in 1982, he had 88 goals, 154 assists and 1,498 PIMs in 624 NHL games. In 1994, he entered coaching with the AHL Springfield Falcons. He won the UHL championship in 1998 with the Quad City Mallards, and currently coaches the CHL Odessa Jackalopes, a job he has held since 2007. A native of Toronto, he is 48. 

Today in history: May 29

It's Indianapolis 500 Sunday, so we look back at the birthdays while sitting in traffic and putting our earplugs in. Enjoy race day, wherever you are!

Ken MacKenzie: Left wing who played a partial season with the Capitals in 1948-49, splitting the year between the Caps and Buffalo Bisons. He had 13 goals on the year. He had played in the "AA"-level USHL prior to his stint with the Ice, and went back to the league after 1949, posting back-to-back 20-goal seasons. A native of Winnipeg, he was born in 1920.

Bernie Hill: Defenseman who played 13 scoreless games with the Chiefs in their inaugural 1955-56 season. He played seven years, primarily in the Eastern Hockey League -- the IHL's eastern seaboard counterpart. A native of Toronto, he was born in 1929. 

Larry Mavety: Member of the Racers in their 1976-77 season, playing 10 games and totaling two goals and two assists. He played several WHA seasons, starting with the league's inaugural 1972-73 year, but those would be his final games in the WHA. After retiring in 1979 as a player, he began a long coaching career, all spent in the major junior OHL. He is currently the general manager of the Kingston Frontenacs -- and his last stint as coach was succeeding ex-Ice player and coach Bruce Cassidy. He is one of several ex-Indianapolis players running major junior teams. A native of Woodstock, Ontario, he is 69.

Brian Noonan: Right wing who played for the Ice in their Turner Cup championship season of 1989-90, stayed in Indy the following year, and returned in 1998-99 after a long NHL career. In 180 games with the Ice, he totaled 97 goals and 133 assists. He also had a 6-9-15 line in the 1990 Turner Cup playoffs, and also scored six goals in the epic 1991 seven-game loss to Fort Wayne. He was an IHL Second-Team All-Star in 1990 and a First-Team All-Star in 1991. He also was the top American-born rookie in the league in 1986 with Saginaw, then the Blackhawks' affiliate. In the meantime, he played 629 NHL games, totaling 116 goals. He played for the Blackahwks, Rangers, Blues, Canucks and Coyotes, leaving the Ice in 1999 to go to Phoenix at the end of that season. After the Ice left the IHL, he finished his career with the IHL's Chicago Wolves. He won the Stanley Cup in 1994 with the Rangers -- and is believed to have scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7, although it was attributed to ex-Racer Mark Messier -- and played in the 1992 finals with Chicago. Today, he coaches high school hockey in Chicago. A native of Boston, he is 46. 

Today in history: May 5

Some OT heroics on this date in local hockey history, and some significant birthdays:  

1990: Brian Noonan’s overtime goal puts the Ice into the IHL Turner Cup Finals, after a 3-2 victory over Salt Lake to clinch the best-of-7 series 4-1. Jim Waite is in net for his sixth playoff victory.

2000: Chris MacKenzie scores in OT to give the Ice a 3-2 victory over Columbus and a 2-1 lead in the CHL Miron Cup Finals, which they'd eventually win in seven games. 

Birthdays

Jim Conacher: Center who played 56 games for the Capitals between 1945-47, totaling 32 goals and 48 assists. "Pencil" -- so called because of his weight (5-10, 155 pounds) -- was fifth on the Caps in scoring in 1945-46 with 47 points (including 30 assists), despite playing just 32 games that season after starting the year in Detroit. He'd end up in Detroit at the end of 1947, and would stay in the NHL. He played 328 NHL games over eight seasons with Detroit, Chicago and the New York Rangers. A native of Motherwell, Scotland, he turns 90 today.

Bruce Affleck: The 21st overall pick in the 1974 NHL draft (and 13th in the WHA draft), Affleck broke into the NHL that season, and would play five years with the St. Louis Blues and part of a sixth season with the Vancouver Canucks between 1974-80. He was the Blues' Rookie of the Year in 1975-76. In 1980, he joined the Checkers for a successful four-year stint. A mobile puck-moving defenseman who helped anchor a veteran blueline, Affleck totaled 58 points in 1980-81, then started each of the next two seasons in Switzerland. In both, he came back to Indianapolis to finish the year, and totaled 18 playoff point, helping lead the Checkers to a pair of Adams Cup titles. He had 13 goals -- his professional career high -- and 40 assists for the Checkers in 1983-84, his final pro season, in which he was the CHL's MVP. Over those four years, he played 155 regular-season and 33 playoff games for the Checkers, totaling 28 goals and 119 assists. In the postseaon, he had three goals and 41 assists -- he was more than a point-a-game player from the blueline throughout his tenure. He was the Bobby Orr Trophy recipient as the CHL's top defenseman in 1980-81 and 1983-84 (and also in 1979-80 with the Dallas Black Hawks). Today, he is the St. Louis Blues' vice president of sales, and has been a Blues television commentator. A native of Penticton, British Columbia, he is 57.

Tim Thomas: Defenseman who played 10 games with the Checkers at the end of the 1986-87 season after wrapping up his college career at the University of Wisconsin. He had three goals and five assists in that season. He would play two more pro seasons -- one in Europe and a 10-game stint in the AHL with Baltimore. A native of Richfield, Minn., he is 48.

Mike Stapleton: One of a handful of second-generation Indianapolis players, Mike spent many of his formative years in Indianapolis while his father Pat patrolled the blueline for (and later coached) the Indianapolis Racers. Stapleton broke into the NHL in 1986-87 with the Blackhawks, but found himself with the Ice in 1989-90 -- in time for the team's Turner Cup championship run. He had nine goals and 10 assists in the postseason run and ranked among the team's top playoff performers. His 19 postseason points were one shy of Mike Eagles' mark that season. He returned the next year and posted a 29-goal season. Over 150 games in an Ice uniform from 1989-92, Stapleton dented the net 52 times and recorded 102 assists. In the playoffs, he had a 10-14-24 line in 20 games. After 1992, he got a permanent callup to the NHL, where he'd have a long career with the Blackhawks, Penguins, Oilers, Jets/Coyotes, Thrashers, Islanders and Canucks. In total, he played 697 NHL games over 14 seasons, totaling 71 goals, 111 assists and 342 PIMs. He finished his career playing three seasons in Europe, capping off a pro career that lasted 18 seasons in 2004. He is currently an assistant coach with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. A native of Sarnia, Ontario, he is 45.