Hockey links: Cups running over

Even though it's the offseason, a pretty decent link roundup today.
Updated with a couple of new links Wednesday evening.

• The ECHL offseason began Monday, and teams have begun the process of re-signing their players. Orlando has inked five -- including two new players. Fort Wayne discusses its offseason plans. A look at the teams' end-of-season rosters is here. There are two big dates to look for -- one was Monday, the other is June 30. After that date, all players not signed or extended qualifying offers by their ECHL teams are free agents.
• The ECHL league meetings are this weekend in Las Vegas. The major item on the agenda is the league alignment and playoff structure now that the Eastern Conference has 14 teams and the Western Conference has seven. Some rules changes could also be proposed/enacted, especially with the NHL making some minor tweaks to the game, especially with regards to faceoff procedure. The ECHL and NHL rulebooks are very similar, with the most notable difference being the ECHL has a five-round shootout as opposed to the NHL's three rounds.
• In other ECHL news, the Nashville Predators re-upped their affiliation with Cincinnati. The Predators and Florida Panthers shared an affiliation with the Eastern Conference Champion Cyclones this year. 
• The AHL's Texas Stars (Dallas affiliate) won the Calder Cup on Tuesday with their third straight overtime victory. Patrick Nemeth was the series hero with the OT winner in Game 5 to clinch the best-of-7 4-1. Nine Stars were ECHL alumni.
• Speaking of championships, Adam Gretz has done an interesting breakdown of recent Stanley Cup champions and the qualities they share. Most important? Possess the puck.
• Led by coach Darryl Sutter, the Kings won their second Stanley Cup in three years last Friday. The "dynasty" word is being thrown around a lot? ESPN's Pierre LeBrun asks if they're a dynasty in the making. Yahoo's Harrison Mooney says no, they're not a dynasty. 
• Looking ahead to next weekend's NHL Draft, the Blackhawks look at their 27th pick. In addition, five former Indiana Ice players -- Josh Jacobs, Ryan Mantha, Blake Siebenaler, Rinat Valiev and Mitch Slattery -- are draft prospects and could hear their name called next weekend. 
• Speaking of the Blackhawks, TSN takes a look at their off-season gameplan & roster. 
• Former Indianapolis player news: ex-Checker Bruce Affleck has a new job in the St. Louis Blues' front office. The Hrkac Circus is going to the USHL - former IHL Ice scorer Tony Hrkac is a Madison Capitols assistant coach. THN has a nice piece on Blake Geoffrion, whose brother Sebastien played for the 2009 Clark Cup champion Ice. 
• And a fun one to cap things off: THN's Rory Boylen takes a look at 9 of his favorite "obscure" players. Two are former IHL Ice players -- Chris Terreri and Sergei Krivokrasov. 

This day in Indianapolis hockey history: May 6

The 1982 Checkers take the lead in the Adams Cup Final, the 2009 Ice score three goals in 44 seconds to take command of the Clark Cup Final, and the 2012 Ice play the final game in the pre-renovation Fairgrounds Coliseum. Also, birthday celebrations for former Ice players Bob Bassen and Cheyne Lazar. 

This day in Indianapolis hockey history: May 5

The 2000 Ice get an OT goal from Chris MacKenzie to take a lead in the Miron Cup Final, the 1990 Ice punch a ticket to the Turner Cup Final thanks to Brian Noonan's OT goal, and the Checkers drop a game to Dallas in the 1982 Adams Cup Final. Also, happy birthdays to fomer Capital Jim Conacher, Checkers Bruce Affleck and Tim Thomas, and Ice Mike Stapleton. 

This day in Indianapolis hockey history: May 4

Today's trip back in time sees the Ice clinch a spot in the USHL final four in 2007, Jim Waite making a 12-save shutout in 1990, and the Checkers emphatically clinching a back-to-back title in 1983. Also, birthdays for former Racers Steve Richardson and Dave Morrow, Checker Greg Evtushevski, CHL Ice Joe Gunther and USHL Ice Corey Fienhage. 

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 11

April 11 in Indianapolis hockey history
2009: Stanislav Galiev scores two power play goals -- both assisted by Brandon Richardson and Mike Cichy. But Cedar Rapids' Kyle Flanagan outduels him with a hat trick as the Rough Riders beat the Ice 3-2 in overtime and tie the first-round series at 1-1. A penalty-filled game features 64 minutes in PIMs between the two teams.
1998: The Ice close out the season with a 5-0 shutout win over Kansas City. Jani Hurme turns aside 47 shots to record his first shutout in an Ice uniform. Ryan Huska scores a first-period goal, while Kent Paynter, Ryan Vandenbussche, Petri Varis and Todd White all score in the third. David Ling adds two assists. White's goal Is his 46th, closing out an outstanding rookie year.
1997: Kip Miller has a goal and three assists. Steve Dubinsky has two goals and an assist. Fred Knipscheer scores the game-winner in his hometown as the Ice break open a 2-2 game going into the third and turn it into a 6-3 win over Fort Wayne. The Ice trailed 3-2 when Craig Mills scored at 9:06. Knipscheer scored at 12:38. Dubinsky added two goals in the final six minutes to ice it. 
1990: The Ice open the IHL playoffs with a 6-3 win over Peoria. Bob Bassen scores the game-winner and Jim Waite outduels Pat Jablonski in net.
1981: The Checkers take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series with a 4-2 win in Wichita. Bruce Affleck scores the game-winner in the second and adds an assist. Dave Cameron also has a goal and an assist. Kelly Hrudey makes 28 saves.
1978: The Racers' final full season ends with a 6-3 loss at New England. The team finishes with a record of 24-51-5.

Happy birthday to ... 
Andy Branigan: Defenseman who played 62 games for the Capitals in 1945-46, tallying four goals, 17 assists and 71 PIMs. He also had an assist in five playoff games. He played six NHL games with the New York/Brooklyn Americans prior to WWII, but embarked on a long minor-league career after the war, playing for AHL Hershey & Providence through 1958 and two more seasons as a player/coach in the EHL before retiring in 1960. A native of Winnipeg, he was born in 1992. He passed away in 1995.
Gordon Haidy: Right wing who had two stints in Indianapolis separated by a decade. Haidy played three seasons for the Capitals from 1948-51, scoring 60 goals and assisting on 38 in 154 games in those seasons. He was especially key in the Caps' eight-game Calder Cup run in 1950, where he scored four goals. He also played one game for the Red Wings in their 1950 Stanley Cup run, his only NHL action. Haidy played several years of senior hockey in the 1950s, and he returned to Indianapolis in 1960-61 to play briefly for the IHL Chiefs. He retired from hockey in 1964, 19 seasons after beginning his career. A native of Windsor, Ontario, he was born in 1928. He passed away in 2004. 
Terry Sargent: Left wing who played three games for the Checkers in 1984-85. He played 56 games in the IHL that season after three 20+-goal seasons in junior. A native of Edmonton, he is 51.
Chris Norton: Defenseman who played briefly for the Ice in 1991-92, with one assist in eight games. Norton played four seasons professionally in North America from 1998-92, all in the AHL/IHL, after a career at Cornell University. He played six seasons in Britain after his North American career. A native of Oakville, Ontario, he is 49.
Peter Jas: Left wing who played two seasons for the Ice from 1999-2001. He was a key player on the team's 2000 Miron Cup championship run, with 7 goals and 5 assists in the 15 postseason games. Jas had 18 goals and 35 assists in 96 games with the Ice, and 13 points in 18 playoff games. He played four further games with the Tulsa Oilers the following year, capping a five-year pro career, all in the WPHL/CHL. A native of Presov, Slovakia, he is 40.

 

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.