This day in Indianapolis hockey history: June 10

Three birthdays today: Checkers mainstay and Indiana Ice coach Charlie Skjodt (58), and Indiana Ice player Ryan Peckskamp (29), as well as late former Capital Leo Gravelle.

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 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 22

December 22 in Indianapolis hockey history

1976: The Racers beat the Czechoslovakian national team 3-2, one of the most powerful teams in the world. 

1981: Charlie Skjodt has a goal and five assists in a Checkers’ victory over the Cincinnati Tigers 9-5. Glen Duncan has a hat trick. 

Birthdays

Roger Cote: Defenseman for the Racers in 1974-75, coming at the end of a 16-year pro career that began in 1959 and was spent in the minors until the formation of the WHA in 1972. Cote played two seasons for the Edmonton Oilers prior to joining the Racers, where he played 36 games and had six assists. He had several double-digit goal seasons in the AHL in the early 1960s. A native of Belleterre, Quebec, he is 72. 

Bob Fitchner: Racers center from 1974-76, where he played 130 games. He scored 26 goals and added 35 assists as a Racer, before being traded to the Quebec Nordiques in 1976 for Michel Parizeau. A sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1970, he jumped to the WHA and broke in with the Edmonton Oilers in 1972. He played in all seven WHA seasons -- totaling 207 points in 414 games. He played with Edmonton in the two seasons before joining the Racers, and then played for the Nordiques from his trade through the WHA-NHL merger, before retiring in 1980-81. His best season was a 45-point year in 1978-79. He played 78 NHL games after the merger with the Nordiques. A native of Sudbury, Ont., he is 61. 

Peter Fiorentino: Ice defenseman for 10 games in 1995-96. He was scoreless in those 10 regular-season games, as well as in five playoff games. He played 10 pro seasons, primarily in the AHL and IHL. He played in one game with the New York Rangers in 1991-92, his only NHL appearance. He retired after spending the 1997-98 season in the UHL with the B.C. Icemen, based in Binghamton, where he played five seasons before being dealt to the Ice. A native of Niagara Falls, Ont., he is 43. 

Scott Darling: Ice goaltender in 2007-08, where he had a 27-10-2 record and a 3.04 GAA with one shutout. He was a seventh-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007. He played two seasons at the University of Maine, going 25-20-6, before turning professional in 2010. He is currently in his second season in the SPHL, playing for the Mississippi RiverKings. A native of Lemont, Ill., he is 23.

 

Today in history: December 5

December 5 in Indianapolis hockey history

1946: Additional seats are added to expand Coliseum capacity to 11,000 to handle huge postwar crowds.

1950: Marcel Pronovost is sent to the Capitals from Detroit, as is Steve Kraftchek. The future Hall of Famer plays 34 games and posts a 9-23-32 line with the Caps. He would become noted for his deft stickhandling ability, wand would be called back up to Detroit for good on Feb. 15. 

1974: Paul Deneau takes control of the Racers in their inaugural season, as the initial ownership group dissolves.

1982: The Checkers' Charlie Skjodt posts a hat trick in a 5-4 victory over Nashville. Mats Hallin pots the game-winner. Skjodt would later coach the Indiana Ice, and currently serves as the team president. 

Birthdays

Les Douglas: A perennial Capital, Douglas played for the Caps from 1939-43 -- splitting three of those seasons with the Red Wings -- and then again after WWII from 1945-47. In all, he played parts of six seasons in Indianapolis, playing 252 games as a Capital. He scored 116 goals and had 187 assists. His highest-scoring years came after WWII, when he had 44 goals and 46 assists in 90 games in 1945-46, and followed that up with a 26-57-83 season in 1946-47, leading the team in scoring both years. He was the AHL's top scorer in 1946 and a First Team All-Star. He was a Second Team All-Star the following year. He was a part of division championship teams in 1940 and 1942 and the 1942 Calder Cup champions. He had eight goals and nine assists in the 1942 Calder Cup playoffs, and nine goals and 14 assists in 20 playoff games as a Capital. He would continue as a high-scoring player for Buffalo and Cleveland, topping the 100-point mark and winning the AHL's MVP award in Cleveland in 1950, a year the Barons lost the Calder Cup finals to Indianapolis. Douglas also played 52 games with the Red Wings and spent the 1943 playoffs in Detroit, where he had three goals in 10 playoff games as the Wings won the Stanley Cup. A native of Perth, Ont., he was born in 1918, and passed away in 2002.

Joe Hardy: "Gypsy Joe" was a center for the Racers for 32 games in 1974-75. He had two goals and 17 assists in the team's maiden voyage in the WHA. In total, he played 273 games in the NHL and WHA, with the California Golden Seals, Cleveland Crusaders, Chicago Cougars, Racers and San Diego Mariners from 1969-75. He had 55 goals and 108 assists as a major pro player. He later became the first professional player to top the 200-point mark in 1975-76 with the NAHL's Beauce Jaros, when he had 60 goals and 148 assists. He was the team's player-coach that year and led them to a 54-18-2 record. Hardy coached in the AHL and also in the QMJHL for several years. A native of Kenogami, Quebec, he is 66.

Today in history: June 10

Slightly early on this one, but three birthdays to celebrate

Leo Gravelle: "The Gazelle" played 15 games for the Capitals in 1950-51 at the tail end of his professional career. He had four goals and six assists in that time, a year he split between the Caps and the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings. Gravelle scored 44 goals in 223 NHL games between 1946-51, playing all but 18 of those with Montreal. He was considered to be one of the fastest skaters in NHL history. After that 1950-51 season, he played several years of senior hockey in Ottawa, and settled in nearby Gatineau, Quebec. A native of Aylmer, Quebec, he is 86. He has a very extensive bio and more on his website (in French) at www.leogravelle.com.
Charlie Skjodt: A distinguished player, coach and executive in Indianapolis over three decades, Charlie played two stints with the Checkers from 1979-82 in the CHL and again from 1984-86 in the IHL. He also has served two stints as coach of the USHL Ice, leading them to a division title in 2007-08 and coaching the highest-scoring team in the league in 2010-11. He recently was promoted to team president. As a player, Charlie played 365 games over five seasons with the Checkers, winning the Adams Cup championship in 1982. He had two goals and two assists in the postseason that year, following up a 40-goal, 95-point regular season. After two seasons in CHL Salt Lake and AHL Adirondack, Charlie returned for a 33-goal season in 1984-85 and a 93-point year in 1985-86. Overall, he is the second-leading scorer in Indianapolis hockey history, tallying 376 points over his career. Only Checkers teammate Garth MacGuigan has put up more points in an Indianapolis hockey uniform. His 148 goals rank fourth, his 228 assists rank third in Indianapolis hockey history overall. He began his coaching career as an assistant to Ron Ullyot with the Checkers in 1986-87. As a coach, he led the Ice to a 39-15-6 record in 2007-08 and a 37-19-4 mark this past season. He is also one of a handful of father-and-son combos to pull on a hockey jersey in Indianapolis, as his son Jake played for the Ice from 2006-08 and played with his father as head coach. A native of Toronto, he is 55.
Ryan Peckskamp: Forward who tallied 27 goals and 26 assists over 115 games with the Ice from 2004-06 -- the team's first two USHL campaigns. He went on from there to play four years at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and currently resides in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. A native of Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, he is 26.

Charlie Skjodt moves up, Ice seeking new coach

After his second stint as the Ice's head coach, Charlie Skjodt has been promoted to team president.

Skjodt coached the team at the end of the 2007 season and then again to the division title in 2007-08. After Jeff Blashill's two-year stint, he came back to coach the team again in 2010-11. His teams have gone 76-34-10 in the regular season. His 2007-08 team featured Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson. This year's team featured the USHL's top three scorers, USHL Player of the Year Blake Coleman and USHL Defenseman of the Year Nick Mattson.

Coleman and Mattson were also named USHL First-Team All-Stars this week. Daniil Tarasov, the league's leading goal scorer, was a Second-Team All-Star.

One of Skjodt's first jobs is to find his replacement as head coach. He also wants to help grow the sport in Central Indiana, as has also been a goal of his brother Paul, the team owner.

“My goal is to focus all my energy and experience to the Ice while also working on a long range plan for our USHL franchise,” Skjodt said in a team press release.  “My immediate attention will be to solidify the coaching staff and then expand into other areas of the franchise.  Ultimately I want to create greater hockey awareness by getting more kids involved and participating in the world’s greatest sport along with building a broader fan base to help support our loyal hockey fans and corporate partners.”

Charlie Skjodt played five years for the Checkers, from 1979-82 in the CHL, and again from 1984-86 in the IHL. He scored 148 goals and 228 assists in his tenure, playing 365 games in the orange, blue and white of the Checkers. He ranks among Indianapolis hockey all-time leaders in goals, assists, points and games played. He also was an assistant coach to Ron Ullyot on the 1986-87 Checker team.