Kuraly, Tarasov score twice in Ice win

The Ice are used to having the USHL's top line. 

Last year, it was Blake Coleman-Brian Ferlin-Daniil Tarasov. With Coleman and Ferlin both hearing their names in this summer's NHL Entry Draft and heading on to Miami and Cornell, respectively, the Ice haven't missed a beat with Tarasov's new linemates Jacob Fallon and Sean Kuraly. 

Tonight, that line produced four Ice goals in a 5-3 victory over the Fargo Force, with Tarasov and Kuraly each scoring twice. Fallon had two assists and Kuraly added another for a personal three-point night. Christian Hilbrich added an unassisted goal -- his third of the season -- at 12:17 of the second period. 

The Ice won despite being outshot 44-28 and having their league-best power play held off the scoreboard for the first time in several games. 

The Ice took leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but Fargo answered each one. Hilbrich's goal midway through the second proved to be the game-winner, and Kuraly added an unassisted goal with 38 seconds left in the game to set the final margin. 

Tarasov started the scoring just 45 seconds in, on assists from his linemates. It was 1-1 after a period, as Fargo's Alex Iafollo took advantage of the Force's third power play of the opening 20 minutes and scored 9 seconds into the man advantage at 16:57. 

The second period was a wild one -- Kuraly made it 2-1 on an unassisted goal at 4:29 of the period, but Fargo's Austin Farley answered with his own unassisted goal 1:44 later. Tarasov's second goal of the night gave the Ice the lead again at 10:19, but Fargo's Dave Gust scored 91 seconds later to tie it again at 3-3. 

The game was only tied for 27 seconds before Hilbrich scored the game-winner. 

The Ice had to kill off a late penalty to Tarasov in the final five minutes to seal the victory. 

Tarasov now has 11 goals and 13 assists, and had four points on the weekend. He is second in the league in scoring, three points back of Lincoln's Kevin Roy. Fallon now has eight goals and 13 assists, and has six points in the Ice's last three games. Kuraly has five points on the weekend and has eight goals and nine assists in just 13 games. Fallon ranks fourth in the league in scoring, Kuraly ninth. Tarasov's 11 goals put him in second in the USHL, three back of Roy's 14 goals. Tarasov and Fallon's 13 assists each also put them second in the league behind Dubuque's Shane South, who has 15. 

Goaltender Jon Gillies made 41 saves in the victory. 

The game marked the return of former Checkers player and IHL Indianapolis Ice coach John Marks to Indianapolis as the Force's head coach. Former CHL Ice player Byron Pool is one of his assistants. 

Three stars

1. Jon Gillies (Ice), 41 saves, 3 GA, win

2. Sean Kuraly (Ice), 2 goals, assist, +3, 5 shots

3. Daniil Tarasov (Ice), 2 goals, +3, 4 shots

Also notable: Ryan Obuchowski (+3), Alex Barron (+4), Jacob Fallon (2 assists, +3)

USHL boxscore

Game 17: Fargo at Ice (11/26)

The Indiana Ice's seven-game homestand continues with a second straight contest against a five-win Western Conference team. The Ice have been strong against the East so far, but Friday's 4-2 loss to Sioux City put them 2-4 against the West. The Ice are 7-1-2 against their own division.

Tonight brings the return of old friend John Marks, the former head coach of the IHL Indianapolis Ice from 1991-93 and a member of the Indianapolis Checkers in 1981-82. Marks was named Fargo's head coach this summer. Marks has also won two Kelly Cup championships as a coach in the ECHL. Another former CHL Ice player, Byron Pool, is on the Fargo coaching staff.

Also notable on the Fargo roster is goaltender Zane Gothberg, who was a Boston Bruins draft pick in 2010. He has pretty good numbers despite a 3-7-2 mark this season. Gothberg got the start against Youngstown on Friday, so it's unknown whether he or Reed Peters will get the start in Indy. The Ice will likely start Jon Gillies, as Dalton Izyk got the call on Friday.

The Sean Kuraly-Daniil Tarasov-Jacob Fallon line accounted for both Ice goals in Friday's loss to Sioux City. The highest-scoring line in the league, it's led by Tarasov's 22 points. Robbie Baillargeon will be trying to start a new point-scoring streak, as his run of seven straight games with a point was snapped on Friday. 


Fargo's offense has struggled recently, as the Force have only scored three goals in their last three games. The Force roster features one double-digit point-getter in 10-goal scorer Austin Farley. Expect a physical battle -- Fargo and Indiana are the second and third-most penalized teams in the USHL.

Tonight's game
Fargo Force (5-10-3)
at
Indiana Ice (9-5-2)
7:05 p.m., Pepsi Coliseum


Broadcast: ushl.fasthockey.com

Season series: First meeting


Tale of the Tape
Ice (9-5-2, 4th USHL East)
Head coach: Kyle Wallack
GF: 59 (2nd). GA: 48 (7th)
PP: 35.1% (1st). PK: 87.0 % (5th) PIM: 337 (14th)
OT record: 2-1 SO record: 1-1
Home record: 3-3-2
Leading scorers: Daniil Tarasov (9-13-22), Jacob Fallon (8-11-19), Robbie Baillargeon (7-8-15), Sean Kuraly (6-8-14).
Leading +/-: Daniil Tarasov (+9), Alex Barron (+7)
Leading PIM: Woody Hudson (51, will not dress), Daniil Tarasov (45), R.J. Boyd (43)
Leading goaltender: Jon Gillies (8-3-2, 2.48 GAA, .914sv%, 1 SHO), Dalton Izyk (1-2-0, 3.85 GAA, .875 sv%)
Last 5: 2-3-0. Last 10: 4-4-2
Last 5
11/25: vs. Sioux City (L 2-4)

11/23: at Green Bay (OTW 4-3)
11/19: at Waterloo (L 2-4)
11/18: at Cedar Rapids (SOW 3-2)
11/12: vs. Muskegon (L 4-5)

Force (5-10-3, 6th USHL West)
Head coach: John Marks 
GF: 43 (12th). GA: 60 (15th)
PP: 19.5% (6th). PK: 81.8% (9th). PIM: 342 (15th)
OT record: 0-2 SO record: 2-1
Road record: 3-4-2
Leading scorers: Austin Farley (10-5-15), Willie Corrin (1-8-9), Bryn Chzyzk (7-1-8) 
Leading +/-: Jordan Nelson (+6), Stanislav Dzakhov (+3)
Leading PIM: Austin Farley (43), Colton Hargrove (33).
Leading goaltender: Zane Gothberg (3-7-2, 2.53, .908 sv%, 1 SHO), Reed Peters (2-3-1, 3.79, .876 sv%)

Last 5: 1-3-1. Last 10: 2-6-2

Ice next 5 games
12/2: vs. Sioux Falls
12/3: vs. Green Bay
12/4: vs. Green Bay
12/10: vs. Dubuque
12/11: vs. Dubuque

Ex-Checker, Ice coach Marks takes on the Force

Another former Indianapolis Ice coach is headed behind the bench this summer, as John Marks was named the Fargo Force's head coach today.

Marks played for the Checkers in 1981-82, suiting up in 51 games in what would be his final full season. He split the year with the Chicago Blackhawks, a team for which he would play 657 NHL games. Marks had six goals and 20 assists as a Checker, playing for a team that would eventually win its first of back-to-back CHL championships.

Marks began coaching at the University of North Dakota the next season, assisted a Frozen Four team in 1984, and has been behind the bench virtually ever since. He became the Ice's head coach in 1991, and had a 59-75-14 record in a season and 66 games of the 1992-93 year. He went to the ECHL the following year, and has coached in the minor pro ranks every year since. He won ECHL titles with Charlotte in 1996, Greenville in 2002, and the SPHL title with Fayetteville in 2007. He was also SPHL Coach of the Year in 2007. His last pro assignment was a year with the IHL's Dayton Gems in 2009-10. He most recently coached the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League.

Marks replaces Jason Herter, who took a position at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Former Indianapolis Ice player Byron Pool was the Force's interim coach over the summer.

USHL.com story

Today in history: July 5

A couple of birthdays today

Ron Ingram: Racers coach in the 1977-78 season, leading the team to a 16-31-4 record before he was replaced by player-coach Bill Goldsworthy partway through the season. Ingram had a long career as a player, primarily in the AHL, where he played many of his 17 professional/senior seasons. He played 114 NHL games, breaking in with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1956-57, rejoining them for the 1963 Stanley Cup playoffs, and then playing the 1963-64 season with the Red Wings and Rangers. He played three more games with the Rangers the following year before finishing with six seasons in the AHL/WHL. He began coaching in 1972 in the EHL, and led the Syracuse Blazers to the NAHL championship in 1974. Prior to joining the Racers, he coached the WHA's San Diego Mariners for two years. A native of Toronto, he was born in 1933. He passed away in June 1988. 

Byron Pool: Defenseman who played 46 games for the Ice in 2002-03. He had seven assists and 118 PIMs in those games, and also posted a +11 rating, helping the Ice win a division title. The Colgate University grad returned to the Corpus Christi Rayz -- where he had played the previous two seasons -- for his final professional season in 2003-04. Since, Pool has been coaching in junior hockey, winning the NAHL's Robertson Cup in 2010. He was an assistant with the USHL's Fargo Force last season, and is currently listed as the team's interim head coach. A native of Unity, Saskatchewan, he is 36. 

Ice fall to Fargo

The Ice dropped a 5-3 decision to the Fargo Force on Saturday night, clinching third place in the USHL's East Division for the Ice. They will host all games in the first-round best-of-3 series against either Waterloo, Youngstown or Muskegon in two weeks.

The Ice are 36-18-4, and they'll have a huge hand in determining who they'll play, as they face both Muskegon and Youngstown on the road next weekend to close the regular season. 

Fargo did its damage in the opening and closing minutes of the periods -- four of Fargo's five goals came in either the first or 20th minute of a period.  Fargo jumped ahead 2-0 in the first, scoring on a goal by Chad Demers 22 seconds in and a shorthanded goal by Jimmy Mullin -- assisted by Demers -- with 38 seconds left. Tanner Kero made it 3-0 early in the second. The Ice chopped the deficit to one goal twice -- David Johnstone and Daniil Tarasov scored second-period power-play goals 1:05 apart, the first coming on a 5-on-3 -- but Fargo was able to answer. A goal with 19 seconds left in the second made it 4-2. Jarrod Rabey cut the deficit to one with 2:59 left, but Mullin scored an empty-netter to make it 5-3.

Demers and Mullin had big nights for Fargo -- Mullin had two goals and two assists, Demers had a goal and three assists.

Tarasov extended his scoring streak to nine games with a goal and an assist, giving him 36 of each for the year. USHL scoring leader Blake Coleman assisted on Tarasov's goal, extending his streak to six games.

The Ice were 2-for-5 on the power play, but Fargo also scored a shorthanded goal. The Force were 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Casey DeSmith made 28 saves in goal for the Ice. Fargo's Ryan Massa stopped 30 shots to get the victory. 

Fargo is now 33-21-4, and is just two points back of second-place Sioux Falls.  Fargo also swept the two-game season series from the Ice.

Game boxscore

Saturday game: Ice at Fargo

Indiana Ice (36-17-4, 3rd USHL East)

at

Fargo Force (32-21-4, 4th USHL West)

8:05 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 2 / Scheels Arena

Head to head (Force 1, Ice 0).
Feb. 12: Force 4, Ice 1 (at Pepsi Coliseum). Blake Coleman G (Ice), four different goal scorers, Ryan Massa 26 saves (Fargo).

Tale of the Tape
Ice
GF: 222 (1st) / GA: 152 (6th) 
PP: 21.4% (2nd) / PK: 86.1% (7th) / PIM: 857 (4th) 
Road record: 17-8-2 
Last 5: 4-1-0 Last 10: 8-2-0
Leading scorers: Blake Coleman (30-54-84), Daniil Tarasov (35-35-70), Brian Ferlin (24-41-65) 
Leading goaltender: Casey DeSmith (21-11-2, 2.50), Jon Gillies (15-6-2, 2.65) 
Leading +/-: Blake Coleman (+50) 
Leading PIM: Will Aide (133)

Force GF: 164 (t8th) / GA: 142 (t5th) 
PP: 14.3% (11th) / PK: 84.9% (8th) / PIM: 1173 (13th) 
Home record: 13-11-3
Last 5: 3-2-0 Last 10: 5-5-0
Leading scorers: Jimmy Mullin (20-34-54), Chad Demers (17-27-44).
Leading goaltender: Ryan Massa (18-8-3, 2.31), Zane Gothberg (14-8-0, 2.23)
Leading +/-: Jimmy Mullin (+24)
Leading PIM: Oleg Yvenko (197), Brian Cooper (130).

It's a rematch of the 2009 Clark Cup Finals as the Ice meet Fargo in Fargo. The Force have had one extra night of rest, as they played Des Moines on Thursday (and fell 3-2). Fargo knows postseason success -- the team has been the runner-up in the Clark Cup Finals in the first two seasons of existence. Fargo is currently in fourth in the West, but is just three points shy of second place Omaha and two back of third-place Sioux Falls with three games to go for each team. The expansion Dubuque Fighting Saints have clinched the West Division title. It's a matchup of the USHL's most potent offense against its best goaltending tandem, as both Massa and Gothberg rank in the top 6 in the USHL in goals against average. Fargo's penchant for taking penalties could put the Ice's special teams on the ice. Indy was 1-for-1 on Friday and also had a shorthanded goal. In the last nine games, the Ice have scored 43 goals. The Ice are four points back of second-place Green Bay and five back of first-place Cedar Rapids, but have just three games remaining. Both teams ahead of them have games in hand, so it is likely the Ice will finish third and play the East's sixth-place team in the first round of the playoffs. Right now, Waterloo has a two-point edge on Youngstown for that playoff spot. Indy will host all three games in the best-of-3 series, on April 14, 15 and 17. After Saturday's game, the Ice travel to Youngstown and Muskegon next weekend to close out the regular season. Fargo is closing out the season with a four-game homestand.