This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 5

April 5 in Indianapolis hockey history
2008: A rare two-goalie shutout for the Ice, as the division champions blank the Ohio Junior Blue Jackets 7-0 in front of 5,328 at the Coliseum. Scott Darling plays the first and third periods and stops seven shots, while Matt Hoyle takes over for the second and stops eight. John Kemp (G, 3A) tallies a four-point night, while John Carlson and Will MacDonald each tally a goal and two assists. Ron Cramer puts the exclamation point on with a third-period penalty shot goal.
2000: The Ice take a 2-0 series lead over Tulsa with a 4-1 win. Dan Villeneuve scores the game-winner and Benoit Thibert posts his second straight win in goal.
1991: Sean Williams had two goals and two assists, with helpers on goals by Warren Rychel and Stephen Veilleux in the first 2:11 of the third to tie the game at 5-5. But Muskegon's Dave Michayluk scored with 1:38 left to give the Lumberjacks a 6-5 win in the L.C. Walker Arena.
1959: The Chiefs beat the Fort Wayne Komets 5-2 to stay alive in their Turner Cup semifinal series, but would be eliminated in the next game. Red Leger's game-winner for the Chiefs would mark the franchise's final playoff victory.
1950: The Capitals beat the Cleveland Barons 4-1 in the opening game of the Calder Cup Final. Terry Sawchuk makes 47 saves for the Caps, outdueling Cleveland's Johnny Bower. Seventeen years later, the two together would carry the Toronto Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup. 
1942: The Indianapolis Capitals bring a championship to the Circle City. In their third season, the Caps beat Hershey 8-3 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum to clinch the title. Jack Keating, Sandy Ross and Joe Fisher score 51 seconds apart in the first period to give the Caps a 3-0 lead. Joe Turner makes 36 saves in what would be the final game of his career. Keating (9-8-17) and Les Douglas (8-9-17) each set AHL records with points in a playoff season. Teammate Roy Sawyer's 14 assists are also a new AHL record.

Happy birthday to ...
Bill Blackwood: Defenseman who played three games for the Racers in 1977-78 after finishing his career at Clarkson University - where he is in the school's Hall of Fame. He would go on to play two seasons with IHL Fort Wayne. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, he is 58.
Gerald Diduck: Defenseman who joined the Checkers for the 1984 playoffs and made an immediate impact, with a goal and six assists as the Checkers made a surprise run to the Adams Cup Finals. It was the start of a professional career that would span 18 seasons and feature 932 NHL games. He had 56 goals and 212 points with the Islanders, Canadiens, Canucks, Blackhawks, Whalers, Coyotes, Maple Leafs and Stars. He played in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final with Vancouver. He was the Islanders' first-round pick in 1983. A native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, he is 49.
Roy Sommer: Center who played 37 games for the Checkers in 1985-86, tallying nine goals, 10 assists and 118 PIMs. It was a later stop in a pro career that spanned from 1977-87. Sommer has made his mark as a coach, where he began as an assistant with Muskegon in 1987 -- the team he joined after playing for the Checkers. Earlier in 2014, he set the American Hockey League record for games coached, a stint that began in 1998 with the Kentucky Thoroughblades. He has coached the Worcester Sharks since 2006. Sommer won a championship in the ECHL with Richmond in 1995. A native of Oakland, California, he is 57.

Today in history: January 12

January 12 in Indianapolis hockey history

1945: Joe Turner is reported as being killed in action in World War II. He backstopped the Capitals’ 1941-42 Calder Cup championship team before serving in the United States Marines. He had been reported missing in action in Holland on Dec. 13, 1944. The IHL’s Turner Cup would be named for him. He was one of two former NHL players to be killed in action in WWII, the other being Dudley “Red” Garrett. 

1961: The Chiefs pepper Fort Wayne’s Reno Zanier with 41 shots and win 5-3, breaking a 15-game winless streak (0-14-1) that lasted five weeks. Denis Menard scores the game-winner midway through the third. 

Birthdays

Jim Skinner: Capitals defenseman in 1944-45, with one goal and four assists in 57 games -- playing alongside his brother, Morden "Ducky" Skinner. Skinner was the team captain that year. He also had an assist in five postseason games. He returned to Indianapolis as the farm director (and de facto general manager) for the Indianapolis Capitols in 1963. He played two more years for the Omaha Knights, the Red Wings' "AA" affiliate, but his career was most notable for his role as a coach and GM. He began coaching in the IHL in 1947 and won the Turner Cup that year, and then took over as the Red Wings' head coach in 1954-55. The Wings won the Stanley Cup that year, and is considered to be the first person to have kissed the Cup. He held nearly every front office job with the Red Wings, as a scout, farm system director, player personnel director and eventually general manager from 1980-82. His predecessor in that position, Ted Lindsay, played one game for the Caps. His successor, Jim Devellano, came from having the same job with the Indianapolis Checkers. Skinner is also credited with being one of the first scouts to look for players in Europe, and with helping start the NHL Entry Draft, which began in 1963. A native of Selkirk, Man., he was born in 1917. He passed away in 2007. 

Alex Pirus: A high-scoring center with the Checkers in 1980-81, tallying 25 goals and 46 assists in 79 games, the last of his five pro seasons. He had three goals and two assists in the playoffs that year, as well. He was a third-round pick of both NHL and WHA teams in 1975 while playing at Notre Dame, but opted to play with the North Stars in 1976. He had 30 goals and 58 points in 159 NHL games, including a 20-goal season in 1976-77. He has since entered hockey ministry, and is the chaplain for the Chicago Blackhawks & Wolves. A native of Toronto, he is 57. 

Cam Russell: Ice defenseman for three seasons, from 1989-92. He played 140 games with the Ice, with 12 goals and 33 assists, with 317 PIMs. He also had three assists in 15 playoff games, and was a part of the Ice's 1990 Turner Cup championship. The rugged Blackhawks' third-round pick in 1987, Russell split each of his Ice seasons with the parent club, then played full-time with the Blackhawks in 1992-93 and then on. He played his final year -- 1998-99 -- with the Colorado Avalanche. He had nine goals and 21 assists in 396 NHL games, as well as 870 PIMs. He became an assistant with QMJHL Halifax in 2000, became the team's head coach in 2006 and is currently the Mooseheads' general manager. A native of Halifax, he is 43. 

Russ Guzior: Ice center for 16 games in 2003-04, their final CHL season. He had two goals and eight assists. He played professionally from 1997-2005, primarily at the "AA" level in the ECHL, UHL and CHL. In his best years, he had 28 goals with ECHL Mobile in 1999-2000, and 29 with CHL El Paso in 2003-04. A native of Chicago, he is 38. 

Dan Sherer: A forward in his first year with the Indiana Ice. He has settled into a center position in his one year in the USHL. A native of Nashotah, Wis., he is 20.

Today in history: October 30

October 30 in Indianapolis hockey history

1942: Joe Turner, whose name would later grace the Turner Cup, plays his first game as a Capital. Turner shuts out the Washington Lions 1-0. Adam Brown – father of future Racers goaltender Andy Brown – scores the game’s only goal at 9:42 of the second period.

1960: Pierre Brillant -- the all-time leading scorer in Indianapolis hockey history -- scores his final hat trick as a member of the Chiefs, posting three goals and two assists in a 9-2 victry over Milwaukee. Howie Menard adds two goals and two assists. 

Birthdays

Michael Del Mauro: Ice forward in 2006-07, playing 36 games and totaling seven goals and three assists. He parlayed his USHL tenure into a four-year career at Harvard University, where he had 18 points in a four-year career. A native of Watchung, N.J., he is 24.