Today in history: January 11

January 11 in Indianapolis hockey history

1961: Chiefs coach Leo Lamoureux dies at age 44, the cause of death listed as acute hepatitis. He had left the team mid-season two months earlier to check into the hospital. Leo led the Chiefs to the 1958 Turner Cup championship and would be honored by the IHL, with its leading scorer trophy re-named for him. 

Birthdays

Connie Brown: A Capitals regular from 1939-43. He was known as a skilled playmaker who broke into the pro ranks in 1938-39 with the Red Wings organization. He had 19 points in 15 games in the Caps' inaugural 1939-40 season. He was the team's leading scorer the two following seasons, despite playing less than the full season with the Caps. He had 16 goals and 28 assists in 1940-41, then followed that up with a 19-goal, 34-assists season in the 1941-42 Calder Cup championship year. In 147 games as a Capital, he scored 56 goals and 97 assists. He also had eight goals and 11 assists in the playoffs, including 11 points in the championship year of 1942. He split each season with the Red Wings, totaling 39 points in 91 games from 1938-43 with Detroit. He was part of the 1943 Stanley Cup championship team, although he did not play a playoff game with Detroit that year. He played several years of senior hockey from 1943-on. A native of Vankleek Hill, Ont., he was born in 1917. He passed away in 1966. 

Florent Pilote: Defenseman for the Chiefs for four games in 1958-59. He had a goal and an assist, and also had an assist in five playoff games. From there, he embarked on an 11-year career in the Eastern Hockey League, nearly all with Nashville. A native of Fort Erie, Ont., he was born in 1936. 

Ray Ross: Center for the Capitols in 1963. He had two goals in the eight games the Caps played, and finished the year with 15 goals and 15 assists for the combined Caps/Cincinnati Wings team in 44 games. He was near the end of a 14-year career that was primarily spent in the AHL. A native of Hamilton, Ont., he was born in 1932.

Bobby Sheehan: Racers center in 1977-78, where he had eight goals and seven assists in 29 games. Sheehan was a diminutive player -- at 5-8, 160 -- but a sparkplug for his teams throughout his career. He broke into the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens in 1969-70 and won the Stanley Cup the following year. He then had 20 goals for the California Golden Seals in 1971-72, his first full NHL season. He jumped to the WHA in 1972-73 and scored 35 goals with the New York Raiders. He played 551 NHL/WHA games between 1970-83, playing for Montreal, Chicago, Detroit, the New York Rangers, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles in the NHL, and for the New York Raiders/Golden Blades/Jersey Knights, Edmonton Oilers and the Racers in the WHA. He had 123 goals and 173 assists. He played in the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals with the Rangers, playing in 15 playoff games that season after spending the regular season in the minors. A native of Weymouth, Mass., he is 63. 

Alex Roberts: Ice defenseman from 1989-91 -- primarily playing in the 1990-91 season. In 83 games, he had 11 goals and 18 assists. He also had three assists in seven playoff games against Fort Wayne that year. He joined the team after finishing his career at the University of Michigan. He played through 1993 in the AHL and ECHL. A native of Detroit, he is 42. 

John Parker: Ice forward from 2008-10, where he had five goals and 19 assists in 89 games. He had three goals and three assists in 16 postseason games, and was part of the Clark Cup championship team in 2009. Parker played the 2010-11 season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and is currently a freshman at the University of Maine. A native of Green Brook, NJ, he is 20.

 

Today in history: January 4

January 4 in Indianapolis hockey history

1947: The Capitals suffer a strange loss to the St. Louis Flyersa. Don Clark’s shot hits the fence behind the net – where the glass would be today – pops up into the air, bounces off the top of the goal, hits Caps goaltender Red Almas in the chest and dribbles into the net for the game-winner to give St. Louis a 3-2 victory. 

1956: Leo Lamoureaux replaces John Sorrell as Chiefs’ coach. Leo would coach the team for parts of four seasons, leading them to the Turner Cup Finals in 1957 and the Turner Cup championship in 1958. 

1983: Dave Hanson – better known for his role in Slap Shot – scores six seconds into the third period to help the Checkers beat Salt Lake 8-6. It misses the CHL record by one second. 

Birthdays

Dmitri Nabokov: Center for the Ice for 48 games, primarily in the 1997-98 season, when he had six goals and 15 assists, and also scored twice in five playoff games. He was the 19th overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, and had seven goals in 25 games with the Blackhawks in 1997-98, showing flashes of skill. He would be dealt to the New York Islanders the following year, and total 13 points in 30 games before returning to his native Russia to play in 2000. He retired after the 2008-09 season. A native of Novosibirsk, Russia, he is 35. 

Jamie Morris: Ice goaltender from 1999-2003. He got red hot in the 2000 Miron Cup Playoffs, replacing Benoit Thibert in net halfway through the opening-round series against the Tulsa Oilers and then catching fire. He backstopped a sweep of the first-place Oklahoma City Blazers in the conference finals, then did the same in a seven-game victory over Columbus in the Miron Cup Finals. He was the 2000 CHL Playoff Most Valuable Player. Morris played four seasons for the Ice -- out of their five in the CHL -- with a 52-51-13 record and a 3.43 GAA. He had 5 shutouts in 128 games, and naturally holds virtually all of the CHL Ice goaltending records. He was also an adept puckhandler, and had 14 assists, including seven in 2000-01. Upon his retirement as a player, Morris settled in Indianapolis and is a firefighter. He is also in his fifth season as the Indiana Ice's goaltending coach. A native of Winnipeg, Man., he is 38. 

Corey Waring: An amateur "playoff-only" signee for the Ice in 2000, Waring came to the Ice after playing at Western Michigan University. He was scoreless in six playoff games. He played the next two years in the WPHL, ECHL and CHL, including a 27-goal, 60-point season for CHL El Paso in 2001-02. He played senior hockey in his native Canada for four years after that. A native of Brantford, Ont., he is 36.

 

Today in history: December 27

December 27 in Indianapolis hockey history

1955: Leo Lamoureaux joins the Chiefs as a 5-11, 195-pound defenseman from Windsor, who had played for the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL. Leo would be named coach one week later. 

1957: The Chiefs beat Louisville 9-7, setting what was then an IHL record for goals by both teams. Pierre Brillant and Marc Boileau each have 2 goals and 1 assist. The Chiefs score six times in the first period. 

Birthdays

Joe Bonvie: Goalie for the Ice for three games in 1994-95. He had a 1-1-0 record and a 6.60 GAA in those games. He played three pro seasons for six different teams in four different leagues -- all of those except his Ice stint at the "AA" level -- as well as some stints in roller hockey. He retired from ice hockey after the 1997 season and from roller hockey two years later. A native of Stephenville, Newfoundland, he is 40. 

Steve L'Ecuyer: Ice defenseman for 38 games in 2003-04, going scoreless. He had 73 PIMs in those 38 games. He played three pro seasons in the CHL, ECHL and the Quebecois LNAH before retiring in 2006. A native of Thunder Bay, Ont., he is 29.

 

Today in history: December 13

December 13 in Indianapolis hockey history

1942: The Capitals play their first game after gas rationing begins. Crowds that had numbered in the 7,000+ range for weekend games were cut in half – 3,587 showed up to see a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Hornets, a game that included six third-period goals.

1952: The Capitals and Providence Reds combine for 19 goals in an 11-8 Caps win at the Coliseum. Earl Reibel scored hat trick, Ed Bruneteau had two goals and an assist, Johnny Wilson had a four-point night with two goals and two assists, and goaltender Glenn Hall made 38 saves and got the win despite allowing eight goals.

1958: A squabble is played out in the Indianapolis Star. Toledo GM Andy Mulligan wants the powerful Cincinnati Mohawks, winners of five straight Turner Cups, thrown out of the IHL because of salary cap violations and keeping too many players on the roster. Chiefs coach Leo Lamoureux says: “Why not go out and get better talent and beat Cincinnati,” and accuses Mulligan of trying to turn the IHL into an industrial league. The Mohawks would fold after that season -- the only non-championship season in their six-year tenure -- and the Chiefs would win the Turner Cup.

1961: A brawl between the Chiefs and Fort Wayne Komets ends the game 8:34 early, with Fort Wayne leading 3-2. It was initially ruled a Komets win, but the IHL required the game to be completed on Jan. 6 before the regularly-scheduled game. A protest by the Chiefs’ owner Mel Ross got the IHL to play it after the initial game. The Chiefs rallied to win 5-3. The Chiefs’ Grant Morton and Fort Wayne’s Eddie Long were suspended as a result of the brawl. The bench-clearing brawl began with a scrap between Bill Wilkes and the Komets’ Eddie Long. Soon, Chiefs enforcer Marcel Goyette got tied up with another Komet, and when the goalies began fighting, the benches emptied. Seventeeen fighting majors, nine misconducts and two game misconducts were given out, a total of 197 penalty minutes in the third period and 229 for the game. 

1978: The Racers play their final game, losing to New England 7-4 in front of 4,623 fans. Angie Moretto  scored the team’s last goal, deflecting Don Larway’s shot into the net with 1:45 left. Gordie Howe scored a goal for the Whalers. 

1998: The Ice’s Remi Royer scores 13 seconds into the game to give the Ice an early lead in a 4-2 victory at Fort Wayne. 

Birthday

Brian McKee: Defenseman who played four games for the Checkers in 1986-87, shortly after finishing his college career at Bowling Green. He would become a mainstay in the IHL for most of his nine-year pro career, including a 30-goal season for the Fort Wayne Komets in 1990-91, when he was the IHL's Most Oustanding Defenseman. A native of Willowdale, Ont., he is 47. 

Alex Wideman: Ice forward from 2009-11. In 115 games, the diminutive (5-8, 145) forward had 15 goals and 36 assists, as well as six points in 14 postseason games. Wideman was a mainstay on the high-scoring Ice team of 2010-11, in which he had five goals and 27 assists. He is currently a freshman at Miami (Ohio). A native of St. Louis, he is 20.

Today in history: Nov. 24

Happy Thanksgiving. Let's look back on this date in history.

1956: Chiefs coach Leo Lamoreaux fines the entire team $25 because “I want 60 minutes of hockey out of every player, not 45 or 50.” Fort Wayne scored forl goals in a seven-minute span in th second period and beat the Chiefs 5-4. 

Birthdays

Art Herchenratter: Capitals left wing in 1940-41, tallying a goal and six assists in 39 games. He also suited up in 10 games for the Red Wings that season. A strong defensive forward, his was one of many careers interrupted by WWII -- he played for AHL New Haven and AHA Omaha the next year, then went off to the war and returned to play one more season in 1946-47. A native of Kitchener, Ont., he was born in 1917. He passed away in 1989. 

Roy Sawyer: Capitals right wing in 1945-46. He started the year in Indy, then was traded to the St. Louis Flyers on Dec. 26 in a multiplayer deal. He had five goals and six assists total that season in 51 games for both teams. Sawyer played the next year with USHL Fort Worth and AHL Springfield, then retired. A native of Oshawa, Ont., he was born in 1920. 

Christian Laflamme: Ice defenseman in 1996-97, he had five goals, 15 assists and 62 PIMs in 62 games, helping lead the Ice to an IHL division title. The hard-hitting blueliner got the call to the Blackhawks that season, and stuck the next year. The Blackhawks' second-round pick in 1995, he played 324 NHL games between 1996-2004 with Chicago, Edmonton, Montreal and St. Louis, then played in Europe and senior hockey in Quebec through 2010. A native of St. Charles, Quebec, he is 35. 

Today in history: Sept. 29-Oct. 1

A little bit of catching up to do: 

Sept. 29

Birthdays

Bob Ash: Racers defenseman in 1974-75, where he had one goal and 14 assists in 64 games. It was the last season in an 11-year pro hockey career and three-year WHA career for the 5-9, 170-pound blueliner. He had played the two previous seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, playing in the inaugural Avco World Trophy Finals in 1973. A native of Brandon, Man., he is 68. 

Trent Yawney: An Ice player for nine games in 1991-92. The veteran defenseman had two goals and three assists in that stretch, which came after playing three and a quarter seasons with the Blackhawks and representing Canada in the 1988 Olympic Games. He would be traded to the Calgary Flames that year and play eight more NHL seasons -- five with Calgary, one in St. Louis and the last two back with the Blackhawks. Yawney scored 27 goals in 593 NHL games. He also accumulated 783 PIMs. He had a 9-17-26 line in 60 NHL playoff games. Upon retirement, he began coaching -- leading the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL from 2000-05, then eventually being promoted to become the Blackhawks' head coach for 103 games from 2005 to early in the 2006-07 season. He had spent the last three years as an assist in San Jose, but left that to pursue a head coaching position. A native of Hudson Bay, Sask., he is 46. 

Bret Meyers: Right wing who played four scoreless games for the Ice in 1998-99. He had a 33-goal season for ECHL Columbus that year, his rookie season, and was a big scorer at the ECHL level before retiring in 2003. He had at least 27 goals in each of the four full seasons he played. A native of Uxbridge, Ont., he is 38. 

Dan Cecka: Forward with the Ice in 2008-09, scoring three goals and an assist in 13 games. He spent that year and part of another with NAHL Owatonna. He currently plays for Div. III Wisconsin-Stout, where he had five goals and 10 assists last year. A native of Woodbury, Minn., he is 22. 

Sept. 30

Birthdays

Cail MacLean: Right wing for the Ice in 1998-99, where he had 13 goals and seven assists in 35 games. He also had four points in seven playoff games. It was his second pro season, and he was called up from ECHL Jacksonville midway through the year after totaling 57 points in 40 games. He played through 2008, splitting several seasons between the ECHL and AHL. His highest-scoring season was the one he split between the Ice and Jacksonville. Since retiring, he has been the head coach of the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays and currently is an assistant to former Ice assistant coach Troy Ward with the AHL Abbotsford Heat. He was an assistant at South Carolina when the team won the ECHL Kelly Cup in 2009. A native of Middleton, Nova Scotia, he is 35. 

Dylan Taylor: Ice forward in 2001-02, where he had 12 goals and 19 assists in 62 games. It was the lone season of pro hockey for Taylor after a career in both junior and Canadian university hockey. A native of Oshawa, Ont., he is 35. 

Oct. 1

Birthdays

Leo Lamoureux: A popular figure in Indianapolis hockey, Leo took over as the Indianapolis Chiefs' coach in 1955-56 -- their first season -- and coached the team for parts of four seasons, going 63-83-12. He led the Chiefs to the 1958 Turner Cup championship. He joined the Chiefs on Jan. 4, 1956, when predecessor John Sorrell gave up coaching duties to become the team GM, and slowly led the team to its best era. From 1956-58, the Chiefs made back-to-back Turner Cup Finals appearances -- falling to the powerful Cincinnati Mohawks in 1957 and then defeating Louisville in seven games in 1958 to win the trophy. He returned in 1960, but he left the team in early November to be treated for acute hepatitis. He would pass away of the illness Jan. 11, 1961 in Indianapolis. Leo joined the Chiefs as a player in 1955-56, playing 24 games and tallying five assists before taking a spot behind the bench. He also suited up in one game as a player-coach the following year. From 1942-47, he was a steady defensemen for the Montreal Canadiens, winning the Stanley Cup in 1944 and 1946. Upon his passing, the IHL re-named the leading scorer trophy the Leo P. Lamoureux Trophy in his honor. A native of Espanola, Ont., he was born in 1916. 

Igor Ulanov: Ice defenseman in 1995-96. He played just one game for the Ice in the midst of a long NHL career that spanned 1992-2006 and included stops in Winnipeg, Washington, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Edmonton for two stints, the New York Rangers and Florida. His best NHL season was a 3-20-23 year for Edmonton in 2000-01. He had 27 goals, 135 assists and 1151 PIMs in 739 NHL games. He retired after playing the 2008-09 season for Dynamo Minsk in the KHL. A native of Krasnokamask, Russia, he is 42.