This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 26

Today sees Todd White scoring an OT goal in 1998, Brad Lauer and Dave Roche team up to end a great Ice season in 1997 in double OT, the 1990 Ice continue their title march behind a GWG from Mike Eagles, and the 1985 Checkers finish their inaugural IHL season. Also, a number of birthdays -- former Capitals Sandy Ross, Cecil Dillon, Red Almas and George Blake, ex-Chief Ed Calhoun, former Checker Pat Ribble, former IHL Ice Shane Doyle and ex-USHL Ice Joshua Shellman.

Today in history: November 7

Today in Indianapolis hockey history, November 7

1939: The Red Wings assign players to the Capitals, sending Hec and Ken Kilrea to Indianapolis, along with Jack Keating and Frank "Scotty" Bowman as they prepare for their first-ever home game. 

1946: Capitals beat Springfield 10-0. Tony Bukovich has a four-point night with two goals and two assists. Lloyd Doran adds a goal and three assists, while Red Almas has the shutout in goal. 

1963: The Indianapolis Capitols, without a home rink after the Coliseum explosion on Oct. 31, formally announce their move to Cincinnati after two road games. They had offers to play their home games temporarily at Maple Leaf Gardens and other venues, but permanently moved to Cincinnati and played as the Wings. The following year, they would move to Memphis and eventually to Fort Worth. 

Birthdays

Glen Brydson: A member of the original Capitals team in 1939-40. He was traded to the Caps partway through that season from New Haven, totaling 25 points total between the two teams. It was near the end of a 12-year pro hockey career that began in 1930 and featured eight NHL seasons with the Montreal Maroons, St. Louis Eagles, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. His best NHL season was an 11-goal year with St. Louis in 1934-35. After his year with the Caps, he had a 20-goal season for the Springfield Indians in 1940-41. A native of Swansea, Ont., he was born in 1910 and passed away in 1993. 

Murray Heatley: Racers right wing from 1974-76, where he had 17 goals and 13 assists in 63 games. Heatley tallied 15 of those goals in 1974-75, the Racers' first season. Heatley played 148 WHA games, also playing two seasons with the Minnesota Fighting Saints before joining the Racers. After his stint in Indianapolis, Murray played in Germany for several seasons. He is the father of NHL player and current Minnesota Wild player Dany Heatley, who was born in Germany while Murray was playing overseas. A native of Calgary, Alberta, he is 63. 

Jim Johnson: Racers center in 1974-75, where he played 42 games and tallied seven goals and 15 assists. That came at the end of a long NHL/WHA career that saw him break in with the New York Rangers in 1962-63, and play 459 games with the Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Racers. His best season was an 18-goal, 48-point season with the Flyers in 1969-70, and a 15-goal, 54-point year with the Fighting Saints in 1973-74. He had 107 goals and 289 points in his NHL/WHA career. A native of Winnipeg, Johnson is 69. 

Michel Dubois: Racers defenseman for 34 games in 1975-76, where he had two goals and two assists. He was dealt to Quebec partway through the year and played 25 more games for the Nordiques over that season and into 1976-77. Dubois retired after the 1977-78 season. A native of Montreal, he is 57. 

Brian Felsner: Left wing for the Ice in 1997-98, where he tallied 17 goals and 53 points in 53 games. Felsner got the call to the Chicago Blackhawks for 12 games that year, but finished out the season with the Milwaukee Admirals. Those 12 games in Chicago were his only NHL games in a pro career that lasted from 1996-2008. He played primarily in the IHL through 2001 -- with Orlando, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cincinnati -- and then in Europe for nearly all of the rest of his career. He is the brother of former NHL player Denny Felsner. A native of Mt. Clemens, Mich., he is 39. 

Today in history: April 26

Some playoff memories, both good and bad, on April 26

1990: Mike Eagles scores the game-winner as the Ice take a crucial Game 1 in Salt Lake in the IHL West Division Finals 4-3. The Ice would beat Salt Lake in five games and go on to win the Turner Cup. 

1997: This one is not a happy memory, as ex-Iceman Brad Lauer scores on Jim Waite deep into the second overtime and the Cleveland Lumberjacks beat the Ice 3-2 to eliminate them in four games in a best-of-5 series.

1998: Todd White scores a thrilling overtime goal to knot the Ice’s first-round playoff series with Orlando at 2-2, as the Ice win 4-3. They would fall to the Solar Bears in the deciding fifth game two days later. 

Happy birthday:

John Ross: Defenseman who played 29 games with the inaugural Capitals team in 1939-40, tallying three goals and six assists, and then had seven points in 36 games in the 1941-42 Calder Cup-winning year. His best season was 1942-43, when he tallied seven goals and 17 assists for the Caps. A native of Ryley, Alberta, he was born in 1917.

Cecil Dillon: Right wing who played 15 games with the Capitals in 1940-41, scoring one goal. He would be traded to the Providence Reds for Hal Jackson -- a defenseman who would become a mainstay in Indianapolis hockey circles for decades. He was at the end of his career at the time -- he had led the New York Rangers to the 1933 Stanley Cup, and led the team in scoring from 1936-38 -- three straight seasons. He came up to the Rangers in 1930 and never missed a game for eight years, scoring 167 goals in 11 NHL seasons -- nine with the Rangers, and the 1939-40 season with the Red Wings. He was named to the NHL All-Star Team three times, and played in the 1937 All-Star Game. One of the NHL's first American-born players, he was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1908. He passed away in 1969.

Ralph "Red" Almas: Capitals goaltender from 1946-48. He backstopped teams that posted winning records both years, but in the AHL's strongest division, missed the playoffs. The Caps went 33-18-13 in Almas' first year as a goaltender, yet missed the postseason because they finished fourth in a five-team division. After his stint in Indy, Almas spent four years with the AHL's St. Louis Flyers. He played three NHL games as an injury replacement -- for the Red Wings in 1946-47 and 1952-53, and for the Blackhawks in 1950-51. A native of Saskatoon, he was born in 1924. He passed away in May 2001. 

George Blake: Winger who played parts of the 1945-46 and 1946-47 seasons with the Capitals. A native of Coniston, Ontario, he was born in 1923.

Ed Calhoun: Defenseman who was a mainstay with the early Chiefs teams, playing 121 games with the team from 1955-58. He tallied six goals and 32 assists in those games, and was part of a Calder Cup finalist in 1957. After his stint in Indianapolis, he would play several seasons with the EHL's Clinton Comets. A native of Toronto, he was born in 1931. 

Pat Ribble: Played for the Checkers in their first two IHL seasons from 1984-86, totaling 76 games and scoring 16 goals and 35 assists. Ribble was actually a Racers draft pick in 1974, but opted for the Atlanta Flames' system in the NHL instead, and played 349 NHL games with the Flames -- in two stints and in two cities -- Blackhawks, Maple Leafs and Capitals -- from 1975-83. He also played in Indianapolis as a visiting player with the Colorado Flames and Oklahoma City Stars of the old CHL and Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the IHL before arriving as a Checker. The defenseman was a native of Leamington, Ontario, and was born in 1954. 

Shane Doyle: Member of the Ice's first team in 1988-89, totaling four goals and 36 assists from his defense position. He would spend several years in the ECHL, Colonial, Southern and Western Professional hockey leagues before retiring in 2000. A native of Lindsay, Ontario, he is 44 today.