This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 11

April 11 in Indianapolis hockey history
2009: Stanislav Galiev scores two power play goals -- both assisted by Brandon Richardson and Mike Cichy. But Cedar Rapids' Kyle Flanagan outduels him with a hat trick as the Rough Riders beat the Ice 3-2 in overtime and tie the first-round series at 1-1. A penalty-filled game features 64 minutes in PIMs between the two teams.
1998: The Ice close out the season with a 5-0 shutout win over Kansas City. Jani Hurme turns aside 47 shots to record his first shutout in an Ice uniform. Ryan Huska scores a first-period goal, while Kent Paynter, Ryan Vandenbussche, Petri Varis and Todd White all score in the third. David Ling adds two assists. White's goal Is his 46th, closing out an outstanding rookie year.
1997: Kip Miller has a goal and three assists. Steve Dubinsky has two goals and an assist. Fred Knipscheer scores the game-winner in his hometown as the Ice break open a 2-2 game going into the third and turn it into a 6-3 win over Fort Wayne. The Ice trailed 3-2 when Craig Mills scored at 9:06. Knipscheer scored at 12:38. Dubinsky added two goals in the final six minutes to ice it. 
1990: The Ice open the IHL playoffs with a 6-3 win over Peoria. Bob Bassen scores the game-winner and Jim Waite outduels Pat Jablonski in net.
1981: The Checkers take a 2-1 lead in their playoff series with a 4-2 win in Wichita. Bruce Affleck scores the game-winner in the second and adds an assist. Dave Cameron also has a goal and an assist. Kelly Hrudey makes 28 saves.
1978: The Racers' final full season ends with a 6-3 loss at New England. The team finishes with a record of 24-51-5.

Happy birthday to ... 
Andy Branigan: Defenseman who played 62 games for the Capitals in 1945-46, tallying four goals, 17 assists and 71 PIMs. He also had an assist in five playoff games. He played six NHL games with the New York/Brooklyn Americans prior to WWII, but embarked on a long minor-league career after the war, playing for AHL Hershey & Providence through 1958 and two more seasons as a player/coach in the EHL before retiring in 1960. A native of Winnipeg, he was born in 1992. He passed away in 1995.
Gordon Haidy: Right wing who had two stints in Indianapolis separated by a decade. Haidy played three seasons for the Capitals from 1948-51, scoring 60 goals and assisting on 38 in 154 games in those seasons. He was especially key in the Caps' eight-game Calder Cup run in 1950, where he scored four goals. He also played one game for the Red Wings in their 1950 Stanley Cup run, his only NHL action. Haidy played several years of senior hockey in the 1950s, and he returned to Indianapolis in 1960-61 to play briefly for the IHL Chiefs. He retired from hockey in 1964, 19 seasons after beginning his career. A native of Windsor, Ontario, he was born in 1928. He passed away in 2004. 
Terry Sargent: Left wing who played three games for the Checkers in 1984-85. He played 56 games in the IHL that season after three 20+-goal seasons in junior. A native of Edmonton, he is 51.
Chris Norton: Defenseman who played briefly for the Ice in 1991-92, with one assist in eight games. Norton played four seasons professionally in North America from 1998-92, all in the AHL/IHL, after a career at Cornell University. He played six seasons in Britain after his North American career. A native of Oakville, Ontario, he is 49.
Peter Jas: Left wing who played two seasons for the Ice from 1999-2001. He was a key player on the team's 2000 Miron Cup championship run, with 7 goals and 5 assists in the 15 postseason games. Jas had 18 goals and 35 assists in 96 games with the Ice, and 13 points in 18 playoff games. He played four further games with the Tulsa Oilers the following year, capping a five-year pro career, all in the WPHL/CHL. A native of Presov, Slovakia, he is 40.

 

Today in history: January 17

January 17 in Indianapolis hockey history

1961: Carl Wetzel makes 58 saves, but gives up a penalty shot goal in the final minute and the Chiefs tie Fort Wayne 2-2.

1980: Alex McKendry scores a hat trick against Birmingham’s Reggie Lemelin in a 7-5 Checkers victory, giving the team hat tricks in back-to-back games. 

Birthdays

Joe Cleary: Ice defenseman in 1992-93. He had 10 goals, 17 assists and 110 PIMs in 63 games with the Ice. He also had a goal in three postseason games that year in the series against the Atlanta Knights. The Blackhawks' fifth-round pick in 1998 and a former Boston College captain, Cleary played one more pro season, split between IHL Kansas City and ECHL Charlotte. A native of Boxboro, Mass, he was born in 1970. He passed away in 2009. 

Andrew Taylor: Left wing for the Ice in 2002-03. He had 13 goals and 24 assists in 59 games that season. He also had two goals and three assists in eight postseason games. The Islanders' seventh-round pick in 1995, Taylor broke into pro hockey in 1999 in the ECHL, and played with seven different ECHL and CHL teams through 2004, before playing senior hockey in Ontario. A native of Stratford, Ont., he is 35. 

Mike Zeibaq: Ice defenseman for part of the 2003-04 season. He had four goals and an assist in 38 games. He also played that season with CHL Lubbock and SEHL Knoxville, the second of his two pro seasons. A native of Hauppauge, N.Y., he is 32. 

Mike Embach: Ice winger in 2006-07. He had a goal and six assists in 18 games after coming from the Chicago Steel at the end of the season. He also had two goals and two assists in seven playoff games. Embach went on to a four-year career at Ferris State, and finished the 2010-11 season with the AHL Texas Stars. He is currently playing with the ECHL Chicago Express. A native of Orland Park, Ill., he is 24. 

Stanislav Galiev: Ice winger in 2008-09. He had 29 goals and 35 assists in 60 games to help lead the Ice to a strong season, and then had five goals and four assists in 13 playoff games to help lead the team to the Clark Cup championship. Galiev was a high-scoring forward on the Ice's first -- and so far only -- championship team, but then he went to Canadian Major Junior and won that country's national title, playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs team that won the 2011 Memorial Cup title, so he has now won the top national championship in both the U.S. and Canada. Galiev has tallied at least 60 points in each of his three full junior seasons to date. He was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, and will begin his pro career next season. A native of Moscow, he is 20. 

Galiev signs with Caps

Stanislav Galiev, a member of the Ice's 2009 Clark Cup championship team (and a member of the 2011 Memorial Cup championship team in Canada), has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals.

Galiev had 29 goals and 35 assists with the Ice, and then played two years in Canada with the Saint John Sea Dogs. He is eligible to return to junior this year. He had 37 goals and 28 assists this year with Saint John.

A native of Moscow, Galiev is the second Ice player to sign with the Caps, joining defenseman John Carlson, who has become a mainstay with the big club.

Capitals press release

Wed. wrap: Galiev scores, Coleman injured, Erne to Q?

Blake Coleman suffered an ankle injury Tuesday in Devils prospect camp. Today, he was on crutches and in a soft cast, as X-rays confirmed a bone chip in his right ankle. He is going to be reexamined Thursday. The U.S. national Junior Player of the Year will be out "for some time," according to the Newark Star-Ledger. He is committed to play collegiately at Miami. 


Stanislav Galiev is getting noticed in Washington. The Washington Post notes that he's "growing up." Says Caps coach (and ex-Komet) Bruce Boudreau:  "To me when I look at him, I think he’s got a real awareness on the ice of things that are going on and like an awful lot of Russians, he’s got a tremendous skill set.” Galiev scored a goal in today's scrimmage, won 4-2 by his team. His goal was a "jam" from close-in. He also was stuffed on a 2-on-1. Read Galiev's reflections in his blog. 


An update on Ice forward Adam Erne, who had a 10-8-18 line as a 15-year-old for the Ice last season. According to this article (in French), Quebec Remparts GM Patrick Roy said he spoke with Erne's family to make sure he was going to come to Quebec before trading for him. No deals in the QMJHL can be officially made until Aug. 1. Erne is going to represent the United States in the U17 Five Nations Tournament in early August. 

Tuesday wrap

Nick Mattson scored a goal today in the Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp scrimmage, although he didn't seem to impress the Committed Indians bloggers. Some highlights of the Hawks camp are here. (personal note: I didn't see Hawks camp, obviously, but Mattson was USHL Defenseman of the Year for a reason ... but, for full disclosure, will post what those who were in attendance saw).

Current Ice defenseman R.J. Boyd is competing at Florida Panthers' development camp, which began today. Coverage is here from the Litter Box Cats.

Ice alum Stanislav Galiev is in the Washington Capitals camp. Galiev is blogging about his experiences in Washington. Video from the camp is here.

Looking back
Anthony Bitetto recently participated in the Nashville Predators camp. The Section 303 blog catches up with the former Ice defenseman.

Ben Blood just finished up the Ottawa Senators' development camp. He was part of the team that won the camp-ending 3-on-3 tournament. He will go back to North Dakota for his senior year.

Saint John, Galiev win Memorial Cup

Stanislav Galiev has now won the highest prize in junior hockey in not one, but two countries.

The Russian forward who played for the Ice's Clark Cup champs in 2009 -- the national championship in the United States' lone Tier I junior league -- has now hoisted Canada's top prize. Galiev's Saint John Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup by beating the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 3-1 in the title game.

Galiev, a Washington Capitals draft pick, scored 37 goals and added 28 assists this year. He also had a 10-17-27 line in the postseason. He had a goal and two assists in the four-team Memorial Cup tournament. 

The Majors also had a local tie, as coach/GM Dave Cameron was a member of the Checkers from 1979-81, totaling 40 goals in his second season with the Chex. Cameron was also coach of Canada's silver medal-winning hockey team in the World Junior Championship this year.

Indy in the Memorial Cup

The Memorial Cup tournament, the top junior tourney in Canada, begins this weekend in Mississauga, Ontario with a bit of an Indianapolis presence.

Stanislav Galiev, who had a 64-point season with the Ice and helped them win the Clark Cup in 2009, is now on a league champion again. He scored 10 goals in the QMJHL playoffs to lead the Saint John Sea Dogs to the league title. He had a 37-28-65 mark this year in the regular season, and has totaled 27 playoff points. Galiev was a 2010 draft pick of the Washington Capitals.

The host team, the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, is coached by ex-Checker Dave Cameron, who also coached Canada's entry in the World Junior Championships last year. Cameron played two seasons with the Checkers -- from 1979-81, and had a 40-goal season in 1980-81. He would play three NHL seasons with the Rockies/Devils franchise before eventually beginning a long coaching career in 1995.

The other two teams in the Memorial Cup tournament are the Owen Sound Attack (OHL champ) and Kootenay Ice (WHL champ).