This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 13

April 13 in Indianapolis hockey history
1984: The Checkers tie their first-round series against Colorado at two games apiece with a 6-3 victory. Red Laurence, Kevin Devine and Roger Kortko score in the second to give Indy a 3-1 lead. Bob Hess' shorthanded goal at 8:07 of the third ends up the game-winner, as it gave the Checkers a 4-2 edge at the time. After Colorado scores a power play goal to close to one, Garth MacGuigan scores two empty-netters to seal the win. Gerald Diduck assists on three Checkers goals.
1950: In front of 7,727 fans at the Coliseum, the Indianapolis Capitals clinch their second Calder Cup title, sweeping Cleveland with a 3-2 victory. Terry Sawchuk stops 37 shots, Fred Glover scores twice, Pat Lundy adds a goal with a breakaway tally, and Gerry Reid assists on two goals. It marks the first time in AHL history a team sweeps through the playoffs unblemished, as the Caps win all eight postseason contests.

This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 8

April 8 in Indianapolis hockey history
2011: The Ice drop a wild 8-6 game in Youngstown in which the Phantoms' Mike Ambrosia nets a natural hat trick in the first period and Dylan Margonari scores 14 seconds into the game. Blake Coleman (2G, A) and Brian Ferlin (G, 2A) have three-point nights as the Ice nearly rally from deficits of 6-1 and 7-2.
1989: The Ice explode for five first period goals and don?t let up in an 11-2 win over the Denver Rangers. Ron Handy and Alain Lemieux score 30 seconds apart in the first to make it 3-0 and chase starter Ron Scott. Lemieux and Dwaine Hutton each have a hat trick, Lemieux adds two assists, and Rick Barkovich has two goals and two assists. It's the first time in team history two players scored a hat trick in the same game.
1950: The Capitals score four times in the third period to break a tie and beat Cleveland 6-2 in the second game of the Calder Cup Final, with Pat Lundy scoring a hat trick and Al Dewsbury assisting on three goals. Terry Sawchuk makes 37 saves. The Caps take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Happy birthday to ... 
Gordon "Moose" Sherritt: Defenseman who played two and a half seasons with the Capitals from 1942-45. He scored five goals in his tenure in Indy. He also had a brief eight-game stint with the Red Wings in 1943-44. He was a rugged player, becoming one of the first century-mark PIM players. He continued to play professionally through 1949, primarily in Minneapolis. He was born in Oakville, Manitoba in 1919, and passed away in 2005.
Randy Wyrozub: Center who played 55 games with the Racers in their division championship season of 1975-76. He had 11 goals and 14 assists that season. He broke into the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in 1970-71, and played parts of four seasons with the Sabres before jumping to the WHA in 1974-75 with Cincinnati, and the next season with the Racers. He played in the minor leagues through 1979. He had 19 goals and 25 assists in 155 NHL/WHA games. A native of Lacombe, Alberta, he is 64.
Bruce Rendall: Winger who played 15 games with the Ice in 1988-89, tallying two goals and two assists. He retired as a player in 1990, but played games in 1992-93 and 1998-99 in the Colonial/United Hockey Leagues when teams he was coaching ran short of players. The Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick in 1985, the Thunder Bay, Ontario native turns 47 today.
Robert Gawron: Defenseman who played six games for the Ice in 2011-12, with one goal and one assist. A native of Lemont, Illinois, he is 20.
Sam Kurker: Ice right winger in the 2013-14 season. He joined the team midway through the season and played the final 24 games of the year after playing a season and a half at Boston College. Kurker was the St. Louis Blues' second-round pick in 2012. A native of Reading, Mass., he is 20.

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 28

January 28 in Indianapolis hockey history

1950: In his first game after returning from a callup to Detroit, Caps goaltender Terry Sawchuk goes nuts against a Pittsburgh fan who waves a white handkerchief at him. Terry slashes at the glass with his stick, skates a few feet, then comes back and hinges himself on the glass at the fan. He had to be restrained by his teammate.

Birthdays

Sean Williams: One of the great players to lace up skates and represent Indianapolis, Williams played four full seasons with the Ice from 1989-93. He played 320 games with the Ice in those years, He had 130 goals and 156 assists, setting the IHL team records in games played and all scoring categories. His best year was a 46-52-98 season in 1990-91. He had 27 regular-season goals to lead the Ice to a division title in 1989-90, then tallied eight goals and five assists as they bulldozed their way through the Turner Cup playoffs en route to a championship. He also got a two-game callup with the Blackhawks in 1991-92. Williams' rookie year was with IHL Saginaw in 1988-89 -- then the Blackhawks' top affiliate -- and he left the Ice to play in Europe in 1993. He returned to play two more years with IHL Minnesota. Williams' No. 9 was retired by the Ice -- the lone skater from the IHL era to be so honored. A native of Oshawa, Ont., he is 44. 

Martin Desjardins: Ice center from 1990-92, with 19 goals and 49 assists in 107 games. He also had two goals in the 1991 first-round series against the Fort Wayne Komets. He played three seasons in the Montreal organization -- including eight games with the Canadiens in 1989-90 -- before joining the Ice. After his Ice stint, he played in Europe for several seasons. A native of Sainte-Rose, Quebec, he is 45. 

Today in history: January 5

January 5 in Indianapolis hockey history
1947: Cliff Simpson scores three goals and adds two assists as the Capitals set all kinds of records in a 14-2 victory over Philadelphia. The team sets records for victory margin and goals scored in the win.  

1950: Terry Sawchuk is briefly called up to Detroit when Red Wings goaltender Harry Lumley was injured playing forward in a benefit game. He shuts out the Rangers, with ex-Cap Sid Abel scoring the game’s only goal. He would be return to the Capitals 21 days later and lead the team to the Calder Cup championship.

Birthday

Fred Glover: One of the greatest minor-league hockey players of all time, Glover played for the Capitals from 1948-52. In 202 games with the Caps, he had 110 goals and 119 assists. He also had five goals and five assists in 15 playoff games -- all of those except one assist in the Caps' eight-game sweep of the 1950 Calder Cup playoffs. He led the Caps in scoring with 83 points in 1948-49 (35 goals, 48 assists) and again in 1950-51 with 84 points (48 goals, 36 assists). His 48 goals in 1950-51 tied Cliff Simpson for the team record. He was fourth all-time in Caps history in points and third in goals scored. He did play 92 NHL games with the Red Wings and Blackhawks, and was part of the 1952 Stanley Cup championship team in Detroit. He joined the Cleveland Barons partway through the 1952-53 season and then embarked on a 16-year career with the Barons. He retired in 1968 as the AHL's all-time leader in games played (1201), goals (520), assists (814), points (1334) and PIMs (2402). He became Cleveland's player-coach in 1962, a role he served for six seasons. He was a five-time Calder Cup champion, a three-time AHL MVP and a two-time AHL scoring leader. He is a member of the AHL Hall of Fame and was named by The Hockey News as one of the greatest minor-league players ever. In 1968, he matriculated to the NHL as a coach, and led either the California/Oakland Seals or Los Angeles Kings for six seasons through 1974. A native of Toronto, he was born in 1928, and passed away in 2001.

Today in history: December 28

December 28 in Indianapolis hockey history  

1958: The Louisville Rebels require a police escort out of the Coliseum as 50 fans swarm their locker room, thanks to a fight between Indianapolis’ Jean-Marc Picard and Louisville’s Moe Bartoli at the end of the game. The two would have a stick-swinging incident two weeks later. 

Birthday

Terry Sawchuk: A goaltender for the Capitals from 1948-50. He played 128 games for the Caps, posting a 3.02 GAA in those two seasons, to go along with a 69-37-12 record and five shutouts. He was named the AHL's Rookie of the Year in 1949, and he helped lead the Caps to a clean sweep of the 1950 Calder Cup playoffs with a 1.50 GAA. One of the greatest goaltenders in hockey history, Sawchuk got a brief callup to Detroit in 1950 to replace injured Harry Lumley. His play made Lumley expendable, and Sawchuk got the permanent callup that summer. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 1951, then won three straight Vezina Trophies as the league's top goaltender from 1952-54 -- and would win another in 1965. He won three Stanley Cups in his first five years with Detroit. He was either a First-Team or Second-Team All-Star each of his first five seasons with the Red Wings, and won four Stanley Cups. He would be traded to the Boston Bruins in 1955, then dealt back to the Red Wings two years later for another long stint. He would be traded to the Maple Leafs in 1964, and would share the Vezina Trophy with Johnny Bower -- his old nemesis from the AHL. In 1967, he and Bower helped lead the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup -- the most recent in their history. He played in 11 NHL All-Star games, was a First or Second Team All-Star seven times, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971. He set the NHL record with 103 shutouts, which stood until Martin Brodeur broke it in 2009. In 971 NHL games from 1950-1970 with the Red Wings, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Kings and Rangers, Sawchuk posted a 447-330-172 record and a 2.51 career GAA. He also had a 54-48 playoff record with a 2.54 GAA and 12 postseason shutouts, as well as four Stanley Cup rings. A native of Winnipeg, Sawchuk was born in 1929. He died on May 31, 1970 as a result of internal injuries, likely suffered in a fight with his roommate.

Today in history: November 3

November 3 in Indianapolis hockey history

1948: Terry Sawchuk’s first shutout as a Capital comes in a 0-0 tie at St. Louis. He would post another shutout the next night in a 5-0 win over Springfield. 

1992: The only NHL regular-season game to be played in Indiana takes place at Market Square Arena. 8,792 watch the Washington Capitals defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. The game was part of a two-season experiment by the NHL with neutral-site games. It would be the only such game played in Indianapolis. Keith Jones had a goal and two assists for Washington. Stephane Matteau scored Chicago’s only goal. Ex-Ice players Jim Waite, Dave Christian, Stu Grimson, Adam Bennett, Rob Brown, Mike Hudson and Frantisek Kucera all played for Chicago in that game. 

Birthday

Paul McInnis: Left wing for the Ice in 1999-2000, going scoreless in five games. He played spot duty in a handful of pro seasons from 1994-2000. A native of Burlington, Ont., he is 42. 

Hall of Honor: Terry Sawchuk

Terry Sawchuk
Indianapolis Capitals 1948-50
NHL career: Detroit Red Wings 1949-55, Boston Bruins 1955-57, Detroit Red Wings 1957-64, Toronto Maple Leafs 1964-67, Los Angeles Kings 1967-68, Detroit Red Wings 1968-69, New York Rangers 1969-70.

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Terry Sawchuk was a different breed. As a goaltender in the days before masks, he crouched so low, he put his face in the line of fire on nearly every shot. He personified playing through pain – something he did almost nightly throughout his hockey career – starting with an injury suffered in his first season as a Capital. He left his mark everywhere he went, quickly becoming the greatest goaltender of his era – possibly the best in the history of professional hockey, setting records that would stand for decades.

His impact would be felt in his two years as a Capital – in which he locked horns with some of goaltending’s greats, and often came out ahead. In his two years in Indy, Sawchuk won the AHL’s Red Garrett Memorial Award as the league’s top rookie, and then followed it up with a first-team All-Star selection in 1950. He then led a Capital sweep through the Calder Cup Playoffs, bringing the city its second hockey championship.
He is one of the few players whose accomplishments would land him nomination as both a Hockey Legend and an Indy Legend in the Indianapolis Hockey Hall of Fame.

Born in Winnipeg in 1929, Sawchuk quickly found himself moving up the hockey ladder. A mere 16-year-old, he played a season with the Red Wings’ junior team in Galt, Ont. A year later, Sawchuk found himself in Omaha, playing with the Wings’ USHL team. Big shoes lied ahead, as future Hall of Famer Harry Lumley tended the Detroit nets.

After a stellar season in Omaha, Sawchuk was promoted to Indianapolis in 1948, as Red Almas was peddled to St. Louis to make room for the promising 18-year-old. He came with strong credentials, but his size quickly impressed local observers.

”Sawchuk, a sensation in the USHL last year with Omaha, is a big boy. He stands six feet and weighs 198 pounds, so he’ll give the opponents not much net to shoot at,” observed Indianapolis Star sports editor Bob Stranahan.

On Oct. 14, Sawchuk’s Indianapolis career began with a bang, as 6,360 fans saw him assume his famous “Gorilla Crouch” – a deep crouch where his knees and torso were severely bent, and his shoulders practically touched his knees -- and backstop a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons at the Coliseum. Fellow rookie Gerry Reid shared the headlines, netting a hat trick against former Cap Connie Dion. Sawchuk stopped 25 shots, only allowing a late second-period goal by Murdo MacKay, which tied the game at 1-1.

Sawchuk’s first shutout came shortly thereafter, but he didn’t get the win. He stopped 36 shots and held the St. Louis Flyers scoreless. But so did the Flyers’ tandem of goaltenders, as the teams played to the only scoreless tie in Capitals history at the St. Louis Arena. That was one of a few blemishes on the Caps’ early record, as Sawchuk led them to an 8-3-3 start. But after a 5-5 tie against the Washington Lions, the Caps headed east for their annual three-week fall trek. The Caps went 0-4-2 in the first six games of the trip, and weren’t playing well in the next contest in Providence, when they tampered with hockey tradition to break the slump.

As the Caps were heading back to the ice, Al Dewsbury bumped into Sawchuk at the gate. Dewsbury said, “Lemme go, Terry. It may change our luck.”

The Caps went on to win the game 3-2, and Dewsbury kept leading the team onto the ice throughout an eight-game unbeaten streak that ran the record to 15-7-6. He got plenty of offense thereafter. In one January stretch, the Caps won 8-2 (@WSH), 11-1 (vs. SPR), 12-2 (vs. PRO), 7-1 (vs. PHI), 8-1 (vs. SPR), 7-4 (at PHI) and 7-1 (vs. NH). Only a 7-1 loss to Hershey early in the streak blemished the amazing scoring run.
The first of Sawchuk’s many debilitating injuries came quietly at mid-season, as he played several games with a painful groin injury. But, in a tight battle for West Division playoff spots, he played on. On March 10, he re-aggravated the groin and left the game when he was hit in the face with a puck after sprawling down into his gorilla crouch. He left the game, a 4-4 tie. He played two nights later in a 4-2 loss at St. Louis, but the injury was bothering him. The Caps asked league president Maruice Podoloff to let them borrow Lumley for a game or two, but Podoloff said no. On March 13, Lefty Wilson backstopped a 3-3 tie, as Sawchuk was rested to heal his groin.

But the Caps were locked in a tight race for playoff position and the West Division title. Headed into the season’s final weekend, the Caps were three points back of St. Louis for the lead, and one point ahead of Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Sawchuk resumed his place in net, and led a 3-1 win over Buffalo. They then split two games with Pittsburgh, losing 4-2 on Saturday and winning 2-1 on Sunday – the latter game determining whether the Caps or Hornets would miss the playoffs. Indy finished one point behind St. Louis for the division title.

They played Hershey in a best-of-three series, but Sawchuk was bested by Gordie Henry in 5-0 and 4-3 losses. Honors were heaped upon Sawchuk, as he was named the AHL’s top rookie, but a spot in Detroit wouldn’t be forthcoming, even after he went 38-17-2 and posted a 3.06 GAA. The teenager was still behind Lumley.

So he was back in Indy as the 1949-50 season opened. And he was even more stellar than in the first year.
Again, he led a hot start, as the Caps went 6-3-1 out of the gate, including shutouts of Cincinnati in the opener (3-0) and Pittsburgh on Oct. 23 (7-0). He stopped just 11 shots in the Oct. 11 opener. He also shut out St. Louis 3-0 on New Year’s Day.

In January, Lumley was hurt playing forward in a benefit game, so Sawchuk was called up to Detroit on Jan. 7. He quickly posted his first NHL shutout – blanking the New York Rangers 1-0 in the Olympia. After going 4-3-0 in seven games, he was sent back down Jan. 26, and backstopped a 4-3 win over Springfield. Then, as the season’s end drew closer, Sawchuk and the Caps caught fire, going 11-5-2 over the final month and a half of the season, but the team was a distant second to Cleveland in the AHL West.

After a 13-1 win over New Haven in the season finale, the Caps met St. Louis in the best-of-3 first-round series. Sawchuk was spectacular, backstopping 7-1 and 3-1 wins. Providence didn’t fare any better, as the Caps ousted the Reds 6-1 and 4-1.

But the Cleveland Barons – who had just become the first team in AHL history to break the 100-point barrier – awaited. The Barons had an All-Star lineup and goaltender Johnny Bower – who Sawchuk would be linked with 15 years later as the two led Toronto to a Stanley Cup in 1967. But as foes, Sawchuk stood tall against the fellow future Hall-of-Famer. In the first game, he backstopped a 4-1 win in Cleveland – stopping 47 shots for his fifth straight one-goal game.

The Barons were still boasting that they’d light Sawchuk up. Their captain, Danny Sproul, said, “We’ve poured plenty of pucks past Sawchuk this year, even had 10 in one game. He’s no better now than then, just having a hot streak.”

Sproul was only half-right. The 10-goal game came against Jim Shirley, who replaced Sawchuk when Terry was in Detroit.

Cleveland finally solved Sawchuk twice in the second game, but the Caps pushed six past Bower in a victory. Sawchuk made 37 saves in the game. Indy went up 3-0 when Nels Podolsky and Gordon Haidy scored in the third period of a 4-3 win. The Caps were on the verge of becoming the first team ever to go through the Calder Cup Playoffs unblemished. Sawchuk was up to the challenge, stopping 37 shots in a 3-2 win.

Stranahan described Sawchuk as the most valuable piece of property in the Red Wings’ system. Podoloff just said, “He was great. … Really great.”

Sawchuk was named a First-Team All-Star, going 31-20-10 and posting a 3.08 GAA. In the playoffs, he only allowed 12 goals in the eight games, and led a sweep of the highest-powered team in the league.
He went straight to Detroit, and watched the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup from the stands as an emergency goaltender. But with Sawchuk now ready, Lumley was shipped elsewhere and the 20-year-old assumed his position in the Olympia goal. He posted a 1.99 GAA his rookie year, and led the NHL in wins in each of his first five years, his GAA never going above 2.00. In 1952, 1954 and 1955, he hoisted the Stanley Cup, duplicating his 1950 eight-game playoff sweep in 1952. He was a first-team All-Star from 1951-53, a second-teamer in 1954 and 1955. He won the Vezina Trophy in 1952, 1953 and 1955.

But shortly after the 1954-55 season, while he was being lauded as the greatest goaltender ever, Sawchuk was dealt to Boston to make way for Glenn Hall. His career quickly declined, as being away from his wife and children sent Sawchuk into depression. His GAA ballooned to 2.60 in 1956, and he suffered a losing record – 22-33-13 – for the first time in his career. Halfway through the next season, exhausted and depressed, he asked to be excused, and headed back to Detroit, missing the rest of the season. After Hall was dealt to Chicago, Sawchuk re-joined the Red Wings in 1957, but the team was a shadow of its former self.

He did enjoy a renaissance in 1962-63, posting a 2.55 GAA and winning 21 games. The next season, the GAA was 2.64. He was a second-team All-Star in both 1959 and 1963. In 1964, he joined the Maple Leafs in the Intra-League Draft and was part of a two-man tandem with Johnny Bower. Splitting duties, he played less than half the season each year, winning the Vezina Trophy in 1965 and the Stanley Cup in 1967. He played three more seasons with Los Angeles, Detroit and the New York Rangers before being injured in a fight with teammate Ron Stewart as the two quarreled about cleaning up their rental house. In the brawl, Sawchuk suffered severe internal injuries, and died a few days later at the age of 40. Stewart was later cleared of any wrongdoing in the accident.

Sawchuk was posthumously awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1971 for his service to hockey.
During his NHL career, Sawchuk played in 972 games, winning 446 – a record that stood until Patrick Roy broke it in 1999-2000. His 103 shutouts are also a league record. His career GAA was 2.51. He is arguably the greatest goaltender of all time. Anyone who saw his days in Indianapolis, and especially his first five seasons with Detroit – might join his contemporaries in calling him the greatest ever.

His mark on local hockey still stands. The Capitals’ all-time leader in wins, games played and shutouts, and is one of a select few Indy players to carry a championship trophy. He is one of three Capital goaltenders to be enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame, joining Harry Lumley and Glenn Hall.

(note: photo linked from the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame)

Previous ensrhinees
April 2011: Arthur Wirtz (Capitals owner 1939-52)

Greatest playoff games: #7 Capitals 6, Cleveland 2 (1950)

So far, our greatest playoff games have been scintillating comebacks and sudden (or sudden-death) victories.

This one isn't.

It's on our list for the sheer dominance of the Indianapolis Capitals against a team many observers believed was one of the greatest minor-league hockey teams ever assembled -- the 1950 Cleveland Barons. The Barons had a future Hall of Famer tending the nets in Johnny Bower. They had *eight* players who scored at least 27 goals, including six 30-goal scorers. Some were pretty familiar faces, as 100-point man Les Douglas, 36-goal scorer Pete Leswick, defenseman Steve Kraftcheck, 21-goal man Steve Wochy had all played for the Capitals. It also sported 46-goal scorer Roy Kelly, a veteran blueline -- a nearly-unbeatable team. The Barons were so strong, team owner Jim Hendy would apply for NHL membership a couple of years later. They were turned down, largely because of the influence of James Norris, who was concerned about a team located so close to Detroit potentially siphoning the Red Wings' fan base.

However, the Red Wings' farm club was the Barons' opposition. And like Cleveland, it had a future Hall of Famer between the pipes in Terry Sawchuk, a netminder who was finishing his second season in Indianapolis. His play would pretty much guarantee the parent Wings would move Harry Lumley and give Sawchuk a shot. He would move up to Detroit permanently the next season and become the backbone of the Red Wings' early 1950s dynasty. While Cleveland had eight 25+-goal scorers, Indianapolis had three -- Pat Lundy, Jerry Reid and Rod Morrison. However, it had a young squad that included Fred Glover -- who would later be named one of the greatest minor-league players of all time -- high-scoring Enio Scilisizzi, NHL mainstays Al Dewsbury and Calum MacKay and a bunch of guys who would have strong minor-league careers and enjoy cups of coffee in the NHL. The most decorated Capital skater would become Marty Pavelich, but he only played six games before getting the call up to Detroit.

But the Caps had Terry Sawchuk -- a young, but promising goaltender who had enjoyed his 20th birthday halfway through the season. He had posted a 3.08 GAA during the year, but had been stellar during the postseason, allowing only four goals in four games before the Calder Cup Finals. Not only that, but he had performed so brilliantly filling in for Lumley in Detroit, that the Wings would trade their Stanley Cup-winning goaltender in the offseason to make room for Sawchuk.


In the regular season, the Barons and Capitals had gone 1-2 in the AHL's west division. But the Barons (45-15-10) had totaled 100 points in a 70-game season, outpacing the Caps by 19 points. The AHL's playoff format at the time pitted the two division champs against each other in a best-of-5 first round, while the second and third-place teams played a playoff in a series of best-of-3 tilts. The Barons dispatched the Buffalo Bisons with ease, while the Caps rolled past the St. Louis Flyers and Providence Reds in a pair of two-game sweeps by a combined score of 20-4.

That set the stage for a championship series that few thought the Caps had a chance to win. Sure, they had Sawchuk, but Cleveland had Bower and a much more potent offense. That, and Sawchuk had suffered a myriad of injuries at the end of the year. Needless to say, many observers were surprised when the Caps scored three second-period goals -- two on the power play -- and won Game 1 by a 4-1 score. Sawchuk had posted his fifth straight game of allowing one goal. But it couldn't last. The Caps were outshot 44-32, and Sawchuk had to play brilliantly.

However, by stealing a game in Cleveland, it made Game 2 pivotal. The Barons would not want to go back to Indianapolis down 2-0, even with a supposedly far superior team. Cleveland was pretty confident. Captain Danny Sprout said they didn't need to be worried because of the 44-32 shot margin in the first game.

On that April 8 night, 9,469 fans streamed into Cleveland Arena to see their team tie the series. They liked what they saw early -- the Barons peppered Sawchuk with shots, outshooting the Caps 14-5 in the opening period. However, the Indianapolis goaltender kicked them all out. No score after 20 minutes.

Pat Lundy gave the Caps a short-lived lead in the second, taking a feed from Al Dewsbury in stride and punching it past Bower. But the Barons came back, with Les Douglas and Johnny Holota scoring goals 2:11 apart -- the second coming with Calum McKay in the box -- to take a 2-1 lead.

Everything was going according to plan ... until Dewsbury broke up a Cleveland rush. Again, he headmanned Lundy. Again, Lundy beat Bower. Just like that, it was 2-2, and suddenly, things were getting a bit nervous in Cleveland. Cleveland kept coming -- outshooting the Capitals 13-7 in the middle period and 27-12 so far for the game -- but it was 2-2.

Maybe Sawchuk was that good, and not just some guy on a hot streak.


Whatever, the third period would be pivotal. It wouldn't be close.

Just 59 seconds in, Rod Morrison fired a shot that Bower stopped. But Joe Lund was there to bury the rebound, and the Capitals led 3-2.

Could it be happening again?

They came in waves after that. Don Morrison scored on a feed from his brother Rod at 8:03 to make it a two-goal advantage, firing into an open net shortly after the Caps killed off a penalty to Gordon Haidy. In a 62-second span, Lundy and Haidy finished the Barons off. Lundy scored the hat-trick goal at 11:41, then fed Haidy for a tally at 12:43.

The shell-shocked Barons didn't quite know what to do. Their fans started throwing trash onto the ice. It wouldn't matter.

The Capitals were headed back to Indianapolis up 2-0. The Indianapolis Star would print a doctored photo showing Sawchuk with four arms -- it certainly looked that way to anyone who had been facing him in the playoffs. The Caps would return home and finish off the sweep in a pair of one-goal games -- winning 4-3 in Game 3 thanks to third-period goals from Nels Podolsky and Haidy to break a 2-2 tie, and 3-2 in the clincher on April 13. In that one, the Caps never trailed and held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 thanks to Fred Glover's two goals.

For the second time in eight years, the Calder Cup would be headed to the Circle City. Both times, they were clinched at the Coliseum, with 7,727 to enjoy the championship. It would be the Capitals' last. Several players would be called up to Detroit and participate in the Red Wings' Stanley Cup championship that spring -- creating a full organizational championship. Indianapolis would experience the same in 1982 and 1983 when the Checkers and parent New York Islanders would sweep titles.

The Barons would rally to win championships in three of the next four years, and would be the AHL's flagship franchise for much of the 1950s, winning four Calder Cups and advancing to the finals six times in an eight-season span between 1950-57. They'd compete in the AHL until 1972, when they moved to Jacksonville to make room for the WHA's Cleveland Crusaders, and later an NHL franchise called the Barons. The Capitals' luck wouldn't be as fortunate. They would have another good year in 1951, but without Sawchuk, their fortunes would dwindle. In 1952, they had their worst season in franchise history, going 22-40-6. Not surprisingly, crowds also began to dwindle, especially with television beginning to enter homes and causing such a phenomenon to happen across minor league sports. The Capitals franchise would fold after that year. Both cities would go without hockey for long stretches -- Indianapolis from 1962-74, with a one-month respite in 1963 -- Cleveland from 1978-1992, from the folding of the NHL's Barons to the coming of the IHL Lumberjacks, which would allow the Indianapolis-Cleveland rivalry to resume for seven more years.

There's a sequel to the story. Fast-forward 17 years. It's 1967, and both Sawchuk and Bower are at the end of illustrious careers that would lead them to Hockey Hall of Fame enshrinement. They had one last great run left in each of them. Teammates on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the two goaltenders led the Leafs to an epic defeat of the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals, a last hurrah for two great goaltenders of the 1950s and 1960s. But their story together began in the AHL, with an epic battle led by Sawchuk tending an epic upset.

Game boxscore
Game 2: April 8, 1950 at Cleveland Arena

Indianapolis	0	2	4	--6
Cleveland	0	2	0	--2

Indianapolis: Starters: G-Sawchuk, D-Lund, Dewsbury, LW-Podolsky, C-D. Morrison, RW-R. Morrison. Spares: Raglan, Woit, McKay, Reid, Scilisizzi, Lundy, Glover, Haidy, Uniac, Quackenbush.
Cleveland: Starters: G-Bower, D-Reigle, Sproul, LW-Schultz, C-Douglas, RW-Wochy. Spares: Buller, Williams, Leswick, Taylor, Cerasiano, Sloan, Holota, Carse, Dawes, Kraftcheck.
First period
no scoring
Penalties: McKay (I) interference, 2:30; Dewsbury (I) charging, 6:13; Buller (C) interference, 9:00; Dewsbury (I) and Dawes (C) roughing, 9:11 (coincidental minors); Scilisizzi (I) and Kraftcheck (C) roughing, time NA (coincidental minors); McKay (I) cross-checking, time NA; Taylor (C) tripping, time NA: Kraftcheck (C) and Podolsky (I) roughing, 19:00 (coindental minors)
Second period
IND-Lundy (Dewsbury), 6:03
CLE-Douglas (Wochy, Reigle), 7:58
CLE-Holota (Carse, Reigle), 10:09 (pp)
IND-Lundy (Dewsbury), 12:51
Penalties: McKay (I) holding, 9:38
Third period
IND-Lund (R. Morrison), :59
IND-D. Morrison (R. Morrison, Podolsky), 8:03
IND-Lundy (Dewsbury), 11:41
IND-Haidy (Lundy, Raglan), 12:43
Penalties: Haidy (I) tripping, 5:30; Douglas (C) slashing, time NA; Glover (I) slashing, 17:01
Shots on goal: IND 5-7-16-28 (Bower 22 saves), CLE 14-13-12-39 (Sawchuk 37 saves)
Power play: IND 0-3, CLE 1-6
Att.: 9,469
Previous entries
#8: Chiefs 3, Louisville 2 (1958 IHL Turner Cup Finals) 
#9: Ice 7, Cedar Rapids 6 (2009 USHL East Division Semifinal)  
#10: Checkers 6, Colorado 5 (1984 CHL Semifinal)