Midweek link roundup

A lot has happened in hockey the last few days. A ton of links below the jump:

Mid-week link roundup

So much has happened in the last few days, it was time for another roundup. Here, Indiana Ice memorabilia is headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame, USA Hockey looks to curb fighting, the ECHL recaps the Kelly Cup Final, the Blackhawks sign Swedish forward Dennis Rasmussen, a handful of proposed and enacted NHL rule changes (which would likely filter down to the ECHL, which, as one of two official developmental leagues for the NHL, adopts a similar rulebook), and NBC follows Doc Emrick around for a day.

New USHL commish: "Indiana a priority"

As has been expected for some time, Bob Fallen was named the USHL's new commissioner today. He replaces Skip Prince, who is moving on to a position in the University of Texas athletic department.

Fallen has ties to the USHL, as his son Tommy played for Cedar Rapids for two seasons. He also has most recently served in marketing/branding at Reebok-CCM.

Ice owner discusses future

Indiana Ice owner Paul Skjodt discussed the team's championship and its future in the wake of the Clark Cup championship in an interview with Larry Hawley that aired on WXIN Friday night.

Click here to watch the interview.

Indy hockey-related links 5/28

A cornucopia of links related to Indianapolis hockey.

Ice's Brown named USHL GM of the Year

Indiana Ice head coach & general manager Jeff Brown was named the United States Hockey League's General Manager of the Year.

In his dual role, Brown led the Ice to the franchise's second Clark Cup championship. The Ice went 9-3 in the playoffs, beating Green Bay in four games, Dubuque in three, and Waterloo in a best-of-five series that was decided in the final two and a half minutes.

Brown also led the Ice to a 41-11-7 regular-season record -- second overall in the USHL and first in the league's Eastern Conference -- a significant turnaround from the team that finished last overall in the USHL a year ago.

Jeff Brown coached the Indiana Ice to the Clark Cup title.

An "Ice" look back: The forwards

With the offseason upon us, it's time to take a look back at the 2014 Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice on a player-by-player basis, their contributions and where they'll continue their hockey careers. Yesterday's post focused on the defense and goaltenders. Today, look at the 14 forwards who finished the season on the Ice roster this year.

An Ice look back: The D

With the offseason upon us, it's time to take a look back at the 2014 Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice on a player-by-player basis, their contributions and where they'll continue their hockey careers. Today's installment looks at the defense from the 24-man roster to finish the season.

Clark Cup series thoughts

There will be more time for a greater look at what has been an amazing run for the Indiana Ice, but after having 48 hours to collect thoughts (and sleep off that LONG happy bus ride from Waterloo), a few loose ends from the Clark Cup series.

CHAMPS! Ice rally to win Clark Cup

The Ice hoist the Clark Cup after their 3-2 win in Waterloo.

The Indiana Ice produced a perfect ending to a perfect season.

Down a goal going into the third, the Ice rallied with two third-period tallies, vaulting themselves to a Clark Cup championship.

Brian Pinho scored from the right-wing circle on a drop pass from Aidan Muir with 2:15 left in the third period, breaking a tie and giving the Ice a 3-2 victory and the franchise's second Clark Cup.

Pinho's goal came off the rush, with Muir carrying the puck up the right wing, dropping the puck and going in to screen goalie Cal Petersen. Pinho fired and beat Peterson under his right pad, just inside the post. Jason Pawloski made a pair of big saves in goalmouth scrambles from there, and Muir dove to clear Waterloo's last-ditch effort with 12 seconds left.

Earlier in the third, Alex Talcott tied the game, burying a rebound that came from Joe Sullivan's stick. The Talcott-Sullivan-Tyler Pham line was one of the team's best in the series, and carried the play again.

The Ice trailed 2-1 going into the third despite carrying the play for much of the first two periods. Waterloo scored the first goal of the game -- for the first time in the series -- just 3:40 in when Patrick Russell scored on a rebound. Mitch Hults tied it up with his fourth goal in as many games at 11:21 of the first, batting a rebound of Pinho's shot out of the air and in.

The 2014 Clark Cup champions

Waterloo led 2-1 when Jake Horton intercepted a clearing pass at the blueline, and immediately fed Zach Sanford in front of the net for a tip-in goal. It was Sanford's third goal in the last two games.

Ice goaltender Jason Pawloski made 33 saves in the victory. The Ice outshot Waterloo 44-35.

Pawloski was also named Clark Cup Playoffs MVP for his efforts. 

It was the Ice's second Clark Cup title -- joining one won in 2009. It was the ninth champinoship for an Indianapolis hockey team -- joining the 1942 & 1950 Capitals (AHL), 1958 Chiefs (IHL), 1982 & 1983 Checkers (CHL), 1990 Ice (IHL) and 2000 Ice (CHL).

We'll have more looking at the game and the season after returning from Waterloo!

Box score
IndianaIce.com
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier 
USHL.com (with YouTube links to several interviews)

Game 5 pregame

An hour before faceoff in Waterloo, Iowa. The Indiana Ice & Waterloo Black Hawks have one game to decide the title.

It's the fourth winner-take-all championship game played by an Indianapolis-based hockey team, joining the 1942 Capitals (beat Hershey 8-3 in Game 5 of AHL Final), 1958 Chiefs (beat Louisville 3-2 in Game 7 of IHL Final) and 2000 Ice (beat Columbus 3-0 in Game 7 of CHL Final). All but the 1942 game were played on the road.

Lineups & more below the jump.

Broadcast: FastHockey.com (PPV video), IndianaTalks.com (free audio) with Jim Mirabello and Andrew Smith

Game 4 recap: Headed back to Waterloo

One game. 60 minutes (at least) between the two best teams in the USHL with a Clark Cup championship on the line. It's somehow fitting that's how the 2013-14 USHL season will come to a conclusion.

That one game will be Tuesday night in Waterloo's Young Arena, as the Black Hawks thwarted the Indiana Ice's opportunity to win the title on home ice by a 7-2 score Saturday night.

Leading the best-of-5 series 2-1, the Ice had an opportunity to close things out at home, and looked like a team chasing a title in the first 20 minutes -- they completely carried the play and spent the evening buzzing the Waterloo net. But a quick push by Waterloo in the second period and a fortunate bounce in the third gave the Black Hawks an insurmountable lead, and eventually, a 7-2 victory in a game that was much closer than the final score.

Box score
IndianaIce.com
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
USHL

Game 3 links

Links from Game 3

IndianaIce.com: Pham-Tastic
Indy hockey site recap
USHL.com game story (with links to interviews with several players & coaches)
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: Black Hawks down to last out

One more: A YouTube link to Brandon Montour smashing a piece of glass with a skate. Caused a brief delay in the first period, but the rink maintenance crew was able to rather quickly clean up the mess, cut a new piece of glass and get back to playing.

On the cusp: Ice start, finish strong in Game 3 win

The Indiana Ice put themselves one victory away from a Clark Cup championship Friday night with a textbook performance in a 4-1 victory over the Waterloo Black Hawks in Game 3 of the Clark Cup Final. The Ice now lead the best-of-5 series two games to one, with Game 4 set for the Pan Am rink with a puck drop of 7:05 p.m. on Saturday night.

Tyler Pham scored with 7:15 left in the first period, then fed Patrick Newell for what would become the game-winner six minutes later. Mitch Hults had a power play goal late in the second to briefly put the Ice up 3-0, and Scott Conway had the dagger into an empty net. Jason Pawloski was stellar in goal, making 28 saves -- including quite a few point-blank stops in the early part of the second period when Waterloo had a big push that resulted in two power plays. The only blemish was a snipe through traffic by Patrick Russell that deflected off the inside of the post with 15 seconds left in the second.

Clark Cup Games 3 & 4 preview

The Indiana Ice and Waterloo Black Hawks couldn't have been much closer in Games 1 & 2. Two contests that could have gone either way -- the Ice had early leads in both, and had a 2-0 lead in Game 1. Waterloo, briefly, had a third-period lead in Game 2. The Ice dropped the first game 4-2 that included two disallowed goals and was sealed with an empty-netter, and won the second 3-2 in 2OT.

The best-of-5 series heads back to Pan Am Pavilion for Games 3 and 4 this weekend, with both games dropping the puck at 7:05 p.m. With Pan Am's limited seating capacity, get there early. If necessary, Game 5 will be Tuesday night in Waterloo.

Ice's Conway named USHL First Team All-Star

Indiana Ice forward Scott Conway was named a USHL First-Team All-Star on Thursday.

Conway was the league's second-leading goal scorer with 33 goals. He also was fourth in total scoring with 68 points. He was also tops in the USHL with a plus-40 rating. Conway is a native of Kissimmee, Fla, and will play collegiately at Penn State.

Despite the Ice finishing with the league's second-best record, Conway was the team's lone representative. Of the 13 players selected to the first and second teams, Omaha and Waterloo had four players each. 

The rest of the first team were Omaha goalie Hayden Hawkey, defensemen Brandon Montour (Waterloo) and Tucker Poolman (Omaha) and forwards Kyle Connor (Youngstown), Matt Iacopelli (Muskegon) and Jake Randolph (Omaha). The second team consisted of goalie Cal Petersen (Waterloo), defensemen Mark Friedmen (Waterloo) and Alexx Privitera (Dubuque), and forwards Jack Eichel (USA), Peter Krieger (Waterloo) and Tyler Vesel (Omaha).

Indy hockey links & updates

A few links and news items with ties to hockey in Indianapolis.

Ice release: Clark Cup championship hits Pan Am

CLARK CUP BATTLE HITS PAN AM FRIDAY, SATURDAY FOR TWO-GAME BOUT
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TIED AFTER ICE, HAWKS SPLIT PAIR IN WATERLOO
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Ice will make their homestand in the battle for the 2014 Clark Cup Championship this Friday (5/16) and Saturday (5/17) as the team hosts the Waterloo Black Hawks from Pan Am Pavilion.  Both contests are set to begin at 7:05 pm.

Indy relieved Waterloo of their home-ice advantage over the weekend, splitting a pair of contests with the Western Conference Champions at Young Arena.

Ice's Smirnov, Shoup named to All-Rookie Team

Indiana Ice forward Denis Smirnov and defenseman Timothy Shoup were named to the USHL's All-Rookie Team on Wednesday.

Smirnov, a left wing from Dunmore, Penn., had 15 goals and 26 assists in 47 games for the Ice, despite being one of the younger players in the league at age 16. He was also a plus-20 on the season.

Shoup, a 6-0, 180-pound defenseman from Pittsburgh, had 16 points in 52 games and a plus-17 rating.

The rest of the team was comprised of Chicago forward Robby Jackson (also the USHL Forward of the Year), Waterloo forward Tyler Sheehy, Cedar Rapids defenseman Charlie Curti, Waterloo defenseman Hayden Shaw, and Omaha goaltender Hayden Hawkey (also the USHL Goaltender of the Year). The USHL's other announced individual awards -- Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year -- went to Brandon Montour of Waterloo.

The Ice and Waterloo Black Hawks meet for Games 3 and 4 of the Clark Cup Final this weekend at Pan Am Pavilion, with games being played at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday night.

Ice official release: Home-ice advantage for Game 3, 4

ICE EVEN SERIES IN DOUBLE-OVERTIME THRILLER, TIE SERIES AT ONE GAME APIECE

CLARK CUP CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE                                                                                      

SERIES TIED 1-1

Friday, May 9: at Waterloo (L 2-4)
Saturday, May 10: at Waterloo (W 3-2, 2OT)
Friday, May 16: vs. Waterloo (at Pan Am Pavilion), 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, May 17: vs. Waterloo (at Pan Am Pavilion), 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday, May 20: at Waterloo, 8:05 p.m.

GAMES WILL BE AIRED ON FASTHOCKEY.COM, INDIANATALKS.COM and WOOT-FM