This date in Indianapolis hockey history: April 12

April 12 in Indianapolis hockey history
2010: The Ice emphatically tie their first-round series with Cedar Rapids, winning 6-1 at Pan Am Plaza. Max Cook (2G, A), Nic Dowd (G, 2A) and Kevin Goumas (3A) all tally three-point nights. Casey DeSmith makes 41 saves in net. 
2008: John Kemp assists on three goals and both Jake Skjodt and Paul Carey post a goal and two assists as the Ice rout the Chicago Steel 7-2 at the Coliseum to even their first-round playoff series at 1-1. Scott Darling stops 25 shots in net. The joy would be short-lived, as the Steel would win the next two games in Chicago to win the series 3-1. 
2005: The Indiana Ice host their first playoff game, but fall 5-4 to Cedar Rapids when Phil Axtell scores at 4:16 of overtime to clinch a three-game sweep for the Riders. Tomas Klempa scores twice for the Ice as they rally from a three-goal deficit to take a third-period lead. Future Red Wing Justin Abdelkader had two assists, including a helper on the game-tying goal in the third for Cedar Rapids.
2000: An epic - and brutal - series-clinching 7-0 win for the Ice over Tulsa at the Coliseum. Jamie Morris posts the shutout in his first playoff start in the winner-take-all Game 5. But the Ice get rolling quickly and build an insurmountable lead. In the third period, everything breaks loose as the Ice and Oilers combine for a CHL playoff record 312 penalty minutes - nearly all in the final period. The Ice's Mike Berger scores two goals against his former team.
1994: Sergei Krivokrasov tallies a goal and three assists to help the Ice beat Milwaukee 5-2 and close the season with a 28-46-7 record. Shawn Byram had two assists. Karl Dykhuis and Rob Cimetta also had two-point nights. Chris Rogles had to make 43 saves in net.
1991: Martin Desjardins scores at 12:22 of overtime, unassisted, to give the Ice a 1-0 lead over Fort Wayne in the playoffs. He also scored the game-tying goal late in the second. Brian Noonan also scored for the Ice, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit and used a 37-save performance by Jim Waite.
1986: Mike Zanier posts a solid game in net and Paul Skjodt scores the shootout winner as the Checkers win 2-1 in Kalamazoo, helping them clinch an IHL playoff spot. 
1977: The Racers take a 2-0 lead over the Cincinnati Stingers in the first-round playoff series, winning 7-2 at Riverfront Coliseum. Reggie Thomas and Mark Lomenda score 43 seconds apart in the first period. Rene LeClerc, Nick Harbaruk and Michel Parizeau all score in the second to give the Racers a 5-0 edge. Thomas would finish the night with two goals and an assist. Michel Dion stops 30 shots.

Happy birthday to ... 
Al Dewsbury: A big, imposing, 6-2, 205-pound defenseman who played parts of four seasons with the Capitals from 1946-50 -- splitting time with the Detroit Red Wings in each of those years. He played 159 games in the Circle City, with 29 goals and 56 assists (and 2-7-9 in 10 playoff games). In his final season with the Caps, he had 15 goals, 22 assists and 76 PIMs in 50 games from the blueline. He also had seven points in the playoffs that season as the Caps swept their way to the Calder Cup -- and then played four playoff games with the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. He was dealt to Chicago after the 1949-50 season, and played six more full seasons in the NHL with the Blackhawks. He had 30 goals, 78 assists and 365 PIMs in 378 NHL games. A native of Goderich, Ontario, he was born in 1926. He passed away in 2006.
Dave Hanson: Member of the Checkers from 1982-84 -- playing a full 80-game season during the 1982-83 Adams Cup year, and one more game the following season. He had 18 goals, 21 assists and 285 PIMs in the blue-and-orange. He also had a goal and three assists in the 1983 playoff run.  The latter isn't shocking if one looks at the name -- Dave is one of the three hockey-playing "Hanson Brothers" from the movie Slap Shot! (but the only one whose given name was Hanson), and his career actually did begin in Johnstown, PA with a team in the then-pro NAHL in 1974. No word on whether he actually put the foil on for the Checkers, but he played 136 NHL/WHA games, with the Minnesota Fighting Saints, New England Whalers, Birmingham Bulls and Minnesota North Stars, tallying 562 PIMs in those games. He retired from playing hockey after the 1983-84 season. A native of Cumberland, Wisconsin, he is 60.
Dan Miele: Played 55 games for the Checkers in 1985-86, the last of his five pro seasons. He had five goals and 11 assists. A native of LaSalle, Quebec, he is 52.
Torey Krug: Captain of the Ice in 2008-09, Krug had 10 goals and 37 assists in 59 games that season. He also had a goal and six assists in 13 postseason games -- the goal being one of the biggest in franchise history. He scored the third-period game-winner in Game 5 against Cedar Rapids that sent the Ice into the next round. The Ice went on to win the Clark Cup that season. Krug had 83 points in three seasons at Michigan State University before signing a free-agent deal with the Boston Bruins in 2012. He emerged as a mainstay with the Bruins in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, with four goals and two assists in the postseason run as the Bruins got to the finals. A native of Livonia, Michigan, he is 23.
Austin Ortega: Forward who scored 24 goals and assisted on 18 for the Ice over 44 games in 2012-13. He finished the season with Fargo, and was nearly a point-a-game player as the Force got to the Clark Cup Finals. Ortega recently completed his freshman season at Nebraska-Omaha, with 19 points in 35 games. A native of Escondido, California, he is 20. 

Today in history: January 26

January 26 in Indianapolis hockey history
1958: A double-hat trick for the Chiefs. Pierre Brillant and Bob Bowness each tally three goals in a 7-2 victory over the Toledo Mercurys.


Birthdays
Vic Lynn: A speedy winger, he played for the Capitals in 1943-44. He had four goals and five assists in 32 games. He made his debut with the Rangers, briefly, the previous year, and then came to the Red Wings during World War II. He had several callups to the NHL, and is the only player in NHL history to skate for all six Original Six teams. His best NHL season was in 1947-48, when he had 34 points with the Maple Leafs, for whom he played from 1946-50, and was part of the KLM line with Howie Meeker and Teeder Kennedy. He played in the NHL -- with a few stops in the AHL in-between -- through 1954, and then played senior hockey through 1963. He won three Stanley Cups in 1947, 1948 and 1949. A native of Saskatoon, he was born in 1925, and passed away in 2010.
Wayne Gretzky: A man who needs no introduction, "The Great One" famously began his pro hockey career in Indianapolis with a fledgling Racers outfit that would fold a couple of months later. Gretzky played eight games with the Racers, and scored his first professional goal at Market Square Arena against Edmonton's Dave Dryden. He had three goals and three assists with the Racers in eight games before being sold to Edmonton in a trade that also sent Racers Peter Driscoll and Ed Mio to the Oilers. He would finish that season with 46 goals and 110 points, and the highest-scoring career in hockey history was on. When the Oilers made the jump to the NHL the next year, Gretzky spent the next 20 seasons rewriting the pro hockey record books. He had at least 110 points in each of his first 14 pro seasons, and the number likely would've been 16 straight if not for an injury in 1992-93. He had eight straight 50-goal seasons at the start of his NHL career, with 92 goals and 212 points in 1981-82, 71 goals and 186 points the following year, and 87 goals and 205 points in 1983-84, the year the Oilers won their first of four Stanley Cups in five years with Gretzky. Two more 200-point seasons followed. After winning the fourth Cup in 1988, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, where he helped build hockey in Southern California during seven and a half seasons. He had an amazing playoff year in 1993, where he had 40 points in 24 games to lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals. He played briefly with St. Louis in 1995-96, then played his final three years with the Rangers before retiring in 1999, his 21st pro season. In 1,567 NHL/WHA games, he had 940 goals and 2,027 assists. His 2,967 points is a pro hockey record, as are the other marks. He also had 132 goals and 270 assists in 221 playoff games. He appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals six times, winning four in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. He was a nine-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, 10-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's leading scorer, two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner as postseason MVP and five-time Lady Byng Trophy winner as the league's most gentlemanly player. Since retirement, he has been a team owner, coached the Phoenix Coyotes and has remained an ambassador for the game. A native of Brantford, Ont., he is 51.
Dean Malkoc: Ice defenseman for 62 games in 1994-95. Malkoc had four points and 193 PIMs in his stint with the Ice. He had played four years in the Devils organization before joining the Ice, then spent much of the next four years in the NHL with the Canucks, Bruins and Islanders. He had four points in 116 NHL games, as well as 299 PIMs. He is now a scout with the Boston Bruins. A native of Vancouver, he is 42.
Jason Selleke: Ice forward for three seasons, from 2000-02, then again in 2003-04. In 195 games, he had 48 goals and 69 assists, as well as 376 PIMs. In the interim, the Ohio State graduate played with UHL Fort Wayne. After leaving the Ice, he played six more years, five in the UHL and one in Italy. A native of St. Clair Shores, Mich., he is 34.
Jarrett Thompson: Amateur "playoff-only" signee for the Ice in 2001. He joined the Ice after his fifth year in the WHL, and played three playoff games. He played three years in the ECHL, split with two years in Canadian university play. A native of Calgary, he is 32.
Eric Miller: One of a handful of Hoosiers to play with the Ice, the Carmel resident played 50 games for the blue and white from 2004-07. He had 12 goals and nine assists, all but two of those points coming in 2006-07, when he played 31 games with the Ice. He also had six playoff goals in seven games as the Ice made a deep playoff run in 2007. Born in Villa Hills, Ky., he is 26.
Jay Clark: Goaltender who played 11 games for the Ice in 2005-06. He primarily played that year and the next in the NAHL, then played collegiately at Army. He finished his college career in 2011 as the Cadets' starting goaltender for three seasons. A native of Baudette, Minn., he is 25.

Today in history: January 21

January 21 in Indianapolis hockey history

1962: Shortly after being released by the team, Hank Therrien is re-signed and scores 6:32 into overtime to beat Muskegon and end a Chiefs losing streak. 

Birthdays

Ray Adduono: Racers center for eight games in 1977-78. He had a goal and two assists. He played five WHA seasons, with 45 goals and 152 assists in 221 games with the Cleveland Crusaders, San Diego Mariners, Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Racers. He finished his career with the Racers, and played two more years in the minors. A native of Fort William, Ont., he is 65. 

Graeme Bonar: Ice right wing in 1988-89, where he had 11 goals and eight assists in 38 games. The Montreal Canadiens' third-round pick in 1984, he played in the AHL and IHL from 1986-89, then in the Colonial and Sunshine Hockey Leagues through 1994. He had a 33-goal season with CoHL Brantford in 1991-92. A native of Mimico, Ont., he is 46. 

Today in history: January 18

January 18 in Indianapolis hockey history

Birthdays

Mark Messier: Racers forward in 1978-79, beginning his pro career on a five-game tryout contract. He was scoreless with the Racers, but joined the Cincinnati Stingers after the Racers folded, playing 47 games. Messier became one of the most prolific players and leaders in NHL history. He joined the Edmonton Oilers after the WHA-NHL merger in 1979 and had a 50-goal season by 1981-82. He followed it up with five 100-point seasons in the next eight years. Messier won six Stanley Cups in his career -- with Edmonton in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990 and with the New York Rangers in 1994. He also appeared in the 1983 finals, a loss to the New York Islanders. Messier played 26 pro seasons, retiring in 2004 as a Ranger. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1984, and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the NHLPA MVP both in 1990 and 1992. He played 1808 NHL/WHA games, with 695 goals, 1,203 assists and 1,998 points. In the playoffs, he had 109 goals and 186 assists in 239 total games. He is second in NHL history for regular-season points (1887), playoff points (295) and regular season games (1756). His number 11 has been retired by both the Rangers and Oilers. He was a four-time First Team All-Star and played in 15 NHL All-Star Games. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in his first year of eligibility in 2007. A native of Edmonton, he is 51. 

Tim Lockridge: A perennial Checkers defenseman, he played for the team in all five CHL seasons from 1979-84, the full 1984-85 season in the IHL, and a few games the following year. He played in 393 games with the Checkers -- the only pro team he ever suited up for. He had eight goals and 67 assists as a Checker. He was a strong right-handed shooting defenseman. He is third all-time on the Indianapolis hockey games played list, behind longtime Checkers teammates Kevin Devine and Garth MacGuigan. He is the only player to suit up for six consecutive Checkers seasons. The Islanders' fourth-round pick in 1979, he was born in Barrie, Ont. he is 53. 

Jocelyn Perreault: Ice goaltender for five games in 1988-89, going 0-3-0 with a 6.17 GAA. He played parts of four pro seasons in the AHL, IHL and ECHL, and then played several years of senior hockey in Quebec. A native of Montreal, he is 46. 

Today in history: January 6

January 6 in Indianapolis hockey history

1957: The Chiefs win a thriller at home against Toledo. Bob Bowness scores with 21 seconds left to tie the game, and then Pierre Brillant finishes a hat trick by scoring 12 seconds into OT while he was being tripped

1962: The Chiefs and Fort Wayne Komets play a bizarre doubleheader in Fort Wayne. They play the regularly-scheduled game, which the Chiefs won 6-2 thanks to two goals from Garth Hayes. Then, they complete a game from Dec. 13 that was shortened by a brawl. It was initially ruled a 3-2 Komets win, but the IHL required the final 8:34 to be played with Fort Wayne leading 3-2. The Chiefs scored three goals after the resumption, with Bill Wilkes scoring twice in a 5-3 Chiefs victory. In the Allen County Coliseum, 4,432 witness the festivities. 

Birthday

Craig Hamner: Defenseman for the Racers in 1974-75. He was the team's second-round pick in the 1974 Amateur Draft. He had one goal in 27 games with the Racers. He also played parts of two years with the Racers' farm team in Mohawk Valley. A native of St. Paul, Minn., he is 66.

Today in history: January 2

January 2

Claude St. Sauveur: Racers center in their final two years. In 89 games, he had 40 goals and 46 assists. He was the team's leading scorer in 1977-78 with 36 goals and 42 assists. He played in 17 of the team's 18 games the following year and had four goals and two assists. St. Sauveur played 364 games in the WHA/NHL from 1972 through the 1978-79 season, with 135 goals and 135 assists. He played in the WHA for the Philadelphia/Vancouver Blazers, Calgary Cowboys, and Edmonton Oilers and in the NHL with the Atlanta Flames before joining the Racers. He also played 17 games with the Cincinnati Stingers following the Racers' folding. He played his last two years in the IHL, where he maintained a two-points-per-game pace with the Milwaukee Admirals. A native of St. Hyancinthe, Quebec, he is 60 . 

Neal Coulter: Member of the Checkers for parts of three seasons. He matriculated to the team at the end of the 1982-83 year when his OHL career was finished, and played through the 1984-85 season. In 61 games with the CHL Checkers, he had seven goals and 11 assists, and had two goals in the 1984 Adams Cup Playoffs, in which the Checkers were a surprise finalist. The following year, the Checkers made their IHL debut and he had a 31-goal, 26-assist season, playing all 82 games. All told, he played 143 games across the two leagues with 38 goals and 36 assists. He also had five playoff goals in 11 games. He would earn the callup to the NHL in 1985-86 and play 26 games with the Islanders over three seasons. His claim to fame is that he scored a goal on the first shot of his first game against Washington's Al Jensen. Coulter spent his entire pro career in the Isles' organization and retired after the 1987-88 season. A native of Toronto, he is 49. 

Brett Bruneteau: To our knowledge, the only third-generation player to suit up for an Indianapolis-based team. Bruneteau was a forward for the Ice in 2007-08, with one goal and seven assists in 14 games. He would be dealt to Des Moines midway through the year, which was the third of his four USHL seasons. Bruneteau played two years collegiately at North Dakota -- where he received his undergraduate degree in two years -- and is currently playing for the University of Vermont. Eligibility-wise, he is a junior, but he is a graduate student at UVM. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 draft by the Washington Capitals. Bruneteau's grandfater, Eddie Bruneteau, played for the Capitals in the 1940s, as did his great-uncle Modere "Mud" Bruneteau. A native of Omaha, Neb. -- where Eddie settled and helped develop the local hockey scene upon his retirement as a player more than a half-century ago -- Brett is 23.

Newsstand: Andy Brown

An  interesting story that came across the Web in the last couple of days ... profile of ex-Racers goaltender Andy Brown, who was also an aspiring open-wheel racer.

Thanks to Tim Gassen of the WHA Hall of Fame and the author of the Racers' history book and DVD, for the link.

Andy Brown profile

Today in history: December 22

December 22 in Indianapolis hockey history

1976: The Racers beat the Czechoslovakian national team 3-2, one of the most powerful teams in the world. 

1981: Charlie Skjodt has a goal and five assists in a Checkers’ victory over the Cincinnati Tigers 9-5. Glen Duncan has a hat trick. 

Birthdays

Roger Cote: Defenseman for the Racers in 1974-75, coming at the end of a 16-year pro career that began in 1959 and was spent in the minors until the formation of the WHA in 1972. Cote played two seasons for the Edmonton Oilers prior to joining the Racers, where he played 36 games and had six assists. He had several double-digit goal seasons in the AHL in the early 1960s. A native of Belleterre, Quebec, he is 72. 

Bob Fitchner: Racers center from 1974-76, where he played 130 games. He scored 26 goals and added 35 assists as a Racer, before being traded to the Quebec Nordiques in 1976 for Michel Parizeau. A sixth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1970, he jumped to the WHA and broke in with the Edmonton Oilers in 1972. He played in all seven WHA seasons -- totaling 207 points in 414 games. He played with Edmonton in the two seasons before joining the Racers, and then played for the Nordiques from his trade through the WHA-NHL merger, before retiring in 1980-81. His best season was a 45-point year in 1978-79. He played 78 NHL games after the merger with the Nordiques. A native of Sudbury, Ont., he is 61. 

Peter Fiorentino: Ice defenseman for 10 games in 1995-96. He was scoreless in those 10 regular-season games, as well as in five playoff games. He played 10 pro seasons, primarily in the AHL and IHL. He played in one game with the New York Rangers in 1991-92, his only NHL appearance. He retired after spending the 1997-98 season in the UHL with the B.C. Icemen, based in Binghamton, where he played five seasons before being dealt to the Ice. A native of Niagara Falls, Ont., he is 43. 

Scott Darling: Ice goaltender in 2007-08, where he had a 27-10-2 record and a 3.04 GAA with one shutout. He was a seventh-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007. He played two seasons at the University of Maine, going 25-20-6, before turning professional in 2010. He is currently in his second season in the SPHL, playing for the Mississippi RiverKings. A native of Lemont, Ill., he is 23.

 

Today in history: December 21

December 21 in Indianapolis hockey history

1958: Pierre Brillant scores four goals in 7-1 Chiefs win over Fort Wayne. 

Birthdays

Gordon Kannegiesser: Racers defenseman for four games in 1974-75. They came at the end of a career that saw him play 150 NHL/WHA games for the St. Louis Blues, Denver Spurs, Houston Aeros and Racers, primarily from 1971-75. He also played 19 games with the Blues in 1967-68 before spending the next three years in the minors. Today, he is an insurance agent in his hometown. A native of North Bay, Ont., he is 66. 

Jason Wiley: Ice forward for 21 games in 2004-05, their first USHL season. He had a goal and an assist. He played the next year in the Tier II NAHL before embarking on a four-year career at Minnesota State-Mankato that saw him net 35 points. A native of North Branch, Minn., he is 26.

Today in history: December 15

One of the darkest days in Indianapolis hockey history ... today is the 33rd anniversary of an afternoon press conference that still leaves a lot of long and bitter memories.

1978: At a press conference, Racers owner Nelson Skalbania announces the team will cease operations immediately. He cited losses of $40,000 per game and said he had tried to find local investors to keep the team afloat through the end of the WHA season, but those investors didn't materialize. Skalbania had made several personnel moves during his year and a half of ownership with the club, most famously bringing in Wayne Gretzky for an eight-game stint with the Racers, but many were not popular -- most notably a mass exodus of players to the hated Cincinnati Stingers in the 1977-78 offseason. The Racers folded 25 games into the 1978-79 season -- which would be the WHA's final year -- and were 5-18-2. The Racers were scheduled to play the Czechoslovakian National Team the following night, and several players wanted to play the game as a swan song, but the team was disbanded immediately. Players went to other WHA teams or to the minor leagues to finish out the year. The end of the Racers' four-and-a-half year tenure meant the end of major-league hockey in Indianapolis. They would be replaced by the Central Hockey League Checkers the following August, and either a minor pro or Junior A team has represented the city for all but one year since.

Birthdays
Hugh Coflin: Capitals defenseman in 1951-52. He had three goals and 25 assists in 68 games. He had played 31 games the previous year with the Chicago Blackhawks, then was traded to Detroit the following offseason. Although he never played a game with the Red Wings, he did travel with the team in the Stanley Cup playoffs and his name appeared on the original Stanley Cup when the Wings won it in 1952. Coflin spent the next eight years in the Wings' organization with the WHL Edmonton Flyers -- the team the bulk of the Capitals' roster became after the franchise folded in 1952. A native of Blaine Lake, Sask., he was born in 1928, and passed away in 2010, three days shy of his 82nd birthday.
Phil Hughes: Goaltender who came to the Chiefs for the final 12 games of the 1955-56 season. He posted a 3-8-1 record in goal with one shutout. Hughes played much of the 1950s in the minors, retiring after a 38-game stint with the Fort Wayne Komets in 1957-58. A native of Port Arthur, Ont., he was born in 1926.
Sam Marotta: Ice goaltender for one game in 2009-10. He allowed three goals in a victory. Since, he has been a goaltender for Merrimack College in the NCAA. A native of Bridgewater, Mass., he is 21.

Today in history: December 10

December 10 in Indianapolis hockey history
1978: Gary Inness backstops a 6-4 Racers victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Don Larway, Bryon Baltimore and John Hughes scored three goals in a 100-second span late in the second to give the Racers a 4-2 lead. Rene LeClerc scored the game-winner at 9:07 of the third. It was the team’s final victory, and took place in front of 4,735 fans.



Birthday
Jeff Blashill: Ice coach from 2008-10, leading them to the Clark Cup championship in 2009. His teams went 72-53-5 over the two years with the Ice. They won the title in 2009, defeating the Fargo Force 3-1 in the championship series. The following year, they defeated Cedar Rapids in five games in the opening round before falling to eventual Clark Cup champion Green Bay in the conference finals. He moved on to coach Western Michigan University for one year, having a tremendous run, and currently serves as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., he is 38.