January 15 in Indianapolis hockey history

January 15 in Indianapolis hockey history

1940: Ken Kilrea has a goal and three assists as the Capitals beat the Hershey Bears 6-4.

1977: Al Karlander tallies a hat trick and Darryl Maggs has a five-point game in a 6-3 Racers win over Edmonton. Karlander completes the hat trick at 1:24 of the third. He also assisted on Reggie Thomas’ goal in the first. Maggs assisted on all three of Karlander’s goals and added a fourth assist. Hugh Harris had three assists. Mark Lomenda also scored in the game. Jim Park made 39 saves in the win.

1993: The Ice rally from a 3-1 deficit to beat Fort Wayne 4-3 on Rob Conn’s OT goal at 3:39 of the extra session. Tony Hrkac scored his second goal with 53 seconds left to tie it up. Alexander Andrievski scored earlier in the period. Jason Muzzatti makes his first start in the Ice net, replacing Kevin Hodson on the roster.

1995: Ivan Droppa has four assists in a 5-2 Ice win over Kalamazoo at MSA. Craig Fisher, Mike Prokopec, Sergei Krivokrasov, Tony Horacek and Dan Gauthier all score. Gauthier adds two assists.

1998: Marc Lamothe turns aside 29 shots for his first shutout of the year in a 3-0 Ice win over Michigan. Glen Featherstone scores a goal and assists on tallies by Nathan Perrott and Brian Felsner. Len Esau assists on all three.

2000: A 6-2 victory over Topeka in front of 9,525 at Conseco Fieldhouse gives the Ice a seven-game winning streak and a 19-17-2 record.

2011: Daniil Tarasov posts a five-point night as the Ice beat Tri-City 7-4 in Kearney. Tarasov scores the game’s first goal and assists on a first-period tally by Christian Hilbrich. He then assists on two third-period power play goals by Brian Ferlin and scores the game-winner at 13:45 of the third. Ferlin has two goals and an assist, and Blake Coleman assists on three goals. Jon Gillies makes 44 saves in the win.

Happy birthday to …

Ron Handy: Center who played in three different stints for Indy teams – for the CHL Checkers from 1982-84, for the IHL Checkers in 1986-87, and again for the IHL Ice in 1988-89. An Islanders third-round pick in 1981, Handy joined the team after finishing his junior career in 1982-83, and had 31 goals and 53 assists for the CHL Checkers in the regular season. In 20 playoff games, he had five goals and 13 assists in an Adams Cup championship run in 1983 and a finals run in 1984. He had the highest-scoring season in Indy hockey history when he returned in 1986, with 55 goals and 80 assists for 135 points, as well as seven points in six playoff games. He played a year for the Peoria Rivermen – and brieflly, with the parent St. Louis Blues – during the “hiatus” year of 1987-88, then returned to Indy to captain the first-year Ice in 1988-89. He had 43 goals and 57 assists for his third straight professional 100-point season, and also served as a player-coach for two games. As a member of Indianapolis hockey teams, Handy played 238 games, tallied 129 goals and 190 assists for 319 points. He also had nine goals and 16 assists in 26 playoff games. He ranks ninth all-time among Indy hockey players in goals scored, and sixth in assists and points. Handy continued to play minor pro hockey through 2000, capping an 18-year pro career that saw him tally three assists in 14 NHL games with the Islanders and Blues. His career also took him through the AHL (Springfield), IHL (Peoria, Fort Wayne, Kansas City, Denver), ECHL (Louisiana, Arkansas), CHL (Wichita, Huntsville), SHL (Huntsville) and WPHL (Lake Charles). A native of Toronto, he is 54.

Vesa Surenkin: Checkers defenseman in 1986-87. In 14 games, he had three assists. He also played three playoff games that season. They were the only North American pro games for Surenkin, who returned to Finland and played several seasons in Helsinki. He has been a coach in Finland, Austria, Russia and Sweden, and is currently the coach for Tilkerit in Helsinki. A native of Helsinki, Finland, he is 52.

Rob Woodward: Left wing for the Ice in 1998-99, playing one game on a callup from the ECHL Columbus Chill. The former Canucks second-round pick and Michigan State grad played one season of pro hockey in 1994-85 in the AHL, and then did not play again until 1998-99, his final pro season. He has been an assistant coach at his alma mater, and currently is the analyst for the Spartans’ radio broadcasts. A native of Evanston, Ill, he is 46.