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Indianapolis Ice (IHL, 1988-89)

1988-89 Regular Season
Opponent Unknown
      After a 1-year absence, professional hockey returned to Indianapolis with the arrival of the IHL's Indianapolis Ice. The Ice were an independent franchise that received players from multiple teams (Hartford, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Calgary, Islanders) and played their home games at the 8,332-seat Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, former home of the CHL/IHL Checkers from 1979-85. The Ice were owned by businessman Horn Chen. The team's colors were silver, black, and white, and had uniforms similar to the Los Angeles Kings.

     The Ice were put together late in the offseason, as Chen purchased the rights to the mothballed Indianapolis Checkers franchise in late June of 1988. Chen hired former Indiana Pacers VP of Marketing Ray Compton as GM. Compton hired former NHL defenseman/enforcer Archie Henderson as the team's first Head Coach. Henderson was no stranger to the IHL, having played the previous season with the Saginaw Hawks and played his rookie year with the Port Huron Flags in 1977-78. 

     The Ice brought up the rear in the IHL's Western Division, with a 26-54-2 record. Indianapolis was 17 points behind fourth place Peoria for the last playoff spot, and just four points ahead of the league-worst Flint Spirits. Henderson was let go after 54 games, sporting an 18-35-1 record. Leading scorer and former NHLer Ron Handy filled in for 2 games (0-2-0) before former Indianapolis Racer Reg Thomas finished the season with a 8-17-1 record.

     Indianapolis scored the third-fewest goals in the IHL, with just 312. Ron Handy led the team 43 goals and 100 points in 81 games, to go along with 52 penalty minutes. Brett Sapergia (43) was the team's other 40-goal scorer, while former Checker Bob Lakso (38), Rob Barkovich (32) and Mark Teevens (30) scored at least 30. A notable player on the 1988-89 Ice was center Alain Lemieux, older brother of Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux. Alain score 18 goals and 44 points in 29 games.

     Defense was a major weak spot for the Ice, as Indy allowed 430 goals on the year, worst in the IHL. Indianapolis went through 7 goaltenders that year, five of which played under 9 games. The top two netminders were Alan Perry and Doug Dadswell. Perry had a 14-22-1 record in 47 games with an ugly 5.16 GAA, while Dadswell sported a 4-15-0 record and 6.06 GAA. Other goalies include former Marc D'Amour, who won the Turner Cup with Salt Lake last season, former Saginaw Hawk (and future Flint Bulldog) John Reid and former Muskegon Lumberjack Jeff Cooper.

     This is the first Indianapolis Ice program I've bought. It's a 49-page program, mostly black-and-white, and loaded with ads and articles. Pages 24-26 has an article about the history of pro hockey in Indianapolis, which started back in 1939 with the AHL's Capitals. Pages 14-17 have an article about the team's first coach Archie Henderson, while pages 19-21 talk about how the franchise was quickly put together so late in the summer.

     Local advertisements include WRTV News 6, Marsh Supermarkets, Stroh's Beer, The Milano Inn Restaurant, and the Indianapolis Indians baseball team. 

Aftermath: The Ice would enjoy one of the largest turnarounds in IHL history in 1989-90, as the team would jump to 53-21-8 and win the Turner Cup in just their second season in the league. A big reason for such a turnaround would be a new affiliate, as the Chicago Blackhawks, wanting a more stable farm club and more professional setting, would transfer their farm team from Saginaw to Indianapolis. The 1988-89 Saginaw Hawks went 46-26-10 in the much stronger East Division, and a majority of those players were sent to Indianapolis for 1989-90. The Ice would remain in the IHL through the 1998-99 season, then switched to the Central Hockey League, where the team would remain through 2003-04. Indianapolis is currently home to the ECHL's Indy Fuel, a Blackhawks secondary affiliate. 


Reference:

International Hockey League Regular Season Statistics: 1988-89, from hockeydb.com

     

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