Indiana Ice

             On Friday night I attended an Indiana Ice game. For those of you who don’t have a clue who the Ice are, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. I’m doing some research on semi-pro hockey in Indianapolis and I am learning a whole bunch that some of you may find very interesting. So before I get to the game, I’m gonna do a history lesson.
            There has been a minor league hockey team in Indianapolis since 1939 when the Indiana Capitals were created. Their home, the Pepsi Coliseum (which has an incredible history all its own), was built in 1939 and still stands today at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Capitals played in the International-American Hockey League and then the American League until 1952. They won their league championship twice, in 1942 and 1950.
            As far as I can tell there was no hockey team until the Indianapolis Racers were formed in 1974 and lasted until 1978. They did not play at Pepsi Coliseum though; they played their games at Market Square Arena which was located in downtown Indianapolis. This was because the team was part of the World Hockey Association, a major-league professional hockey league that rivaled the National Hockey League (which still exists today). The Racers had great records after each of their seasons but they never won a league championship. In the middle of the ’79 season, the team declared bankruptcy and never recovered. Since then Indianapolis has never had a major league hockey team. The Racers are best known for the signing of hockey legends Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky attended my alma mater, Broad Ripple High School for a couple of years while he played for the Racers, how cool is that??  
            After the Racers went away, the Indianapolis Checkers were created.  The Checkers played from 1979 to 1984 in the Central Hockey League. They won the CHL Championship twice, in 1982 and 1983. The Checkers then moved to the International Hockey League where they played from 1984 to 1987. After the ’87 season the team was moved to Colorado.
            In 1988, the Indianapolis Ice was formed. The team played in the International Hockey League for one season and then moved into the Central Hockey League where they remained until 2004. Their main home was the Pepsi Coliseum, but they also played games at Market Square Arena and Conseco Fieldhouse.
            In 2004, the current Indiana Ice was created from the purchase of the Danville (Illinois) Red Wings. The Ice are a part of the Eastern Division in the United State Hockey League. The Ice’s first three seasons all produced losing records, but since then the team has averaged 37 wins and 19 losses. The Ice also won the USHL Championship in 2009. Hopefully this is a team that sticks around for a while.

            Alright, so now I’ll talk about what I actually saw. The Ice took on the Green Bay Gamblers in a matchup that was decided in overtime. In the first period the Gamblers took a quick 1-0 lead, but almost immediately the Ice retaliated as they scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead. Right before the period ended the Gamblers scored and only trailed by one.
            In the second period the teams learned how to play defense as only one goal was scored, which was by the Ice. Heading into the third period the score was 4-2. That’s when the Ice began to collapse. The Gamblers scored two goals to tie the game, one coming with just four minutes left in the period. With a 4-4 tie, the game went into overtime. In overtime, the Gamblers made quick work of Indiana’s defense and scored the game-winning goal in less than three minutes.
            Even though the Ice lost, it was still a great time. I have only been to four hockey games, one was earlier in April when I saw the St. Louis Blues play and the other two were at least eight years ago when I saw the Ice play. For this last Ice game though I got to sit right on the ice, which to put bluntly, it was awesome. It is an exhilarating experience watching players being slammed into the Plexiglas wall right in front of you. I strongly recommend that everybody sit right on the ice at a hockey game sometime in their life, it is something you will not forget.