Today in history: Nov. 14-19

Today in Indianapolis hockey history

November 14 

1962: The Chiefs’ bus breaks down en route from Minneapolis to Fort Wayne, so they hop on a commercial bus. At one point, they go 22 hours without a meal, and coach Alex Shibicky herds the team into two hotel rooms because he’s short on cash before the game. The weary Chiefs lead for much of the game, but lose 3-2, giving up two goals to Fort Wayne's Ron Baryluk 20 seconds apart in the third period. The Chiefs also come home with the Komets’ Sid Garant, who was having salary difficulties in Fort Wayne. 

Birthdays

Jeff Sanger: Ice goaltender during their final CHL season in 2003-04. He had a 20-17-2 record, a 2.85 GAA and six shutouts for that Ice outfit. The Colorado College grad played three pro seasons, including five games in the AHL. A native of Madison, Wis., he is 33.

Tibor Kutalek: Ice winger for three games in 2005-06, scoring one goal. He played two high-scoring NAHL seasons after that, scoring 76 goals, before playing professionally in his native Slovakia. A native of Skilca, Slovakia, he is 25. 

Lukas Klimek: Ice forward in 2005-06, totaling 10 goals and 14 assists to go along with 78 PIMs in 57 games. Ever since, he has played for Vitkovice in the Czech Republic, where he has 71 career points. A native of Ostrava, Czech Republic, he is 25.

November 15

1958 : Germain “Red” Leger has a five-point night – 3 goals, 2 assists – in a 6-2 Chiefs victory over Toledo.  

Birthdays

Ron Buchanan: Racers center in their first two seasons, from 1974-76. He had 20 goals and 22 assists in 55 games as a Racer. Buchanan broke into big-league hockey in 1966 with the Boston Bruins, but found a home in the WHA, where he played 205 career games with Cleveland, Edmonton and Indianapolis and had 185 career points. A native of Montreal, he is 67. 

Mel Hewitt: Checkers left wing in 1985-86, where he had 18 goals, 16 assists and 210 PIMs in 54 games. He had four points in five playoff games that season, too. The rugged winger played 10 pro seasons, primarily in the AHL and IHL, from 1978-88, his best year a 28-goal, 54-point, 504 PIM season with IHL Saginaw in 1979-80.

Chris Terreri: Goaltender who played three games for the Ice in 1997-98. He was 2-0-1 with a 1.00 GAA, allowing just three goals and posting a shutout in his stint. Terreri enjoyed a 15-year NHL career, beginning in 1986 with the New Jersey Devils. He was the Devils' primary starter from 1990-94, when he gave way to Martin Brodeur. He also suited up for San Jose, Chicago, the Islanders and had a second stint in New Jersey. Terreri was also the goaltender for the U.S. Olympic Team in 1988. The Providence College grad also pioneered the practice of goaltenders placing water bottles on the net while playing in college -- which would become standard throughout hockey within a year. He also won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995. After retiring, he began coaching, and is currently the Devils' goaltending coach. A native of Providence, R.I., he is 47.

November 16

1978: The Racers -- on the brink of extinction -- announce they’re trading leading scorer Rich Leduc and defenseman Kevin Morrison to Quebeck for three draft picks – when the WHA hadn’t had a draft in two years. 

Birthdays 

Tom Wilson: Capitals goaltender in 1945-46, where he had a 3.72 GAA and five shutouts in 55 starts for the team, which was beginning to hit its stride as an AHL contender in the postwar period. A native of Paris, Ont., he was born in 1921. 

Brent Sapergia: The Ice's first big-scoring forward, Sapergia played 52 games for the inaugural Ice team in 1988-89, with 43 goals, 33 assists and 246 PIMs on a rough, penalty-filled team. Sapergia teamed with Ron Handy to provide much of the offense for the inaugural team. He'd continue to be a high-scoring, high-penalty player throughout a career that took him to Europe, the ECHL, the CHL, the Southern Hockey League and five different IHL teams. He had five 40-goal seasons in his career and two 50-goal seasons. A native of Flin Flon, Man., he is 49.

Sean Logue: Ice winger in 2009-10, scoring three goals and an assist in 23 games. He went from there to St. Lawrence, where he is currently a winger. A native of Walpole, Mass., he is 21.

November 17

1960: Ab DeMarco takes over as coach of the Chiefs as Leo Lamoureaux asks to be relieved of his duties. Leo would soon check into the hospital with acute hepatitis, a disease that would be fatal.  

Birthdays

Blair MacDonald: Right wing for the Racers from 1975-77. He played 131 games as a Racer, with 53 goals and 41 assists. He also played 16 postseason games. His biggest year came in 1976-77, where he had 34 goals and 64 points in 81 games, and was the team's leading goal scorer. In the postseason, he had seven goals and eight assists in nine games. He played 695 games in the NHL and WHA for Edmonton (in two stints), the Racers and Vancouver, with 262 goals and 265 assists. His year with the Racers in 1976-77 started the best stint of his career, where he scored 34 goals in three straight years -- the latter two with Edmonton, then had 46 goals and 48 assists with the Oilers in their first year in the NHL, in 1979-80. He also coached upon retirement, leading the Muskegon Lumberjacks to the 1989 Turner Cup championship -- and was the IHL's Coach of the Year that season. He also coached against the Ice with Muskegon in the 1990 Turner Cup Finals. A native of Cornwall, Ont., he is 48.  

Bobby Simpson: Left wing for the Checkers in 1985-86, where he had 16 goals and 24 assists in 55 games. Simpson played 11 pro seasons, and was the Racers' first-round pick (No. 4 overall) in the 1976 WHA draft, and the Atlanta Flames' second-round pick in the same year in the NHL Entry Draft. He chose to go the NHL route, and played 175 NHL games with the Flames, Blues and Penguins. He had 64 NHL points. He retired after the 1987 season, then came out of retirement 10 years later to play 13 games for Saginaw in the Colonial Hockey League. A native of Caughnawaga, Quebec, he is 55.

November 18

Birthday

Bob Stoddart: Capitals defenseman in 1943-44, splitting the year between Indianapolis and Providence. He had three points in 54 overall games that year .Stoddart primarily played in the IHL through 1951 before retiring. A native of Seaford, Ont., he was born in 1916.

November 19

1959: The Chiefs mercifully break a nine-game losing streak to start the season with a 4-2 victory over St. Paul. Cliff Hicks makes 51 saves in the win. 

1974: The Racers are beaten 10-0 by the Houston Aeros, the worst loss in franchise history.  

Birthdays

Nick Murray: Left wing who played nine games for the Chiefs in 1959-60, scoring two goals and adding two assists. A native of Campbellton, N.B., he was born in 1938.  

Neil Hawryliw: A high-scoring left wing for the Checkers from 1979-82. He played 208 games for the blue and orange, scoring 83 goals and 75 assists. His best year was a 37-42-79 year in 1980-81. The following year, he got the callup to the New York Islanders for one game. He played six more seasons, all in the IHL -- four with Muskegon and two with Kalamazoo. All told, he played 11 pro seasons from 1976-87. A native of Fielding, Sask., he is 56.

Kevin Goumas: Ice forward in 2009-10, where he had 12 goals and 29 assists in 59 games. He also had a goal and four assists in nine postseason games that year. He took his talents to the University of New Hampshire, where he is currently playing. He had 18 points as a freshman in 2010-11. A native of Lake Worth, Fla., he is 20.