Ice Waiting on Northern Conference Finals Opponent
Published on April 2, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Indianapolis Ice News Release
ICE ADVANCEMENT: The Ice captured the first round best-of-five playoff series with the Amarillo Gorillas three games to one after splitting a pair of weekend games Friday and Saturday night in Amarillo, TX. After losing Friday's contest 6-2, the Ice rebounded with a convincing 8-4 win over the Gorillas on Saturday night to win the series. The Ice now awaits the winner of the Memphis RiverKings and Oklahoma City Blazers series which currently has the Blazers and RiverKings deadlocked at two games apiece with the deciding game five tonight in Oklahoma City.
Game Three Recap: Amarillo avoided a series sweep with a 6-2 victory over the Ice on Friday night. Dorian Anneck ended a scoring slump with a four-point night that included a hat trick and an assist. Derek Hahn (1G, 2A) and Brandon Carper (3A) added three points apiece for the Gorillas. Indy got goals in the game from Jason Baird and Greg Olsen, while Ryan Carter chipped in with two assists. Steve DeBus stopped 44 shots for Amarillo to earn the win, while Shawn Silver and Jamie Morris combined for 41 saves for Indianapolis.
Game Four Recap: The Ice rebounded from a miserable Friday night by scoring a season-high eight goals in an 8-4 rout of the Gorillas Saturday night. Bernie John tied a CHL playoff record with a five-assist night, while Jason Baird (1G, 3A) and Kevin St. Jacques (2G, 2A) had four-point evenings of their own. Jared Dumba added three points (2G, 1A), while Andrew Taylor, Greg Olsen and Etienne Morin also scored goals. Jamie Morris was the winning netminder stopping 29 shots.
RECORD BOOK PERFORMANCES: In Saturday's game four win over Amarillo, defensemen Bernie John and Ryan Aikia both tied CHL single game playoff records. Bernie John put his stamp in the CHL record books in two areas as his five assist night and (+5) plus/minus both matched the CHL all-time playoff single game records. The five assist night is also an all-time regular season and playoff best for a CHL Iceman. Aikia joined John in the plus/minus category with a (+5) rating of his own.
CENTURY CLUB: With his second goal of the game late in the second period of Saturday night's win, centerman Kevin St. Jacques reached the 100-point barrier for playoff points in his pro career. St. Jacques, who has 814 career regular season points in just 677 career games, continues to excel in the postseason as the veteran forward now has 101 points (40G, 61A) in just 85 career playoff contests.
PLAYER NOTES: Ice goaltender Jamie Morris continues to thrive in the postseason as he earned his tenth career playoff win in Saturday's clinching victory...Morris is now 10-4 with a 1.83 goals-against-average in 16 career playoff games with the Ice...Jason Baird has scored a point in all four playoff games and leads the Ice in scoring along with defenseman Bernie John (7A) with seven points (3G, 4A)...Ryan Carter, Jared Dumba and Kevin St. Jacques all had at least one multiple goal game in the first round of the playoffs...Jason Baird (4G, 11A) and Bernie John (1G, 14A) have 15 points in their last ten games dating back to the regular season...Kevin St. Jacques has 14 points (7G, 7A) in his last ten games dating back to the regular season.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: The Ice roster features four players who have experienced the taste of victory in the pro ranks in forwards Kevin St. Jacques and Jared Dumba, defenseman Bernie John and goaltender Jamie Morris. St. Jacques, who tops all players on both teams in playoff experience, was a member of three West Coast Hockey League Championship Teams (San Diego- 1996-98, Phoenix- 1999-00), while Dumba was a member of Oklahoma City's 2001 CHL Championship Team. John led all Ice defensemen with nine points during Indy's 2000 Championship run, while Morris was the Playoff MVP that year after going 8-3 with a 1.63 GAA and two shutouts. In addition, Ryan Aikia played for the 2000 CHL runner-up Columbus Cottonmouths, while Greg Olsen was a member of the United Hockey League runner-ups last season in the Elmira Jackals.
TEAM NOTES: The eight goals in game four was an Ice all-time playoff best...The Ice has the top road power play unit in the playoffs (3-13, 23.1%), but the worst road penalty killing unit (7/12, 58.3%)...The Ice outscored Amarillo 7-2 in the third period during the first round series.
2002-2003 INDIANAPOLIS ICE PLAYOFF STATISTICS
Record: 3-1 Home 2-0 Road 1-1
Central Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2003
- President's Cup Playoffs Roll Along - CHL
- Bucks Advance to Conference Finals - Laredo Bucks
- Ice Waiting on Northern Conference Finals Opponent - Indianapolis Ice
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