Ice weekend fit for Kings
by Mike Wallin
Published on January 22, 2004 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Indianapolis Ice
The Indianapolis Ice is set to begin a huge weekend of hockey, one that is only fit for Kings. Yes, Saturday night the Elvis impersonating "King Team" will be in attendance. The main event however, will be the action on the ice between Indy's biggest rival, the Memphis RiverKings.
A three game series beginning Friday night in Memphis, moving to Conseco Fieldhouse for "Pack the House Night" on Saturday and finishing up Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Coliseum. Nine periods, one-hundred eighty minutes of playoff intensity hockey await fans in both cities.
Memphis enters the weekend with a 25-16-2 (52 points) record, seven points ahead of Indianapolis which sits at 22-15-1 (45 points). The Ice, however, have played five fewer games than the RiverKings. This season, the Ice is 4-3 against Memphis. Indy has won two of three on home ice while the clubs have split the four games in Memphis.
What makes this weekend so special is the history between the two clubs. In four plus seasons of playing against each other, Indianapolis has amassed a 24-21-6 record against the RiverKings. Memphis however, has owned the Ice come playoff time. In 2001 and again in 2003, Indy was eliminated by the RiverKings in the post-season.
Indianapolis and Memphis have become rivals over the past few seasons. After a dismal 1999-2000 season, the RiverKings franchise turned around from cellar dwellers to two-time CHL Champions. Doug Shedden brought in a fresh style of play as the RiverKings moved into a beautiful new arena. Memphis instantly became a force led by Don Parsons, Mark Richards and a plethora of tough guys. The proximity of the two franchises, 480 miles helped the rivalry begin, but it was the heated games that made the rivalry stick.
Hard hitting, trash talking, brawling games became the norm when Indy and Memphis hooked up. The teams simply learned to hate each other. Who can forget Curtis Voth intimidating Derek Grant into not playing? How about Mark Richards trying to fight Leon Delorme and Dave Jesiolowski? Remember Jamie Morris and J.F. Racince fighting at center ice? How about Brian Tucker's big punch on Rob Davidson? Heck, even former Ice coach Rod Davidson threw a punch while a skirmish encountered.
These two teams know the importance of this weekends games. Losing all three games would be disastrous for either team. These games will be as close to playoff hockey as you'll find in late January.
Just this week, Memphis traded away Daryl Moor to help make room for the return of Jonathan Gagnon and David Turon from St. John's of the AHL. No surprise that former RiverKing coach Doug Shedden returns these two skaters as well as netminder Mike Minard just in time to face the Ice.
Indianapolis coach Ken McRae didn't sit still this week either. The Ice sent Mike Ziebac, Russ Guzior and Steve Lecuyer to Lubbock for veteran center Jim Shepherd. The Ice also resigned veteran defenseman Remi Royer in time for the huge weekend series. Memphis started the season with Jim Wiley as head coach, but has already replaced him with former RiverKing netminder Mark Richards. The new bench boss has eliminated the trapping style of play and has returned Memphis to their free-flowing offensive style. This benefits Don Parsons, Jay Neal, Alexandre Mathieu and Gagnon. Richards allows his forwards to think offense while allowing Brian Tucker, Brad Mueller and Jeremy Cornish to play the in-your-face brand of hockey.
Indianapolis started the season as a small team that nobody feared. Now with the return of Ken "The Cowboy" Boone, Remi Royer and the acquisition of Shepherd, the Ice no longer will be pushed around.
Friday night will be "Miller Lite Racing Night" at the DeSoto Coliseum and a large crowd is expected. Saturday night's "Pack the House" will bring in more than 14,000 fans while Sunday is "Marsh Family Day" at the Pepsi Coliseum where kids can get in free with a Fresh Idea Card and a paying adult.
Central Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2004
- Ice weekend fit for Kings - OSC Original by Mike Wallin
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- Golden Gloves Tournament Comes to Lubbock - Lubbock Cotton Kings
- CHL suspends Laxdal for 3 games - Wichita Thunder
- Cotton Kings Release Rookies - Lubbock Cotton Kings
- Scoring Duo Set for Tonight's All-Star Game in New Mexico - Indianapolis Ice
- Saints Add Hodgson, Lose Moffat - San Angelo Saints
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
