Indy, Memphis face off for North title

by Mike Wallin
Published on April 3, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL)

It's the reigning CHL Champion Memphis RiverKings against the Indianapolis Ice for the Northern Conference title. The winner of the best-of-seven series will battle for the President's Cup versus the winner of the Southern Conference championship which matches up the Laredo Bucks and the Austin IceBats.

Indianapolis advanced by defeating Amarillo 3 games to 1. The RiverKings endured a much tougher test, battling back from a 2 games to 1 deficit to win the best-of-five series over Oklahoma City. Memphis went 7-5 against the Ice during the regular season, winning 5 of 7 at the DeSoto Civic Center. Indianapolis had a 5-6-1 record against the RiverKings, 3-2 at home and 2-4-1 on the road.

Doug Shedden seeks his fifth championship title as a coach after winning two in Wichita, one in Flint and last year with the RiverKings. The Memphis bench boss relies heavily on his veterans and his teams always play a physical brand of hockey. The former NHL forward skated in 416 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs. His transition into coaching has been an easy one, winning 452 games in eleven seasons.

Ken McRae coaches the Ice and was recognized as CHL "Coach of the Year" for the 2002-2003 season. In just his first year as a head coach, McRae resurrected Indianapolis. Under McRae, the Ice captured the Northeast Division with a 39-16-9 record, a 20 win improvement over the 2001-2002 Ice team.

FORWARDS

Memphis will attack offensively with CHL Most Valuable Player Don Parsons leading the way. Parsons, 57G-49A-106Pts, dominated the league once again. The MVP can carry his team on his back and has proved he is playoff ready, leading the CHL with 5G-5A-10Pts in the playoffs. Jonathan Gagnon 26 goals, Michal Stastny and Kahlil Thomas 23 goals and Jay Neal 20 goals all complement Parsons very well offensively.

The Ice boast a balanced offensive attack led by the first line of Kevin St. Jacques, 22G-56A-78Pts, Jason Baird 26G-44A-70Pts and Etienne Morin 25 goals. Jared Dumba led the Ice with 32 regular season goals, 12 on the man-advantage. During the Amarillo series, St. Jacques and Baird each scored 3 goals while Dumba, Ryan Carter, Greg Olsen and Andrew Taylor each lit the lamp twice.

DEFENSE

Derek Landmesser anchors the Memphis blueline and is arguably the top defenseman in the CHL. Landmesser scored 14 goals, assisted on 44 scores and amassed 151 penalty minutes. His biggest dividend was his +31 plus/minus. Playing alongside Landmesser are Luch Nasato, Anthony DiPalma, Stephen Margeson and Greg Amadio. A late season addition to the RiverKings, Amadio excelled at Michigan Tech the past three years.

Bernie John, a perennial All-Star, leads the Indy defensive unit. John, 14G-52A-66Pts, ranks with the best within the CHL. Veteran Ryan Aikia has become a top stay at home defenseman while rookie Nate Elliott and second year blueliner Scott Lewis help solidify the group. The key to this unit may be rugged Kevin Popp. A fight in January sidelined Popp for six weeks with a hand injury. Since returning to the lineup in the final week of the regular season, Popp has shown limitations to his regular physical style of play. Indy desperately needs Popp to be more physical in front of the Ice net.

GOALTENDING

Mark Richards went 3-1 in the Oklahoma City series after posting a 17-12-2 regular season record. Richards is a big game goalie who won a title with Doug Shedden in Memphis and Flint. Lean-Francois Racine, allocated to Memphis by the Toronto Maple Leafs, went 22-9-3 during the regular campaign.

Shawn Silver and Jamie Morris guard the Indianapolis net. After a three year stint in England, Silver joined the Ice and was arguably Indy's MVP. During the regular season, Silver went 29-12-4 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. Jamie Morris, the 2000CHL Playoff MVP, went 10-4-5 during the season and a perfect 2-0 against Amarillo. Morris also had a solid season against Memphis, going 3-0-1.

McRae will probably start the series with Silver, however there will be no hesitation to throw in Morris.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This is the series that the fans on Memphis and Indianapolis have been waiting for. A rivalry began two years ago when Memphis sweeped Indy in the playoffs. Since that time, these two teams have been at war. This series will have it all. Memphis will apply the pressure by bringing their physical game Riley Cote, Brian Tucker, Brad Mueller, Luch Nasato and Greg Lakovic will be downright nasty to the finesse Ice forwards. Even netminders Richards and Racine will be fiesty. Indianapolis will have two options in this series. Retaliate against the rough and tough RiverKings or play disciplined hockey. The latter will bring about many power-play opportunities.

Because of a scheduling conflict at the Pepsi Coliseum, the series begins with two games in Memphis. Both teams need a split before heading to Indy for three games. Memphis was 25-6-1 on home ice and will make it very tough on the Ice. The first ten minutes of the game will be the key. Can Indy weather the storm? Once back in Indianapolis, the Ice reign supreme, posting a 21-4-7 record on the larger ice surface.

Shawn Silver must regain his stellar goaltending play while Mark Richards needs to stay composed. Hit and take the hit will be the series theme.

PREDICTION

Indianapolis has the better team on paper, however the, physical in your face, play from Doug Shedden's RiverKings prove too much to handle. Memphis in six games.

Central Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2003

• Indy, Memphis face off for North title - OSC Original by Mike Wallin
• Indy, Memphis Meet in North Finals - CHL
• Bats Ready for 2nd Round - Austin Ice Bats
• Ice to Play Memphis in Conference Finals - Indianapolis Ice

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