The Evansville IceMen
IceMen awarded new IHL membership
The following items were also discussed during the three-day meetings, which were held in Las Vegas, Nevada:
v The IHL Board of Governors created a three member search committee for the next Commissioner that will consist of Tim Leighton (Bloomington), Rich Bruner (Dayton) and Jeff Patulski (Muskegon). The committee has set a goal of naming the new Commissioner by September 1st, 2009.
v The Executive Committee for the 2009-2010 season will be as follows: Chairman of the Board, Michael Franke (Fort Wayne) and Vice Chairmen’s of the Board, Frank Kinney (Port Huron) and Tim Leighton (Bloomington).
v The expansion draft for the two new member clubs will be held Friday, June 26th. Each member club may protect thirteen skaters (13) and one goaltender, losing a maximum of three players.
v The league will conduct an expansion draft for the new member clubs within the next 10 days. A dispersal draft of the Kalamazoo Wings players rights will be held shortly after the expansion draft.
v The 2009-2010 IHL schedule will be completed by mid-July.
v The IHL will continue with the standard set forth regarding officiating, however, there will be a greater emphasis on the calls made for aggressive stick penalties (i.e. slashing, cross checking).
“We have been very pleased with the direction of the officiating,” said Brad Jones, VP of Hockey Operations. “This is an area that we feel strongly needs to be addressed for the upcoming season.”
v Member Clubs will be allowed to dress 19 players (17 skaters, 2 goaltenders) for a game. The active roster will be at a maximum of 20 active players. Last season, only 18 players were allowed to dress per game and 21 players were allowed on the active roster.
v Member Clubs are allowed to carry a maximum of eight (8) veterans for the 2009-2010 season. In the previous seasons, member clubs were allowed to dress a maximum of seven (7).
v The IHL has eliminated the six (6) game requirement for players to qualify for a position on the post season roster.
“Due to the enormity of the agenda, the board will reconvene via teleconference in the next few days,” stated Michael Franke, IHL Chairman of the Board. “We look forward to announcing additional exciting news concerning the IHL in the near future.”
The IHL Board of Governors voted on Wednesday to continue the annual meeting via teleconference.
IceMen part of CHL/IHL's North Division
The new conference alignment will split the teams into two conferences of nine teams with the conference reflecting the geography of the North and South. In the very near future, the two conferences will be given names reflective of the histories of both the CHL and IHL and new trophies will be introduced for the conference champions, the regular season champions and the league champions.
“We are very excited about the divide between the two conferences and feel the balance and rivalries created will be great for all CHL fans,” said Duane Lewis, CHL Commissioner. “Followers of both the CHL and IHL will enjoy the introduction of new teams as opponents and the formation of new rivalries.”
The league’s Board of Governors has approved the following conference alignment for the 2010-11 season:
North
Bloomington PrairieThunder
Colorado Eagles
Dayton Gems
Fort Wayne Komets
Evansville IceMen
Missouri Mavericks
Quad City Mallards
Rapid City Rush
Wichita Thunder
South
Allen Americans
Arizona Sundogs
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
Laredo Bucks
Mississippi RiverKings
Odessa Jackalopes
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Texas Brahmas
Tulsa Oilers
Opening night for the 19th CHL season will be Friday, October 15th when 12 teams will take the ice marking six home opening games. Opening night hosts will be the Allen Americans, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Colorado Eagles, Missouri Mavericks, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Tulsa Oilers.
The reigning Ray Miron Presidents’ Cup Champion Rapid City Rush will open their 2010-11 season on Saturday, October 23 and the team that hoisted the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup as the league champions, the Fort Wayne Komets, will open their home schedule on Saturday, October 16.
The dates of the home openers for the CHL’s clubs are:
Allen Americans – Friday, October 15
Arizona Sundogs – Friday, October 22
Bloomington PrairieThunder – Friday, October 22
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs – Friday, October 15
Colorado Eagles – Friday, October 15
Dayton Gems – Saturday, October 16
Evansville IceMen – Saturday, October 23
Fort Wayne Komets – Saturday, October 16
Laredo Bucks – Saturday, October 23
Mississippi RiverKings – Saturday, October 16
Missouri Mavericks – Friday, October 15
Odessa Jackalopes – Friday, October 29
Quad City Mallards – Saturday, October 16
Rapid City Rush – Saturday, October 23
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees – Friday, October 15
Texas Brahmas – Friday, October 22
Tulsa Oilers – Friday, October 15
Wichita Thunder – Saturday, October 16
The length and dates of the 2010-11 regular season along with the league’s playoff format will be announced on Wednesday, July 14.
CHL/IHL's Playoff Format Announced
Earlier this week, the CHL announced that the 18 member teams will be divided into two conferences of nine teams. The North will be comprised of Bloomington, Colorado, Dayton, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Missouri, Quad City, Rapid City and Wichita and the South will consist of Allen, Arizona, Bossier-Shreveport, Laredo, Mississippi, Odessa, Rio Grande Valley, Texas and Tulsa.
The top eight teams from each conference will qualify for the playoffs and be ranked within their conference, one through eight with the #1 seed playing the #8 seed, the #2 seed facing the #7 seed, the #3 seed squaring off versus the #6 seed and the #4 and #5 seeds playing each other. The brackets will stay constant throughout the playoffs as no re-seeding will take place.
The first two rounds will be best-of-5 series and the conference finals and the league finals will both be best-of-7 series’. Home ice in the finals will be determined by regular season points.
For a complete outline of the 2010-11 CHL Playoff format, visit www.centralhockeyleague.com and view the playoff format link under the heading ‘The CHL’.
Radio Announcer Named for IceMen Season
On this date, IceMen Owner/President Ron Geary announces the appointment of legendary pro hockey veteran TERRY FICORELLI to the position of Vice President Communications/Broadcasting. Included in his IceMen capacity, Ficorelli will become the “Voice” of the Evansville CHL/IHL hockey club, calling the live radio play-by-play of all IceMen pre season, regular season and post season home and away games in their entirety as well as providing the Evansville hockey faithful an IceMen weekly live radio show and daily update reports.
“We are very excited to be making this announcement and bringing Terry Ficorelli to Evansville to be a part of our hockey program. We believe that ‘Fic’ will provide our organization with so much by way of his extensive knowledge of hockey, the league, players and his unique brand of play-by-play broadcasting of the games. We believe that the addition of Terry Ficorelli to our hockey program is yet another important part of building a premier AA hockey franchise in Evansville,” stated Ron Geary, Evansville IceMen Owner/President .
Over the course of his 37 years, spanning some five decades, Terry has demonstrated some extraordinary endurance and staying power, having called a remarkable 3,278 consecutive games with the latter 1,267 originating from the Muskegon radio broadcast booth. He now brings that experience, knowledge and endurance to the Evansville IceMen CHL/IHL franchise.
“Fic” actually launched his professional career while still attending college at Michigan State University, where he also worked as the first ever broadcaster for the fledgling Kalamazoo Wings. During his extended 11 year tenure with the Wings, Ficorelli was behind the microphone to describe three Kalamazoo Championships in consecutive fashion.
In 1985 Ficorelli proceeded on to the American Hockey League (AHL) where he would perform his craft for five more seasons. Initially with the Detroit Red Wings primary affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings, Terry Ficorelli spent a single year there. In that lone campaign, the Adirondack Red Wings captured the League’s most coveted crown, the “Calder Cup.”
It was on to Baltimore from there as “Fic” called all of the action for the AHL Skipjacks for four years. During his time in Baltimore, Ficorelli was a part of the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins organization and later the Washington Capitals.
After his stint in Baltimore, Terry moved back closer the his roots in the Midwest when he touched down in Cincinnati, Ohio. His impact in the Cincinnati market was instant and immediate. In his five years on the Cincinnati sports scene, “Fic” earned the prestigious honor of “Best Sports Announcer” in Cincinnati three times. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Terry became the only non-player in the history of the IHL to win the I. John Snider Award for “Outstanding Community Service,” accomplishing the feat during the 1993-94 season. This honor was made even more special for Ficorelli as the award is named for one of the founding fathers of the IHL, John Snider.
Terry’s next move was to Muskegon, Michigan in the 1995-96 season, where again he attained an immediate impact, capturing United Hockey League (UHL) honors in the form of the UHL Broadcaster of the Year and UHL Public Relations Director of the Year in his first season with the Fury. He was named, again, as Public Relations Director of the year in 1998-99 and Broadcaster of the Year for a second time in 2001-02.
“Fic” returned to Muskegon as the broadcaster for the second rendition of the Muskegon Lumberjacks in 2008-2009 after a brief stint in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Saginaw Spirit.
It was once written of him….”that should he be sitting inside of a utility closet, he would call a hockey play-by-play to the brooms and mops which shared such space with him.” The sport of hockey is certainly the mark by which he is best known.
He is now very excited to be a part of the new Evansville IceMen. Ficorelli’s resume is rich and replete with an array of career achievements and accomplishments. He has been a part of eight championship teams including four in Muskegon, three in Kalamazoo and one in Adirondack and he hopes to bring Evansville the same luck and championship prosperity.
In his new position with the Evansville IceMen, his job description will not just end at broadcasting IceMen games. As Vice-President Communications/Broadcasting, Ficorelli will be responsible for all media relations and publicity involving the organization. He will be making frequent public and promotional appearances and pursue corporate sponsorships during the off-season. “Fic” will also become integrally involved with the team’s hockey operations, assisting in player acquisitions, evaluations and information and various contractual activities.
In addition to broadcasting the IceMen hockey games, “Fic” also will be developing and hosting a Monday night live radio show weekly during the hockey season and monthly during the off-season. Moreover, “Fic’s” followers can also catch up on the latest and greatest IceMen hockey news daily Monday through Friday on “IceMen Hockey Update” during afternoon primetime.
“I am energized and excited about becoming a part of the Evansville IceMen Hockey Organization and the Evansville Community. I look forward to many years here as the ‘Voice’ of Evansville Hockey in addition to learning about and becoming a part of the this beautiful and prosperous community,” stated Ficorelli.
IceMen Sign First Female Goalie in AAHA History
The Evansville IceMen of the All American Hockey Association are proud and excited to announce another first in Association history. Today, the team signed the first female goaltender in AAHA history, when they welcomed Kira Hurley, of Toronto Canada, to the team.
Kira is a 24 year old, 6 foot, 155 pound goaltender for Toronto. She is a 2006 graduate of Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, where she was a four year starter for the NCAA Division 1 school. She led her team to the ECACHL playoff each of the three years the team was eligible. Kira was named an All American following her Junior season, as well as received All Conference honors and Top Goalie honors. She holds Clarkson’s Women’s goaltending statistical records for both career and single season. She also holds the NCAA record for shut outs in a season with 10.
After finishing up her collegiate career, Kira signed with the Mon. Valley Thunder of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007. When the MAHL folded she went back to Canada to play for former NHL’er Shawn Antoski with the Marmora Lakers of the Ontario Senior Men’s AAA Hockey Association. By playing with the Lakers she became the first women to ever play in a league known as the “top level of amateur hockey in Canada.”
Kira becomes one of just a handful of women, including goaltenders Manon Rheaume and Erin Whitten, who have played on men’s professional teams at a minor league level. In 2003, Hayley Wickenheiser joined Salamat of the Finnish Second Division and became the first woman to record a point in men’s professional hockey, finishing the regular season with one goal and three assists in 12 games.
General Manager Chip Rossetti was excited about the signing. “This is great for our team, the Association, and hockey in general. We have said from the beginning that we were working to put together a Championship team, and we feel that Kira can help us get there.”
IceMen with Kira Hurley sign autographs after the game
Hurley, Houdicks set Records on Valentines Day
From Prohockeynews.com
AAHA
Posted in: AAHA
Hurley breaks into record books
By Don Money
Feb 15, 2009 - 4:27:18 PM
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Seeing historic events is a rare thing. Possibly seeing two is even more special and that’s what the fans of the Evansville Icemen may have gotten on Valentine’s Day night.
The 1,100 fans in attendance witnessed a flurry of firsts as the Icemen blasted the Chicago Blaze 24-4. During the contest, Evansville goalie Kira Hurley became the first female net minder to ever register a point in a men’s professional game with a third period assist. That just about overshadowed the performance of twin brothers Ed and Earl Hudick who each tallied six goals and seven assists during the contest.
“It was kind of a crazy game,” Evansville G.M. Chip Rossetti said.
Hurley’s assist came at the 8:06 mark of the final stanza. The Blaze had cleared the puck into the Evansville’s defensive zone. Hurley came out of the net and fed a pass to Kyle Heffernan at the blue line. Heffernan moved the puck through center ice and into the Chicago zone. Kyle then crossed a pass to his brother Shane who moved in and beat Blaze goalie Reid Sifford for the score that put Hurley into the record books. For the record, Hurley finished the night with 21 saves on 24 shots faced.
“The place absolutely erupted when she got her point,” Rossetti said. “I asked her at the end of the game if she knew when it happened if she knew she had gotten the secondary assist on it and she said no until she heard it announced over the P.A. (system).”
As for the Hudick brothers, the twins from Newport, Michigan each recorded hat tricks in both the first and second periods. Playing on the same line together, the points piled up quickly. Barring further research, it is believed to be the first time twins playing for the same team have scored hat tricks in the same game.
As a team, the Icemen recorded an astounding 85 shots on net for the game. Just one night before, Evansville and Battle Creek played an overtime thriller, combining for 106 shots during a 2-1 victory by the Icemen.
IceMen, Hurley to be in Hockey Hall of Fame
The Evansville IceMen have had a season of firsts, both as a franchise, as well as a member of the All American Hockey Association. The team’s latest announcement is no different.
The IceMen are excited to announce that goaltender Kira Hurley and the entire IceMen organization have been chosen to be immortalized in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This honor is being bestowed on Kira and the team as a direct result of the IceMen game on Saturday night against the Chicago Blaze. The 1,100 fans in attendance witnessed Kira Hurley becoming the first female net minder to ever register a point in a men’s professional game with a third period assist. Hurley’s assist came at the 8:06 mark of the final stanza. The Blaze had cleared the puck into the Evansville’s defensive zone. Hurley came out of the net and fed a pass to Kyle Heffernan at the blue line. Heffernan moved the puck through center ice and into the Chicago zone. Kyle then crossed a pass to his brother Shane who moved in and beat Blaze goalie Reid Sifford for the score that put Hurley into the record books. For the record, Hurley finished the night with 21 saves on 24 shots faced.
“This is an amazing honor for Kira and the entire organization,” IceMen General Manager Chip Rossetti said. “To be recognized by the Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors that a player and a team can receive. We are very proud of Kira and are excited for our entire team and the city of Evansville.”
Rossetti received word from the Hall of Fame on Monday morning. Phil Pritchard, Vice President and Curator of the Hall of Fame, contacted the team and agreed that Hurley’s assist was a great accomplishment and was deserving of the acknowledgement from the entire hockey world. Once the research was completed on Tuesday morning and the Hall received confirmation of the accomplishment, Rossetti received an email from the Hall of Fame asking for the donation. At that point Rossetti contacted Kira and informed her of the situation.
Pritchard commented on the situation, “Hockey history is happening everyday. What Kira did was just another significant step to women becoming equals in the world of professional hockey and having something of Kira’s on display is awesome. We pride ourselves on having the greatest collection of hockey memorabilia in the world and it is an honor to recognize this milestone in the world of professional hockey.”
Pritchard informed Rossetti on Wednesday morning that Hurley’s memorabilia will be on display, beginning this summer, in the Hall of Fame’s “Year in Review”. The “Year in Review is a tribute to all of the major events in professional hockey from the past season. Once the “Year in Review” is over, Hurley’s memorabilia will go on permanent display in the minor league section of the Hall.
The Hall of Fame asked that the IceMen send copies of the games scoresheet, one of Kira’s goalie sticks and her game jersey from Saturday night.
Picture from IceMen at Fall Fest Parade
Picture from IceMen at Fall Fest Parade
