My husband recently traveled on business to a city that has a National Hockey League professional team. It happened to be the city that is home to his favorite hockey team, so I wasn’t surprised when he returned home with stocking caps for two of the kids and a game-used hockey stick for our sports-addicted son. Since then, our television has been tuned in to hockey as often as its tuned to my beloved Food Network. I know there’s a trip to a hockey game in our future.
Just because Indiana doesn’t have an NHL team doesn’t mean Indiana doesn’t have professional hockey. The state’s most successful pro hockey team is the Fort Wayne Komets, which was established in 1952. A part of the Central Hockey League, the Komets have earned 12 regular season championships, 12 division titles and eight championship titles. The Komets play in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Another Indiana contender in the Central Hockey League is the relatively young Evansville Icemen. The team began playing together under that name in 2008. In 2011, the team moved its home arena to Evansville’s new Ford Center. The Icemen take on the Fort Wayne Komets several times throughout the season, which ends in late March.
Finally, there is the Indiana Ice, a team that plays in Indianapolis at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Ice are the only team I’ve actually seen in action. I don’t understand much of the game, but the entertainment is fun — both the hockey and all the other on-ice hoopla and the cost is relatively inexpensive.
Ticket prices for all the teams range from $7-10 cheap seats up to $19-23 for lower arena seating. No extra charge for gloves-off scuffles.
