Hurley breaks into record books

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. Turns out it was a Hall of Fame night at that. 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. Monday morning, Rossetti received a call from Phil Pritchard, V.P. and Curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Following research and confirmation of the historic assist, the HHOF requested copies of the game scoresheet, one of Hurley’s goalie sticks and the game jersey she was wearing that night. “This is an amazing honor for Kira and the entire organization,” 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.” Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com