Topeka ScareCrows explained

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Team:	Topeka Scarecrows
Logosize:	150px
City:	Topeka, Kansas
League:	Central Hockey League
Operated:	1998–2001
Arena:	Landon Arena
Colors:	Black, Red, Yellow

The Topeka Scarecrows were a professional ice hockey team located in Topeka, Kansas, playing their home games at Landon Arena. The team was a member of the Central Hockey League from their founding in 1998 until 2001 when there franchise was terminated by the league midseason.

After the professional team disband, the ownership group would then start a new junior hockey team with the same name in the Tier I Junior A United States Hockey League playing from 2001 to 2003. The team was sold and then moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the St. Louis Heartland Eagles.

Facts

Founded: 1998–1999 season

Arena: Landon Arena (capacity 7,777)

Uniform colors: black, red, and yellow

Local Media: Topeka Capital-Journal

History/Milestones

• November 13, 1997: CHL commits itself to the goal of having a franchise in Topeka for the 1998–1999 season. Co-founders Arnold Diamond and Ed Levy begin team development beginning in 1996 and making way for team and league expansion.
• February 23, 1998: Shawnee County commissioners sign a contract with Flying Cross Check, L.C.C., the company that will own and operate the CHL expansion team. The five-year pact has options for two three-year extensions.
• April 30, 1998: The Topeka ScareCrows unveil their nickname and logo.
• June 10, 1998: Construction begins on the ice installation at Landon Arena (seating capacity 7,779).
• July 20, 1998: Installation of Landon Arena ice equipment is finished.
• August 6, 1998: The Topeka ScareCrows pick their first 10 players in the Central Hockey League expansion draft, then execute the franchise's first trade to secure the rights to left wing Doug Lawrence, a six-year veteran who, should he sign, would come to Topeka from the Tulsa Oilers.
• September 1, 1998: Haywire, the mascot for the Topeka Scarecrows is born.
• October 16, 1998: The CHL Topeka Scarecrows play their first game ever in a sold out Landon Arena (capacity 7,777), a 7–3 loss to the Wichita Thunder.
• November 6, 1998: The CHL Topeka Scarecrows win their first game, a 4–3 triumph over the San Antonio Iguanas at Landon Arena.
• November 20, 1998: The CHL Topeka Scarecrows earn their first shootout win, 4–3, in a game against the Wichita Thunder in the Kansas Coliseum (seating capacity 9,600).
• December 20, 1998: The CHL Topeka Scarecrows beat the San Antonio Iguanas 5–4 to end an eight-game losing streak.
• January 19, 1999: Brett Seguin is the first Topeka Scarecrow to play in CHL All-Star game.
• February 3, 1999: Rod Branch records the first shutout in CHL Topeka Scarecrows history.
• March 18, 1999: Brett Seguin records the first hat trick in CHL Topeka Scarecrows history, against the Wichita Thunder in a 4–0 win.
• April 10, 1999: The Topeka ScareCrows end their season after losing in the first round of their first-ever Central Hockey League playoff appearance after three one-sided games against the Oklahoma City Blazers. Before going three-and-out in the playoffs, the ScareCrows finished the last half of the season with a winning record. Topeka was 18–16–1 from January through the end of the regular season after posting a 10–22–3 mark from October through December. They finished with a 28–38–4 record and averaged 4,793 fans a game.
• October 15, 1999: The Topeka ScareCrows begin their second season in a 3–1 loss against the San Antonio Iguanas, in front of a Landon Arena crowd of 7,156.
• January 25, 2000: Brett Seguin, John Vary and Bill Monkman are selected to play in the CHL all-star game.
• April 2, 2000: The Topeka ScareCrows' second Central Hockey League season ends with a 35–27–8 record, with eight shootout losses, just three points short of making the playoffs. They finished third in attendance, averaging 4,991 fans a game.
• May 3, 2000: Topeka ScareCrows general manager Chris Presson accepts position as general manager of the United Hockey League expansion club in New Haven (the New Haven Hurricanes). He is replaced by ScareCrows former assistant general manager Doug Miller.
• October 13, 2000: The CHL Topeka Scarecrows begin their third and final season at home against the Wichita Thunder 3–2 in a shootout at Landon Arena in front of 4,789 fans.
• February 20, 2001: The CHL's board of governors decides to terminate the Topeka Scarecrows season with 21 games remaining—10 of which were scheduled for Landon Arena. Saying that the ScareCrows and the Border City Bandits, of Texarkana, Texas, "breached multiple financial obligations under their sanction agreements with the CHL," the Indianapolis-based league terminated the participation of both franchises for the remainder of the 2001 season.
• February 22, 2001: The Topeka ScareCrows returned to the ice in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ending a 13-day layoff that included three days in limbo following their suspension Tuesday from the Central Hockey League, with the help of a temporary restraining order issued in Shawnee County District Court on February 16, 2001, that blocked the league from ending the ScareCrows' season.
• March 8, 2001: U.S. District Judge Sam Crow filed an 18-page ruling in which he denies the Central Hockey League's request to lift a temporary restraining order keeping the ScareCrows on the ice.
• March 29, 2001: The ScareCrows' end their third and final home season at Landon Arena with a 4–1 loss to the Wichita Thunder.
• April 10, 2001: The CHL ScareCrows end the franchise's three-year history as a minor-league professional program by ending their best-of-five Central Hockey League playoff series in a 5–3 loss to San Antonio in front of 2,121 fans. The Iguanas' victory, which the visitors claimed with a three-goal third period that wiped out a 3–2 deficit, gave San Antonio a 3–1 series victory and advanced the Texans to the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City.

Season-by-season records

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

	Season	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	PIM	Finish	Playoffs
[| [[1998–99 CHL season|1998–99]]|| 70 || 28 || 38|| 4 || 60 || 189 || 251 || 1584 || 4th, Western|| Lost in Round 1|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"| [| [[1999–2000 CHL season|1999–00]]|| 70 || 35 || 27 || 8 || 78 || 245 || 243 || 1533 || 5th, Western|| Out of Playoffs|-| [|[[2000–01 CHL season|2000–01]]|| 69|| 38 || 23 || 8 || 84 || 256 || 245 || 1533 || 3rd, Western || Lost in Round 1|- bgcolor="#eeeeee"|} All-Time Roster Player Name Pos Seasons Yrs Games Played Birthplace Birthdate 2 Alex Motley C 1998–1999 1 19 Pleasanton, CA Oct 1, 1974 2 Alex Mukhanov D 1999–2000 1 24 Moscow, Russia May 17, 1976 Andre Quesnel R 1999–2000 1 3 Ottawa, ONT January 26, 1977 Andy Adams G 1998–1999 1 9 Thornhill, ONT Oct 2, 1976 6 Anthony Zurfluh D 2000–2001 1 13 Soldotna, AK January 24, 1977 10 Bill Monkman R 1999–2000 1 65 Tara, ONT May 16, 1975 16 Blair Manning C 1999–2001 2 131 Vancouver, BC May 27, 1975 Blake Sheane R 2000–2001 1 11 Virden, MAN May 5, 1977 44 Bob Berg L 2000–2001 1 69 Beamsville, ONT Feb 7, 1970 Bob Pardy D 1998–1999 1 8 St. John\'s, NF July 28, 1974 Brad Klyn D 1998–1999 1 3 Surrey, BC 40 Brett Seguin C 1998–2000 2 140 St. Mary\'s, ONT February 20, 1972 44 Chad Antonishyn D 1998–1999 1 47 Regina, SASK May 25, 1974 Chris Belanger D 1998–1999 1 10 Welland, ONT April 4, 1972 33 Chris Bowen L 1998–1999 1 47 Barrie, ONT Jul 3, 1976 9 Chris Burke L 2000–2001 1 4 Winona, MN Aug 9, 1976 23 Chris Felix D 2000–2001 1 68 Bramalea, ONT May 27, 1964 Chris King G 1998–1999 1 1 Braintree, MA Feb 7, 1974 21 Chris Maillet D 2000–2001 1 46 Moncton, NB January 28, 1976 29 Dale Lafrance R 1999–2000 1 13 Sudbury, ONT Dave Gregory D 1998–1999 1 23 Woodstock, ONT Jan 5, 1967 22 David "Duke" Bouskill L 1999–2001 2 121 Glen Williams, ONT Sep 11, 1976 6 Gary Coupal R 1999–2000 1 20 Sudbury, ONT September 16, 1974 12 & 14 Grady Manson C 1999–2000 1 23 Brandon, MAN May 26, 1975 29 Jan Melichar D 1998–2000 2 44 Trebic, Czech February 24, 1978 32 Jason Girodat F 1999–2000 1 3 Shaunavon, SASK 14 Jason Lafreniere C 1999–2000 1 3 St. Catharines, ONT Jun 12, 1966 27 Jay Hern L 2000–2001 1 58 Medicine Hat, ALTA Jun 12, 1976 11 Jeff Goldie L 2000–2001 1 58 Owen Sound, ONT May 27, 1974 27 Joe Coombs L 1998–2000 2 106 Brantford, ONT Jan 6, 1975 16 Joey Beaudry R 1998–2000 2 59 Prince Albert, SASK Aug 6, 1976 32 John Gibson D 1999–2000 1 9 Kingston, ONT September 30, 1970 17 John McCabe W 2000–2001 1 67 Sudbury, ONT May 30, 1974 4 John Vary D 1999–2001 2 138 Owen Sound, ONT Nov 2, 1972 19 Jordan Shields L 1998–1999 1 44 Gloucester, ONT April 27, 1972 Ken Eddy D 1998–1999 1 3 Rochester, MN Aug 4, 1969 Kevin Fricke D 1999–2000 1 25 Edina, MN April 18, 1974 Kevin Lune D 1998–1999 1 21 Brantford, ONT Aug 6, 1971 19 Kirk LLano D 1999–2000 1 67 Calgary, ALTA Oct 1, 1973 7 Kyle Haviland D 1998–2000 2 78 Windsor, ONT Oct 8, 1971 Lannie McCabe D 2000–2001 1 64 Sudbury, ONT July 13, 1977 33 Luciano Caravaggio G 2000–2001 1 40 Toronto, ONT Mar 10, 1975 Marco Emond G 1998–1999 1 5 Valleyfield, PQ November 20, 1977 Marcus Nilsson R 1998–1999 1 3 10 Mark Edmundson C 2000–2001 1 65 London, ONT Nov 3, 1975 39 Michal Podolka G 1998–2000 2 39 Most, Czech Rep. Nov 8, 1977 33 Mike Degurse L 1999–2000 1 9 Amajinnang, ONT Apr 10, 1974 44 Mike Hiebert D 1999–2000 1 18 Winnipeg, MAN April 16, 1975 Mike Migen D 1998–1999 1 2 28 Mike Rusk D 1998–2000 2 129 Milton, ONT April 26, 1975 Mike Tilson‡ D 1998–1999 1 Pickering, ONT June 28, 1978 9 Oleg Tsirkounov F 1998–2000 2 92 Kiev, Ukraine March 15, 1977 Paul Godfrey R 1998–1999 1 10 Sault Ste. Marie, ONT October 30, 1976 61 Paul Strand L 2000–2001 1 64 Sudbury, ONT Jan 12, 1971 20 Peter Brearley R 2000–2001 1 66 Chatham, ONT June 27, 1975 14 Randy Best D 1999–2000 1 15 Woodsbury, MN May 3, 1974 23 Rod Branch G 1998–2000 2 93 Fort St. John, BC April 14, 1975 4 Roy Gray D 1998–1999 1 3 Toronto, ONT April 22, 1976 7 Ryan Hartung D 2000–2001 1 56 St. Paul, MN May 26, 1977 21 Ryan McCormack R 2000–2001 1 10 Thunder Bay, ONT Apr 3, 1978 Ryan Phillips L 1998–1999 1 49 North Vancouver, BC Aug 7, 1975 33 Scot Bell R 1999–2000 1 26 Ottawa, ONT April 18, 1972 Scott Dickson C 1998–1999 1 30 Brandon, MAN May 12, 1976 31 Scott Hay G 2000–2001 1 31 Scarborough, ONT Mar 4, 1975 11 & 63 Sergei Deschevy D 1999–2001 2 111 Kiev, Ukraine June 25, 1977 47 Sergei Olympiev L 1998–2000 2 53 Lipetski, Russia Dec 1, 1975 12 Shawn Gervais R 2000–2001 1 67 St. Albert, ALTA Dec 7, 1976 26 Shawn Randall R 1998–1999 1 47 Montrose, MI November 13, 1972 77 Stephane Desjardins D 1998–1999 1 60 Anjou, PQ June 23, 1972 Steve Adams D 1998–1999 1 3 Edmonton, ALTA Nov 4, 1975 Steve Moore C 1999–2000 1 67 Gardiner, ME June 21, 1971 Sylvain Thibeault D 1999–2000 1 8 St. Jerome, PQ October 30, 1970 24 Tom Gomes R 1999–2000 1 29 Harrow, ONT April 29, 1972 Tom Stewart R 1998–1999 1 26 Brantford, ONT May 19, 1975 Travis Riggin F 1998–1999 1 32 Kincardine, ONT April 26, 1977 Travis Sinden G 1998–1999 1 1 Phoenix, AZ March 31, 1976 21 Trevor Hanas R 1998–2000 2 99 Regina, SASK January 20, 1975 10 Troy Frederick L 1998–1999 1 64 Virden, MAN April 4, 1969 9 Virgil Rutili D 1998–1999 1 2 Addison, IL February 17, 1973 17 Yuri Moscevsky W 1999–2000 1 4 Milwaukee, WI October 20, 1978 8 & 25 Zbynek Neckar D 1998–2000 2 16 Pisek, Czech September 22, 1978 Source^[1] References

Notes and References

1. Web site: Topeka Scarecrows [CHL] all-time player list at hockeydb.com ]. June 9, 2022 . HockeyDB.