Valley’s Hockey Fans More Icing With IHL

For the viewing pleasure of Valley residents, Los Angeles’ new hockey team is offering aseries of dog day afternoons at Iceoplex. And mornings. And evenings.

The International Hockey League’s Ice Dogs open the curtain on their first training camp this morning at 10:30, a sneak preview of their inaugural campaign that the public is invited to attend without charge.

The camp runs up to the Sept. 29 road opener at San Francisco against the Spiders. The home opener at the Sports Arena is Oct. 1 against the Minnesota Moose.

The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings also will hold camp at the Iceoplex, beginning Monday at 9:30 a.m. The Ice Dogs and Kings will scrimmage on Sept. 16, with the $5 admission donated to both Kings’ and Iceoplex Youth Hockey.

Even so, the Ice Dogs insist they are not in competition with the Kings, promising to present a “quality hockey product at family-affordable prices.”

“Why can’t the Kings, the [Anaheim] Mighty Ducks, and the Ice Dogs all sell out?” said Ann Victor, public relations director. “Why can’t hockey be the most-popular sport in L.A.?”

What fans will see is a typical IHL mishmash of not-there-yet youngsters and were-there-briefly veterans, attempting to stick in a prospering 19-team league. The IHL drew over five million in 1994-95 thanks in part to the NHL lockout.

They will also witness John Van Boxmeer, the coach/general manager of the Ice Dogs, aiming to whittle a 34-player contingent (which includes Valley players Steve Phillips and Jack Mildengren) down to 21. Van Boxmeer expects several players to be called back after the 82-game season begins and injuries inevitably hit.

Eighteen players are signed, including former NHL hands Hubie McDonough, Clark Donatelli and Mark Hardy, a former King who also is an assistant coach.

“It’s never a guarantee, just because someone has signed a contract, that he’ll make the team,” said Van Boxmeer, who lives in Agoura Hills. “I’d be delighted if someone came out of nowhere.”

Van Boxmeer hardly came from nowhere. His 11-year NHL playing career included a Stanley Cup championship with the Montreal Canadiens.

Coaching legend Scotty Bowman--whom Van Boxmeer played for in Montreal--hired him in 1985 as an assistant in Rochester of the American Hockey League, where Van Boxmeer won 333 games before taking an assistant job with Buffalo.

This unquestionably will be Van Boxmeer’s camp. Without an affiliation to an NHL team, the Ice Dogs’ personnel decisions are not subjected to external pressure. They also won’t lose their best players at inopportune times. In Rochester--affiliated with Buffalo--Van Boxmeer was obliged to let the parent club pluck away at his roster.

“Not being affiliated definitely makes it easier,” Van Boxmeer said. “NHL teams want you to play their prospects, their first-round picks. “Sometimes, there are first-round picks that are mistakes, and nobody wants to admit it.”

At Iceoplex, Van Boxmeer may alone separate his Jeffs--and Johns and Marks--from his mutts.