Van Boxmeer Puts Some Bite Into Ice Dog Bark

Putting together a winning team is always easier on paper.

Ask Long Beach Ice Dog Coach John Van Boxmeer, who in less than a year turned one of the International Hockey League’s worst teams into one of its best.

With the support of first-year owner Barry Kemp, Van Boxmeer’s task was to make the Ice Dogs contenders for the Turner Cup; last season Long Beach was one of only three teams not to make the IHL playoffs.

“We just had to look ahead and use last year as a learning experience for everybody,” said Van Boxmeer, in his second season as general manager.

Because of the team’s financial problems, Van Boxmeer traded away many key players last season while the team struggled to make payroll week to week. But when Kemp bought the team from Fred Comrie and moved the franchise from Los Angeles to Long Beach, pressure fell on Van Boxmeer to turn the team around.

And he did. Van Boxmeer led the Ice Dogs to the best record in the Western Conference or at 54-19-9. Long Beach will begin the playoffs tonight at 7 against Milwaukee in the first game of a best-of-five series at Long Beach Arena.

The Ice Dogs, who scored a league-high 309 goals, shuttled players in and out as they had last season, but this season’s moves were made for improvement, not merely survival.

Starting with the acquisition of center Stephane Morin from Manitoba in November, nearly every decision Van Boxmeer has made has worked.

Morin, who has 55 points in 90 NHL games with Quebec and Vancouver, gave the Ice Dogs a steady center they lacked. When he joined the Ice Dogs, they had won only five of their first 17 games. After he arrived, Long Beach went 49-11-5 and Morin led the team with 91 points.

“I had some problems [at Manitoba] so I was real excited to go to a team that was willing to give me a chance,” said Morin said.

“The thing about this team is that it really is like a family. Everyone does his job and knows his role. . . . Everyone is appreciated.”

Another key for the Ice Dogs has been the success of the Mighty Ducks, their NHL affiliate. Instead of having key players recalled throughout the season, Long Beach benefited from the addition of Valeri Karpov, who scored 18 goals in 30 games after being sent down by the Ducks.

“Again, it is a situation where you need to be lucky,” said Van Boxmeer, who is going for a rare hockey triple crown after winning a Stanley Cup as a player in the NHL and a Calder Cup as coach for Rochester in the American Hockey League.

Van Boxmeer, a former NHL defenseman, takes special pride in the Ice Dogs’ defense, which allowed the sixth fewest goals in the league and had four defensemen reach double figures in goals scored.

Victor Ignatjev, picked up in a trade with Utah last season, scored 69 points and was second in the league among defensemen.