New life awaits three Steelheads May 23, 2002

Win or lose, Rud, Ingraham and Cullen moving on

Chadd Cripe
The Idaho Statesman

Three Idaho Steelheads veterans aren´t just on the cusp of a championship.

They´re also about to begin new lives.

Fourth-year Steelhead wing Cal Ingraham and second-year defensemen Eric Rud and Thom Cullen will play the final pro hockey games of their careers this weekend at the Bank of America Centre.

All three are retiring, all for very different reasons.

“It´s exciting, but it´s also sad in a way that this is it,” Cullen said.

He´s off to law school at the University of Miami, so long as his house sells by the end of summer. Rud is quitting a year before his contract expires because of a back injury. And Ingraham, the face of the franchise the past four years, is 31 years old and clearly not the same player who scored 50 goals in each of the past three seasons.

“I don´t know if I was quite as effective this year,” said Ingraham, who scored 23 goals during the regular season and has five in the playoffs. “Maybe it is the time as far as that goes. Hopefully, I have two more good games left in me.”

The Steelheads trail the Fresno Falcons 3-2 in the best-of-seven Taylor Cup Championship Finals.

Game 6 is at 7 p.m. Friday at the B of A, with Game 7 on Saturday if necessary.

Ingraham, Rud and Cullen know it´s their final weekend, but they aren´t thinking about it.

“You´re in the same routine for so long, your thoughts don´t go outside of what you usually do,” Rud said. “You don´t talk about it much. You don´t think about it much.”

Steelheads assistant coach Matt Martin has been there. Last year, he went into Game 6 of the finals in San Diego knowing his career would either end that day, or two nights later in Game 7.

The Steelheads won Game 6, but lost Game 7.

“You want to make it worthwhile,” Martin said. “You want to go out a winner.”

Of the three, only Cullen has excelled in this year´s playoff run.

Ingraham was in his old form for Game 4 last week in Fresno, but otherwise his lack of speed has cost the team defensively and he has been less active in front of the net than years past.

Rud admits his back injury, sustained in an off-season car accident, has taken away some mobility. His minus-5 rating in the playoffs is the worst on the team.

“I don´t skate quite like I did before,” Rud said.

Cullen, however, is leaving with plenty of game left. He has been a major factor in the postseason despite missing Game 5 with an undisclosed injury.

He and Dion Darling draw the opponent´s top line each night and Cullen has contributed five points and a plus-6 rating. He set up the Steelheads´ overtime goal in Game 4 of the finals.

“I could play a couple more years,” the 26-year-old said, “but it´s been a goal of mine to be done with law school by the time I´m 30.”

The trio probably won´t be the only Steelheads to hang up their skates at season´s end. Center Matt Oates is leaning that way, goalie Blair Allison has hinted at it and a couple others may face decisions if they´re not invited back to Boise.

All want to end with a championship, if not the career highlight most dream about as kids.

“You´d like to get the winner — go out like Michael Jordan — but that doesn´t happen to too many people,” Martin said.

NOTES: Center Dan Shermerhorn (abdominal strain) and wing Kevin Smyth (leg injury) will play in Game 6, Idaho coach John Olver said Wednesday. Cullen is questionable. … Fresno was assigned a 6:30 p.m. practice time today at the B of A. Usually, road teams practice at about noon. The Steelheads were irritated by their 6:20 p.m. practice time Saturday in Fresno.