1992 Playoffs

One of the more intriguing first-round playoff matchups, the Chicago Shamrocks and their flashy “Russian Connection” line met the hard-nosed Western Conference Champions, the Edmonton Northern Lights. The series was tight, with the teams deadlocked at 2-2 after the first four games. In a pivotal game five in Edmonton, the Russians carried Chicago as each player on their line scored in a 3-1 win. The Shamrocks had an opportunity to complete the upset in game six and they would not disappoint. Ted MacDougall took a stretch pass from Scott Benson in overtime and beat goaltender Wes Simmons to send Chicago to the second round. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Edmonton, who had shown so much promise in the regular season. “We just couldn’t match their speed and skill” said defenseman Dwight Ingram. “It’s devastating when you have a big year like this and come up short.” Meanwhile, Alberta’s other team, the Calgary Wranglers, fared much better in their series against the LA Wizards. Also entering game five tied 2-2, Sergei Krayev’s two-goal performance gave the Wranglers a 3-2 series lead. In game six at the Calgary Exhibition, The teams were knotted at three until veteran Ron Chambers scored what proved to be the winner while Patrick Garnier hit the empty net to seal the game and the series for Calgary. In other Western Conference action, Vancouver and Minnesota would be the only teams in the first round to go the full seven games and that seventh game would go into double overtime where Bighorns’ captain Joe Tyler would prove to be the hero, beating Ron Tatum to seal the series victory for Vancouver. The Defending Champion St. Louis Spirits were eliminated by the rival Milwaukee Choppers.

In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bulldogs made short work of the New York Civics, sweeping them in four straight games, while Vincent Ducharme and the Royale swept the Detroit Mustangs, who suffered a devastating blow when captain and star defenseman Gustav Janssen went down with a knee injury in game two. Janssen would not return and the Mustangs never really found their way into the series without him. The Philadelphia Redshirts, projected by many to contend for the Cup, found themselves in trouble against the Long Island Concordes. The Concordes jumped to a 3-0 lead early, as Stuart Burns led the way in scoring while Dawson Robb proved to be a valuable off-season addition. Desperate to stay alive in game four, the Redshirts skated to a 5-2 win, then won game five 4-2. A win on the Island would force the series to a seventh game. The Concordes, not wanting to return to the PhillyDome for a deciding game, took care of business on home ice with a 2-0 win to advance. It would be the final game in the careers of Gary Johnson and Bobby Ford, both of whom failed to win a championship in their 2-decade careers.

The Quebec Nationale also got themselves into a tight spot in their series against the Toronto Racers. The Racers managed to take a 3-1 lead in the series, putting the Nationale on their heels in game five. Quebec had to overcome a 2-0 deficit to survive game five, with Rostislav Stransky’s hat-trick turning the game around before Graham Boswell sealed the win with an empty-netter. Game six nearly went into overtime, when Marc Brunelle scored for Toronto in the final minutes to push them into the second round.

Round two would feature one of the most classic matchups in PHL history as the Toronto Racers took on the Montreal Royale. The heavily favoured Royale appeared to have the upper hand early on, taking the first two games in Montreal with Ducharme scoring three goals over the first two games. Toronto responded in game three with a big win of their own on home ice, with Alexei Yolkin scoring the winner before Tory Partridge added the insurance marker to seal the win. The Racers looked like they could mount a comeback when they opened game four with a 3-0 lead after one period. However, Ducharme scored twice early in the second, Sergei Vetrov, Trevor Ramsey, JC Girard all scored toward the end of the period, and Ducharme completed the hat-trick while Ramsey scored his second as the Royale scored seven unanswered goals to take the game 7-3. Toronto never recovered after the offensive explosion from the Royale, finally succumbing to Montreal in game five as the Royale advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row with a 5-2 victory. Elsewhere in the East, the Boston Bulldogs and Long Island Concordes met yet again and the intensity from the ’91 series picked up right where it had left off. Boston took a very physical game one 5-3, while the Concordes managed to tie the series and steal home-ice advantage with a 4-3 win in game two. The teams each won a game in Long Island as well and the series was tied 2-2 heading into game five in Boston. Tension boiled over in game five, as two big fights broke out when the Concordes felt that Boston forwards Craig Bush and Jason Luna were getting to close to goaltender Jeff Pickard. Bush and Luna both answered the bell, fighting Doug Macintyre and Ashton Nichol respectively. Despite the Bulldogs aggressively crashing the net, Pickard made 37 saves while Stuart Burns and Craig Davidson led the charge offensively in a 5-1 win. Game six was a must-win for Boston on the road. Craig Bush scored midway through the second period to give the ‘Dogs a 3-2 lead before Colin Fleming and Kyle Boone each added to it in a 5-2 victory to force game seven in Boston for the second straight year. Boston Arena was full beyond seating capacity for the deciding game, while fans in Long Island watched on a big screen in the Nassau County Arena. The game was close, tied 4-4 at the end of regulation. In overtime, controversy hit when Long Island rookie Niklas Jonsson appeared to trip Boston goaltender Ron Buckner as Buckner was heading back to his net after attempting to clear the puck. The puck found Theo Sprouse’s stick and the veteran defenseman easily flipped the puck into the goal. Buckner was irate, throwing his equipment while chasing down referee James McCullough, demanding an explanation. To the Bulldogs’ satisfaction, and that of the Boston crowd that was ready to jump the glass, McCullough called the goal back. Now the Concordes were incensed, insistent that Jonsson had gotten control of the puck and Buckner had skated into his stick. Cam Norton yelled at McCullough from across the ice, calling him a “homer”. Norton was ejected but wouldn’t leave the ice without sharing a piece of his mind with Boston coach Gary Shantz as he passed the Bulldogs’ bench. Despite losing their coach, Long Island soon scored again, as Doug Macintyre nailed Boston’s Tuevo Heiskanen with a hard hit, taking out his left knee, then passed the puck to a streaking Doug Lyons who beat Buckner on a breakaway to end Boston’s magical year. The Bulldogs immediately responded to the hit on Heiskanen - who was slow to get up – and went after Macintyre right in the middle of the Concordes’ celebration. It took the officials several minutes to break up the melee before sending both teams off the ice, foregoing the traditional handshake line. “For a team that likes to bully there way through the playoffs, they sure are whiny when they get hit” said Cam Norton after the victory. “They run our goalie all series and he never says a word, just stops the puck. Their goalie runs into one of our guys and it’s the end of the world.” Boston captain Craig Bush responded. “They won the series, not sure what the problem for them is. Maybe they’re still bitter about last year, I thought the officials made up for it this time so I’m not sure what their problem is.”

There was no question that Boston/Long Island had become the premier rivalry in the PHL. Meanwhile, another decent rivalry matchup took place in the Central Division between the Milwaukee Choppers and the Chicago Shamrocks. The series was tied 2-2 with each team having won both its home games heading into a pivotal game five. The Choppers made good use of home ice once again in game five, winning 3-1 to give themselves a chance to take the series in game six. The Shamrocks put up a valiant effort in game six, playing with the lead twice before the game went into overtime. It would take two extra periods but Pete Holloway finally found the back of the net late in the second OT to send Milwaukee to the Western Conference Finals. In other Western Conference action Vancouver forward Brett Townsend’s goal early in overtime in game five against the Wranglers gave the Bighorns an opportunity to advance to the Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. They would not disappoint as Bruce Blackwell’s two-goal night propelled Vancouver to a 4-1 win.

Few gave the Bighorns a chance facing Milwaukee in the Western Conference Finals. Sure enough, they would find themselves facing elimination in game six. After the Choppers opened the scoring late in the second period, Joe Tyler tied the game just minutes into the third before unlikely hero Cedric Thibault gave Vancouver the lead. The Bighorns held on for a 3-1 win to force game seven in Milwaukee. Game seven would be a wild one. The Choppers, on goals from Travis Curry, Bruce Gratton, and Shayne Boggs, jumed to a 3-0 lead. The lead held until early in the third period, when Tyler, Blackwell, and Gene Callahan each scored to bring the game back to a tie. With the clock running down and overtime approaching, Milwaukee’s Joe Pickard suddenly scored to give the Choppers the lead. Seconds later, Gratton hit the empty net to seal the victory and send Milwaukee to the Lewis Cup Finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Montreal Royale found themselves in a tough spot against the Long Island Concordes. Long Island led the series 2-1 and was leading game four 2-0 at home when Trevor Ramsey finally put the Royale on the board. Minutes after the Ramsey goal defenseman Jarkko Vesa scored to tie the game 2-2. Theo Sprouse put Long Island back on top early in the third period and Montreal was on their heels once again. It was the captain, Ducharme, who would show why he was labeled as hockey’s ultimate clutch performer. Ducharme tied the game 3-3 to send it to overtime, then added the winner just four minutes into the extra frame to give Montreal a win and tie the series. The Royale never looked back, beating the Concordes with back-to-back 4-2 victories, sending them back to the Lewis Cup Finals to face Milwaukee.