1969-70

The PHL entered a new era in the 1969-70 season. Six franchises from the former Global League had joined the Professional league in a merger and the entire league was realigned as a result. The new clubs predictably struggled to adjust to their new surroundings. The Chicago Shamrocks, Detroit Mustangs, Minnesota Lumberjacks, and Winnipeg Pioneers joined the new clubs to form the new Western Conference. Due partly to the lack of quality compitition in the conference, Detroit and Minnesota dominated the regular season while Chicago found themselves back in the playoffs. The Pioneers, who had never made the playoffs before, managed to win the very weak Pacific Division in fairly dominant fashion. Winnipeg was the only team in the division that did not come from the GHL while the other two playoff teams in the division, California and Vancouver, would not have made the playoffs in any other division. Calgary, the last champions of the GHL, plummeted to last place in the Pacific as they struggled to compete to superior oposition. The lone bright spot for the Wranglers was the PHL return of 46-year-old Skippy Cleveland. Cleveland, who became the first PHL player to play in five different decades, struggled early on but managed to finish the season with a very respectable 31 goals and 57 points while playing against several players who were born when he had already played up to ten years in the league. Winnipeg's Tim Douglas faced off against Cleveland in the Wranglers' home opener. Douglas was born on the night Cleveland suffered his famous life-threatening head injury in 1949. Minnesota and Chicago became the league's hottest new rivalry in the winter of 1970. After a fight-filled game in Minneapolis one frigid January night, the Shamrocks decided to stop by a local bar on the way to their hotel. Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks had the same idea. It didn't take long for the trash-talk to escalate and soon enough both teams found themselves brawling again right there in the bar. Several Minnesota fans joined in before police showed up and ordered the Chicago players to get out or spend the night in jail. Shamrock veterans Bruce James and Don Sims refused to leave unless the Lumberjack players were bounced as well. As James and Sims were taken away, word got back to owner Fred Garfield Jr about the incedent. Before he could even decide what to do about the rematch in Chicago the following night, his father, Fred Sr, was already on his way to Minnesota to bail out his players. The following night, both James and Sims had points in a 5-2 Chicago win. Boston and Montreal continued their monopoly of the Eastern Conference, both taking first place in their respective divisions. But the big story in the east featured a very tight playoff race between the Quebec Nationale and the Ottawa Beavers. Heading into the final day of the regular season, the teams were slated to play eachother. Ottawa needed a win, Quebec only needed to tie. With 21 seconds left the game was tied. The Beavers pulled goaltender Ron Davidson, desperately hoping to get the win. Sure enough, with 11 seconds to go, Casey Beckett scored to put Ottawa ahead, 3-2. The Beavers piled over the boards in celebration, as if they had won the Lewis Cup. After the officials finally cleared everyone off the ice, the puck was dropped for the final 11 seconds, this time with Quebec's net empty. As the clock wound down, rookie William Baxter jammed the puck past Davidson. This time it was Quebec's turn to celebrate their return to the playoffs, while the Beavers looked on in shock.

As part of the merger agreement, the 1970 playoffs were expanded to include 12 teams, with each of the four division winners recieving a first-round bye. In the first round of the playoffs, Chicago and Minnesota continued their vicious rivalry as the Shamrocks pulled off a huge upset over the heavily favoured Lumberjacks in a five game war. Upsets would be abundant in the first round of the playoffs, as New York shocked Nova Scotia in six games, while Quebec ousted Toronto in five with David Zimmer earning three consecutive shutouts in games 3, 4, and 5, a PHL record. In the second round, most cinderalla runs were abruptly stopped. Chicago, still banged up from the Minnesota series, put up a good fight against the Detroit Mustangs but ultimitely lost in six, while Boston defeated New York in a surprisingly tough six game series. Winnipeg managed to win a tight seven-game tilt with California after giving up the series lead twice, while in the only upset of round two, David Zimmer and the Nationale took out their hated rivals, the Montreal Royale, in six games. Throughout the playoffs, the Winnipeg Pioneers, who had earned a bye in the league's weakest division, where widely labeled as "overated, unproven, and untested." The assessment would prove to be accurate as the Pioneers would lose the Western Conference final to Detroit, their first quality compitition, in a decisive four-game sweep. In the Eastern Conference final, Quebec was at it again. David Zimmer tied his own record from round one with three straight shutouts as the Nationale stunned the Boston Bulldogs, winners of 50 regular season games, in six games to advance to the Lewis Cup Finals for the first time since their 1965 championship.

Heading into the finals, the Mustangs would've been the overwhelming favorite against a team that had won 18 fewer regular season games. But nobody was about to count the scrappy Nationale club out. By game three, Quebec found themselves with the series lead. Detroit roared back, however, winning the next two to lead 3 games to 2. in game 6, with the Lewis Cup in the building, Quebec coach Jean-Pierre Boisvert delivered a rousing pre-game speech to his team. David Zimmer stopped 44 shots, while 15-year vet Ben Williams scored two goals as the Nationale forced a game seven in Detroit. Game seven would be one for the ages. Detroit appeared to have it locked up with a 3-0 lead entering the third period, before Williams and rookie Freddy Brown each scored for Quebec to make it 3-2. In the dying seconds, with David Zimmer on the bench, Williams had a beautiful opportunity to tie it up, but ringed the puck off the crossbar. Quebec's miraculous run ended in heartbreak as Detroit repeated as Lewis Cup champions. David Zimmer became the first player from the losing team to be named playoff MVP. His 9 shutouts where a playoff record.

Standings:

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Lewis Cup Finals