Entering their first round series against the very average
Vancouver Bighorns, the Milwaukee Choppers were a very confident group. With fifteen
points separating the two teams, the Chops were the overwhelming favorite.
Needless to say, hockey fans everywhere were stunned when the Bighorns won game
one at the Milwaukee Arena 6-1. Brushing it off as a fluke, the Choppers
recovered with a 4-2 win in game two, before Vancouver won games 3 & 4 in
overtime to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. After their best regular season
in franchise history, the Choppers season was now on the brink. “We haven’t
really faced adversity like this all year, well here it is now and we have to
find a way to respond” said captain Bruce Gratton. The Choppers did respond in
game five with a big 3-2 win, before forcing game seven with a 5-2 victory. Game
seven was a tight one, with the two teams tied through two periods. With less
than one minute left, Travis Curry suddenly tipped an Olivier Meloche point
shot into the net to give the Choppers the lead. Vancouver pressed hard but
could not solve Scott Daffney. Gratton scored the empty-netter as the Milwaukee
Choppers pulled off the comeback and advanced to the second round. Meanwhile,
the Edmonton Northern Lights’ series with the Winnipeg Pioneers proved to be
one of the most physical series played in a long time. The home team won every
game as Edmonton advanced in seven games. In other Western Conference action,
David Appleby and the Spirits defeated Minnesota in five games, while Vladimir
Gaganov continued his scoring prowess from the regular season, leading the
Chicago Shamrocks in a stunning six-game upset over Seattle.
In the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh once again had their
sights set on winning their second championship. The first two games against
Boston predictably went in Pittsburgh’s favor, with the Stingers winning 5-3
and 4-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. After the Bulldogs won their first game at
home, Pittsburgh jumped to a 3-1 series lead. Determined to prove themselves as
an elite team, the Bulldogs managed to win two tight games to force the series
to game seven. Game seven was all Pittsburgh in the first period as the
Stingers took a 2-0 lead in the first period. But Boston never gave up. Craig
Bush scored twice to tie the game, before Danny Stevenson once again put the
Stingers ahead 3-2. Nate Carroll restored Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead before
Jason Luna and Aaron Goodwin each scored to tie the game once again and send it
into overtime. Nineteen seconds into overtime, Bush completed the hat-trick to stun
the Pittsburgh crowd and complete the upset. The devastating loss was
especially tough to take for Nate Carroll, who had played his final PHL game.
The Pittsburgh crowd gave Carroll a standing ovation as he skated off the ice
with his teammates.
In other Eastern Conference action, Montreal gave the
Philadelphia Redshirts a good scare, taking a 2-1 series lead before the
Redshirts, led by captain Gary Johnson, ultimately won the series 4-2. Brent
MacDonald continued his brilliant play in Nova Scotia as the Claymores defeated
the Quebec Nationale in five games.
In the second round of the playoffs, Chicago, fresh off
their thrilling upset, would move on to face the St. Louis Spirits. David
Appleby’s hat-trick in game one led the Spirits to a 6-2 victory, while Grant
Millen proved to be the hero in game two, scoring the winner in overtime for a
5-4 win. In Chicago for game three, Appleby and Gaganov each had two goals in a
high scoring affair as the Spirits took a commanding 3-0 series lead with an
8-6 victory. It was not all good news for the Spirits, however, as Appleby was
knocked out of the game late in the third period with a separated shoulder
after a hard hit from Dusty Hedley. With Appleby out of the lineup, the Spirits
struggled to find chemistry in game four and the Shamrocks won 5-4 thanks to a
big third period goal from Graham Boswell. Grant Millen put the Spirits on his
back in game five, scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 4-3 St. Louis
victory that propelled them to the Western Conference Finals once again. The
Spirits’ opponent in the Western Final would be a familiar foe, the Milwaukee
Choppers, who defeated the Edmonton Northern Lights in a hard-fought five game
series.
In the Eastern Conference, Boston ran out of gas against the
Nova Scotia Claymores as Nova Scotia won in five games, while Long Island faced
the Philadelphia Redshirts in a tough seven-game series. The series was tied
2-2 after the first four games. Long Island pulled ahead 3-2 in game five
thanks to a huge effort in net from goaltender Pascal Renaud. In game six, Gary
Johnson became the first defenseman in PHL history to score a hat-trick in the
post-season as the Redshirts forced game seven in Long Island. Game seven would
result in yet another heartbreaking end for the Redshirts as former California
Nugget Alan Chadwick’s late-third period goal gave the Concordes a 3-2 win to
send them to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Long Island hoped to carry the momentum into the Eastern
Conference Finals against Nova Scotia, but struggled early on as Nova Scotia
won the first two games at home to take a 2-0 series lead at home. The
Claymores were charging through the playoffs and it looked as if Russel Buchanan’s
promise of a return to the Lewis Cup Finals might actually come true. The
Concordes came out strong in game three, ultimately winning 4-2. Game four went
into overtime and Nova Scotia was determined to get a big 3-1 series lead
heading home. With only forty seconds left in the first overtime, Dave Mack hit
the post on a breakaway just seconds before Harry Hayes just missed a wide open
net. The Concordes pushed but could not solve Brent MacDonald throughout the
second period until finally, Prince Edward Island native Doug Macintyre scored
to give Long Island the win and tie the series. Game five also went into overtime
and once again, Macintyre proved to be the hero as the Concordes pulled ahead in
the series 3-2. The Claymores had had a 2-0 series lead and now faced elimination.
Game six looked like it might go to OT
as well as the teams were deadlocked 2-2. Then, with just three minutes left,
Stuart Burns beat MacDonald to give the Concordes a 3-2 lead. The stunned
Claymores tried hard to tie the game, but Theo Sprouse finally sealed the game
with an empty-net goal as Long Island advanced to the Lewis Cup Finals for the
second time in their history.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Milwaukee Choppers
faced the Mighty St. Louis Spirits, playing without David Appleby who was still
out with a shoulder injury. Bruce Gratton scored twice as the Choppers won game
one 6-2, then Grant Millen once again took the Spirits on his back, carrying
the team to a 6-4 win in game two. Mike Fleming won game three for the Choppers
in overtime, then set up Tony Knight for the winner in game four as Milwaukee
found themselves just one win away from their first-ever appearance in the
Lewis Cup Finals. In game five, St. Louis received a surprise, David Appleby
would return to the lineup. Despite intense pain in his shoulder, Appleby
scored twice in a 5-3 St. Louis win, then scored a hat-trick in a 6-5 win in
game six to extend the series to a seventh game in St. Louis. Prior to game
seven, David Appleby needed a trainer to tie his skates with the pain in his
shoulder. That did not stop him from assisting on a Niklas Ekberg goal to open
the game. It would not be enough, however, as Gratton, Terry Hawkins, and
Travis Curry each scored to eliminate the Spirits and send the Choppers to
their first-ever Lewis Cup Finals, just three years after relocating to
Milwaukee.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
No comments:
Post a Comment