Sunday, April 2, 2017

1990 Playoffs

 The Milwaukee Choppers entered the 1990 post-season with the high hopes of completing a “three-peat” and becoming a true dynasty. Facing the young, inexperienced Minnesota Lumberjacks, Choppers fans expected round one to be a minor inconvenience.  A 5-2 victory in game one all but confirmed this in the minds of the fans. Game two went to overtime, where Minnesota earned a stunning victory on a goal from defenseman Jeff Winslow. Talented rookie Paval Vana stepped up big for the ‘Jacks in game three, scoring a goal and earning two assists in a 4-2 win. The Choppers had never expected to fall behind against Minnesota, but remained confident they could tie the series in game four. Travis Curry and Terry Hawkins each scored as Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead. It appeared the Choppers were back in control of the series, when the Lumberjacks suddenly exploded for three goals in the second period. Early in the third period, Jason Crowley scored a fourth goal to give Minnesota a 4-2 lead. Defenseman Olivier Meloche scored to bring Milwaukee within a goal, but it was too late, Minnesota now had a very unexpected 3-1 series lead. Facing elimination in game five, Milwaukee came out flying, ultimately winning 5-3 to force a game six. With most believing that the Choppers would win a game seven at home, game six was essentially a must win for both teams. Jason Crowley, Paval Vana, and Jacob Lundholm each scored while goaltender Jeff Brackley earned a shutout as Minnesota held on for a 3-0 win to stun the Choppers in six games. The win would be the largest upset in the first round of the playoffs, as St. Louis defeated Winnipeg in five games, Seattle swept Chicago, and Edmonton took down Vancouver in a hard-fought six-game series.

Toronto gave Long Island a scare, jumping to a 2-1 series lead. But unlike the Choppers, the Concordes found their game again in time to win the tougher-than-expected series in seven games. Montreal also won their series with Detroit in seven, while Boston and Nova Scotia went to a game seven as well, where the Claymores gave up a 3-1 lead in the third period as the Bulldogs won in overtime to advance. Pittsburgh faced Philadelphia in a hard-fought rivalry matchup that would turn out to be Danny Stevenson’s final series as a PHL player. Stevenson’s last goal turned out to be the winner in game four, as Philadelphia won the series in six games. At the conclusion of game six, the Pittsburgh crowd gave Stevenson a standing ovation as he skated several laps, waving goodbye.

In the second round, Long Island faced their old nemesis, the Boston Bulldogs. This time, rather than attempt to out-grit the Bulldogs, the Concordes forced Boston to play a more wide-open game. Boston managed a win in game two, but simply could not match Long Island’s speed and ultimately succumbed to the Concordes in five games. Montreal continued to roll as well, winning a tough, six game series with Philadelphia thanks in large part to a eight-goal effort from Vincent Ducharme, including a hat-trick in game three. Seattle goaltender Brian Westin turned in one of his best performances ever against Edmonton, as the Grey Wolves defeated the Northern Lights in five games.

After taking out the two-time defending champions in round one, the Minnesota Lumberjacks now had to be taken seriously. Still, entering their second-round matchup with David Appleby and the Spirits, the Jacks were still the overwhelming underdog amongst fans and the media. “We’re just having a lot of fun right now” said Jason Crowley. “We know our job is just to go out and play hockey, while all the pressure is on them, just like the last series.” Crowley’s confidence took the form of a two-goal, three-point performance in game one, as the ‘Jacks won 6-4. By game five, the series was tied 2-2. Appleby scored twice as St. Louis nursed a 3-2 lead throughout most of the game, when Minnesota responded with three fast goals in the third period to take the win and a 3-2 series lead. In game six, the Spirits were only seconds away from forcing game seven with another 3-2 lead, when Vana scored to tie the game. Just nineteen seconds later, rookie Greg Willis scored to give Minnesota a 4-3 lead. The Lumberjacks would hold on to pull off their second major upset of the year, their flair for the dramatic earning them the nickname; “Cardiac ‘Jacks”.

There would be one last challenge the Lumberjacks would need to face to reach their first Lewis Cup final in eleven years, the Seattle Grey Wolves, a team that had only lost one game throughout the post-season. After big wins in games one and two in Seattle, Minnesota headed home with a 2-0 lead. The Grey Wolves were in trouble. In game three, captain Pete Holloway put the Wolves on his back with a four-point performance including a goal and three assists in a 5-2 win. Seattle would then win game four, also by a score of 5-2 to tie the series. Game five would be critical for both teams. Seattle held a 3-1 lead entering the third period when Ted Lovell was called for an elbow. Hindrik Hjertsson scored on the powerplay to pull Minnesota within one. With just seconds left in the third period, Crowley delivered the tying goal to send it to OT, the Cardiac ‘Jacks had struck again. Just 45 seconds into the overtime, Greg Willis scored  the first overtime goal of his career to give the Lumberjacks the win and an opportunity to advance to the Lewis Cup Finals at home. Game six was a tight, but high-scoring contest all the way through, with the teams knotted at 4-4 by the third period. Late in the third, Jake Fairbanks had a golden opportunity to put Seattle ahead when he beat Jeff Brackley on a breakaway. Unfortunately, the puck hit the post and the game remained tied. With less than four minutes remaining, Marcus Renberg’s point shot finally found the back of the net to give the Lumberjacks a 5-4 lead. After withstanding a late push from Seattle, the Lumberjacks poured off the bench, Minnesota was headed to the Lewis Cup Finals.

The Eastern Conference Finals would pit the Long Island Concordes, the league’s top team during the regular season, against the Montreal Royale, a talented young team on the rise. The Royale would manage to steal home ice advantage with a 3-1 win in game two, but they were unable to get back into the series after that. Long Island won the next two in Montreal, before decisively ending the series with a 7-0 victory in game five. Stuart Burns finished the series with an incredible 9 points, nearly two points per game, while Pascal Renaud never game the Royale a chance in net. It would be Long Island’s third trip to the Spring Classic, and facing the Cinderella Minnesota Lumberjacks, the Concordes hoped the third time would be the charm.



Round One




Round Two




Round Three


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