1993-94 Regular Season

1993-94 was a big year for the New York Civics. In October, the team finally opened Broadway House, one of the most spectacular entertainment facilities in the world, including a 2,000 seat theater and a 22,000 seat arena. On opening night, several Civics legends including Freddie Huff, Dave Tobin, and Dave Riley were on hand for the occasion as the Civics faced their metro rivals, the Long Island Concordes. Unfortunately for the Civics, Long Island spoiled opening night thanks to an overtime goal from Doug Macintyre. Despite the disappointing loss, the Civics went on a tear that saw them win 17 straight games. The streak ended on December 4 in a loss to Philadelphia but they still managed an unexpected first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Aaron Duplacy led the way for the Civics with the first 50-goal season of his career, while Jason Wyley enjoyed a breakout year in net. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s fun to finally have a year like this together” said Duplacy.

The Civics weren’t the only team enjoying success in the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Racers, spurred by the off-season acquisition of Magnus Swedberg, finished second in the conference, with Swedberg leading the team in scoring. The Racers spent most of the year battling with Boston for second place. The teams finished with identical records but Toronto managed to take the number two spot based on head-to-head matchups as the Racers won three out of the four games against the Bulldogs. In Montreal, Vincent Ducharme won the league scoring title for the second straight year, but the Royale dropped to fourth place due to a slew of injuries. Goaltender Victor Malmsten struggled through the first two months of the season, eventually losing the starting job to sophomore Jonathan Bouret. Unable to regain his form, Malmsten retired from the PHL in January and returned to Sweden to finish his career. Miami once again came close to reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but lost out to Long Island with just two weeks to go in the season.

When the Detroit Mustangs got off to a horrendous start, the team decided it was time to make some changes. The Mustangs fired GM John Mason and head coach Ted Morley and hired former head scout Bob Gill as their new GM, and former defenseman Cliff Lyle as head coach. Gill immediately made two significant trades, sending defenseman Gustav Janssen to New York in exchange for prospect Eric Thorn, and trading longtime goaltender Brian Donovan to Milwaukee for another prospect, Brent Zahorsky. “We’re not interested in simply making the playoffs” said Gill, “we want to bring a championship back to Detroit. It’s going to take patience but we will get there.”

In the Western Conference, the Chicago Shamrocks ran away with first overall in the league. Vladimir Gaganov finished second in league scoring, while teammate Vladimir Kozakov finished fourth. The Russian superstars weren’t the only ones driving the Shamrocks’ success, however. Defenseman Theo Sprouse, in his second year in Chicago, enjoyed the best year of his career with 71 points, while John Gage was solid in goal. In Calgary, the Wranglers finally enjoyed breakout year as Shannon Micheals and Sergei Krayev teamed up with former St. Louis superstar Grant Millen to lead the Calgary offence. Millen had come out of a two-year retirement to join the Wranglers and looked like he hadn’t missed a step playing with the two young stars. The Wranglers finished first in the Pacific Division and second in the Western Conference.

The Denver Bulls made a big move just prior to the trade deadline. The Bulls were in the hunt for a playoff spot throughout the second half of the year and needed a true number one goalie to make a run. Meanwhile in Boston, Ron Buckner had lost his job to budding star Kevin Washer and was looking for a change. The Bulldogs sent Buckner to Denver on March 1 in exchange for a first round draft pick. Buckner immediately gave the Bulls a shot of confidence down the stretch, however it was too little too late, as Milwaukee pulled ahead of Denver in the final two weeks of the year, taking the final spot from the Bulls. When the season was over, Buckner extended his contract with the Bulls to 1997. “I really had a great time here” said Buckner. “It was disappointing to miss the playoffs but I think we can get there next year, we have a great young group here and I think I can see ending my career here.”

For the Kansas City Twisters, 1994 was a monumental year. After four years of growing pains, the Twisters finally found themselves in the Lewis Cup Playoffs after a 34-win season. KC’s success was largely attributed to a coming-of-age year for young stars such as Brett Delaney, Travis Watson, and defenseman Scott Drayton, who led the PHL in plus/minus in his first year as team captain. In their first-ever playoff series, the Twisters would face the powerful Calgary Wranglers, a team that finished 26 points ahead of them in the standings. Despite being labeled as enormous underdogs, the team embraced the role, entering the post-season full of confidence. “We’re not just happy to be here” said Drayton. “We feel we can beat any team here. We have a great group and I think we’ll be tough to play against.”