The 1990s had yet to see a back-to-back Lewis Cup winner but
the Chicago Shamrocks entered the post-season confident that they would be the
first one. Facing the 76-point Denver Bulls in the first round, The Shamrocks
were almost unanimously picked to win the series with many predicting a sweep.
Game one would be a shocker, as vintage Ron Buckner showed up in the Denver
goal, earning a shutout in a 3-0 Bulls win. Game two was tight but seemed to be
going Chicago’s way until Chris Falkner tied the game for Denver with just
seconds left before Kaino Rippola won it for the Bulls just 31 seconds into
overtime. In Denver, the Shamrocks won game three out of sheer desperation, but
dropped game four when they once again struggled to solve Buckner. The
defending champions were now down three games to one and facing elimination. Head
coach Don Saleski altered his lines for game five, splitting up the Russian
Connection line and placing Vladimir Kozakov on Martin Vannier’s line. It
seemed to work, as Vannier and Kozakov combined for four points in a 5-2 win.
After a hard-fought win on the road the Shamrocks managed to force a game seven
at home. The Bulls opened the scoring on a goal from Oleg Markov, but the
floodgates opened for Chicago after that. Gaganov, Kozakov, Ted MacDougall and
Kavin Trainor all found the back of the net. As the Shamrocks and Bulls shook
hands, Chicago fans breathed a huge sigh of relief as the Shamrocks advanced to
the second round.
Chicago wasn’t the only contending team to survive a
first-round scare. The Minnesota Lumberjacks continuously found themselves
falling behind in their first-round series with Kansas City, eventually facing
elimination in game six. With an opportunity to advance at home, Kansas City
took an early 3-0 lead. But Minnesota came charging back in the second period,
reducing the lead to 3-2 on goals from Jason Crowley and Greg Willis. Simon
Brassard tied the game with four minutes left in the third period to send it to
overtime. The first OT was scoreless, as goaltenders Christian Grayson for
Minnesota and Jason Lind for Kansas City made save after save. Finally, just
two minutes into the second OT, Pavel Vana beat Lind to force the series to a
seventh game. The Lumberjacks completed the comeback with a 3-1 win in game
seven.
In other Western Conference action the Calgary Wranglers
swept the California Nuggets, while Edmonton pulled off the biggest upset of
the first round, taking out LA in six games.
The Eastern Conference playoffs saw many of the same
matchups from the previous year, as Toronto repeated their victory over
Washington in five games, while Montreal once again won the battle of Quebec
also in five. In the only new matchup, the New York Civics took six games to
end Miami’s first playoff appearance.
In another rematch from ’94, the Boston Bulldogs met their
longtime bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Redshirts. Boston got off to a strong
start, winning game one 5-2, but went on to drop the next two as Philadelphia
took a surprising 2-1 series lead. In game four, an overtime goal from captain
Craig Bush tied the series, restoring home-ice advantage for the Bulldogs. Back
home for a pivotal game five, the Bulldogs were confident they could take the
lead in the series and give themselves an opportunity to advance. They found
themselves down early when Jonathan Stafford and Brendan Carnes each scored to
give the Redshirts a 2-0 lead. However, Boston battled back in the third
period, with Kyle Boone and Jason Luna each scoring to bring the game to a 2-2
tie. The game would eventually go into overtime, where disaster struck for
Boston. Veteran defenseman Dale Knight attempted to clear the puck from behind
the net, but deflected it off the stanchion separating the glass and right onto
the stick of Redshirts forward Owen Betts, who beat Kevin Washer for the win to
give Philly a 3-2 series lead heading home. Game six at the PhillyDome was
close, tied at 2-2 until midway through the third period, when Brendan Carnes gave
the Redshirts the lead. Jeff Waters sealed the win with an empty-net goal and
the Redshirts completed the upset and moved on to the second round.
The Redshirts reward for their upset over Boston was a
second-round date with the first-place Toronto Racers. Heavily favoured to win
the Eastern Conference title, the Racers appeared to be in control of the
series. Despite dropping game two at home, Toronto dominated the Redshirts at
both ends of the ice throughout the first three games, taking a 2-1 series
lead. In game four they ran into trouble, giving up a 2-0 lead in the third
period as Philly took the game 3-2. Game five went to overtime and Randy
Fernandez ended it just 28 seconds in with a booming shot from the point,
giving the Racers a chance to take the series in game six. In game six in
Philadelphia, the Redshirts never let Toronto into the game. Waters and Carnes each
scored while Stafford scored twice in a 4-1 Philly win. Game seven was close,
going into overtime with the two teams tied 1-1. Both goaltenders, Tom Branson
and Antero Parvainen were spectacular as one overtime turned into two. Finally,
with one minute to go in the second overtime, Redshirts defenseman Brett Swift
beat Branson with a hard shot to send the redshirts to the Eastern Conference
Finals, where they would face the Montreal Royale, who were coming off a
five-game victory over New York.
In the Western Conference, Chicago got another good scare
when the Edmonton Northern Lights took a 2-1 series lead. Beginning in game
four, however, Vladimir Gaganov took the team on his back, scoring two goals in
game four, a goal and an assist in game five, and two more goals in a 4-0 win
in game six to send Chicago back to the conference final.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Wranglers were beginning to earn a
reputation as a team that couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. The Wranglers
were determined to erase this reputation as they faced the Minnesota
Lumberjacks. Game one was decisive, as Calgary won 6-1. Minnesota clung to a
2-1 lead in game two until late in the second period when Shannon Michaels tied
it before Jay Lydon scored the eventual game-winner just minutes later. In
Minnesota, game three would go to overtime, where Jason Crowley hit the post
twice for the Lumberjacks before Sergei Krayev ended it for Calgary, giving
them a commanding 3-0 series lead. Minnesota managed to avoid a sweep with a
4-1 win in game four, but it was too little too late as Calgary advanced to the
Western Conference Finals for the first time since their championship season in
1981.
Facing the defending champion Chicago Shamrocks for the
right to play for the Lewis Cup would be no easy task, and Chicago stifled Calgary
immediately, shutting them out in the first two games. Calgary would finally
find the back of the net in game three, finally arriving for the series with a
3-2 win, but the Shamrocks stormed back with a 4-2 victory in game four to take
a commanding 3-1 lead. After making some adjustments in their lineup, the
Wranglers staved off elimination with a big 3-1 road win. Calgary now had
Chicago on their heels, as the Shamrocks now needed to close out the series on
the road to avoid a decisive game seven. In game six, Sergei Krayev turned in
one of the best performances of his career, scoring a hat-trick and assisting
on a goal from Roni Laukkanen as the Wranglers forced game seven in Chicago.
Game seven would be a classic. The Shamrocks led 3-1 through most of the game
until Shannon Michaels finally brought the Wranglers within one with a goal
early in the third period. In the dying seconds, Calgary pulled Ron Tatum in a
desperate attempt to tie the game. Chicago cleared the puck with just five
seconds left and it looked like the game was over until Jay Lydon picked up the
puck, crossed the blueline and just whipped it at the net. The puck dipped and
beat John Gage, crossing the goal line as the horn sounded. A video review
confirmed that the puck did indeed cross the line just .3 seconds before the
buzzer went off and the game went into overtime. After scoring the tying goal,
Lydon nearly won it for Calgary just seconds into the extra frame but John Gage
made a huge glove save to keep the Shamrocks alive. Just two minutes after the
save, Martin Vannier was sprung on a breakaway. Vannier made no mistake, deking
Tatum and sliding the puck under his pad to win the game and series for
Chicago.
The Shamrocks would have an opportunity to defend their
title against a familiar foe. The Montreal Royale never allowed the
Philadelphia Redshirts into the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating them in five
games, including an 8-0 blowout in game three. Vincent Ducharme turned in one
of the best single-series performances in PHL history, scoring seven goals and
eleven points in only five games. For the first time since 1962, the Lewis Cup
Finals would be a rematch of the previous year.
No comments:
Post a Comment