The 1998-99 PHL regular season got off to an unusual start, as
six teams opened the season abroad. On opening night the Chicago Shamrocks and
Toronto Racers played the first of a home-and-home series against each other in
Moscow. It was the first time ever that the league played regular season games
in Europe and it was a big success, as over 16,000 fans turned out to see the
games. Just prior to the second game, Vladimir Gaganov took the opportunity to
announce his retirement at season’s end. Gaganov was given a standing ovation
after the game from the Russian fans. Two weeks into the season, Montreal and
New York faced off in Stockholm, Sweden. 14,000 fans packed into the arena as
the Royale defeated the Civics in both games. In December, Los Angeles and
Minnesota completed the Europe Series in Prague, where the teams split the
home-and-home and Minnesota’s Pavel Vana treated his hometown to a two-goal
performance in the second game. Overall, the games in Europe were considered a
big success, immediately leading to fan speculation about possible expansion
overseas. Darryl Byrd quickly dismissed the rumours, saying it was more likely
the league would continue to send teams over for a series each year then
actually add franchises in Europe.
As his final season continued, Vladimir Gaganov inched
closer and closer to two important milestones. On December 9, Gaganov became
the third player in PHL history to scored 800 goals. Then, just three weeks
later, he scored point number 1812 to pass Stuart Holly for third place on the
all-time scoring list and confirm his status as the greatest European player in
the league’s history.
The regular season belonged to the reigning Lewis Cup
Champions, as the Minnesota Lumberjacks took first place overall with 112
points, as the only team in the league to win 50 games. Jason Crowley and Pavel
Vana finished 1st and 2nd in league scoring, marking the
first time ever that teammates took the top two spots. After an underachieving year
in ’97-98, the Kansas City Twisters won the Central Division with 101 points as
Brett Delaney enjoyed a 93-point season. Despite Gaganov’s successful fairwell
season, Chicago slid to fourth, their lowest finish since 1992.
For the first time in their brief history, the Dallas
Desperadoes looked like a playoff contender throughout the year. AJ Vernon had
a breakout season with 36 goals while Alexei Rolonov finished third in Whyte
Trophy voting in only his third season. The Desperadoes were engaged in a tight
race with the Vancouver Bighorns throughout the final weeks of the regular
season. Dallas held the final playoff spot until an 8-game winning streak for
the Bighorns put them in eighth place. After winning their final game of the
season in Denver, Dallas only needed a Vancouver loss. The Bighorns trailed Los
Angeles until the third period, when Tory Partridge tied the game. Early in
overtime, Andrei Yegorov scored to send Vancouver back to the post-season and
eliminate the Desperadoes from playoff contention. It was a disappointing end
for what was a breakout season in Dallas, but the Desperadoes remained
optimistic about their future. “As disappointing as this is, we made some huge
steps as a franchise, next year, the playoffs will be our goal” said GM Ross
Becker.
In the East, the Philadelphia Redshirts were celebrating a
century of hockey. On opening night, several Redshirt legends were honoured in
a pre-game ceremony including Gil Parsons, David Zimmer, Gary Johnson, Tom
Lapin, and Ben Jenkins, the oldest living player from the team’s history. The
Redshirts also wore three retro jerseys throughout the season from different
periods of the teams’ history and held special “Vintage Nights” were all the
food prices reflected those of the era being celebrated. “I think the fans
really enjoyed the five cent beers in 1940s night” said team president Bob
Wells Jr. The Redshirts’ performance on the ice was solid throughout the year.
Jared Baxter led the team in scoring while Jonathan Stafford’s veteran
leadership also came with 67 points as Philly took second place in the
Atlantic.
In Montreal, the
talented Royale were enjoying a strong year when in late November, New Orleans
forward Chad McLean attacked Vincent Ducharme with a vicious cross-check to the
face. Ducharme suffered a fractured cheekbone and missed only two games,
returning with a full-facemask, but head coach and GM Don Shelburne had seen
enough. Tired of seeing Ducharme targeted night after night, Shelburne made a
trade with St. Louis, acquiring 6’6”, 246 lb tough guy Ryan McCarthy to act as
Ducharme’s “bodyguard”. In McCarthy’s first game with the Royale, he immediately
dropped the gloves with Washington defenseman Dwayne Ingram, sending a clear
message to the league that Montreal would not be pushed around. No longer
having to look over his shoulder all the time, Ducharme won the Cleveland Cup
as the league’s top scorer and the Royale took first place in the Eastern
Conference, just barely edging out Washington and New York. The Toronto Racers,
despite losing some talent to the new salary cap, still managed a fourth-place
finish as Joe Murdock proved his incredible rookie season was no fluke, leading
the team in scoring once again with 91 points.
Heading towards the end of the regular season, the Eastern Conference
once again saw one of the tightest playoff races ever. Long Island, Detroit,
Miami, and Carolina all battled for the eighth and final spot with Quebec also
emerging as a dark horse as the season drew to a close. Carolina, bogged down
by injuries all year, was the first to fall out of the race with two tough road
losses in early April. Miami held the final position with the Concordes and
Mustangs in close pursuit. The Stingrays needed only a win in their final game
against Washington to clinch the spot, but lost in a heartbreaker as the
Generals, involved in a race of their own for first place, won with just six
minutes left. Now the Rays needed help form two teams as Detroit faced
Cleveland and Long Island faced Boston. If Detroit won, their record would be
identical to Miami’s but they would get in as they had swept the season series.
The Mustangs fought hard to come back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the Cosmos,
before receiving the devastating news that Long Island had beaten the Bulldogs,
clinching the final playoff position. As the heartbroken Mustangs prepared for
overtime, head coach Cliff Lyle spoke up. “We still need to win this game, for
our fans and for each other” said Lyle. Eric Thorn was the hero for Detroit,
scoring with 20 seconds remaining in overtime to end the season with a win. Meanwhile,
the Concordes were ecstatic to be returning to the post-season for the first
time in five years. Their chances were slim facing the powerful Royale in the
first round, but the team was just proud to be back. “This is the best moment
of my career!” said star forward Ryan Shelton, who had yet to play in a playoff
game. “I’m just excited to finally play some playoff hockey.”
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