2002 Playoffs

Round 1

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia (1) vs New Orleans (8)

The Sound made their first playoff appearance since their Atlantic Canada days against the defending champion Philadelphia Redshirts. New Orleans proved to be no match for the powerful Redshirts, as Philly jumped to a 3-0 lead right away. In game four, The Sound finally got their act together, forcing the game to overtime, where Darren Reid scored to give the team their first playoff win in New Orleans. Two nights later, Philadelphia ended the series with a decisive 3-0 win.

Miami (2) vs New York (7)

The home teams won the first four games and the series turned ugly towards the end of game four, as two line brawls followed a 6-0 New York rout. Game five was tied 2-2 until the final 20 seconds, when Derek Snyder scored the winner before Jeremy Sutton sealed it with an empty netter. In game six, Miami finally became the first road team to win a game, taking the series with a 3-1 game six win.

Montreal (3) vs Detroit (6)

Montreal’s first playoff run without Vincent Ducharme was surprisingly brief, as Detroit immediately took a 3-1 series lead. Igor Kharitonov was Detroit’s best player, scoring three big goals in the first four games. Montreal salvaged a win in game four at home, then had an opportunity to force it to a seventh game when game six went to overtime, but Detroit would complete the upset thanks to a goal in the second overtime from Eric Woods.

Pittsburgh (4) vs Boston (5)

The Boston Bulldogs made their return to the playoffs for the first time in five years against the favoured Pittsburgh Stingers. The series was tight, ultimately reaching a seventh game. In game seven, the Stingers scored early to take a 1-0 lead, which they would hold onto until the final minute of the third period, when Boston tied it with a goal from Scott Rose. In the first overtime, the Stingers pressed when Boston took two penalties to give Pittsburgh a 5-on-3. Rookie goaltender Chad Cohen made save after save for the Bulldogs as they managed to kill off both penalties. The game remained tied after two overtimes where rookie Chris Haines scored on a breakaway to win the series for Boston. “We all feel sick right now” said Pittsburgh captain Scott Lindsay.

Western Conference

Minnesota (1) vs Los Angeles (8)

The Lumberjacks entered the playoffs as the overwhelming favorites to win the Lewis Cup, and certainly to win their first round series against the Los Angeles Wizards, and so the hockey world was stunned when LA won the first two games both in overtime, both 3-2, with veterans Adam Lawless and Ted McDougal scoring the winning goals. Game three also went to overtime, where Jason Crowley hit the post before Lawless scored his second OT winner of the series. Game four was the fourth straight overtime game and LA defenseman Eric Hunt proved to be the hero as the Wizards completed one of the biggest upsets in PHL history in a series that was the first-ever four game sweep where all four games went to overtime.

Kansas City (2) vs Vancouver (7)

The Twisters and Bighorns met for the third time in four years and after losing game one 8-0, the Bighorns came closer than ever to finally beating the Twisters, taking them to a game seven after a hard-fought series. In game seven, Jimmy Otterburn made 31 saves in a shutout for Kansas City as the Twisters took the game 2-0 to eliminate the Bighorns once again.

Seattle (3) vs Milwaukee (6)

The Choppers struggled to find offense throughout the series, as the Grey Wolves shut them out by a combined score of 5-0 in the first two games. Milwaukee finally got a win at home in game three with thanks to goals from Patrice Goulet and Graham Boswell. The Choppers looked great in game four, but still lost 4-3 in overtime as Seattle took a 3-1 series lead. Boswell fought Scott Sherwood off the opening faceoff in an attempt to turn the momentum around. It wouldn’t work as Seattle shut the Choppers out once again 3-0 to take the series in what would be Boswell’s final PHL game.

Dallas (4) vs Chicago (5)

In a rematch from the 2001 playoffs, the Desperados hoped to exorcise some demons against the Shamrocks after a heartbreaking game seven loss. Chicago came out strong early in the series, taking a 2-1 series lead. But Dallas wasn’t finished, winning a hard-fought game four 3-2 thanks to a late goal from AJ Vernon. Dallas then won game five at home 4-1. Back in Chicago for game six, there was some controversy, as an early goal for Chicago was disallowed when it appeared that Chicago forward Cedric Thibault had interfered with Alexei Rolonov, even though Brent McGill had clearly pushed Thibault. Chicago never recovered, as Dallas won the game 4-2 to win their first series in franchise history.

Round 2

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia vs Detroit

The Detroit Mustangs entered the second round on a huge wave of momentum after their upset over Montreal. Still, they weren’t expected to continue their run facing the defending champions. In game one, the Mustangs continued to surprise the hockey world with a 3-0 win, then followed it up with two more wins to take a commanding series lead. Despite the shock of finding themselves facing elimination, the Redshirts still managed a 1-0 overtime win in game four. Game five was tight until the third period, when goals from Andrei Alexeev and Mikael Forsberg gave Detroit a 4-2 win and another upset.

Miami vs Boston

The Bulldogs were confident after their upset over the Stingers, but regular season leading scorer Eric Moon stole the show once again for Miami. Moon had two goals in game one, then a hat-trick in game three, as the Stingrays immediately jumped to a 3-0 series lead. Boston won a face-saver in game four but it was too little too late, as Miami advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Western Conference

 Kansas City vs Los Angeles

After two consecutive finals appearances, including a Lewis Cup victory in 2000, the Twisters couldn’t be blamed for a feeling of entitlement as they entered their second round matchup with the LA Wizards, a team coming off one of the biggest upsets in PHL history. After the teams split the first two games, the Twisters won game five 6-3 and never let the Wizards back into the series, taking game six 4-2 to return to the Western Conference Finals once again.

Seattle vs Dallas

After taking out Milwaukee in the first round, the Grey Wolves were once again the favorites in their second round matchup against the Dallas Desperados. The first four games were close and physical, as both teams tried to establish their physical presence. With the series tied 2-2 entering game five, both teams came out hitting. An AJ Vernon hit early in the game forced Drake Klausen out and he would not return. Despite losing Klausen, Seattle prevailed in a high scoring game 5-4. Heading home for game six, Dallas was now on the ropes. The Desperados put up a valiant effort in game six, but it would not be enough, as Seattle advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a 3-2 win.

Conference Finals

Miami vs Detroit

The Eastern Conference Finals featured the red-hot Miami Stingrays against the Detroit Mustangs, a team appearing in the conference finals for the first time in 28 years. Miami took control of the series early, taking a 3-1 lead. Game five went to triple overtime where Patrick Fletcher won it for Detroit to bring the Mustangs back into the series. After the marathon in game five, both teams were tired in game six, where early goals from Eric Moon and Ryan Woods gave Miami a 2-0 lead. Kharitonov scored for Detroit on the powerplay but that was all the Mustangs had left, as the Stingrays took game six and advanced to the Lewis Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Kansas City vs Seattle

It was déjà vu in the Western Conference Finals, as the Kansas City Twisters and Seattle Grey Wolves met in a rematch from the previous year. Like the year before, Kansas City took an early 2-0 series lead, followed by a Seattle home win in game three. In game four, however, the Twisters dominated the third period en route to a 5-2 win and a 3-1 series lead. It appeared that the expansion class of 1989 would be the matchup for the 2002 Lewis Cup Finals. In game five, Seattle staved off elimination with a big 3-1 win on the road, then took the Twisters to double overtime in game six, where 20-year veteran Jason Radford beat Jimmy Otterburn to give Seattle the win and force game seven. In game seven, Syong Li was the unlikely hero, scoring what would prove to be the winning goal while Sean Harrington made 46 saves in a 1-0 Seattle win. The Grey Wolves had come all the way back from a 3-1 deficit and would now play for the Lewis Cup.