2007 Lewis Cup Finals

Jason Crowley turned 40 years old on May 30, 2007. To celebrate, he played in game one of the Lewis Cup Finals for the fourth time in his career. Everyone knew the matchup between Boston and Oakland would be tight and game one proved as much, with the Bulldogs edging out the Nuggets 2-1. In game two, Travis Sweet was in top form for the Nuggets, stopping 38 shots for a shutout while Jordan Rifkin scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Nuggets win that tied the series. The game was controversial, however, as Boston appeared to tie the game late, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference. The replay showed that Jeffery Simpkins was clearly pushed into Sweet by Oakland defenseman Evan Butler, but the call stood, leaving Bulldogs’ coach Maxime St-Beaudoin in a rage. “You play your best and this is how it ends? What a (expletive) joke!” an Irate St-Beaudoin told the media afterwards.

As the series shifted to Oakland, local fans were annoyed that the media was focused more on the ‘Dogs disallowed goal and less on the stellar play of Travis Sweet. Game three was chippy, with several post-whistle scrums as the tension grew between the two clubs. Rifkin scored for the Nuggets in the second period, followed by Teppo Saari early in the third. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs once again could not solve Sweet. With seven minutes to go in the game, Ryan Lockhart and Jordan Rifkin each took a penalty for the Nuggets, giving Boston a 5-on-3 powerplay. Boston pummeled Sweet with shots and Sweet turned away every one, leading Bulldogs’ captain Brendan Marlo to smash his stick at the bench. Sweet was clearly in Boston’s heads as the 20-year-old held on for his second straight shutout. Oakland now led the series 2-1.

St-Beaudoin made some lineup changes in game four, putting his two best forwards, Marlo and Mikael Larsson, together on the top line. The strategy worked, as Marlo found Larsson in the slot and Larsson scored to break the drought just two minutes into the game. While most of the attention all series was on Sweet, it was the other young goalie wearing red and black that stepped up big in game four. Just a year removed from winning the cup as Jussi Sykko’s backup in Toronto, Mark Davis was now making the most of his opportunity as a starter. Davis stopped 33 shots in game four while Crowley scored late to give Boston a narrow 2-1 win and a tied series.

The Boston Bulldogs headed home for gave five with their confidence restored. Just as Travis Sweet had been in the Bulldogs’ heads early in the series, now Marlo and Larsson were clearly in Sweet’s head. The duo combined for three goals on five shots early in game five. When Simpkins scored to make in 4-0, Sweet was pulled in favour of former Bulldog Kevin Washer. Washer had been a rookie when he backstopped Boston to their last Lewis Cup in 1993 and now in his final season, he received a standing ovation from the usually hostile Boston crowd as he skated to the net. Washer played well and the Nuggets managed to score twice, but it was too little too late, as Boston ultimately won 5-2 to sit just one win away from a title.

In game six, Oakland coach Ken Gilbert decided to stick with Travis Sweet in net. Sweet and Davis put on one of the greatest goaltender exhibitions in Lewis Cup Final history. Sweet stopped 42 shots while Davis stopped 39. The Nuggets scored early on a point shot from Pierre Dubois and the lead held right into the third period. A game seven in Boston seemed inevitable, until Mikael Larsson scored with just under a minute left. Everyone prepared for overtime but right off the faceoff Jason Crowley slapped it towards the goal and beat Sweet to put Boston up 2-1. The building went silent. In a matter of seconds the Nuggets had gone from nursing a lead to force a game seven to now desperately needing a goal to stay alive. Oakland pressed hard for the final 38 seconds but Davis stood tall. As the seconds ticked away the Bulldogs began pouring off the bench and mobbing Davis. For the second straight year the MVP was a goaltender, but this time it would be the losing goaltender as Travis Sweet took home the honour. Greg Nolan came out to present the Lewis Cup for the first time as commissioner. “This is my favorite part of the job so far” he announced before handing it to Brendan Marlo. After skating with the cup, Marlo then handed it to his former Minnesota teammate, Jason Crowley. It was Crowley’s third championship and the first where he had scored the winning goal, the perfect ending to a magnificent career.