1986 Playoffs

In 1922 The Philadelphia Redshirts, then playing in the old Eastern Hockey League, recruited a young man named Donald Graves. Graves led the team in scoring through most of 1922-23, his first season in professional hockey. Towards the end of the year, Graves was caught drinking with some friends, breaking strict team rules. Redshirts’ coach Herb Sheffield promptly released the 20-year-old, to which Graves allegedly promised the coach he would do everything in his power to ensure the Redshirts never again won a championship. Of course Graves’ intention was to accomplish this by joining a new club and leading them to victory. But tragedy struck when Graves became sick with pneumonia and died just weeks after his release.

17 years later, the Redshirts were one of the nine founding teams for the new Professional Hockey League. By this time, talk of a “curse” in Philadelphia had already begun. As the years turned into decades and the Redshirts continuously failed to bring home the Lewis Cup, urban legends about Donald Graves became more and more common, including many reports of Graves’ ghost being seen around the old Philadelphia Arena. When the Redshirts moved into the new PhillyDome, the hope among superstitious fans was that any presence preventing the team from winning would not follow the team to the new building. 1986, the most successful in the teams’ PHL history, would be the perfect test.

The Redshirts began their playoff run against Washington, a team returning to the post-season after a disappointing 1984-85 season. Gary Johnson continued as the top shut-down man in the league while budding superstar goalie Antero Parvainen played brilliantly as the Redshirts downed the Generals in five games. Veteran Boston forward Colin Fleming called the Bulldogs series with the Long Island Concordes the toughest two weeks of hockey he had ever played in. The home team won every game as Boston eked out wins in games five and seven at home to take the series. Game seven marked the end of legendary goaltender Bobby Sorel’s playing career. Also in the East, Nova Scotia defeated Detroit in a series that was much closer than the six games would indicate, while Danny Stevenson and the Stingers swept Toronto if four straight.

Out west, the Vancouver Bighorns made their first appearance in the playoffs since 1970, facing the Milwaukee Choppers in the first round. Milwaukee was heavily favoured to win the series and won the first two games at home fairly easily. However, the Bighorns managed to turn the momentum in Vancouver with two big overtime wins to tie the series. The OT hero in both games was young forward Brett Townsend. After the Choppers won game five to retake the lead, the teams again went to OT in game six, once again with Townsend scoring the winner. Townsend had set a unique PHL record scoring three overtime goals in the same series, earning him the nickname “Sudden Death”. The Bighorns had made the most of their return to the playoffs, but unfortunately their magic would run out in game seven. Milwaukee led 5-0 through two periods, eventually advancing with a 5-1 win.

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Northern Lights were determined to prove their colossal upset the previous year over St. Louis was no fluke. This time facing the Chicago Shamrocks, the Northern Lights once again employed a very chippy, physical playing style, often ganging up on superstar Vladimir Gaganov. It was no easy task, as the equally tough Shamrocks proved to be much better prepared for the physicality than the Spirits had. It proved to be a bizarre series when a game three Edmonton blowout resulted in an ugly brawl. The resulting suspensions left the Northern Lights without enough skaters for game four. Ultimately, third-string goalie Brent Kahler was forced to play as a forward in game four, which Edmonton won 3-2. The Northern Lights went on to upset the Shamrocks in seven games, establishing themselves as a playoff force. Elsewhere in the West, Seattle took out the Winnipeg Pioneers in six games, while David Appleby’s nine goals propelled the Spirits past the Denver Bulls in five.

In round two the Spirits finally got their opportunity for revenge against the Edmonton Northern Lights. David Appleby, determined not to be fazed this time by Edmonton’s hard-nosed style, scored a hat-trick in both games one and two, then followed up with five more goals over the next three games as St. Louis defeated Edmonton in five games. Appleby was back to his old form, scoring an incredible 20 goals in only ten playoff games. Appleby was also on pace to become the first player in PHL history to score at least one goal in every game during a playoff run. The other three second-round series all went to seven games. Nova Scotia took a 3-2 series lead over Pittsburgh before the Stingers won game six and seven to take the series, while Milwaukee managed to win a very tough seven-game series against the Seattle Grey Wolves, a victory that unfortunately cost the Choppers star forward Travis Curry, who went down with a knee injury in game six.

One of the PHL’s greatest and oldest rivalries was renewed when the Philadelphia Redshirts clashed with the Boston Bulldogs. The series was everything it was expected to be, tight, hard-hitting, and downright nasty. The teams split the first four games 2-2, before Boston edged out the Redshirts 4-3 in a very emotionally tense game. With their backs against the wall, the Redshirts won game five by a decisive score of 5-1. Emotions boiled over as the final buzzer sounded and three big fights broke out as the teams were leaving the ice. Game seven in at the PhillyDome was played before a crowd of over 31,000, one of the largest ever to watch a playoff game. The game went into overtime where Philly’s Jeff Waters rifled the puck past Boston goalie Ron Buckner to send the Redshirts to the Eastern Conference Final. It appeared the Redshirts might finally break the curse, but they would still have to get past their state rivals and the defending Lewis Cup Champions, Danny Stevenson and the Pittsburgh Stingers.

The Eastern Conference Finals promised to be dramatic series from start to finish and it did not disappoint. The teams split the first four games 2-2. Game five in Philadelphia proved to be one of the most exciting games in Redshirts’ history. Pittsburgh jumped to an early 2-0 lead with Stevenson and Risto Rautianen scoring the goals for the Stingers. In the third period, Gary Johnson’s goal on a point shot gave the Redshirts life. Jakob Martensson turned in a spectacular effort in goal for the Stingers as the Redshirts continued to press for the tying goal. Finally, veteran forward and former New York Civic Dave Tobin beat Martensson glove side to tie the game. Just three minutes into overtime, Brady Glenn scored on a breakaway to give Philadelphia a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead.

The Stingers would win game six 2-0 to force a game seven that would feature perhaps the strangest moment in PHL history. The Redshirts carried the play for the first two periods, finally jumping to a commanding 3-0 lead on goals from Jeff Waters, Magnus Swedberg, and Gary Nichols. It appeared the Redshirts were on their way to the Lewis Cup Finals. With less than six minutes left in the third, referee Doug Trevors suddenly blew his whistle. The call was too many men for Philadelphia, except nobody but Trevors had seen a sixth man on the ice. Play-by-play man Don Chafee thought he had seen a sixth man on the ice but replays confirmed that Philadelphia only had five men on the ice. Because the officials had no access to replays, the call on the ice stood and Pittsburgh went on the powerplay. The Philadelphia crowd was irate, as if they knew what would happen next. Just seconds into the powerplay, Danny Stevenson scored to put Pittsburgh back in the game. With the teams now at even strength, Terry Willis stunned the entire building with another goal for the Stingers just seconds after the Stevenson marker. The lead was now 3-2. The Stingers pulled Martensson with two minutes left and Stevenson scored again. 3-3. Clearly shaken up by the bad call, the Redshirts simply could not stop the bleeding so Zimmer called a timeout. With 29 seconds left, defenseman Jason Farrell turned the puck over, sending Kenny Sharp on a breakaway. Sharp flipped the puck over  Parvainen’s shoulder to give Pittsburgh the lead. Philly pressed but simply could not find the net. The fans began to throw garbage on the ice and the officials had to be escorted by police out of the arena. A devastated Doug Trevors had no real explanation of why he thought there was a sixth man, chalking it up to confusion, except that Don Chafee was convinced he had seen it too. Superstitious fans believed they knew immediately who it was, Donald Graves. According to many fans this was another effort by the Graves ghost to sabotage their beloved Redshirts. Philly coach David Zimmer dispelled the ghost talk and put the responsibility on his team. “It was a bad call to be sure, but the way we responded led to the loss” said the former star goalie. “We had a 3-0 lead and we blew it, we can’t blame that on anyone but ourselves.”

In the Western Conference Finals, the St. Louis Spirits seemed to hit a brick wall in the Milwaukee Choppers. Milwaukee trounced the Spirits 8-2 in game one, then took the series lead again in game three with a 3-1 win. With Travis Curry still out with an injured knee, Bruce Gratton and Terry Hawkins stepped up big for the Choppers while St. Louis struggled to keep up. After the Spirits tied the series in game four, Milwaukee once again took the lead in game five with a 3-2 victory. For the first time in the post-season, the Spirits found themselves backed into a corner. David Appleby, who’s goal streak had been promptly ended in game three, finally put the team in his back in game six, scoring two goals in a 4-2 win. Game seven would take place back in St. Louis, the prize being a trip to the Lewis Cup Final. The Choppers opened the scoring on a goal from Dale McGuire. Appleby responded with a tying goal just seconds later. Olivier Meloche then put the Chops ahead 2-1 before the flood gates opened for St. Louis. Appleby scored two more to complete the hat-trick while Grant Millen and rookie Adam Lawless each scored as well as the Spirits hung on for a 5-3 win to advance to a 1982 Lewis Cup rematch with the Pittsburgh Stingers.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

1985-86 Regular Season

Tension had been building up between the Professional Hockey Players Association and the PHL throughout the summer ever since several prominent players made the decision to disclose their salaries. Things boiled over during training camp and at the conclusion of the pre-season, the players voted to strike. The union wanted mandatory full disclosure of player salaries, 45 percent of hockey-related revenues, and unrestricted free agency. Alan Garcia attempted to order the players back on the ice, even pushing the federal government to issue back-to-work legislation. The government said they would not get involved so Garcia and the owners were left with no choice but to negotiate with the players. Garcia hired Darryl Byrd, a well-known lawyer from Boston to negotiate on behalf of the owners. Byrd was known as a no-nonsense, tough negotiator who knew how to play hardball and made it known immediately he would not give in to the players easily. October 5, the day the season was supposed to start, came and went with no resolution. The strike went on through October and November as negotiations would start, then break down. The players continued to stand firm. By December, when there was a real fear that the unthinkable could happen and the season could be lost, the talks became more serious as both sides tried desperately to find middle ground. Finally, on December 6, Garcia put an end to the strike by agreeing to give the players 42 percent of revenues. Full disclosure of player salaries would also be mandatory, meaning players could now measure their worth against each other’s salaries. Unrestricted free agency would also be implemented, but not until the player reached age 30, or had played ten seasons in the league. The collective agreement would expire after the 1995-96 season with an option for two more seasons overall, the strike was seen as a huge success for the players, who seemingly had brought the league to its knees. A full year without hockey would be an unprecedented disaster for the league and Alan Garcia knew it.

A shortened 56-game regular season finally got underway on January 1, 1986. Teams would only play within their own conference. Philadelphia immediately took advantage of the odd schedule. Playing only against teams from the weaker Eastern Conference, The Redshirts managed to finish the year first overall in the league. Veteran defenseman Gary Johnson was a big reason for Philly’s success as he took home Defenseman of the Year honors, while 25-year-old Jeff Waters also enjoyed a career year with 54 goals. In the Northeast Division, Nova Scotia enjoyed another strong year, finishing first in their division, while Toronto returned to the post-season thanks in large part to the play of big rookie defenseman Randy Fernandez. In the West, Vancouver finally reached the playoffs for only the second time in their PHL history and the first time since 1970. St. Louis won the Central Division again, finishing just two points ahead of a surprising Milwaukee Choppers team. The Choppers, playing their first season in Milwaukee, made a big trade in early February when they sent rookie Elliot Andrews to the Detroit Mustangs in exchange for future hall-of-fame defenseman and Detroit captain Cliff Lyle. Lyle led all PHL defensemen in points as the Choppers won their last 16 games in a row to take second place in the West.

Despite all that was going on in the PHL, the hockey world was equally focused on the Quebec Hockey League in ’85-86. 18-year-old Vincent Ducharme was on pace to be the most dominant scorer in Canadian Junior Hockey history and had the full attention of the PHL. The Montreal Royale got off to a horrific start in January, losing their first 11 games of the year. Just three days prior to the season, head coach Don Shelburne had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. Shelburne recovered but the season was already a lost cause for his new team by the time he made his Montreal debut. The Royale plummeted to last place with an 8-43-5 record, “earning” the right to select first overall in the draft. Montreal fans gave their team a standing ovation at the conclusion of the season, overjoyed that Vincent Ducharme would don Montreal colors. Alan Garcia, however, was not so pleased with the Royale. Garcia launched an investigation into the possibility that Montreal “tanked” their season in an effort to get Ducharme. Regular number one goaltender Victor Malmsten had only played 28 of the Royale’s 56 games, while several of Montreal’s regular skaters were healthy scratches toward the end of the year. Shelburne insisted the Royale were merely “resting” their players, not wanting to risk injuries at the end of a lost season. Garcia issued a strong warning to the Royale and all teams in the league that any similar behavior in the future would result in a loss of draft picks. For Montreal, it didn’t matter. It appeared their future was set as the team began selling jerseys with Vincent Ducharme’s name on them before the playoffs even started.

While the bottom-feeders excitedly prepared for what scouts called the strongest entry draft in PHL history, the contending teams prepared to battle for the Lewis Cup. The first place Philadelphia Redshirts were intent on ending the “Donald Graves Curse” and finally hoisting the Cup for the first time in franchise history, the St. Louis Spirits were determined to return to the final and resume their dynasty, while every other team was bent on taking both teams down.

Milwaukee Choppers Unveil Logo, Uniforms

On September 3, 1985, the newly relocated Milwaukee Choppers finally unveiled their much-anticipated logo. As owner Jerry Drum had already indicated, the logo features a speeding motorcycle imposed on a shield with flames sweeping the bottom corner of the shield. The team did make one last-minute change to their identity, changing their color scheme from Black and Gold to Black and Orange, a tribute to the Harley Davidson  company. "We feel really good about our look" said Drum. "We wanted the logo to represent speed and power and I think it definitely accomplishes that."

1985 Off-Season

1985 Entry Draft

There was a lot of discussion entering the 1985 draft about who would go number one. With no clear-cut top prospect most experts figured it would be either Jeremy Kitchen, son of former PHL star Bobby Kitchen, Randy Fernandez, a 6’10”, 266 pound defenseman originally from Texas, or Jeff Winslow, a smooth-skating offensive defenseman. The Civics, who held the first overall pick, settled on Kitchen, much to the disappointment of Toronto, who took Fernandez. Minnesota settled for Winslow to kick off their rebuild. Kitchen wasn’t the only player who’s father had played in the PHL. Long Island selected Jim Ward, son of Vince Ward, 16^th overall, while Winnipeg selected Former Civics Legend Dave Riley’s son Ben Riley two picks later. Philadelphia traded their pick to the St Louis Spirits along with enforcer Roy Jones in exchange for Roni Laukkanen. St. Louis used the pick to select big winger Adam Lawless.

1.      New York – Jeremy Kitchen, F, CAN

2.      Toronto – Randy Fernandez, D, USA

3.      Minnesota – Jeff Winslow, D, CAN

4.      LA (From Quebec) – Jarkko Turunen, F, FIN

5.      Calgary – Drew Morgan, D, CAN

6.      Washington – Jason McGinnis, D, USA

7.      LA – Kay Swafford, D, USA

8.      Vancouver – Cerdric Thibualt, F, CAN

9.      Ottawa – Brian Gaines, F, CAN

10.   Edmonton – Svell Pahlsson, D, SWE

11.   Boston – Ted MacDougall, F, CAN

12.   Montreal – Joe Ayres, D, CAN

13.   California – Erik Richardsson, F, SWE

14.   St Louis (from Philadelphia) – Adam Lawless, F, CAN

15.   Milwaukee – Elliot Andrews, D, CAN

16.   Long Island – Jim Ward, D, USA

17.   Denver – Scott Crook, F, CAN

18.   Winnipeg – Ben Riley, F, USA

19.   Detroit – Jason Vincent, F, CAN

20.   Chicago – Craig Novak, F, CAN

21.   Seattle – Olle Ragnarsson, D, SWE

22.   Pittsburgh – Simon Littlefield, D, UK

23.   Nova Scotia – Tim Craft, F, CAN

24.   St Louis – Pierre Dubois, D, CAN

Notable Retirements:

Rick Chandler, D, WPG, 1968-1985

For 15 seasons, Rick Chandler was the backbone of the Pioneers’ defense. After spending his first two seasons with the Boston Bulldogs, the Pioneers acquired Chandler in exchange for legendary defenseman Doug West. Chandler managed to assert himself as one of the more respected defensemen in the league despite playing for some terrible teams in Winnipeg.

David Johnson, F, PHI, 1965-1985

David Johnson was a reliable winger for the Redshirts for 20 years. Johnson never won the Lewis Cup but played in two finals in 1968 and 1974. Johnson retired after the 1984-85 season at third on the Redshirts all-time scoring list.

Jeff Coleman, F, BOS, 1965-1985

A steady, hard-working center for the Bulldogs, Jeff Coleman was a key piece of Boston’s Lewis Cup victory in 1971 as well as their run to the finals in 1976.

Transactions

St. Louis trades F Roni Laukkanen to Philadelphia in exchange for F Roy Jones and 1^st round pick in 1985 entry draft.

Philadelphia instantly becomes a contender with the addition of Laukkanen, who enjoyed a breakout year with the Spirits in 1984-85. St. Louis acquires a much-needed enforcer in Jones and uses the pick to select Adam Lawless, a big forward from Saskatchawan.

Pittsburgh trades D Ian Fox to Ottawa in exchange for F Casey Beckett.

Ottawa gets a solid young player in Fox who should step into the lineup right away after spending the last four years with the Stingers minor-league club in Scranton PA. Pittsburgh acquires 38-year-old tough guy Beckett to add size and protect their star players.

News

The biggest news of the 1985 off-season was of course the relocation of the Dallas Metros to Milwaukee, which was announced in June. In July, construction finally began on the team’s new arena in downtown Milwaukee. The team will play in the 11,000 seat Milwaukee arena for at least a year while the new building is completed.

It was a quiet summer for coaching changes, but one big change came when three-time coach of the year winner and Lewis Cup champion Don Shelburne decided not to renew his contract with the LA Wizards, instead signing a five-year deal with the Montreal Royale, who were about to launch a rebuild. Shelburne, who had earned a reputation over the past decade with the Wizards as the best coach in the game and possibly the greatest of all time, promised he would bring the “glory days” back to Montreal. “We have a lot of work ahead of us but I really believe this franchise can win championships again very soon.”

One of the more ominous stories coming during the summer involved possible labour unrest in the league. On July 1, Alan Garcia’s position as PHL President was officially dissolved and Garcia was named the PHL’s first-ever League Commissioner. Garcia, concerned about rising player salaries and the big-market franchises such as St. Louis and Chicago slowly becoming monopolies, began exploring a salary cap. When the idea was brought to the Professional Hockey Players Association, President Brian Hunt said the Union would “never, ever let that happen.” When Hunt and the players’ union consulted lawyer Art Lowe about the issue, Lowe convinced the players to make a bold move and go public with their salaries. Suddenly, the owners had nowhere to hide. When further investigation revealed, among other things, that players only received 38 percent of hockey-related revenues, an angry feeling developed among the players. “These issues will be addressed, I promise you that” said Hunt prior to the start of training camp.

Dallas Metros Relocate to Milwaukee

Just weeks after the Pittsburgh Stingers hoisted the Lewis Cup, PHL president Alan Garcia made the announcement everyone had been speculating about for months. Milwaukee millionaire Jerry Drum had purchased the financially struggling Dallas Metros with plans to move the team to Milwaukee in time for the 1985-86 season. "This is a very exciting time to be a Milwaukee sports fan" said Drum. "I think the fans in Wisconsin will really embrace this team. Milwaukee has always been a strong sports market when it comes to Baseball, Basketball, and Football and I don't think Hockey will be any different."

Garcia commented that he is excited for Milwaukee but expressed his disappointment for Dallas at the same time. "It's unfortunate to leave Dallas, there were a lot of true hockey fans there who really fell in love with the game through watching the Metros. At the same time, we are very excited to welcome Milwaukee into the PHL fold. We feel we have a strong owner in Mr. Drum and I think the city's presence will be very good for the league and the game."

Three weeks after the announcement, the club unveiled it's new name and wordmark. The team will be named the Milwaukee Choppers, after the famous Harley Davidson Motorcycles that were originally made in Milwaukee. Drum, an avid motorcycle enthusiast who owns three Harleys himself, said he had the name picked long before the purchase of the team was finalized. "I knew immediately if I ever owned a team I would want to put a bike on the front" said Drum. "I think it's a great name for a hockey team. The name and logo will represent speed and power, two things I want our club to be about."

The team's wordmark, which will appear on promotional material as well as some merchandise, was also unveiled, revealing the team colour scheme of Black, Gold, and White. The logo and uniforms will be unveiled prior to the start of the 1985-86 season.

1985 Lewis Cup Finals

As the Pittsburgh Stingers and Seattle Grey Wolves prepared for the 1985 Lewis Cup Finals, rumours continued to swirl about the future of the troubled Dallas Metros franchise. On the morning of game one, a story out of a Milwaukee newspaper appeared to confirm the multimillionaire Jerry Drum had indeed purchased the Metros with the intention of moving them to Wisconsin in the fall. PHL president Alan Garcia insisted on putting rumours aside until the conclusion of the series. “I don’t want to take attention away from this great match-up we have for the Lewis Cup, so out of respect for the Stingers and Grey Wolves organizations I will not comment on the Dallas situation until the series is over” said Garcia.

The finals began in Pittsburgh on May 23. Seattle immediately came flying out of the gate. Pete Holloway had two goals while Paul Walsh and Jason Radford each scored as well to give the Wolves a 4-1 win. In game two, Danny Stevenson finally got on the scoreboard after being held scoreless in game one, helping the Stingers to a 4-3 victory. The series shifted to Seattle for game three, and the Grey Wolves took full advantage of home ice. Jake Fairbanks and Pete Holloway each scored twice in a 4-2 win to give Seattle a 2-1 series lead. Seattle, despite being the undisputed underdog in the series, was proving to be too much for Pittsburgh’s aging defense. The talented trio of Holloway, Fairbanks, and Radford was on fire and that would continue early in game four when Holloway and Radford each scored to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead. Brian Hardy added to the lead early in the second. It appeared Seattle would take a choke hold on the series when Danny Stevenson suddenly exploded for four goals late in the second and early in the third to miraculously give Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead. The Emerald Forum was silent. With the Seattle net empty, Dave Breedon passed the puck to Stevenson, who slid it in the open net for his fifth goal of the game, making him the first player in PHL history to score five goals in a finals game.

Now Pittsburgh seemed to have regained control heading home with the series tied, but the Wolves still refused to quit. After the lead changed three times in game five, the game went into overtime. Both Jakob Martensson and Brian Westin played brilliantly throughout the first overtime and into the second. Eight minutes into the second period, Risto Rautianen finally ended it for Pittsburgh. The Stingers now stood one win away from their first Lewis Cup victory. The Lewis Cup was in the building for game six back at the Forum in Seattle. The game was tight through the first two periods, tied 2-2. As the third period began, Denis Porier scored to give Seattle a 3-2 lead. It appeared the series would reach a game seven when Danny Stevenson showed up once again with a clutch performance. Stevenson scored twice in fifteen seconds to give Pittsburgh the lead. In the dying minutes, Seattle pulled Westin as they tried desperately to tie the game, but it was too late. Kenny Sharp scored the empty net goal to seal the game and the Stingers piled off the bench. Danny Stevenson was named playoff MVP before hoisting the first Lewis Cup in franchise history.

1985 Playoffs

The first round of the 1985 playoffs featured several upsets. Detroit was favoured to beat the aging Montreal Royale, but lost the series in six games, Winnipeg defeated the Denver Bulls, and the Philadelphia Redshirts stunned the Long Island Concordes in a hard-fought six game series. Concordes’ goaltender Bobby Sorel, who had hinted at retirement heading into the post-season told reporters after the series that he would be back for a 20^th season to make another run.

The series between the St. Louis Spirits and Edmonton Northern Lights was considered to be the most lopsided matchup in the playoffs with a 31 point difference between the two teams. St. Louis predictably took a 2-0 series lead, but Edmonton’s checking line did an excellent job shutting down the Appleby/Millen Duo in games three and four to tie the series 2-2. Appleby and Millen both got back on the board in game five as did Kevin Cummins and Roni Laukkanen in a 4-2 win. The wheels completely fell off for the Spirits in game six, however. Cummins scored to give the Spirits a 1-0 lead, but the Northern Lights once again did a brilliant job shutting down the St. Louis forwards. Ricky Spooner allowed two very soft goals early in the second period and then Edmonton exploded for five more unanswered goals to stun the Spirits 7-1. Spooner struggled again early in game seven and was pulled in favour of backup Don Graves after allowing two goals in the first sixteen seconds. Grant Millen and Roni Laukkanen tied the game but Edmonton responded with another three goals. Appleby, who had been tightly checked and constantly harassed by the Northern Lights’ checkers, finally snapped. While being mugged by defenseman Dwayne Ingram in front of the net, Appleby turned and swung at Ingram, knocked him out. Appleby was ejected and Edmonton hung on for the win to complete the biggest upset in PHL history. After the series, Spirit’s head coach Jack McCoy didn’t mince words about Edmonton’s play. “It’s unacceptable that this league can allow the best player in the game to be treated like that.”

In other first round action Chicago swept Dallas in four straight, Seattle beat California in five games, and Nova Scotia took out Ottawa in five games. Boston gave Pittsburgh a scare but the Stingers held them off in seven games.

In the second round, the Stingers finally met their state rivals, the Philadelphia Redshirts, for the first time ever in the playoffs. Philly surprisingly won the first game, but Pittsburgh would bounce back to win the series in five. As expected, emotions boiled over in game three when Redshirts star forward Jeff Waters took a devastating hit from Pittsburgh’s Ian Fox. The teams engaged in several line brawls with 240 minutes in penalties handed out.

 Edmonton pulled off another enormous upset, taking out the Chicago Shamrocks in six games with Wes Simmons turning in a spectacular effort in net for the Northern Lights. Simmons’ play and Edmonton’s work ethic and commitment to a very tight defensive system were the main reasons for the Northern Lights success as both the top Lewis Cup contenders now found themselves eliminated. Elsewhere in the second round, Nova Scotia beat Montreal in six games, while Seattle swept Winnipeg in four straight.

The conference finals would pit the Seattle Grey Wolves against the Edmonton Northern Lights and the Nova Scotia Claymores against the Pittsburgh Stingers. Edmonton’s magic appeared to run out early on against Seattle after the Wolves shut the Northern Lights out in the first two games. Edmonton won game three in overtime and forced game four into overtime as well, but Jake Fairbanks scored early in the extra frame to give Seattle a huge 3-2 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead. Edmonton put up a valiant effort in game five, keeping the game tied 1-1 until the third period, but the Grey Wolves scored two quick goals early in the third period to seal the victory and their first-ever trip to the Lewis Cup Finals.

In the Eastern Conference final, Danny Stevenson and the Stingers were more determined than ever to return to the Lewis Cup Finals with both western powerhouses eliminated. Pittsburgh jumped to a 3-1 series lead but faced an uphill battle down 2-0 late in game five. Stevenson scored with four minutes remaining to pull the game within a goal, but Brent MacDonald made several spectacular stops as the game neared the final seconds. Suddenly, with just .7 seconds left, Jake Fuller’s shot found the net to tie the game. Midway through the second overtime period, Dave Mack beat Pittsburgh goaltender Jakob Martensson to give Nova Scotia a hard-fought victory. With the Claymores almost certain to win a game seven at home, Pitteburgh entered game six knowing this was their best chance to finish the series and they did just that with a decisive 6-1 win. For the third time in four seasons, the Pittsburgh Stingers found themselves four wins away from a Lewis Cup title.

Round One

Round Two

Round Three