1988-89 Regular Season

The 1988-89 Season was a historic one for the PHL as the league entered its 50^th anniversary. Special ceremonies were held across the league on opening night, as several teams brought back some of their greatest players in history. In Detroit, one of those players was 90-year-old Johnny Chadwick, the oldest living former PHL player. Although he only played in the PHL’s inaugural season, Chadwick, the grandfather of current PHL star Alan Chadwick, actually began his pro career in 1923, in the American Professional Hockey Association. Appropriately, the PHL’s current stars continued to make history as well. On October 25, Stuart Holly finally passed George Allen for second place on the all-time points list. Two months later, Allen found himself fourth on the list as David Appleby also passed him for third place. Appleby finished the year only 26 points behind Holly for second. In January, the Philadelphia Redshirts, fighting with the Long Island Concordes for first place in the Atlantic Division, were dealt a slight blow when veteran Dave Tobin suddenly retired after 20 seasons. It was later revealed that Tobin’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer and the 39-year-old decided to return to Regina to care for her. Needing to add depth in Tobin’s place, the Redshirts pulled the trigger on an enormous trade, sending prospect Shawn Kelly and a conditional draft pick to LA in exchange for Stuart Holly. “Captain Hollywood”, who had spent 18 years in LA, had requested a trade earlier in the season so he could play for a contending team. Holly immediately made an impact for Philly, finishing the year with 70 total points and helping them to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia just edged out Long Island for the top spot on the very last day of the season. The Redshirts needed the Concordes to lose their final game against Boston in order take first place. Craig Bush scored in overtime to give the Bulldogs the win and the Redshirts secured first place. “I’ve never been so happy to see that team win a game” said captain Gary Johnson. The loss relegated Long Island to third place as Nova Scotia once again took the Northeast Division in what would be captain Russell Buchanan’s final season. “My body and my heart... and for that matter my wife… are all telling me its time” said Buchanan. “I’m looking forward to making one last run.”

Montreal took a step back in ’88-89. Vincent Ducharme played well but goaltender Victor Malmsten struggled to stay healthy while new addition Gerry Stokes clearly had nothing left in the tank. During the stretch run, Stokes was frequently a healthy scratch, until the last game of the year, when the Royale needed a win and some help to make the playoffs. Head Coach Don Shelburne put Stokes in as a motivational tactic for his team. It seemed to help, as the 20-year veteran even scored a goal in a Montreal win. In a cruel twist of fate for Stokes, his former team, the Washington Generals, won their final game against Pittsburgh, eliminating the Royale.

In the Western Conference, the top three teams in the conference, Seattle, St. Louis, and Milwaukee found themselves deadlocked in the final week of the season. It was ultimately the Grey Wolves who emerged as the top team, winning both the West and the League title for the first time in franchise history. Milwaukee just edged out the Spirits for the Central crown, giving St. Louis their lowest finish in years at third place. Edmonton enjoyed a strong 96-point season and another fourth place finish, despite an ugly incident that threatened to derail their season. On December 5, defenseman Dwight Ingram was given an unprecedented 25-game suspension after a vicious cross-check to the face of Chicago’s Graham Boswell that left the Shamrock forward with a broken jaw and eight missing teeth. Without their top defenseman, the Northern Lights endured a rough patch through December and January before Ingram returned to the lineup January 29. Boswell missed twelve games from the incident before returning with a full face shield. “He’s a dirty player and I think the suspension was well deserved in this case. There’s no room in the game for guys like that” said Shamrocks head coach Don Saleski. Chicago once again finished in seventh place with Vladimir Gaganov once again winning the league scoring title.

After the dust settled on April 6, following one of the most exciting closing days in PHL history, there was no shortage of intriguing narratives entering the playoffs. After making history and winning the regular season, Seattle was looking to finally finish the job and bring a championship to the city. Milwaukee had an opportunity to become the league’s next dynasty while St. Louis hoped to continue theirs. Long Island desperately needed to prove all their off-season acquisitions had been worth it, Nova Scotia wanted to send off their longtime captain with a ring, while Philadelphia, who had actually held a “Donald Graves Night” in an effort to lift the curse, hoped to finally win their first-ever Lewis Cup, 50 years after joining the brand-new PHL.

Kansas City Twisters Unveil Logo, Uniforms

On September 13, 1988, the first day of the PHL pre-season, the expansion Kansas City Twisters unveiled their Logo and Uniforms in front of 12,000 fans in downtown Kansas City. The logo features a stylized swirling tornado with the initials "KC" inside it with the name "Twisters running up the side of it in the team colors of Black, Blue, and Silver. 

"This is a very exciting day for our franchise" said owner Ken Milliken. "Our team finally has an identity and we're very happy with it, and I think our fans our excited about it as well." Twisters Jerseys did indeed prove to be very popular with the fans, as retailers sold out in just a few hours.

The Twisters' expansion cousins, the Miami Stingrays, are not expected to unveil their logo until the early summer of 1989. Both teams will begin play in October, 1989.

1988 World Hockey Challenge

The 1988 World Hockey Challenge would be the second tournament hosted in Europe, taking place in Helsinki, Finland. With their strongest ever PHL contingent, boasting superstars Jari Pukki, Jani Kaaleppi, and Ari Hannula in goal, the hosts hoped to pull off a few upsets at the tournament. Hannula proved to be the Fins’ best player, shutting out the British in game two of the tournament. It would be Finland’s only win in the Round Robin, as the team had lost 7-3 to the Soviets in the opener, then lost in the dying minutes to rival Sweden. The Soviets once again proved to be a powerhouse, with young superstars Sergei Krayev and Alexei Yolkin leading the way while goaltender Alexei Teryoshin seemed unbeatable. The Soviets cruised to a 3-0-0 record with a total of 24 goals scored over three round robin games. 23-year-old Krayev led the tournament in scoring with 7 goals in three games. In Pool A, The Canadians found themselves without their best player when David Appleby announced he would stay home to rest his shoulder, which had been injured during the 1988 PHL playoffs. With Appleby out, Canadian expectations fell on Stuart Burns and Vincent Ducharme. Both players had no problems finding the net in the first two games as Canada defeated West Germany and Czechoslovakia 6-0 and 8-1 respectively. Meanwhile, the Americans entered the tournament with their strongest team ever. Some experts even considered them the favorites to win the tournament. With Captain Craig Bush leading the way, Team USA rolled over Czechoslovakia and West Germany before facing their northern rivals Canada in the round robin finale. The Americans needed a win against Canada in order to take first place in their pool, and their star players would come through. Bush, Jason Crowley, and Gary Clayton each scored while Brian Donovan stood tall as the Americans secured first place.

The Americans continued to roll in the playoff round as they defeated Great Britain 6-2, while Canada survived a close matchup with the host Fins, ultimately winning 5-2 after being tied 2-2 throughout most of the third period. The Soviets also continued to dominate with a 9-0 win over West Germany, while Czechoslovakia came up with the first and only upset of the playoff round with a 5-4 shootout win over Sweden. In the Semifinals, both Alexei Yurlov and Sergei Krayev registered hat-tricks in an 8-3 victory over the Czechs. The Soviets would return to the championship game for the first time since 1980. Meanwhile, the other semifinal game would be a rematch of the 1984 semis, the battle of North America. Team USA jumped to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to a breakaway goal from Jason Crowley, and a hard point shot from Randy Fernandez that was tipped by Craig Davidson. Canada stormed back in the second period, however, with Danny Stevenson scoring on the powerplay before Pete Holloway tied it up. Canada finally went ahead just two minutes into the third when Dave Mack beat two American defenders for the go-ahead goal. With just 40 seconds remaining, Jason Crowley beat Brent MacDonald for the tying goal. The game ultimately went to a shootout. Both MacDonald and Donovan each made several huge saves before Ducharme finally gave Canada the lead. The Americans had one chance to tie it and Craig Bush took the shot. MacDonald very calmly made the stop as Canada went on to face the Soviets in the title game for the third time in tournament history.

The Championship game would be another close one. Canada appeared to have control early after a pair of goals from Stuart Burns and Scott Whitmore. But by the end of the second period, the Soviets managed to erase the lead and build a 3-2 lead of their own on goals from Krayev, Igor Travkin, and veteran Alexander Orlov. Entering the third, Canada needed a big goal, and they would get it from Pete Holloway to tie the game 3-3. Just four minutes later, Ducharme scored to give the Canadians a 4-3 lead before scoring again to make it 5-3. The Soviets were quick to bounce back, once again bringing the game within one on a goal from Alexei Yolkin. With just over a minute to go, the Soviets made one final push for the tying goal, but they could not solve Brent MacDonald. As the clock wound down, Burns scored his second of the game to secure the 6-4 win and a third straight World title for Team Canada. For the second year in a row, one of the losing players was named tournament MVP as Sergei Krayev took home the honors. Krayev scored an unbelievable 13 goals in six games, with at least two in each one. PHL scouts drooled at the thought of the dynamic center playing in the PHL. “That kid is scary good” said one scout. “If we could ever get him over to North America there’s no telling what he would be capable of.”

1988 Off-Season

1988 Entry Draft

The 1988 PHL Draft was quite a strong one for Canadian players. Fifteen players selected in the first round were Canadian, including the number one pick, Shannon Micheals, a big, talented power forward from Toronto. Micheals was selected by the Calgary Wranglers, giving them a true franchise player to base their rebuild around. Ottawa passed on the projected number two pick, Gustav Mattsen, to select 50-goal junior star Todd Becker. Mattsen went to the LA Wizards. One of the most interesting picks in the draft was Lamar Jackson, selected fifth by the New York Civics. Jackson was originally from a tough neighborhood in Harlem, and grew up watching the Civics, until his mother moved the family to Queens to get her sons away from street life, where both excelled at multiple sports. Jackson eventually chose to pursue a hockey career and moved to Quebec to play junior, where he got PHL scouts’ attention as a punishing, but skilled defenseman. Other interesting picks included Detroit’s Patrick Fletcher, whose father was a sports columnist in Minnesota for twenty years, and Seattle’s Mike Powell, a two-sport athlete who was also drafted into the Professional Baseball League.

1.      CGY – Shannon Micheals, F, CAN

2.      OTT – Todd Becker, F, CAN

3.      LA – Gustav Mattsen, F, SWE

4.      CAL – Bradley Pope, G, USA

5.      NYC – Lamar Jackson, D, USA

6.      DEN – Kaino Rippola, F, FIN

7.      TOR – Ty McInnis, D, CAN

8.      WSH – Rob Wentzel, F, CAN

9.      QUE – Scott Miller, D, CAN

10.   MIN – Matt Cunningham, D, CAN

11.   DET – Patrick Fletcher, F, USA

12.   BOS – Kyle Boone, F, USA

13.   CHI – Martin Vannier, F, CAN

14.   VAN – Niklas Asplund, G, SWE

15.   WPG – Jason Driscoll, F, CAN

16.   MTL – Patrick Garnier, F, CAN

17.   EDM – Marshal Jackson, F, CAN

18.   PHI – Jonathan Perry, D, USA

19.   PIT – Scott Lindsey, F, CAN

20.   LI (From Milwaukee) –  Greg Powers, G, CAN

21.   SEA – Mike Powell, F, USA

22.   LI – Craig Moody, D, CAN

23.   NS – Adam Cote, D, CAN

24.   STL – Stephan Millet, D, CAN

 Notable Retirements:

Cliff Lyle – DET, MIL, 1969-1988

As a relatively young player, Lyle played a somewhat limited role in Detroit’s dynasty in the early ‘70s, until the 1973-74 season, when he was arguably the Mustangs’ best player as the team skated to their fourth Cup in six seasons. In the years following the dynasty, Lyle served as the Mustangs captain, until a 1985 trade sent him to the Milwaukee Choppers. Lyle won his fifth Lewis Cup in 1988 with the Choppers.

Nate Carroll – PIT, 1971 – 1988

Both talented and tough-as-nails, Nate Carroll served as the perfect wingman for Danny Stevenson over his 17-year career in Pittsburgh. Along with Stevenson and Dave Breedon, Carroll helped for one of the deadliest lines in hockey as Pittsburgh appeared in the Lewis Cup Finals four times in the 1980s, winning it in 1985.

Emmett Hudson – MTL, 1969 – 1988

A horrific eye injury nearly ended Emmett Hudson’s career in 1977, but the winger would bounce back in the following years. In 1980-81, Hudson enjoyed his best season ever, scoring 128 points. In his final years in a Montreal jersey, Hudson served as a valuable mentor to young phenom Vincent Ducharme.

Eddie Gibbs – NS, CHI, 1970 – 1988

From 1970 to 1981, gritty Eddie Gibbs served as one of the most popular players in Nova Scotia Claymores history during some lean years for the franchise. In 1981, Gibbs was dealt to the Chicago Shamrocks, where he played a big role in the Shamrocks emotional 1983 Lewis Cup victory.

Sheldon Hopkins – LA, 1970 - 1988

Although he was somewhat overshadowed by one of the greatest duos in PHL history, Sheldon Hopkins was still a very important figure in the LA dynasty of the early 70s. Anchoring the Wizards’ checking line throughout the dynasty years, Hopkins eventually replaced legend Gilbert Giroux as the third wheel to Stuart Holly and Ray Fowler on LA’s top line in the latter half of his career.

Todd Beirness – TOR, 1969 – 1988

One of the more underrated players in PHL history, Todd Beirness was a fan favorite in Toronto for nearly two decades, serving as the Racers’ captain in the second half of his career. Beirness captained the Racers to a Lewis Cup Finals appearance in 1979.

Notable Trades

Long Island trades G Ron Tatum to Long Island in exchange for F Ton Taylor.

The Concordes add another veteran in preparation for another run, Calgary finally gets their future franchise goalie.

Long Island trades D Jim Ward to Milwaukee in exchange for 20^th overall pick.

The Concordes continue their busy summer with their second trade, sending their top prospect for a draft pick used on goaltender Greg Power. Milwaukee gets a talented young defenseman to replace Cliff Lyle.

St. Louis trades F Pierre Dubois to California in exchange for D Ken Gilbert.

The Spirits add a veteran, big-name defenseman while California adds to their impressive list of prospects.

Key Free Agents

Marcus Renberg (VAN) signs 5-year deal with Minnesota worth $.9 Million/year.

The ‘Jacks add another veteran star to anchor their defense.

Dawson Robb (LA) signs 3-year deal with Boston worth $.8 Million/year.

Boston adds much needed defensive depth.

Gerry Stokes (WSH) signs 1-year deal with Montreal worth $.7 Million/year.

The 20-year veteran Stokes decides against retirement, instead signing with the emerging Royale to help mentor Vincent Ducharme.

News

The news everyone was waiting for in 1988 finally came on July 18, when the PHL’s two newest expansion teams revealed their names and colors. The Kansas City franchise would be known as the Kansas City Twisters, with the colors Black, “Electric” Blue, Silver, and White. The Miami franchise would be named the Miami Stingrays, with a very bold color scheme of Teal, “Hot Pink”, Silver, Black, and White. While the Stingrays’ logo would not be ready until the 1989 off-season, Kansas City owner Ken Milliken said the Twisters’ logo would be unveiled just prior to the 1988-89 season.

In other franchise news, California Nuggets owner James Coleman announced his plans to sell the franchise. At age 76, Coleman has owned the Nuggets since they were one of the original six franchises in the GHL. Coleman already sold the Professional Basketball League franchise in San Francisco and hopes to sell the Nuggets to someone who will keep the team in the Bay area.

In coaching news, Philadelphia released head coach David Zimmer, replacing him with another former Redshirt, Kurt Hopkins. Zimmer quickly found another job, however, as first ever head coach/GM of the expansion Miami Stingrays. The Redshirts stated that Zimmer would still be included in the 50^th anniversary celebration on opening night. “It was a tough decision to let Dave go” said GM Bill Craswell. “The time came that we just had to make a change. That being said, there’s no question what Dave means to this franchise and its history and we still want to acknowledge that.”

PHL Unveils 50th Anniversary Logo, Retro Uniforms

At the conclusion of the 1988 Lewis Cup Finals, the PHL unveiled a new logo to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. League executives including Commissioner Alan Garcia and Deputy Commissioner Darryl Byrd were on hand to talk about the league's anniversary celebration. "This is a big year for PHL hockey" said Garcia, who has been the league's Commissioner/President since 1966. "In five decades, we've seen this league grow from a regional organization of nine clubs to a major league featuring 26 franchises. We have a lot to celebrate. Lots of great players, great teams, and great moments." The 50th anniversary logo will be worn on every team uniform this season.

In addition to the new logo, nine PHL teams also unveiled special retro jerseys they will wear for select games throughout the season. These uniforms will be matched against each other whenever possible, meaning the PHL will feature some color vs color games for the first time since the 1950s.

Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston will all wear jerseys based on what they wore when the PHL was formed in 1939, Montreal will wear their Maroon and White uniforms used during the 1940s, Quebec and Nova Scotia will wear their original uniforms from the 1950s, and Denver will wear new jerseys that will pay tribute to their original home in Buffalo. The Bulls also made a surprise announcement that the uniforms will specifically be worn in two regular season games played in Buffalo. "We made the decision to go to Buffalo for two game this year as a way of acknowledging our original fanbase" said owner Mark Kirkpatrick.

The 1988-89 season will open on October 11, 1988. Special ceremonies will precede each opening game.

1988 Lewis Cup Finals

For the first time since 1982, the Lewis Cup Finals would feature two teams who had never won the championship before. The Long Island Concordes were making their second appearance in the finals after losing their first one to the St. Louis Spirits in 1984. The Milwaukee Choppers were making their first appearance in the finals after entering the league as the Dallas Metros in 1974 and relocating to Milwaukee eleven years later.

There was a fair amount of hype surrounding the series just prior to game one in Milwaukee. Some fans were even making bets about the series. When game one finally got underway it was the Choppers who managed to draw first blood. Travis Curry’s goal late in the second period proved to be the winner in an eventual 5-2 Choppers win. Long Island stepped up big in game two as the game went into overtime. Stuart Burns scored the winner for the Concordes to steal home ice advantage and tie the series. In game three the lead went back-and-forth until Bruce Gratton banged in a rebound to give Milwaukee a 4-3 lead. Scott Daffney made several big saves late in the third to preserve the lead as the Chops re-took the series lead 2-1. Long Island responded two nights later with a big game from Doug Macintyre, who scored two goals as the Concordes tied the series yet again with a 6-4 victory.

Game five would be critical as neither team wanted to climb back from a 3-2 deficit. The game was tied 3-3 until a big goal from Curry gave Milwaukee the lead. With only 43 seconds to go, Long Island pulled Pascal Renaud for the extra attacker. Bruce Gratton fired the puck down the ice just missing the empty net by about a foot and Craig Davidson took it up the ice. Davidson found Bryan Trask who whipped the puck past Daffney to tie the game with only 28 seconds to go. Just seconds later, Alan Chadwick stunned the Milwaukee crowd with another goal to put Long Island up 5-4. The lead held up and the Concordes found themselves just one home win away from their first Lewis Cup. Game six was another tight one as Milwaukee kept getting leads and Long Island kept erasing them. Both Renaud and Daffney played spectacularly throughout the third period as the clock wound down and the game went into overtime. Halfway through the first overtime, Stuart Burns found himself on a breakaway. The Long Island crowd roared as Burns lifted the puck over Daffney’s glove. The cheering immediately turned to dismay when the puck hit the crossbar and fell on the goal line where Daffney quickly swatted it away. Just two minutes into the second overtime, Joe Pickard, who had been relatively quiet throughout the playoffs, beat Renaud to win the game for the Choppers and send the series to a seventh game.

For the third year in a row, the Lewis Cup Finals would be decided by a winner-take-all game seven. Long Island fans were already emotionally exhausted after coming so close to victory in game six. The front page of Newsday featured a photo of Burns’ shot just before it hit the crossbar with the headline “That Close!” above it. Nevertheless, Burns and the Concordes remained focused. “If you told us at the start of the year that we’d have a chance to play game seven of the Lewis Cup Finals, I think we’d take it” said Burns. The Choppers, meanwhile, were just relieved to still be alive in the series. “We put ourselves in a hole, we managed to climb back out, now it’s time to finish the job” said captain Bruce Gratton.

Milwaukee arena sold out in minutes for game seven. The lineup at the box office began forming nearly 40 hours before puck drop. Both teams came out fast and aggressive. Curry opened the scoring for the Choppers, before Gratton made it 2-0. The fans were ecstatic, but Long Island refused to quit. Macintyre brought the game to within one early in the second, before Terry Hawkins restored Milwaukee’s two-goal lead. Toward the end of the second, however, the Choppers got into penalty trouble. Shayne Boggs was assessed a roughing minor and the Concordes wasted no time taking advantage, with Burns scoring the goal. Less than a minute into the third period, Theo Sprouse tied the game with a hard point shot. The building, which had been shaking with noise all night, was now silent. Long Island had a chance to go ahead halfway through the third when Olivier Meloche was called for a slash. The Concordes pressed hard but Daffney was up to the challenge, preserving the tie. As the clock approached five minutes remaining, Meloche sprung Curry on a breakaway. Curry deked Renaud, convincing him to drop before flipping the puck over his left pad. The crowd erupted. The Choppers now led 4-3. Long Island pushed hard for the tying goal with a barrage of shots during an extremely hectic final five minutes for Scott Daffney, but the 27-year-old goaltender once again passed the test. As the crowd chanted out the final seconds, Daffney’s teammate’s mobbed the exhausted goalie. Just three years after moving from Dallas, the Milwaukee Choppers had won their first Lewis Cup. Travis Curry was named playoff MVP, and when Bruce Gratton accepted the Lewis Cup, he immediately handed it to defenseman Cliff Lyle, who had announced prior to the game that it would be the last of his career. For the Concordes, it was a bitter ending to such an incredible season. “There’s no doubt it hurts” said Stuart Burns. “But we’ll be back.”

1988 Playoffs

Entering their first round series against the very average Vancouver Bighorns, the Milwaukee Choppers were a very confident group. With fifteen points separating the two teams, the Chops were the overwhelming favorite. Needless to say, hockey fans everywhere were stunned when the Bighorns won game one at the Milwaukee Arena 6-1. Brushing it off as a fluke, the Choppers recovered with a 4-2 win in game two, before Vancouver won games 3 & 4 in overtime to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. After their best regular season in franchise history, the Choppers season was now on the brink. “We haven’t really faced adversity like this all year, well here it is now and we have to find a way to respond” said captain Bruce Gratton. The Choppers did respond in game five with a big 3-2 win, before forcing game seven with a 5-2 victory. Game seven was a tight one, with the two teams tied through two periods. With less than one minute left, Travis Curry suddenly tipped an Olivier Meloche point shot into the net to give the Choppers the lead. Vancouver pressed hard but could not solve Scott Daffney. Gratton scored the empty-netter as the Milwaukee Choppers pulled off the comeback and advanced to the second round. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Northern Lights’ series with the Winnipeg Pioneers proved to be one of the most physical series played in a long time. The home team won every game as Edmonton advanced in seven games. In other Western Conference action, David Appleby and the Spirits defeated Minnesota in five games, while Vladimir Gaganov continued his scoring prowess from the regular season, leading the Chicago Shamrocks in a stunning six-game upset over Seattle.

In the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh once again had their sights set on winning their second championship. The first two games against Boston predictably went in Pittsburgh’s favor, with the Stingers winning 5-3 and 4-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. After the Bulldogs won their first game at home, Pittsburgh jumped to a 3-1 series lead. Determined to prove themselves as an elite team, the Bulldogs managed to win two tight games to force the series to game seven. Game seven was all Pittsburgh in the first period as the Stingers took a 2-0 lead in the first period. But Boston never gave up. Craig Bush scored twice to tie the game, before Danny Stevenson once again put the Stingers ahead 3-2. Nate Carroll restored Pittsburgh’s two-goal lead before Jason Luna and Aaron Goodwin each scored to tie the game once again and send it into overtime. Nineteen seconds into overtime, Bush completed the hat-trick to stun the Pittsburgh crowd and complete the upset. The devastating loss was especially tough to take for Nate Carroll, who had played his final PHL game. The Pittsburgh crowd gave Carroll a standing ovation as he skated off the ice with his teammates.

In other Eastern Conference action, Montreal gave the Philadelphia Redshirts a good scare, taking a 2-1 series lead before the Redshirts, led by captain Gary Johnson, ultimately won the series 4-2. Brent MacDonald continued his brilliant play in Nova Scotia as the Claymores defeated the Quebec Nationale in five games.

In the second round of the playoffs, Chicago, fresh off their thrilling upset, would move on to face the St. Louis Spirits. David Appleby’s hat-trick in game one led the Spirits to a 6-2 victory, while Grant Millen proved to be the hero in game two, scoring the winner in overtime for a 5-4 win. In Chicago for game three, Appleby and Gaganov each had two goals in a high scoring affair as the Spirits took a commanding 3-0 series lead with an 8-6 victory. It was not all good news for the Spirits, however, as Appleby was knocked out of the game late in the third period with a separated shoulder after a hard hit from Dusty Hedley. With Appleby out of the lineup, the Spirits struggled to find chemistry in game four and the Shamrocks won 5-4 thanks to a big third period goal from Graham Boswell. Grant Millen put the Spirits on his back in game five, scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 4-3 St. Louis victory that propelled them to the Western Conference Finals once again. The Spirits’ opponent in the Western Final would be a familiar foe, the Milwaukee Choppers, who defeated the Edmonton Northern Lights in a hard-fought five game series.

In the Eastern Conference, Boston ran out of gas against the Nova Scotia Claymores as Nova Scotia won in five games, while Long Island faced the Philadelphia Redshirts in a tough seven-game series. The series was tied 2-2 after the first four games. Long Island pulled ahead 3-2 in game five thanks to a huge effort in net from goaltender Pascal Renaud. In game six, Gary Johnson became the first defenseman in PHL history to score a hat-trick in the post-season as the Redshirts forced game seven in Long Island. Game seven would result in yet another heartbreaking end for the Redshirts as former California Nugget Alan Chadwick’s late-third period goal gave the Concordes a 3-2 win to send them to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Long Island hoped to carry the momentum into the Eastern Conference Finals against Nova Scotia, but struggled early on as Nova Scotia won the first two games at home to take a 2-0 series lead at home. The Claymores were charging through the playoffs and it looked as if Russel Buchanan’s promise of a return to the Lewis Cup Finals might actually come true. The Concordes came out strong in game three, ultimately winning 4-2. Game four went into overtime and Nova Scotia was determined to get a big 3-1 series lead heading home. With only forty seconds left in the first overtime, Dave Mack hit the post on a breakaway just seconds before Harry Hayes just missed a wide open net. The Concordes pushed but could not solve Brent MacDonald throughout the second period until finally, Prince Edward Island native Doug Macintyre scored to give Long Island the win and tie the series. Game five also went into overtime and once again, Macintyre proved to be the hero as the Concordes pulled ahead in the series 3-2. The Claymores had had a 2-0 series lead and now faced elimination. Game six  looked like it might go to OT as well as the teams were deadlocked 2-2. Then, with just three minutes left, Stuart Burns beat MacDonald to give the Concordes a 3-2 lead. The stunned Claymores tried hard to tie the game, but Theo Sprouse finally sealed the game with an empty-net goal as Long Island advanced to the Lewis Cup Finals for the second time in their history.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Milwaukee Choppers faced the Mighty St. Louis Spirits, playing without David Appleby who was still out with a shoulder injury. Bruce Gratton scored twice as the Choppers won game one 6-2, then Grant Millen once again took the Spirits on his back, carrying the team to a 6-4 win in game two. Mike Fleming won game three for the Choppers in overtime, then set up Tony Knight for the winner in game four as Milwaukee found themselves just one win away from their first-ever appearance in the Lewis Cup Finals. In game five, St. Louis received a surprise, David Appleby would return to the lineup. Despite intense pain in his shoulder, Appleby scored twice in a 5-3 St. Louis win, then scored a hat-trick in a 6-5 win in game six to extend the series to a seventh game in St. Louis. Prior to game seven, David Appleby needed a trainer to tie his skates with the pain in his shoulder. That did not stop him from assisting on a Niklas Ekberg goal to open the game. It would not be enough, however, as Gratton, Terry Hawkins, and Travis Curry each scored to eliminate the Spirits and send the Choppers to their first-ever Lewis Cup Finals, just three years after relocating to Milwaukee.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3