Calgary's first Stanley Cup still shrouded in controversy

Used with permission. Copyright Sergei Scurfield

By Lou Roesch
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 16, 2020) It's been 31 years since the Calgary Flames hoisted the Stanley Cup trophy for the first and even now their Game 7 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks remains shrouded in controversy.

Hockey is a sport where the rivalries are as thick as blood. You are born into them and you will die a fan of your favorite team, there are no bandwagon jumpers in hockey especially north of the border. The rivalry between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames reached incendiary proportions on April 15, 1989 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Conn Smythe semifinals.

Many will remember the name Joel Otto. Ironically enough, it was this native US born player that would fuel the fires in Canada hockey history. Undrafted out of college, the imposing center got a start with the Calgary Flames and made the most of it. At 6'4", 220lb, Otto was an imposing figure in front of the net. In Game 7, Vancouver had upset on their mind especially when Doug Lidster tied the game at 3 with 7:12 left in regulation. Was Calgary going to miss another opportunity to win a Cup. The Canucks who had finished six games under .500 during the regular season were in position to knock of Calgary, the regular season points leader at 117.

With less then a minute left in the first overtime, Calgary went on the attack. A deflected puck landed on the stick of right winger Jim Peplinski in the midst of a Calgary line change. The Flames captain sent the puck netward where Otto was tied up in front of Canucks goalie Kirk McLean. The shot hit off Otto and caromed into the back of the net propelling Calgary to what would become their first Stanley Cup title. 

Used with permission. Copyright Sergei Scurfield

From the moment, it crossed the crease, Canucks fans have been screaming foul.

  

"I remember looking down, watching it bank off my skate," said Otto in last year's 30-year remembrance for SportsNet. "And I don’t remember if I saw it go in or if I heard the roar."

To this day, Canucks assistant coach Mike Murphy argues to whoever will listen that it was an illegal goal and the officials missed it.

"To this day, I still feel the puck was kicked in. If it was today’s hockey, there would’ve been goalie interference, it would have been a kicked puck, but back then that didn’t happen."

Former referee and Hockey Hall of Famer Bill McCreary who officiated nearly 300 NHL playoff games remembered it this way.

"Had we had video review, I think we would have disallowed the winning goal. I think [Otto] directed the puck in the net with his skate. But the goal was allowed. I probably wish I had a better angle on the play, a better sight line. I just didn’t react well enough at the time and made the call. Of course, you don’t reverse them in those days, so it’s probably one I wished I could do over."

Cliff Fletcher architect and general manager of the Flames may have put it best after a 30 rest.

"I thought it was a good goal. Didn’t we win?"

Case closed.

Iowa Wild fall to hot-sticks of Texas Stars, 7-3

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS (November 26, 2019) In a game that saw a great deal of offense and not much defense, the Texas Stars (5-13-0-2) got their second win in a row, and fifth of the season as they downed the Iowa Wild by the score of 7-3 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Tuesday evening.

The Stars got off to a good start, scoring two goals in the first 3:36 of play. Left wing Michael Mersch scored at the 2:04 mark with fellow left wing Anthony Louis finding the net with 92 seconds later. The Wild cut the Stars lead to one when right wing Gerald Mayhew final got Iowa on the scoreboard. Centers Rhett Gardner and Joel L'Esperance added to more for the home team, pushing score to 4-1 in favor of the Stars. Mayhew added a second goal for the Wild with 6:32 remaining in the first period to take the score to 4-2 after 20 minutes of play. In the first period, Robinson served two minutes in the penalty box for high-sticking while Mayhew sat out for two minutes for hooking.

In the second period, the Stars increased their lead to 5-2 on a goal by left wing Joel Kiviranta. They also added penalty minutes when right wing Nick Caamano was given two minutes for goaltender interference and a minor bench penalty for too many players on the ice. Robinson served the two-minute penalty for Texas.

One-minute, four seconds into the third period, Wild forward Brandon Duhaime cut the Stars' lead to two with a goal, taking the score to 5-3. Texas responded 18 seconds late when Caamano scored his second goal of the game. He got the hat-trick five minutes later on a break-a-way for his fifth goal of the season, to close out the game. In the final period, L'Esperance served two minutes in the box for for holding. In addition, Wild left wing Mike Liambas, with 8:05 remaining in the game, was assessed two minutes for charging (major) and 10 minutes for game misconduct as related to the charging call/

AEROS SCORE FOUR UNANSWERED GOALS IN WIN AT PEORIA

PEORIA, ILLINOIS (November 14, 2010) Three Aeros collected multiple points, including defenseman Maxim Noreau who had a goal and two assists, and the Houston Aeros scored five times in the second period en route to a 5-2 win over the Peoria Rivermen Sunday at Carver Arena.

Carson McMillan and Jared Spurgeon each added a goal and an assist and Matt Hackett made 21 saves for his first win since Oct. 15 and third overall this season.

After a scoreless first period, Houston’s Petr Kalus scored 28 seconds into the second for his fourth goal of the season.

Peoria’s Derek Nesbitt responded 52 seconds later to knot the score at 1-1. Ian Cole gave the Rivermen a 2-1 lead just 1:17 later.

Houston began a run of four unanswered goals starting with Spurgeon’s first as a pro, on the power play, at 4:50. Noreau scored the eventual game-winner at 10:36 and then Joel Broda tallied with another power play marker at 13:55. McMillan added a shorthanded goal, the team's first this season, at 15:13.

The Aeros went-2-for-7 on the power play and have scored on the man-advantage in six of their last seven outings.

Peoria goalie Jake Allen (17 saves) suffered the loss, his first as a pro, and was relieved after Houston’s fourth goal. Ben Bishop made eight stops in 23:46 of mop-up duty.

HOUSTON AEROS SIGN G TORDJMAN AND C KAIP

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 8, 2010) Houston Aeros General Manager Jim Mill announced today that the Aeros have signed goaltender Josh Tordjman and center Rylan Kaip each to one-year contracts, respectively. Per team policy, the terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Tordjman (TORJ-man), 25, signs a one-year contract with the Houston Aeros after spending the previous four seasons with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Tordjman played in 45 games during the 2009-10 season for the Rampage with a 20-22-2 record, a 2.96 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

During the 2008-09 season, the Montreal native appeared in 51 games for the Rampage with a 25-22-2 record with a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Tordjman set AHL career-highs in wins (25) and shutouts (6) while ranking second in the AHL in shutouts and t-12th in wins.

Tordjman was named Reebok X-Pulse/AHL Goaltender of the Month in January 2009 when he recorded a 9-4-0 record with a 2.01 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

Kaip (KIPE), signs a one-year contract with the Houston Aeros after spending the previous two seasons with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

Kaip, 26, played in 68 games for the Chicago Wolves during the 2009-10 season totaling 11 points (4-7=11) with 59 PIM. Kaip also played in nine games during the 2010 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs with eight PIM.

The Radville, Saskatchewan, native made his professional debut against the Aeros on October 11, 2008 with the Chicago Wolves.

Kaip, played college hockey at the University of North Dakota (WCHA) where he totaled 38 points (15-23=38) and 230 PIM in 143 career games, serving as captain during his senior season.

Kaip was originally selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the ninth round (269th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

2010 South Texas All-Star Game Starters Announced

Three First-Year All-Stars Highlight Starting Six

TEMPE, ARIZONA (December 28, 2009) The 2010 Central Hockey League (CHL) All-Star game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 at the Laredo Entertainment Center in Laredo, Texas and today the CHL announced the starting line-up for the South Texas All-Star Team (made up of players from the Laredo Bucks, the Corpus Christi IceRays and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees) that is scheduled to play a team of CHL All-Stars comprised of the remaining 12 teams. The starters were selected by the South Texas coaching staff made up of head coach Terry Ruskowski from Laredo and assistant co-coaches Brent Hughes from Corpus Christi and Chris Brooks from Rio Grande Valley.

The host team Laredo Bucks feature three players on the starting unit led by one of the co-Most Valuable Players of the 2009 CHL All-Star Game, Darryl Smith. The 2009 CHL Rookie of the Year is averaging nearly a point a game with 12 goals and 11 assists in 24 contests. Smith had a goal and an assist in last year’s game. He is joined on the starting unit by teammates Jean-Philippe Levasseur and defenseman Adam Rivet. Levasseur, a first-time CHL All-Star, is currently in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons. In his 16 games with the Bucks this season, the Victoriaville, Quebec native has a 10-3-3 record with a 2.31 goals against average (second in the CHL). Rivet will be playing in his second CHL All-Star Game. This season, he ranks just outside the top 10 among defensemen in scoring with 16 points (5-11=16).

Two starters will represent the Killer Bees with forward Jesse Bennefield and defenseman Nathan Ansell named to the starting six. Bennefield has been among the league’s top goal scorers all season and currently sits in second place in the CHL with 17 goals (38 points). He is joined by teammate Ansell who is fifth among defensemen with 22 points (3-19=22). It will be the first CHL All-Star appearance for both players.

Rounding out the starters and making his second All-Star appearance is Corpus Christi forward Justin Quenneville. The Montreal, native is tied for the IceRays team lead with 22 points (11-11=22).

2010 South Texas All-Star Starters
Position- Player (Team), Appearance
Forward - Darryl Smith (Laredo), 2nd
Forward - Justin Quenneville (Corpus Christi), 2nd
Forward - Jesse Bennefield (Rio Grande Valley), 1st
Defenseman - Nathan Ansell (Rio Grande Valley), 1st
Defenseman - Adam Rivet (Laredo), 2nd
Goaltender - J.P. Levasseur (Laredo), 1st

The starters for the CHL All-Star team will be announced on Tuesday, December 29 with the reserves for both teams being announced later in the week.

THE AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE ANNOUNCES DIVISION ALIGNMENTS, SCHEDULE FORMAT FOR 2009-10 SEASON

SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS (July 11, 2009) American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league's Board of Governors has approved the following conference and division alignment for the AHL's 2009-10 season (NHL affiliates in parentheses):

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR)
Lowell Devils (NJ)
Manchester Monarchs (LA)
Portland Pirates (BUF)
Providence Bruins (BOS)
Springfield Falcons (EDM)
Worcester Sharks (SJ)

East Division
Adirondack Phantoms (PHI)
Albany River Rats (CAR)
Binghamton Senators (OTT)
Hershey Bears (WSH)
Norfolk Admirals (TB)
Syracuse Crunch (CBJ)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT)

Western Conference
North Division
Abbotsford Heat (CGY)
Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)
Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL)
Lake Erie Monsters (COL)
Manitoba Moose (VAN)
Rochester Americans (FLA)
Toronto Marlies (TOR)

West Division
Chicago Wolves (ATL)
Houston Aeros (MIN)
Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
Peoria Rivermen (STL)
Rockford IceHogs (CHI)
San Antonio Rampage (PHX)
Texas Stars (DAL)

The 2009-10 regular season will begin on Oct. 2. The Houston Aeros complete schedule will be announced later this summer. Houston is slated to host 28 games within the West Division, 11 against the North Division and one versus the East Division. The Aeros opponents and number of home games are as follows (Houston plays each team an equal number of times on the road):

West Division
Texas Stars – six games
San Antonio Rampage – six games
Chicago Wolves – four games
Milwaukee Admirals – four games
Peoria Rivermen – four games
Rockford IceHogs – four games

North Division
Grand Rapids Griffins – three games
Abbotsford Heat – two games
Lake Erie Monsters – two games
Manitoba Moose – two games
Hamilton Bulldogs – one game
Toronto Marlies – one game

East Division
Syracuse Crunch – one game

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the eighth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2008-09.

Greatest Moment in Sport: USA-USSR Hockey at 1980 Winter Olympic Games

By Robert H. Kelly This is without a doubt, the greatest moment in USA Olympic history, if not the entire world of sport. Of course I am talking about the USA defeating the USSR in hockey at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. Many will disagree, and they are entitled to their opinion, but in this writer's mind, it was the great moment in the history of sport. Of couse, I was not there. I WAS watching it on TV. Not even I thought such a feat could happen. It just goes to show if you want it bad enough, and you believe in miracles..they can happen. What a time. The Olympics as they should ALWAYS be!!! What a shame they have turned into a mere shadow of their former self.