All-Time Draft #7 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

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Jagr scores twice, Mets take 1-0 series lead.

NANAIMO -- The Seattle Metropolitans started setting new goals after stealing the Milt Dunnell Cup opener from the Nanaimo Clippers.

Jaromir Jagr scored twice and the Mets beat the Clippers 4-2 on Thursday night.

The Mets will try to grab a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series on Saturday before returning to Seattle for Games 3 and 4.

"We said that we wanted to win one game here and we did," Jagr said. "It's huge."

Brent Sutter and Bill Gadsby also scored for the Mets.

"You don't win the series in the first game. I've seen in the past where other teams come into the visiting building and say they just want to win one game, but now we want to win a second game," Sutter said.

Adam Oates and Earl Seibert also scored for the Clippers.

Bernie Federko had two assists for the Mets, seting up both goals by Jagr.

"They were just better than us," Nanaimo captain Sylvio Mantha said. "We took some penalties, we were undisciplined at times."

Nanaimo's Allan Stanley and Earl Seibert received penalties before Gadsby tied it 2-2 at 10:02 of the second period. Jagr scored the go-ahead goal just 38 seconds later.

Gadsby scored his goal on a one-timer. Then, Jagr skated in and sent a shot off goalie Glenn Hall's chest before putting the rebound past him.

"We were in the box the whole night. You can't create offense when you're killing penalties," Seibert said.

After Stanley tripped and turned over the puck early in the third, Jagr came in on a breakaway and scored after Hall skated out of the net and tripped him. Jagr wasn't deterred, and he put the puck into an open net as he slid past Hall.

"I missed the puck, and he just made a nice play," Hall said.

Mets goalie Chuck Gardiner looked sharp in his first ever Finals appearance.

Gardiner said he felt good "I was a bit nervous at the start, but really settled down and the boys played excellent in front.

"Now that we have one we want the next one as well," Gardiner said. "We know it's going to be tougher than tonight. We'll have to play a lot better."

Oates opened the scoring just three minutes in after Odie Cleghorn made a nifty pass to a streaking Roy Conacher, for a two-on-one.

Sutter tied it after his pass went off Toronto defenseman Bill Hajt's skate and in at 5:05 of the first.

Seibert's one-timer from the blue line gave Nanaimo a 2-1 lead on the power play at 18:33 of the first, but Seattle scored the game's final three goals.
 

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Taylor and Hall help Clips even series at one a piece




NANAIMO -- The Nanaimo Clippers blamed themselves for the series-opening loss to the Seattle Metopolitans.

They were determined not to repeat their poor play in Game 2.

Cyclone Taylor scored twice and Glenn Hall stopped all 31 shots as the Clippers beat the Mets 2-0 Saturday night to even the Milt Dunnel Cup Finals series at one win apiece.

Newsy Lalonde assisted on both goals for the Clippers, who had 26 shots after managing just 17 Thursday in the 4-2 loss in Game 1.

"I don't think any of us had a very good game the first night out," Hall said. "We all tried to be better."

Hall made his best save during an Seattle power play in the third period, robbing Michel Goulet of a goal with a glove save.

"Glenn gives us a chance to win every night, and he did it again," Taylor said.

The Clippers were inspired by some early hits. Nanaimo enforcer Terry O'Reilly had the biggest, sending Jaromir Jagr to the ice with a crushing check.

"We tried to be a lot more physical than we were in Game 1. We were a little stiff, a little emotionless," Taylor said. "We were much better in the first. We had some big key hits early in the game."

Seattle, which went 0-for-6 on the power-play, will host Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven Finals series Monday and Wednesday.

"They played better, and that's what we expected," Seattle defenseman Rod Langway said. "Glenn was outstanding. We played a good game, but we just didn't score."

Paul Thompson gave Nanaimo a spark by drilling Bernie Federko in the opening minutes. Defenseman Ted harris also rejoined the lineup, replacing a struggling Bill Hajt.

"They both gave us a big spark," Nanaimo defenseman Earl Seibert said. "Billy was solid defensively, and Thompson was his usual self, running people over and playing really hard. He's a spark plug, a little pest."

E. Seibert tied up an Ottawa defenseman before Taylor put a wrist shot between Chuck Gardiner's pads at 10:40 of the first.

Taylor made it 2-0 when he scored while Nanaimo had a two-man advantage.

Just five seconds after Goulet received a roughing penalty in the second period, Langway was called for cross-checking. Nanaimo defenseman Didier Pitre put a slap shot off Gardiner before Taylor put the rebound in at 6:02.

Seattle scored the tying and go-ahead goals on Thursday after Nanaimo received two consecutive penalties
 

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Seattle's top line responds, Mets take 2-1 series lead

SEATTLE -- Bryan Trottier seemed to be everywhere, setting up scoring chances and creating havoc all over the ice.

Not quite what the Nanaimo Clippers had in mind.

Trottier had a goal and an assist and was part of a line that combined for two goals and four assists, lifting the Mets to a 5-2 victory over the Clippers on Monday night.

"We have to be a lot more disciplined," Nanaimo center Newsy Lalonde said.

The Clippers were hoping to do better against Trottier, Michel Goulet and Tim Kerr after the trio was kept of the scoresheet in games one and two.

Instead, the line broke out for the first time during this Milt Dunnell Cup Finals series.

Trottier and Kerr lit the lamp and had an assist apiece and Goulet added two assists to put Seattle up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

"If you work hard, you will get the breaks," said Trottier, who was blanked twice in a row for the first time all playoffs in games one and two, "If you go to the net hard, you are going to score those goals."

But it wasn't just Seattle's top line causing Nanaimo problems.

Jaromir Jagr scored his 3rd of the finals, grinding forward Tiger Williams added a goal, and Peter McNab sealed the win with a power-play goal early in the third period.

"We are a better team than that," Clippers coach Hap Day said. "We have battled back from adversity before, and we are going to have to do it again."

Nanaimo struggled on the special teams all night. They gave up a short-handed goal and allowed the Mets to go 3-for-9 on the power play.

Game 4 is in Wednesday night in Seattle, where the Mets were 26-7-8 this season.

"We can't rest after this win. We need to win again on Wednesday night and hold onto this home ice advantage," Seattles' Babe Seibert said.

Nanaimo took the lead on Lalonde's power-play goal 8½ minutes into period one.

It didn't last long.

Jagr tied it on a power play just 1:03 later, sneaking in for a one-timer on Trottier's pass from behind the goal.

"Momentum is a big thing there," said Seattle's James Patrick, who had two assists. "We matched it early with a goal right after theirs."

Then things really heated up.

The crowd and Alf Smith were furious late in the first period when Kerr was called for a penalty after bumping into Clippers goalie Glenn hall along the sideboards.

Smith had a heated conversation with one official after the call, but Seattle was able to kill off the penalty.

Nanaimo was called for too many men on the ice at the end of the power play, and Kerr took advantage by tipping Patrick's shot from near the blue line to put the Mets up 2-1 with 2.8 seconds left.

Then it was the Clippers' turn to be angry.

Seattle's Bob Bourne slashed Doug Risebrough on the back of the legs after the horn sounded, but the officials didn't see it. Nanaimo forward Terry O'Reilly did. He went after Bourne and had to be restrained as he skated toward one of the officials.

"Mentally, we weren't very strong," Lalonde said. "They frustrated us. We have to learn to stay within the game and control our emotions a little bit better."

The Clippers' fortunes didn't get any better in the second period.

Trottier scored 6:48 in on a centering pass that caromed past Hall off the skate of Nanaimo defenseman Allan Stanley.

The next goal, a short-hander by Williams, came six minutes later after Roy Conacher whiffed on a shot, and Hall swiped it back toward his net.

"We've had some unfortunate bounces that haven't gone our way, and certainly there have been some breakdowns," Hall said.

Earl Seibert made it 4-2 late in the period on a one-timer from the slot after no one picked him up, but McNab answered three minutes into the third by redirecting a shot from Patrick.
 

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Kerr's OT goal gives Mets 3-1 series lead vs. Clippers


SEATTLE (AP) -- Tim Kerr's floater from the right circle 5:05 into overtime gave Seattle a 3-2 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers on Wednesday night and a 3-1 lead in the Milt Dunnell Cup Finals series.

So much for a Mets team that was counted out at since the start of the postseason for being a number three seed.

"Since Day 1, no one thought we were going scare anyone this postseason," Kerr said. "We knew we had a lot of talent and character to do better than that. And we've showed it and proved it to everybody. ... We don't care what people think of us."

Added alt.-captain Rod Langway: "I hope people keep not paying attention to us, that's fine by us."

Brent Sutter and Alf Smith also scored and goalie Chuck Gardiner stopped 26 shots for the Mets, who are now just a win away from capturing the Milt Dunell Cup.

Kerr sealed the victory in a game in which the Mets twice squandered one-goal leads, including giving up Newsy Lalonde's goal that forced overtime with 90 seconds left in regulation.

Michel Goulet started the play carrying the puck up the left wing and feeding a pass across the middle. The puck bounced high off the stick of Nanaimo's Phil Goyette, but Kerr had time to leap and bring it down. Kerr then swiped at a bouncing puck, his shot floating in over goaltender Glenn Hall's right shoulder.

"I saw the defenseman just stay there in front and he didn't come after me, so I knew had time to put the puck down," Kerr said. "Just shoot it and the puck went in."

"I didn't see it," Hall said. "Next thing I knew it was up there."

And now, the Clippers are down three games to one, a team on the verge of extending its dreadful history of playoff collapses. This is a team that's never overcome a two-game deficit, and has little time to regroup with Game 5 of the best-of-seven series at Nanaimo on Friday night.

"You can't give up," said Lalonde, who scored twice. "We're going home and we expect to win in frot of the home crowd."

Added captain Sylvio Mantha: "It's frustrating. But as long as there's hope, we're not going to quit."

The Mets won despite missing two top regulars -- center Bob Bourne and defenseman Craig Ludwig, both hurt in Seattle's 5-2 win in Game 3 on Monday.

Seattle limited most of Nanaimo's scoring chances to the outside and then showed no signs of wilting after Lalonde forced overtime by deflecting in Earl Seibert's shot from the point.

"Just an amazing feeling, an amazing feeling to see how we responded and how we found a way to win the game," Langway said.

The Clippers' only hope might be relying on the home crowd. The Clippers were dominant during the regular season at home this year, an ATD best 31-6-4.


"Down 3-1 is tough," Mantha said. "We want to get it going, get some confidence and we can be dangerous again."
 

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Clippers rip Mets, live for another day




NANAIMO -- Newsy Lalonde backed up his challenge and prediction.

Lalonde had three goals and Adam Oates scored twice, leading the Nanaimo Clippers to a 7-2 victory over the Seattle Metropolitans on Friday in Game 5 of their Milt Dunnell Cup Finals series.

Seattle can eliminate the Clippers with a victory in Seattle on Monday night. If necessary, Game 7 would be Wednesday.

Lalonde, the Clippers' alternate captain and offensive cataylst, addressed his teammates in a closed-door meeting Thursday. He responded with the best playoff performance of his 14-year career.

"He told us he would be great today and to jump on for the ride," Clippers goaltender Normie Smith said.

Lalonde shared the credit.

"I'm getting lucky right now," Lalonde said. "I had to lead with emotion and energy. There was no extra pressure. We have a lot of guys capable of leading."

The victory was costly for the Clippers, who lost goalie Glenn Hall and defenseman Babe Seibert to undisclosed injuries. Smithreplaced Hall after the first period and stopped eight of nine shots.

"Both guys have upper-body injuries. We'll give you the truth tomorrow," Clippers coach Hap Day said.

After being outplayed in two straight losses in Seattle, the Clippers dominated the game from the start, taking a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes and holding the Mets without a shot until the final minute of the first period.

Bobby Rousseau and Don Marcotte also scored for the Clippers, who have never lost an elimination game at home in the brief history.

Mets goalie Chuck Gardiner allowed six goals on 18 shots, before being replaced by Hap Holmes less than four minutes into the second period.

Bernie Federko and Tim Kerr scored for Seattle.

"We made a lot of mistakes and the whole team didn't perform up to the level they can," Mets captain Alf Smith said.

Energized by a noisy standing room only crowd of 17,825, the Clippers played with more intensity and determination than they showed in the two losses in Seattle. They outshot the Mets 29-11.

Rousseau picked up a loose puck after a turnover by Mets defenseman Bill Gadsby, skated in and wristed a shot past Gardiner for a 1-0 lead 3:51 in.

Oates made it 2-0 just 1:52 later with his second goal of the finals. Oates took a drop pass from Doug Bentley and shot it through a screen past Gardiner.

Lalonde's first goal came on a short-handed breakaway with 1:06 left in the first period. Lalonde beat Gadsby to a loose puck, skated in on Gardiner, made a nifty move to go around defenseman Brad McCrimmon and one-handed a shot into the net.

His second goal came on another breakaway 44 seconds into the second period. Lalonde broke in with Bentley, who made a nice centering pass to set up the easy goal.

Lalonde made it 7-2 early in the third period with his sixth goal of the finals. He's now just one away from tying the record for goals in a Finals series..

"He's the straw that stirs our drink on offense," Day said. "He's really focused."

Federko scored Toronto's first goal on a rebound with 35 seconds left in the first period.

"We have to make sure we come back and play much better right from the start," Gardiner said. "Going home is definitely going to help us."

"All the pressure is on them now," Clips captain Sylvio Mantha said. "They know they aren't winning a game 7 In Nanaimo."

Coach Pete Green responded, "We've responded all year and I have no reason to believe we won't again. The pressure is still on the Clippers having to beat us twice."
 

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Cleghorn's OT rebound forces Game 7




SEATTLE -- Maybe it was the phone call from Syl Apps, maybe it was their coach's psychological ploy to tilt the pressure Seattle's way.


Whatever it was, the Nanaimo Clippers have forced Game 7 in a Milt Dunnell finals that much of Seatt;e -- and the Pacific Northwest, too -- must have thought was over.


Odie Cleghorn knocked in a rebound in the opening seconds of the second overtime and the Clippers spoiled the Mets' Stanley Cup celebration with a series-tying 3-2 victory in Game 6 Monday night.


Earl Seibert scored two power-play goals in regulation, almost a sure sign the Clippers would win. Nanaimo is 11-0-2 overall and 4-0 in the playoffs when Seibert scores.


Breaking an entire city's heart for at least two nights, the Clippers ruined a possible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Mets to win the Cup at home and become one of the most improbable champions in ATD history.


The Clippers won it 33 seconds into the second overtime when Roy Conacher jumped on the puck at the blue line and shot it on net, where it was tipped by Oates. Cleghorn rushed in to slip the rebound past goalie Chuck Gardiner.


"It's been a hell of a series, and it's fitting we have a Game 7," Clippers coach Hap Day said.


On Sunday, Day added to the already enormous pressure on the Metsto close it out at home, essentially guaranteeing a victory and revealing his team already was planning for Game 7 in Nanaimo on Wednesday night.


The reverse psychology might have worked as the Clippers scored on their first two power plays and forced the Mets to play catch-up.


"Game 7 will be a great experience," Day said. "We're not going to tippy-toe, we're going to dive right in."


Now, the Mets will try to avoid becoming only the first team team in 65 years to squander a 3-1 series lead in the finals. The 1942 Red Wings dropped their final three games to Apps's Toronto Maple Leafs. Syl Apps was one of the leaders of that team (who actually came back from 3-0 down)

Fittingly, Apps called Conacher on Sunday with advice on how to overcome a 3-1 deficit. He also offered encouragement to the Clippers's Adam Oates, who has played over 1,600 games without winning the Cup.


"They [the 1942 Leafs] did it, so why couldn't we?" Cleghorn said. "It meant a lot to hear from a Hall of Famer like him."


Oates said, "He was willing to give us a call and let us know what the situation is ... for him to want to participate in what we're doing, well, I can just see him on the other end of the line, still being a leader."


Now, Oates said, "I finally have my chance." And the Mets must be wondering if they've squandered their best chance.


"It's disappointing but we have to let it go now," defenseman Barney Stanley said. "We have to refocus and get rolling. You can't look at the past."


Coach Pete Green doesn't think the Mets caved in to the pressure.


"I just thought some of our guys that play a lot and expect to be really good for us just weren't sharp tonight," he said. "But I don't think uptight, no."


After a scoreless and tentative first period, both teams opened up in the second period -- easily the most entertaining and fast-paced of the series.


Seibert twice put Nanaimo in front with his 5th and 6th goals of the playoffs. But the Mets, desperate to avoid making the long trip back to Nanaimo, answered each time.


Seibert scored on a power play with 4:17 gone as his point drive deflected off Gardiner's glove and into the net, briefly silencing the clamorous, banner-waving "Green Mile" Seattle crowd.


Paul Thompson answered midway through the period off a pass from Phil Goyette. But Seibert came back with his second power-play goal in just over six minutes, grabbing the puck from Rick Meagher in the right circle to get off a shot that beat Gardiner throught a well placed Bentley screen.


The Mets tied it late in the period when Gary Dornhoeffer found Meagher open at the side of the net following a Nanaimo turnover.


Seattle almost won it on a power play midway through the third, but Glenn Hall, back after the flu forced him to miss the final two periods of game five, stuck out his right leg to stop Alf Smiths' rebound attempt perilously close to the goal line. Multiple TV replays did not conclusively show the puck crossing the line.


"It's got to be conclusive," Green said. "I looked at it from two different angles, and unless they have a different one, you can't say that it's a goal.


"We reviewed a number of camera angles and only one showed the puck," NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said. "From that angle, it was inconclusive whether the puck crossed the goal line ... there was insufficient evidence."


Until the huge letdown, Seattle was supercharged all day. About 300,000 had been expected to surge downtown if the Seattle won. It was obvious the fans did not expect the series to extend beyond Saturday night: A Seattle Times banner headline read, "Tonight's the Night."


Notes: Glenn Hall returned after missing the final two periods of game 5 with the flu. Babe Seibert did not dress and is out with an "upper body injury". His status for game seven is unknown. He was replaced in the line-up by Bill Hajt, who had been out of the line-up since game 2. The Clippers will try and becoem the first team since 1942 to overcome a 3-1 series defecit in the Finals. That team was also coached by Hap Day.
 
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Your write ups just get better and better JFF. Good to see I wasn't alone in thinking these two teams would go 7. Its pretty tough to decide a winner.
 

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NANAIMO -- The Seattle Metpolitans staggered to Nanaimo Tuesday, trying to figure out how it has gone so wrong, so quickly.


A few of them stopped by the locker room, where they could have been sipping champagne from the Stanley Cup a few days ago. Now, their equipment was being sorted out for one more game, one more chance to avoid a mammoth collapse.

"I think we're all embarrassed by the way we played," defenseman Brad McCrimmon said.

One timely goal away from capturing the cup in Game 6, the Mets find themselves very much on the defensive heading to Game 7 against the resurgent Nanaimo Clippers, who suddenly seem much fresher, a step or two quicker and a lot more determined.

"I know three in a row is tough to do," Clippers center Adam Oates said. "But we really believe we can get this thing done."

Only one team has squandered a 3-1 lead in the finals. Sixty-five years ago, Detroit actually won the first three games against Toronto, only to lose the next four.

The Mets put themselves in position to join those infamous teams with a 3-2 overtime loss at home and a dismal 7-2 defeat at Nanaimo in Game 5 on Friday night.

Now, it's on to the winner-take-all finale. Game 7 is Wednesday night in Nanaimo.

The Clipperss have history on their side, if not as much bounce in their skates. When the finals go to Game 7, the home team is 12-2. The 1971 Montreal Canadiens were the last road team to capture the cup in a decisive game.

Carolina is counting on its crowd to be a major factor.

"They've been a huge boost to us all year," said goalie Glenn Hall, fully recoverd from the bout of the flu he suffered last week. "We've got to use that to our advantage."

"We know the power play is going to play a tremendous role in the next game," Seattle coach Pete Green said. "Whoever wins the special teams is going to have a huge advantage."

The Clippers pulled a major surprise announcing that defenseman Babe Seibert will be in the line-up for game 7. Seibert was thought to be lost for the season after suffereing a severly dislocated shoulder in game five.

Seibert conceded that he's at greater risk for a more serious injury, but he's willing to take that chance -- especially with the Milt Dunnell Cup on the line.

"This is my life," he said. "I've always wanted to be a hockey player."

"We're a resilient team," Mets star center Bryan Trottier said. "We've been in these situations before. We've had our backs against the wall. I see no reason we won't come up with our best performance."
 

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Lucky #7.



NANAIMO – Sylvio Mantha lifted the Stanley Cup above his head, tears of joy streaming down his face. This one was for the captain and all those Nanaimo old-timers whose names are going on hockey's most revered trophy for the first time.

"It's just surreal," said Mantha, the team's 34-year-old captain, his eyes still red after he left ice. "The guys on this team have been through years and years of heartache. After Game 6, I knew there's no way we were letting this go. Too many guys on this team deserve it."

Doug Bentley corralled a loose puck and slid it between Chuck Gardiner's pads for a power-play goal 8:46 into overtime, giving the Clippers a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Metroploitans in Game 7 of the Milt Dunell Cup finals on Wednesday night.

Terry O’Reilly, among the contingent of 30-something players who had never won the Cup, leaped in the air after Bentleys' shot went in. The standing room only crowd of nearly 19,000, which stood throughout the game, went into a frenzy.

"I can't describe it," said O’Reilly, who lost in two previous trips to the finals. "Both times were gut-wrenching. I've got the scars. But tonight, all that work, all that hard work, and our team winning, it all paid off."

Earl Seibert, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player in the playoffs, tied the game at three on a power play late in the second period.
"Glennie really saved our ass there in the third period," Mantha said. "He brought us to life. Goaltending wins championships make no mistake about it. We had the best goalie in the playoffs."

The Clippers became the first team in 65 years to win the Milt Dunnell Cup after trailing a series three games to one.. And they did it despite playing what captain Mantha said "felt like one of our worst games of the series."

The Clippers fell behind by two goals early on and struggled at times clearing the puck from their own end, looked shaky on defense and managed only one shot in the third period.

Still, the Clippers found a way to win thanks to contributions throughout the lineup.
Nanaimo's special teams had the edge, scoring a pair of power-play goals while holding the Metss to 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Nanaimo capped it with Bentley's fourth goal of the playoffs, set up by a ricocheted shot off the boards behind the net.

"It's the way hockey goes," said Conn Smythe winner Seibert, who scored on the power play in the second period to tie it at 3. "When you're not at your best, you need every little thing on the outside to kind of be good."

Cyclone Taylor and Odie Cleghorn also scored for Nanaimo, and Newsy Lalonde had an assist to push his playoff leading point total to 39.

Nanaimo sent Seattle home for the summer to questions of, what if, with its second power-play goal, getting the man advantage when Bernie Federko hooked Roy Conacher along the boards. Newsy Lalonde then fired a shot from the left side that appeared to hit a Mets player and bounce off the boards behind the net.

The puck slid by Cyclone Taylor before making its way to Bentley, who pushed a shot past Gardiner to end it.

"It's almost like a pass when it hit the end boards and comes out," Bentley said. "It came out flat and you can one-time it. It found a way through."

Tim Kerr, Jaromir Jagr and Bill Gadsby each scored for the Mets, who couldn't hold a two-goal lead in the second period and three – one series advantage. The Mets had several chances late in this one, but Hall stopped Michel Goulet on a breakaway with about 4 minutes left in regulation to preserve the tie.

Seattle also started overtime on a power play while Nanaimo defenseman Allan Stanley served the final 1:19 of his hooking infraction that carried over from the third period.

It was a strong bounce-back effort for the Mets, who came off the overtime loss at home and a 7-2 drubbing in Nanaimo in game 5. It just didn't amount to a win.

"I think that it's nothing to get discouraged about with the effort we got tonight," Seattle coach Pete Green said. "I thought for the most part we carried the play. The second half of the game we had all the chances and we could have won it several times. We didn't, and we get a tough call that leads to a crazy bounce and end up with a goal against. This series wasn’t lost tonight, it was lost in games five and six."

Seatltle managed the first goal to silence the rowdy home crowd, with Kerr taking a long pass from Goulet and beating Hall on a breakaway midway through the period. But Seattle -- in a familiar trend for both teams in the series -- couldn't sustain that momentum, giving up a tying goal when Bentley found Taylor 17 seconds later to get the fans right back into it.

Then, after Jagr and Gadsby gave the Mets a 3-1 lead early in the second, the Clippers fought back on Cleghorn's short put-away off a feed from Adam Oates, and Seibert's shot past Gardiner to tie it again heading into the third.

The Mets have nothing to be ashamed of, becoming the first sixth-seeded team to make the finals under the current format. But they failed to bring Seattle its first champion in seventy years.

"We've got to keep our heads up but its hard, real hard right now," Seattle defenseman Rod Langway said. "I’ve never been shot with a gun before, but it can’t feel any worse than this."

Babe Siebert played 17 minutes with a severely dislocated shoulder, “It didn’t prevent me from doing my job, but I couldn’t lift the Cup over my head. This summer when I get it for a day, I’ll be carrying it over my head all day long.”

Notes: Earl Seibert narrowly edged Newsy Lalonde for the Conn Smythe, in the closest voting in over a decade. The Clippers became the first team to ever win three consecutive series in overtime of a 7th game. The Metropolitans set a record with their 33rd playoff game in one season.
 
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So many emotions, events spill over with Cup win

NANAIMO -- The Milt Dunnell Cup reflects a million things.

Love and redemption, sweat and pain, the impossible and the improbable, the heroic and the selfless.

And if you looked closely enough as the euphoric Nanaimo Clippers swarmed onto the Civic Arena ice Wednesday night and took their turns hoisting the mighty silver canister above their heads, you might have seen every one of those million things.

"I had tears in my eyes. It's a thing you just visualize your whole life when you're a kid," said Nanaimo forward Doug Risebrough, who turned in his best performance of this compelling finals series in the Clippers' Cup-clinching 4-3 victory.

"I thought a lot about that today. I had some time alone and I thought about it, just visualizing and imagining it happening. You're that close and now we have it," Risebrough said in the quiet moments before the champagne corks began to ricochet off the dressing room ceiling.

If a hockey game can be a thing of beauty, then this was such a game. All frenzied movement and desperate rushes and breathtaking stops.

From the opening moments when Tim Kerr wristed home the first goal of the game through the last moments of an electric third period, this was a game to embrace.
Sometimes minutes would pass without a whistle with wild surges at both ends of the ice. Then the play would stop and the frantic pace would begin again. And this, the 26th postseason game for the Clippers, the 33rd game for the Seattle Metropolitans, the final contest in a brutal two-month tournament.

A final contest that would not be truly settled until Doug Bentley beat Chuck Gardiner 8:46 into overtime.

"It just feels incredible. I guess being there before a couple of times and just knowing that it just takes every bit of energy and courage you can muster to try and win the Stanley Cup," said Clippers forward Terry O’Reilly, who had been to the edge twice with Boston, losing twice to the Montreal Canadiens.

"This year I knew something special was going to happen. I could feel it in training camp," O’Reilly added. "Everyone wrote us off and we just kept believing in each other all through the season and tonight as well."

The moments after a Milt Dunnell Cup is won are almost overwhelming. You don't know where to turn your attention. Where is the story of such an accomplishment told?

Is it told in the wild, arm-flapping leaps of a Adam Oates, the active player who had waited longest to put his hands on the Cup?

"You know, it was never, never about me. I truly believe that," Oates said. "I still can't believe it. It honestly feels like a dream to me. Just throughout the afternoon, I couldn't sleep, just thinking about preparing for Game 7."

Or is the story told in the likewise sudden pouring of fathers and mothers, wives and fiancées and children onto the Civic Arena ice?

Traditionally, the families of Cup winners are sequestered in dressing rooms and anterooms away from the ice. Not on this Clippers team.

"Biggest thing Hap Day did this year was [bring] a family atmosphere to the team. We felt like a family in here," O’Reilly said. "[In] the close games I think that was the biggest different because we cared about each other. We cared about each other's families. It was just a special feeling. A special group."

Perched on Newsy Lalondes' shoulders was his daughter, bouncing up and down with her father's joy. Moments before, it was Lalondes with his teary face buried into the shoulder of his father.

"That was probably one of the most special things I've ever been a part of, when my dad walked out on the ice," Oates said. "Just everything that he's done and that we've been though. It's something I'll never forget. It's special that we have a unique team like that."

The full picture of what it means to win a Milt Dunnell Cup is also told in what it means to lose it.

In the moments after the final horn sounded and the confetti began settling onto the ice, the photographers and camera crews and officials slowly pushed the beaten Mets to the edge of the rink.

They had let a 3-1 lead slip away heading into the third period, but then responded. They outshot Nanaimo 9-1 in the third period, and were it not for a handful of sensational saves by Glenn Hall, the Oilers would be the ones popping the champagne.

But it wasn't meant to be. After taking a 3-1 series lead, the Oilers could find a way to put the final nail in the Clippers coffin. Many sat on the bench watching the Clippers. Others like Bryan Trottier rested on one knee, leaning his tired weight on his stick.

"You picture it over and over again," Mets winger Tim Kerr said. "You dream about it. Not once did it enter my mind, or anyone else's mind, that they'd be holding the Cup. It's tough to take."

"How do you think that feels?" center Bernie Federko said when asked about watching the Clippers parade around the Civic Arena with the Cup. "Let's be honest. It's everyone's worst nightmare. It's a feeling you never want to feel again."

When they lined up for the ceremonial handshake, the Mets were still wearing their helmets, while the Clippers were sporting brand new Milt Dunnell Cup ball caps. For men standing so close, it's hard to imagine a distance greater.

"What a way to bounce back after Seattle had played such a great Game 4. We responded to it as we did many times this year after tough losses. But there's a fine line between winning and losing, and we found the way to fall on the right side of it," GM Pitseleh said.

Pitseleh, of course, is the architect of this championship team.

"A lot of ups and downs, but we stuck with it," Pitseleh said in a quiet part of the frenetic Hurricanes dressing room. "Boy, it's hard to win this championship, and sometimes you wonder if you're ever going to get close to it. When I held that Cup up on the ice, I never had a feeling like that in my whole career."

If Pitseleh was the architect of this team, then it was Day who was its chief engineer, the man who pushed the machinery forward, even when it seemed after Game 4 that it was stalled at the edge of greatness.

"Probably the greatest feeling of my life," Day said. "I think for me, long after I hold the Cup tonight and have my time with it this summer, I will remember where this team came from, how hard they fought for each other."

The Milt Dunnell Cup reflects a million things. Every one of them, and more, on display on this night in Nanaimo.
 

pitseleh

Registered User
Jul 30, 2005
19,164
2,612
Vancouver
Wow, that was intense. I was set up for disappointment.

I feel honoured to win this all amongst so many knowledgeable GMs. Thanks to everyone who voted.

Congrats to kreuzer on making it so far. You had what was likely my favourite team in the draft and I thought you may have had this one in the bag.
 

John Flyers Fan

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
22,416
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Congrats to both Pitseleh and Kreuzer. :handclap::handclap::handclap:

The fitting end to an excellent ATD.

Only thing that could have mde it a bit better is more voting on the playoffs.
 

pitseleh

Registered User
Jul 30, 2005
19,164
2,612
Vancouver
Congrats to both Pitseleh and Kreuzer. :handclap::handclap::handclap:

The fitting end to an excellent ATD.

Only thing that could have mde it a bit better is more voting on the playoffs.

Thanks again for doing such an awesome job on the writeups JFF. You did a great job capturing the essence of the players and really made it interesting to follow the series.
 

God Bless Canada

Registered User
Jul 11, 2004
11,793
17
Bentley reunion
Thanks for the write-ups, JFF.

Congrats to pitseleh's Nanaimo Clippers on winning the second-ever Milt Dunnell Cup. After I beat you in last year's playoffs, I remember saying that pit would win this championship one day. Of course, I expected it would be after I won three or four consecutive titles, and retired from this as a champion. But congrats anyways, buddy. You're in very exclusive company.

Entering the playoffs, I felt the three best teams in the playoffs were Trail, Edmonton and Nanaimo. After I was eliminated, I thought that whoever won the Edmonton vs. Nanaimo series would win it all. At least I was right about something in this draft. While there were other strong teams - Montreal Canadiens, Seattle, Buffalo, Detroit Red Wings - there was just something I liked about this Nanaimo squad.
 

Nalyd Psycho

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
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Congratulations Pitseleh!

Excellent work JFF!

Great series.

Just remembered, isn't the playoff MVP the Charlie Gardiner Memorial?

And I think we can officially declare that Earl Seibert is no longer underrated around here.
 

kruezer

Registered User
Apr 21, 2002
6,717
274
North Bay
Aiyee, JFF, a fantastic job, but you definitely ripped my heart out there. :D

Congrats Pit, you were certainly the best team in the draft in my opinion (once you put the Cyclone upfront of course ;)) and thanks to everyone who participated, the draft was very well done as always, its always been great to be invovled in these (though I still long for the days of the teams I could make in the distant past, Messier-Clarke-Keon-Kennedy down the middle? Yikes, I miss those days) But the depth of this draft (and now the minor league draft) has definitely helped me to learn more of the stars (and not so famous players) of the past.

The cinderella always falls short though eh? It was fate :D, well, time to prep for the next draft I suppose.
 

pitseleh

Registered User
Jul 30, 2005
19,164
2,612
Vancouver
And I think we can officially declare that Earl Seibert is no longer underrated around here.

Heh, no kidding.

That was one thing I was worried about when I was assembling my team, whether people would know who these players are. It's nice to see the careers had by guys like Seibert, Thompson, Pitre, Cleghorn and Conacher are known by the other GM's, which is ultimately what these things are about.
 

Hockey Outsider

Registered User
Jan 16, 2005
9,056
13,986
Congrats, Pitseleh, on the victory. I had your team ranked in my top three heading into the playoffs and I knew I was in trouble facing you during the conference finals. Congratulations to Kruezer as well for making it this far against very tough competition.

Special congratulations go to Bobby Rousseau, Doug Risebrough, Adam Oates and Ted Harris, who have won back-to-back Milt Dunnell cups.

Great job on the write-ups, JFF, like always. You always bring the players to life (even if they've been dead for decades).
 

raleh

Registered User
Oct 17, 2005
1,764
9
Dartmouth, NS
Congrats, Pitseleh, on the victory. I had your team ranked in my top three heading into the playoffs and I knew I was in trouble facing you during the conference finals. Congratulations to Kruezer as well for making it this far against very tough competition.

Special congratulations go to Bobby Rousseau, Doug Risebrough, Adam Oates and Ted Harris, who have won back-to-back Milt Dunnell cups.

Great job on the write-ups, JFF, like always. You always bring the players to life (even if they've been dead for decades).

Oates had first line duties last time didn't he? Between Howe and Kariya? I wonder how he feels playing a less significant role...;)
Congrats Pit.
 

VanIslander

A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Sep 4, 2004
35,133
6,428
A couple of all-time drafts ago I had Bobby Hull-Adam Oates-Brett Hull :)
 

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