Subject:  HOW WE GOT THERE! |
Author:
Gina
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Date Posted: Wednesday, May 04, 19:00:12
From theahl.com
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks made some history on Sunday in advancing to the West Division Final and a date with the Chicago Wolves.
The Mighty Ducks won a best-of-seven playoff series for the first time in their eight-year history. In doing so, they became just the 13th team in AHL history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. And it all happened against the 47-win, 103-point, defending Calder Cup champion Milwaukee Admirals.
It wasn’t a promising start to the series for Cincinnati, which had to play three of the first four games on the road due to arena scheduling conflicts. But unlikely heroes in unlikely places helped the Mighty Ducks pull off one of several upsets in the AHL during the first round of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Game 1: Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 2
Cincinnati ran head-first into Milwaukee’s potent special teams at the Bradley Center in Game 1, allowing goals on three consecutive Admirals power plays in a span of 7:26 late in the first period. Darren Haydar and Simon Gamache, the top two postseason scorers on Milwaukee’s Calder Cup run a year ago, led the way again, Gamache with a hat trick and Haydar with three assists.
The Mighty Ducks allowed just 19 shots on goal in the game, but by the time they had taken a 4-1 lead early in the second period, the Admirals had it on cruise control. A steady stream of players to the penalty box gave Cincinnati four power plays in the third period, but Brian Finley stood tall and Milwaukee held on for a 4-2 win.
Game 2: Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 3 (2OT)
What might have been the turning point of the series came at the 4:05 mark of the fifth period in Game 2, when Joel Stepp gave the Mighty Ducks a 4-3 double-overtime victory and evened things up at a game apiece. A Cincinnati loss, heading back to Milwaukee for the next two games, may have spelled the end for the Ducks.
Five more power-play goals were scored in the game, including two in the third period by the Admirals’ Scottie Upshall as Milwaukee erased a pair of one-goal deficits in the final 14 minutes. But the left wing Stepp, Anaheim’s third-round choice in the 2001 NHL draft who had 10 goals in 128 games over his first two regular seasons with Cincinnati, found the back of the net and evened the series.
Game 3: Milwaukee 3, Cincinnati 2 (OT)
A golden opportunity to swing the pendulum of momentum fully in their favor slipped away as the Mighty Ducks saw Game 3 go to the Admirals, 3-2, as Joel Stepp, the Game 2 hero, took a penalty for delay of game in overtime and Simon Gamache converted at 17:01.
It was already Gamache’s fourth goal of the series, and Milwaukee’s eighth power-play score in just three games. Brian Finley made 12 saves in the third period and 13 more in OT to help the Admirals take a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4: Milwaukee 3, Cincinnati 0
At the time, it looked like the beginning of the end: A 28-save effort by Brian Finley. Another parade of Mighty Ducks heading to the penalty box. Two more power-play goals for Milwaukee. And a 3-0 Admirals victory to move one win closer to knocking out Cincinnati.
In hindsight, there was one positive that came out of Game 4 at the Bradley Center. Frederic Cassivi was brilliant late in the regular season in the Mighty Ducks’ crease, but by the middle of Game 4, head coach Brad Shaw recognized that it might be time for a change. Enter Ilya Bryzgalov, stopping all 13 shots he faces and earning the call to start Game 5.
Game 5: Cincinnati 3, Milwaukee 1
Back at the Gardens, it was Cincinnati’s turn to shine on the power play. Shane O’Brien, Zenon Konopka and Michael Holmqvist scored with the man advantage to propel the Ducks to a 3-1 win, their ninth straight victory on home ice.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves and Ryan Getzlaf, who made his debut in Game 3, registered two assists for the first points of his pro career. Milwaukee’s series lead was down to 3-2.
Game 6: Cincinnati 5, Milwaukee 1
The day before Game 6, a story ran in the Cincinnati Enquirer, reporting that the Mighty Ducks’ future in Cincinnati had been clouded by the possibility that Anaheim might be looking elsewhere to ice its AHL affiliate next season. If this was an added distraction to the players in eggplant and jade, it didn’t show by game time, as Michael Holmqvist scored a shorthanded goal just 3:18 into the game and the Ducks rolled to a 5-1 win, sending the series to the limit.
Rookie defenseman Aaron Rome, who scored all of two goals in 75 regular-season games, potted a pair for Cincinnati, including a big goal with 13 seconds left in the second period, giving the Ducks a two-goal lead heading into intermission. Mark Popovic, who scored once in 74 games in 2004-05, added a goal and an assist, and Ilya Bryzgalov made 29 saves.
Game 7: Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 3
For the second year in a row, Cincinnati was heading into the Bradley Center for a Game 7 against Milwaukee. Last season, the Mighty Ducks fell behind early and never recovered, their season ending in a 5-1 defeat.
This time would be drastically different out of the gate, as Casey Hankinson, Pierre Parenteau and Kurtis Foster staked Cincinnati to a 3-0 lead, the game barely eight minutes old. But Brandon Segal gave the Admirals some life at the 10:22 mark, and Darren Haydar cut the deficit to 3-2 late in the first period.
In the final minute of the second period, Simon Gamache got his sixth goal and 10th point of the series, tying the score at 3-3.
And on they played, seemingly destined for overtime, a classic ending to what was shaping up as a classic series. But Mark Popovic floated an innocent shot towards the net, through traffic, and past Brian Finley with 12.9 seconds showing on the clock. Just like that, the Mighty Ducks had dethroned the defending champs.
Cincinnati’s Game 7 win was the only one by a road team in the series. They overcame their struggles on the penalty kill, mainly by allowing just five even-strength goals in the seven contests. Joffrey Lupul quietly led the team with eight points; Zenon Konopka had a club-high three goals.
But with 13 different Ducks finding the net at least once, you could take your pick of unlikely heroes: Bryzgalov. Stepp. Rome. Popovic. It was a team effort from start to finish, and has Cincinnati brimming with confidence heading into another daunting challenge – the West Division Final against the first-place Wolves.
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