AHL Hershey Bears

Phantoms win two in Chicago as 2005 Finals shift to south Philly

Published on June 6, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Philadelphia Phantoms bolted out to a two games to none lead in the Calder Cup Final Saturday night at Allstate Arena against the Chicago Wolves. It's at least mildly surprising that the Wolves lost the first two games at home to put Philly in the driver's seat for their second Calder Cup title. I thought Game 1 went according to the script, with both goaltenders dueling it out as the Phantoms won 1-0 behind a shutout from Antero Nittymaki. One thing I was really surprised in Game 2 was a lapse of discipline from Philly en route to giving Chicago 13 power plays. I guess the only thing more surprising than a lack of Phantom restraint was Chicago's ineptitude on the man advantage. If the Wolves indeed bow to the Phantoms and come away empty handed in this series, they won't have to look any further than special teams to figure out what went wrong. By the way, this is not a new problem for the Wolves in this postseason. Including Saturday's Game 2, Chicago is now just 10 for 110 on the power play during the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs for a rather uninspiring 9.1 percent. They were able to beat Cincinnati and Manitoba by getting it done with even strength goals and superb goaltending, but scoring just one goal in two games against Philadelphia dims the prospects for a Chicago championship quite a bit. The series shifts to south Philly on Wednesday for Game 3, and the Phantoms with a win could close out the series Friday night at the Wachovia Center. Game 5 if needed would be Sunday at the Center.

No official word has been given from either the Edmonton Oilers or Road Runners, but a report over the weekend from Canada's TSN states that the Road Runners will ask the American Hockey League for a voluntary suspension for the 2005-06 season. The report also appeared in the Edmonton Sun on Saturday, with the story citing unnamed sources within the Edmonton organization that the move is imminent. Should the suspension occur, it would come less than a year after the team suddenly left Toronto for Edmonton late last summer. Oilers president Patrick Laforge would not confirm or deny the story to the Canadian Press but did say ''It's something we have to consider. All along, that's been one of our considerations. What about the NHL? What's coming up?'' Edmonton also is interested in bringing a junior franchise to Rexall Place to play opposite the Oilers in the not too distant future.

One other AHL note, and it's a note of congratulations to a fellow broadcaster in our league. Grady Whittenburg, the play-by-play voice of the Binghamton Senators, was promoted last week within the B-Sens' front office to become the new Vice President of Sales for the club. Whittenburg has been with the team since the team's inception in 2002, and also has served the team as their PR director. Along with being among the very best in the AHL at calling a game, he's also a whale of a nice guy and someone very deserving of the promotion.

On to the mailbag, where the news about the Devils and the New Jersey legislature ruffled a few feathers in BEARS nation...

John:

If a member of the Political Governing Body, be it Federal, State, or Local; is not a member of a sports team, they have no business messing with sports rules and regulations.

This is the same as mixing Government and Religion. There needs to be a separation. Sports are for fun and enjoyment. Government gets involved and all of the fun and enjoyment goes out the window. Politicians need not participate.

A name is a name and that is all it is. It differenciates (sp) one team from another. That is all it is. A fine example is in the Pee Wee League right now: The team the "Devils." It is a name and nothing else. That is what the little ones want that team to be known as. It does not matter to them, that there is no logo on their jerseys or the fact that their jerseys are white, and not red or black. They are out on that ice every Sunday morning, playing their hearts out, because they want to be doing that. It is what they enjoy. And you will find the proud and faithful parents and friends of the families in the stands cheering and encouraging those little ones on.

So please Political Government people; keep your nose out of sports, unless you are asked to be on a Sports Governing Body. We want to have some fun It is part of the freedom our men and women are fighting for us to keep.

Amanda and Glenda Mechanicsburg, PA. Hershey Bears Fans and Fans of Pee Wee Hockey

Hi John,

Thanks for a great season of radio commentary for the Bears away games. You kept it very exciting and interesting over the radio, which is hard to do. Hopefully, for the 05-06 season we have a radio station that has

better reception. Anyways, I have some questions.-- Is there any chance we could see Mike Souza or David Masse return this season? They moved between the Bears and the Royals this past season and I was wondering if the Bears could keep a few players that came up from the Royals. Also, any chance of seeing Chris Bourque on the Bears?—

Where is PUCKHEAD??? The great originator of the "WOOOOOOO!" and the "B-E-A-R-S Bears, Bears, Bears" chant. He only appears on the big screen after the Bears score. I remember he hosted one game in the 03-04 season and the arena was so loud that you couldn't hear anything he was saying. I would like to see him back again to run the games/trivia that occurduring the breaks in play and intermission. He can really get some energy from the crowd.

What's with all these people from out-of-state e-mailing you? Especially, people who "stumble" across the Bears website and have never seen a Bears game in their life?

Thanks,

Eric G. Hershey, PA

First of all Eric, I'm happy to report that Puckhead is alive and well and at GIANT Center most days. I agree that his presence adds to the atmosphere at home games, I'm sure that he'll be back better than ever in 2005-06 on the videoboard, but I have to give props to Jim Jones, too for his in-game exploits. To your player personnel questions, I think we'll know more in the next few weeks about who we might see here this fall, but I think there is a chance Chris Bourque could be here. He has as much chance as anyone else in the Washington system, and I'm sure the Caps would like to see as many of their prospects here in October regardless of the NHL labor situation. Finally, the e-mailers from out of state and elsewhere is actually pretty common. I try to get as many e-mails in the column as I can, but I get so many I have to pick the best of the best. I put plenty of "local" e-mails in as well, but when a team is as well established as ours and lots of people move away from central Pennsylvania, it creates a pretty decent fan base nationally as well. I never would have thought I would have gotten so much mail from fans that don't live around here anymore, but I really have. It's fun to hear someone's perspective from outside the region sometimes.

Dear John:

I have been following the Bears for over 30 years. In that time one nice thing about the Bears is the fact that they have always maintained their own identity. They have always been in the chocolate brown and white. The only drastic change I saw over the years was the change to the new logo when they moved to the Giant Center. At first it took some getting used to, but I have and like this logo. I hope the Bears never adopt their parent club's look. If we keep our own identity, then we will always be Bears fans, not the baby "Caps", the baby "Avs" or any the baby any other affiliation.

Judy Camp Hill

Judy, I wouldn't worry too much about changing color schemes and designs involving the BEARS. I think a lot of fans feel like you, and our identity isn't going anywhere.

E-mail your questions, comments and such to jwalton@hersheypa.com, and you might see your letter in next week's column. Maybe we'll have a new Calder Cup champion by the time the column rolls around next week. Enjoy the warm weather this week if you call central PA home, and I'll be back here next Monday.

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American Hockey League Stories from June 6, 2005


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