AHL Hershey Bears

Seventh heaven, with greatness just within reach

Published on May 30, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


Is there any other word or phrase in sports that creates more excitement and energy than the words Game 7? Just one game to decide an entire season, with triumph or heartbreak just a shot away. Just one game to either become immortalized, or be forgotten in the passage of AHL time. A game where a fourth line center or stay-at-home defenseman has the same chance to become a hero remembered in the annals of team history. Quite simply, there's nothing in sports quite like it. In tonight's case, Game 7 will decide the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals between the Portland Pirates and our HERSHEY BEARS. For the first time since HERSHEY'S magical run to Calder Cup glory in 1997, the BEARS tonight will play in a one-game, winner take all that could put the AHL's most historic franchise back in the Calder Cup finals.

I'm grateful to be here tonight, after a spring that has had me away for a few of HERSHEY'S steps along this path to potential glory. To be high above rinkside and have the honor to call these games the last few weeks has been incredibly meaningful to me, and I want nothing more than to continue past tonight's Game 7. I was reminded the past two weeks why this franchise is so special, and why Hershey, Pennsylvania is a tough place to leave.

For a time this magical spring, HERSHEY'S playoff success almost seemed too easy. A four-game sweep of the Norfolk Admirals preceded four straight victories over the regular season East Division champs from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After two more road wins in Portland to open up this Eastern Conference Finals series in Maine, it seemed that nothing could get between the BEARS and a march toward playoff history. HERSHEY certainly carried some impressive credentials with them heading into Game 3 here at GIANT Center ten days ago. Ten straight playoff victories. Six straight road wins. No losses at all since a narrow regular season defeat at Norfolk April 8. Not since the 1988 Calder Cup champion BEARS had a team won as many consecutive playoff games, with the 12 in a row by that squad still standing today as an AHL best. In the last ten days, however, this notion was quickly dispelled. Portland rebounded in Game 3 and finally stopped the team from Chocolatetown and started to show us why this series will be remembered for a long time to come. It was a preview of coming attractions when Pirate defenseman Shane O'Brien scored the game-winner in double overtime of Game 3, and it gave us a taste of where this series was destined to finish. While it seemed like order was restored with a Game 4 victory here along HERSHEYPARK Drive when the BEARS took a three games to one lead with a 4-0 win, we soon found out that was not the case. Portland's best was yet to come when the series shifted back to southern Maine.

I was sitting in the press box at the Cumberland County Civic Center this past Wednesday night, a press box that broadcasting legend Mike Emrick once called home when his illustrious career brought him to New England to call games for the Maine Mariners. I'm sure if Doc Emrick and anyone else that supports the BEARS from afar saw the first two periods at the Civic Center in Portland last Wednesday, they would have all thought what we were thinking upstairs. This thing is over. The mood in the building wasn't good among the Pirate faithful, and the BEARS fans that made the long trek to Portland to cheer on their team had to have sensed that an Eastern Conference crown was close at hand. HERSHEY built up a 2-0 lead after two periods when Tomas Fleischmann and Mike Green scored second period lamp-lighters to put the Chocolate and White squarely in the driver's seat with 20 minutes to go. I watched the Pirates skate to the dressing room with their heads hanging. I saw the BEARS head off with their heads held high. It seemed to be following the script that had been written previously about this playoff season, with HERSHEY destined to advance while another team's players would be cleaning out their locker stalls and heading to all points on the map for the off season. I don't think any of us thought that Portland would be any different that the previous two teams that the BEARS sent to the golf course this spring. Of course, the Pirates showed us all what they were made of, and at the same time began a new chapter of this postseason for our beloved BEARS. The days of long playoff streaks, shutouts and sweeps quickly became distant memories. Portland found a way to get on the board just over two and half minutes into the third period when defenseman Bruno St. Jacques charged the net, and suddenly halfway through the third, the Pirates held a 3-2 lead that ultimately stood up for a victory on home ice. After the game, I went down to the dressing room after finishing the broadcast. The guys were down, there was no question about that, but even in defeat, I could still sense this team had greatness in it. I still felt it after Game 6 when the Pirates again used home-ice to their advantage and won 5-3 facing elimination. Portland won 53 games during the regular season because they have talent and work ethic. They are a most worthy opponent in this Eastern Conference Final, and rest assured entering Game 7 tonight, they will fight for 60 minutes for the right to face Milwaukee for the Calder Cup. There are things, however, that Portland doesn't have on its side tonight. They don't have the depth of history as an organization as we do They don't have what fans of the Montreal Canadiens called "the ghosts" on their side. It may be a new building, but it's the same tradition handed down from year-to-year since 1938, and from HERSHEYPARK Arena to GIANT Center. I believe that with every fiber of my being that the "ghosts" will be in HERSHEY'S favor tonight, and that Frank Mathers is watching from the best seat in the house for this Game 7. I'm also sure the boys from Chocolatetown can call upon him if we need a little extra nudge toward Wisconsin tonight.

While I don't know what the outcome of tonight's game will be, there are a few things I do know. I know that Doug Yingst, Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods have assembled and coached a team that is among the most hard-working I've ever been around. I know that Frederic Cassivi has been the best goaltender in this AHL postseason and that he's rested and ready to go. I know that this core of forwards is among the most talented I've seen. I know that the defensemen on this team have given their hearts and energy every minute of this series and the last few days to rest before Game 7 are a blessing for them. I also know that while both teams are evenly matched tonight, we have the greatest fans backing this team to a berth in the Finals. I ask this of everyone here tonight watching this game, everyone that has been here all season cheering on our guys to victory. You are the seventh man on the ice tonight. Yell like you've never yelled before this season. Give these guys the biggest cheer you can when they skate onto the ice tonight. Let Portland know that when it comes to home-ice advantage, the Cumberland County Civic Center has nothing on GIANT Center. This is a most historic night in this team's history, because Game 7's don't come around very often. It is the first-ever Game 7 in this building's history. This franchise has won a Calder Cup in every decade since the 1940's, and history is on our side tonight. I think it's about time to put the first decade of the 21st century to bed, don't you?

Do your part in the stands tonight, and the team will do the rest. There is nothing more I hope for tonight than a chance to say this Friday evening "Good Evening ladies and gentlemen, from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, welcome to Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals..."

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American Hockey League Stories from May 30, 2006


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