Hartley Miller's Slap-Shots - May 2nd, 2008

Friday, May 02, 2008 03:45 AM

When the American Hockey League completed the longest game

in its 72-year history, it reminded me of the Prince George Spruce Kings’ marathon last year at the Royal Bank Cup.

In this legendary Calder Series game, Ryan Potulny scored in the fifth overtime, as the Philadelphia Phantoms defeated the Albany River Rats 3-2 to take a 3-2 series lead, a series that Philadelphia eventually won in seven games.

In May, 2007, Jason Yuel scored a power-play goal, in the 5th overtime period, redirecting a pass from Tyler Helfrich, leading the Spruce Kings past the Camrose Kodiaks 3-2 in the RBC semi-final. PG went on the next day, correction, later the same day, to lose the championship game to the Aurora Tigers 3-1.

With both games needing a 5th overtime, I was curious about any comparisons between the two games. The AHL game ended after 142 minutes and 58 seconds with the winning goal at 2:58 of the 8th period. The RBC game finished after 146 minutes and one second with the deciding goal at 6:01 of the 8th period.

Both games started just after 7pm local time. The Phantoms and River Rats ended at 12:39am while the Spruce Kings and Kodiaks played until 1:03am, a difference of 24 minutes. Yes, even minutes count when it comes to history.

How about shots on goal? Philadelphia took 101 on Michael Leighton and Albany fired 67 at Scott Munroe for a combined total of 168. In last year’s RBC game, Camrose blasted 93 on Jordan White and PG peppered Allen York with 77 for a total of 170. Leighton had the most saves with 98, although in a losing cause, while White stopped 91 and that was a winning effort. It is hard to believe Leighton was just the second star behind Potulny while Munroe, with his 65 saves, wasn't even listed as one of the three stars. Jared Ross, with two goals for the winners, was the 3rd star.

A couple of other side notes…. the attendance in Albany was a paltry 1,809, less than half the 3,849 fans that attended the RBC semi-final in PG.

And in a strange twist, the Phantoms back-up goalie was 22-year-old former Spruce King Michael Teslak. It is a small “hockey world” isn’t it?

For some reason it feels special knowing I witnessed something not even a long established minor pro league can top.

*******

Is the BCHL the premiere Junior A Hockey League in the country as they would have you believe? Certainly not all facts suggest that. In the last nine Doyle Cups, The Alberta Junior Hockey League has beaten the BC Hockey League six times. The Camrose Kodiaks are repeat winners, getting another chance to avenge that heartbreaking semi-final marathon overtime loss of a year ago.

*******

Care to guess as to where the Cariboo Cougars would have finished if they had participated in the Telus Cup National Midget Hockey Championship in Arnprior, Ontario? Middle of the pack seems reasonable. After winning the Provincials, the Cougars barely lost the Pacific Region title to the Calgary Buffaloes two games to one. The Buffaloes then placed 4^th out of six at the Telus Cup, ending up 3^rd in the round robin, before losing playoff games to the Sudbury Wolves 5-2 and Quebec City (St. Francois Blizzard) 7-4. Sudbury eventually took top honors with a 6-4 triumph over the Winnipeg Thrashers, just the second loss all season for Winnipeg.

********

What a series! Don Nachbaur's Tri-City Americans and the Spokane Chiefs completed one of the most evenly played series in WHL history. The Chiefs won the Western Final 4-3, but five of the seven games were decided in overtime, three of them in double overtime. It was just the opposite in the Eastern Conference where the Lethbridge Hurricanes swept the Calgary Hitmen in four games.
Because of the extra rest, I'm picking Lethbridge to win the championship series, although Spokane has home ice advantage.

From the quote rack:

“Saying he wasn't happy with the takeoff, Flames coach Mike Keenan pulled the pilot on the way back from San Jose and replaced him with a co-pilot who hadn't flown all year.” Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com/), right after the Flames were eliminated by the Sharks.

“Roger Clemens reportedly had a relationship with (country star) Mindy McCready starting when he was 28 and she was 15. So, the focus has gone from his butt to his 'Buttafuoco'.” Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

“Candy maker Mars, Inc. has bought out the Wrigley Co. for $23 billion. Too bad they still don't own the Cubs--if the drought reaches 101 years, they could rename Wrigley--Snickers Field."Bill Littlejohn

“Indianapolis Colts running back Kenton Keith got himself arrested for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot and yelling at the police: 'I'm a Colts player! I'm a Colts player!' Wonder if he could hear the echo coming back: 'Not for long! Not for long!'” Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel

“The New York Times reports that a new football league is forming to be a feeder league for the NFL. Wait a minute, isn't that the CFL?” Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com)

“Pierre Jean Martin, who claimed to have completed the London Marathon last week at age 101, actually was only 94. Simple explanation: He was 94 when he started the marathon, 101 when he finished.” Greg Cote of the Miami Herald

And in case you missed it:

A Philadelphia gas station honored the NBA 76ers by holding a 76-minute promotion offering
76-cent-a-gallon gas. After the promotion was over, the station went back to regular prices, charging $76 a gallon..

And how was your week?

Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com

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Hartley Miller's Slap-Shots - May 2nd, 2008

From the quote rack:

And in case you missed it:

And how was your week?

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