A Night of Champions

Talk about a hat trick for sport watching. Monday, June 24, was an absolutely fantastic night of sports for me. Three — count’em, three — championship games on the same evening. I settled in to watch on my television, laptop and iPhone so I could simultaneously follow all 3 contests. When the evening ended the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup, the NCAA Men’s College World Series Trophy and, most importantly for this lifelong hockey junkie, Lord Stanley’s Cup, the best trophy in all of sports, were awarded.  I mean, regardless of the sports, how often does that happen in one night?

OK, I get it. We aren’t talking about the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup and the MLB World Series all happening on the same evening here. We know those planets will never align because of when they are played in February, August and October, respectively. Regardless, for live sports drama you couldn’t ask for better entertainment. In fact, the next evening was about as boring a night for this sports guy as Monday was invigorating.

The Hershey Bears — yes, our own Chocolatetown, Pennsylvania hockey franchise — captured their record 13th Calder Cup as champions of the AHL at the Giant Center, just 100 miles from Happy Valley. The Bears, a Washington Capitals affiliate, featuring former Penn State hockey standout Alex Limoges (Class of ’21), defeated the Seattle Kraken affiliate Coachella Valley (Palm Desert, California) Firebirds in the AHL finals for the second consecutive season. Monday’s 5-4 victory came in overtime of Game 6 in front of a packed arena.

The Hershey Bears have a special place in my heart because I used to play occasionally in the old Hershey Park Arena, which was a legendary hockey venue that opened in 1936 and had some of the best sight lines of any arena of its time. In fact, the steep angle of the seats in the Old Barn helped inspire the “Roar Zone” student section when we designed Pegula Ice Arena. It was also the location of former Icer goalie Mark Scally’s performance in an NHL exhibition game against the Ray Bourque- led Colorado Avalanche in September2000 that I was fortunate to see in person.

While I watched the Bears game on my laptop, I also received live text updates and photos from former Penn State hockey management volunteer and graphic designer Malcolm McGaughy, who was attending the game with his wife, Marnie. I’ve been friends with Malcolm since the mid-80s. He actually designed my Pragmatic Passion logo and did the Illustrations for my book. He was proudly wearing his No. 12 Alex Limoges Bears jersey at the Calder Cup winning game.

While watching the Bears win yet another AHL championship, I was multi-tasking and watching the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team hold on to defeat the upstart Texas A&M Aggies 6-5 to capture their first ever NCAA College Baseball World Series national championship on ESPN. Seeing Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello hugging his father after the game and giving his players heartfelt bear hugs, even after dousing him with Gatorade, was priceless. The coach playfully grabbed the ice from the dousing and threw it up in the air.

For those of you who follow college baseball (and now that I’m living in SEC territory it’s almost a requirement), you know that it was an all-SEC final for the third time in the past four seasons. The Vols dropped game 1 of the best-of-three series 9-5 and came back to win game 2 by a score of 4-1, setting up the winner take all third game.

Then, of course, there was the piece de resistance, a game 7 to hoist the Stanley Cup between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers were looking to win their sixth Stanley Cup and become the first Canadian-based NHL team since 1993 to hoist the Cup.

There aren’t many sporting events that compare to winning the Stanley Cup. What it takes to win an NHL championship over a two-month period is simply indescribable. You have to win four best-of-seven series in a row, a total of 16 victories to win it all. It is as physically and mentally grinding as any playoff in any sport.

It was especially interesting for me to see the impact of the first four players selected in the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia as I was working for the Buffalo Sabres at the time and had a front row seat. In fact, my youngest son, Ryan, was the runner for the Sabres for rounds 2-7, delivering the draft pick from the Sabres table to the NHL staff before it was announced to the public.

Those picks were:

1. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
2. Sam Reinhart, Buffalo Sabres (Traded to the Florida Panthers in 2021)
3. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
4. Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames (Traded to the Florida Panthers in 2021)

I got to know Sam Reinhart in his rookie season, and he was a class act who was destined to be a star in the league because of his talent, work ethic and leadership skills.

Florida almost blew their 3-0 series lead as Edmonton, led by Conner McDavid, the most exciting player in the league, stormed back to force the winner-take-all game 7 in Florida. The Panthers scored the always important first goal before the Oilers tied it up just minutes later to end the first period 1-1. It was that former Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick Sam Reinhart who put the Panthers on top to stay with a bullet of a shot late in the second period. Despite a frantic push by the Oilers, especially in the final four minutes of the game, neither team scored in the third period as the Panthers hung on to win 2-1 and capture their first ever Stanley Cup.

I love watching the traditional handshake line in hockey after the two teams who just battled for seven games embrace the opposition and you literally see the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk handed the Stanley Cup to his father, Keith, who played in the league for 18 years and nearly 1,300 NHL games, but never even played in the Cup finals. Matthew lifted the Cup over his head, asked his dad, “Are you ready?” and handed it to his father, who hoisted the Cup as if he had won it himself.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who is a Russian Orthodox Christian, was interviewed by Associated Press writer Stephen Whyno, who asked Bobrovsky about several clutch saves. “Bob” responded, "The saves? I'm here for God's fame, not for myself. I am nothing without him. I am just alive for the opportunity, and I enjoy every second of it."

Panthers GM and President of Hockey Operations Bill Zito made a surprise hiring in 2022 of longtime NHL head coach Paul Maurice (who holds the record for most losses by an NHL coach with 713!) but was rewarded for his gamble. Zito also assembled the players who bonded to become a championship team.

He was brutally honest in an interview after the Panthers’ 2022 season: “We can’t win the Cup like this. We are completely changing our approach. We are going defense first!” Oh yes, music to my ears. As a defense-comes-first coach, I loved it, as I have always believed you win in hockey from the net out. The Panthers had a hot goalie in Bobrovsky and were stacked with defensive defensemen and solid two-way forwards who played a physical game.

In his interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan after the game, Zito was quick to deflect praise to others in the organization. “We’re very blessed with our coaching staff and players and Vinnie (team owner Vinnie Viola) empowers us.” Zito went on to praise coach Paul Maurice, “He has the hockey acumen, the character, he’s perceptive, and has the emotional intelligence, and he knows how to treat people right and get the most out of the guys.” Kaplan then asked Bill, “What’s the most gratifying part of winning the Cup for you?” Zito replied, “Having my dad here.” He paused, pointed toward his father and repeated in a choked-up voice, “Having my dad here.”

In a bit of a surprising announcement, Oilers captain Conner McDavid was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the entire playoffs. It was the first time since 2003 that a player from the losing team won the award. But I am OK with the decision, as McDavid finished the playoffs with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists – an NHL record) in 25 games to lead all scorers. Only “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, and “Le Magnifique,” Mario Lemieux, had more points in one postseason.

Having been fortunate enough to play on, and coach, numerous championship teams over the years this particular “night of champions” brought back a flood of memories for me. It doesn’t matter what level, there isn’t a better feeling in sport than to win a team championship and share it with your teammates, staff and family.

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