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From the Sports Desk - 07/20/06
During the past couple of weeks, the Stanley Cup has been on display in such places as the Capitol in Raleigh and Camp Lejeune Marine Base in Jacksonville.
It’s still hard to believe that sports’ most famous trophy resides in the Tar Heel State after the Carolina Hurricanes topped the Edmonton Oilers in seven games last month to win the National Hockey League championship. Yes, Lord Stanley’s Cup is now in North Carolina.
The thrilling championship and the Cup being on display got me to thinking back nine years ago when the Hartford Whalers moved south to become the Hurricanes.
At that time, I interviewed Jeff Rhyne, The Herald’s resident hockey expert, for a preview of what fans could expect from hockey. Unfortunately, Jeff passed away a few years ago and wasn’t around to enjoy Carolina’s run to a title. If he had been, I know we would have been hearing a lot of “Go Canes!”
When we were doing the article, we got a good laugh because Jeff had trouble coming up with the number of players on the ice at a time. If our expert didn’t know that, we figured The Herald was in trouble as far as being a hockey hotbed.
While re-reading the story last week, I noticed a glaring error. Although I knew better, the article said teams received two points in the standings for a tie and one point for a win. Of course, it’s the other way around. The interesting thing is no one here caught it nine years ago. That’s just another example of how hockey-challenged we are.
The Hurricanes’ triumph was a milestone for our state. They became the first professional sports team from North Carolina to win a league championship. In a state where sports loyalties are often divided, primarily because of college basketball, the Canes were a unifying force.
Carolina came close to winning it all before by reaching the 2002 Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Detroit Red Wings. The difference was, the Hurricanes weren’t supposed to do that well four years ago and pulled a couple of upsets along the way. This season, they were among the top teams in the league from day one.
I had my doubts nine years ago if the Canes would be successful on the ice or at the box office. Jeff was more optimistic, and he was right.
After playing two years in Greensboro while their Raleigh home was under construction, the Hurricanes moved into the RBC Center for the 1999-2000 campaign. There’s no doubt that winning helps as the crowds for the 2002 Stanley Cup run showed, but they fell off the next two years when the team missed the playoffs.
After the 2004-05 season was wiped out due to a labor dispute, no one knew how fans were going to respond around the league. All Carolina fans did was make the RBC Center the loudest arena in the NHL.
What will happen next year is anyone’s guess. Certainly attendance should be strong early on as momentum carries over from this year’s success.
There’s every reason to think the Hurricanes will be strong next year as well. Eric Stahl is one of the top young players in the NHL and could be a force for several seasons. Goalie Cam Ward was a backup when the playoffs began but emerged to become the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup finals. Can he build on that performance?
If so, Carolina could make a charge at repeating, which is one of the hardest things to do in sports.
Meanwhile, we can all bask in the glory of the recent success of North Carolina teams. While the Canes were on their way to the title, the UNC baseball team was making a name for itself in the College World Series before losing in the championship round to Oregon State.
With football just around the corner, many experts are picking the Carolina Panthers as the Super Bowl favorites. They have been to the NFC championship game two of the past three years.
The Hurricanes will open the 2006-07 season at home Oct. 4 against Buffalo. As Jeff would say, “Go Canes!”
NOTES...The inaugural Graham County Coed Midnight Rumble Softball Tournament is planned for Aug. 4-5 at Stanley Field in Robbinsville. Entry deadline is Aug. 1, and the cost is $150. Proceeds will benefit Hope for Families. For more information, call Iva Key at (828) 479-4612 or Christy Waldroup at (828) 735-0796.
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