Philadelphia Flyers: 6 Times the Bridesmaids

The Philadelphia Flyers were the first of the 1967-68 NHL expansion teams to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Flyers won twice in a row, over the Boston Bruins in 1973-74 and over the Buffalo Sabres in 1974-75. Since, the team has been the Stanley Cup finals six more times but has yet to be crowned champions for a third time.

1975-76

In 1975-76, the Flyers were poised to make it a three-peat. The team finished second overall during the regular season, behind only the Montreal Canadiens. In the quarter-finals, the Toronto Maple Leafs took them to seven games but the Flyers prevailed. Philadelphia then met the Boston Bruins in the semi-finals and had an easier time with a tougher team, winning in five games.

The Flyers met Montreal in the Stanley Cup finals. The Broad Street Bullies were trying to create a dynasty but the Canadiens decided to start their own instead. The Habs swept the Flyers in what was their first of four consecutive championships. Reggie Leach of the Flyers scored 19 goals, a playoff record that stands today. Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in the losing cause. Reg also led the team in points with 24.

1979-80

After finishing first overall during the regular season, the Flyers found themselves at the wrong end of another budding dynasty in 1979-80. Philly met up with the New York Islanders in the finals and lost in six games. It would be the first of four consecutive for the Long Island squad.

On the road to the final series, Philadelphia beat the Edmonton Oilers in the preliminary round 3-0, the New York Rangers 4-1 in the quarter-finals and the Minnesota North Stars 4-1 in the semi-finals. Ken Linseman led the Flyers with 22 points.

1984-85

Philadelphia finished first overall again in 1984-85. After sweeping the Rangers in the division semi-final and losing just one game to the Islanders in the division final, the Flyers took out the Quebec Nordiques in six to win the conference.

The team came up against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in the finals and lost the series in five games. Brian Propp led the club with 18 playoff points.

1986-87

It was déjà vu in 1986-87 with the Flyers once again coming up against the Oilers in the finals. This time, Philadelphia pushed the series to the limit but succumbed to Edmonton in seven. For the second time in their history, the Flyers had a player awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy despite losing in the finals. Ron Hextall took the award in his first year in the NHL. Brian Propp once again led the team in post season scoring with 28 points.

1996-97

The Flyers didn’t make it back to the finals until 1996-97. The team finished fourth overall during the regular season, behind the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils. Like 1975-76 against the Canadiens, Philadelphia was swept in the final series.

Philly lost just three games in the first three rounds, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings were simply a powerhouse and took just four games to eliminate the Flyers. Eric Lindros led the club with 26 playoff points. It marked the last NHL games for Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk.

2009-10

Despite finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference during the 2009-10 regular season, the Flyers plowed through to meet the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final. Chicago took the series in six games. It was a real accomplishment, considering the team’s regular season point total would have placed them as low as 12^th if they were in the West.

The Flyers knocked off the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in the first round before stretching the next series with the Boston Bruins to the full seven games. In the conference final, Philadelphia beat the Montreal Canadiens in five. Daniel Briere led the team with 30 points in the playoffs.

 

Marcel Paille: AHL Hall of Fame Goalie

Marcel Paille is one of just 26 members of the American Hockey League Hall of Fame. Paille’s 1964-65 Topps rookie card as a member of the NHL’s New York Rangers is the most valuable rookie card in the series. Yet, how many hockey fans know who Marcel Paille was?

After playing junior for the Quebec Citadelles, Marcel Paille embarked on a professional hockey career as a goaltender that spanned from 1956-57 to 1973-74. In his rookie AHL season, 1956-57, his team, the Cleveland Barons, won the Calder Cup as the AHL playoff champions. Paille played sparingly for the New York Rangers from 1957-58 to 1964-65 with that final season being the only one he didn’t spend part of the year in the AHL.

He starred with the Springfield Indians at the start of the 1960’s. The team won three straight Calder Cups in 1960, 1961 and 1962. In the final two of those three years, Marcel was awarded the Harry Holmes Memorial Award as the goalie in the AHL with the lowest GAA.

Ironically, the year Paille finally got his face on a NHL hockey card was the last year he’d play in the league. His 1964-65 Topps rookie card is worth $250, largely due to scarcity because the card was short-printed.

Marcel did make it back to a major league hockey league for one more stint in 1972-73. In the first year of the World Hockey Association, Paille partnered with Bernie Parent between the pipes for the Philadelphia Blazers. Parent played the bulk of the games for the Blazers with Paille playing in just 15 and recording a ballooned 4.81 GAA.

Marcel passed away in 2002 and posthumously entered the AHL Hall of Fame in 2010. He still owns a handful of AHL records, including: most games by a goaltender, most playoff games by a goaltender, most playoff wins, the longest playoff shutout streak and most playoff minutes played. He was an American Hockey League All-Star on five occasions. Three times he was on the First Team and twice he was on the Second Team.

 

 

Fort Wayne Komets Single Season Scoring Records

The Fort Wayne Komets began in 2012-13 as a franchise in the ECHL but the team’s history dates back to 1952. The team played in the IHL from 1952-53 to 1998-99. For the next decade, the Komets played in the UHL (later becoming the reincarnation of the IHL). For the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, Fort Wayne played in the Central Hockey League.

The individual single season scoring records of the Komets have stayed undisturbed since the 1978-79 season. Two records remain from the 1960’s.

Merv Dubchak - Goals

Merv Dubchak set the Fort Wayne record for goals in a season with 72 in 1965-66. He led the IHL that season but with just a one goal lead over Gary Schall of the Muskegon Mohawks. Schall was awarded the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player over Dubchak.

Merv played pro from 1963-64 to 1969-70, all with the Komets with exception of one game played in the Eastern Hockey League with the Philadelphia Ramblers in his rookie season. With Fort Wayne, Dubchak played in the IHL finals on three occasions. The team fell to the Toledo Blades in his rookie year. The following season, Fort Wayne defeated the Des Moines Oak Leafs for the championship. In 1966-67, it was once again the Toledo Blades spoiling the party for the Komets.

Dubchak played 437 career regular season games with the Fort Wayne Komets, scoring 321 goals and assisting on 218 for 539 points. He had three consecutive 50+ goal seasons between 1964-65 and 1966-67. He totalled more than 100 points twice, in 1964-65 and 1965-66.

Len Thornson – Assists, Points

Len Thornson was an amazing setup man during his 819 career regular season IHL games. In that time, he assisted on 826 goals for a more than 1 assist per game average over his entire IHL career. He also scored 426 goals for 1,252 points. Amazingly, he sat just 101 minutes in the penalty box over that time.

Len holds the Fort Wayne Komets record for assists in a season with 93 in 1966-67. He is also tied for the record for most points with 139, also set in 1966-67. That year he was awarded the James Gatschene Trophy as league MVP. It was the fifth of six times that he would win that award. His 139 points led the league and he won his third of three Leo Lamoureux Trophies.

Thornson played pro from 1952-53 to 1968-69 in the AHL, WHL, QHL and IHL. He played for the Komets from 1956-57 to 1968-69. In his final season, Len was also the head coach of the team.

Terry McDougall - Points

Terry McDougall tied Len Thornson’s record of 139 points in 1978-79. McDougall finished the season with 57 goals and 82 assists for 139 points over 79 games. He was awarded the Leo Lamoureux Trophy as the league’s scoring champion. He was also awarded the James Gatschene Trophy as MVP.

Terry played pro from 1973-74 to 1983-84, all in the IHL. He was a member of the Komets from 1975-76 to 1981-82. 1978-79 was the second of two times in his career that McDougall exceeded 100 points in a season. His 57 goals account for his only time exceeding the 50 goal plateau.