Jimmy Higgins
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Yup, that's right, the Lake Erie Monsters won the Calder Cup and are the champions of the AHL. As you can see in the attached article, NE Ohio was so excited, the overwhelmed press couldn't even put together a decent article to express the magnitude of the accomplishment. It is the first professional title since the Crunch won in 98-99, but no one cares about indoor soccer seeing the leagues come and go every so often. The AHL has been around since before WWII!
The Q (Quicken Loans Arena) was sold out for games 3 and 4 and the attendance in each of the games ranked the second highest finals attendance ever in Calder Cup history, Philadelphia holds the record, but only because of the slightly higher capacity.
The sold out crowd was treated to one of the weakest performances of hockey ever. With a mix of soft ice, an incredibly bouncy puck, and tired players (line changes were every 30 seconds at some points), people who actually know hockey, maybe 40% of the crowd were witnessing some brutally hard puck control, little checking, and very few good scoring chances (being given up in lieu of needless pretty passes getting intercepted by the defense). Lake Erie had a pair of breakaways that were defended by the goalie while Hersey had a couple good opportunities stopped by Forsberg, who went 9-0 in the playoffs, with a GAA less than 1.50 (not the MVP of the playoffs!). But this game was to win the title, and honestly, that can carry a bad game very far. Apparently well into the first OT period!
The defenses were good. Hersey played a wider defense that was good at keeping shots from the point developing, where as Lake Erie played very tight and formed an impenetrable glob of defensemen. The offense typically consisted of bad passing, almost non-existent down ice passing, and difficult puck control because the puck was made of flubber.
By midway in the third period, the scoreless game was clearly looking like a 1-0 final and the fans were nervous that it'd go the other way. It really appeared as if a dreadful defensive zone pass being intercepted and scored with was going to be the end of the game. The crowd chanted, "We want The Cup!" which could be translated as "We don't want to pay to go to Game 5!"
Despite the low level of play, the crowd was in it to win it... metaphorically. Loud and supportive, the Lake Erie Monster fans can at least think they helped put a little juice into the Monster's legs to keep them going.
In overtime, the fans, oblivious to physical exercise, were getting frustrated when a few opportunities for a breakaway didn't develop because the Lake Erie player's legs were clearly as strong as jello at this point. I pondered whether the next intermission should be an hour long. Checks were more appropriately considered bumps at this point. Teams were rotating half line changes about every 15 seconds and there was little time to develop momentum in the offensive ends. Only icing or a stoppage from a save could do that.
Speaking of which, with 11.1 seconds left in the first overtime period, Hersey iced the puck. The ensuing face off was finally won by Lake Erie, a shot was stopped but not controlled by the keeper leading to the puck getting swiped at and crossing over the line with 1.9 seconds left. The bench cleared because the Calder Cup is the second oldest Main Prize trophy on the Continent. The roof on the arena popped off because we all now know James is no Jordan, so we'll take this as the real thing! "We are the champions!"
![IMG_0847[1].JPG](https://iidb.org/data/attachments/6/6726-beae61a105e24f4cbf995addb35fbd49.jpg?hash=vq5hoQXiT0 "IMG_0847[1].JPG")
The AHL President came out, awarded the MVP, then the Calder Cup which was skated about by the Monsters while the crowd sang a terrible rendition (the crowd's fault) of Cleveland Rocks (I don't think they knew the words), but the Arena didn't play the whole song either. This marks the first time that has happened (the title win, not singing Cleveland Rocks) in Cleveland for over 50 years (back when the AHL was a big deal before massive expansion in the NHL).
Speaking of which, the Calder Cup dates back to 1936... the NBA only 1946... therefore mathematically, the Calder Cup is a bigger deal. To paraphrase a little, Dan Gilbert was right, his team (Lake Erie Monsters) would win a title before Lebron would (in Cleveland). Sure, it isn't as big as say the NBA or MLB where chances to win were squandered (or non-mathematical). Granted Mesa's gift to the Marlins was 20 years ago now! So while it isn't as big as say the World Series, it is much bigger than the Akron Aeros winning the Eastern League or the Cleveland Crunch winning the indoor soccer title in whatever league was around at the time. Over 19,000 witnessed this victory in person (and half of that on the local channel 43), so it matters. Yes, not as much overall, but it fucking matters.
Cleveland Rocks!
Yup, that's right, the Lake Erie Monsters won the Calder Cup and are the champions of the AHL. As you can see in the attached article, NE Ohio was so excited, the overwhelmed press couldn't even put together a decent article to express the magnitude of the accomplishment. It is the first professional title since the Crunch won in 98-99, but no one cares about indoor soccer seeing the leagues come and go every so often. The AHL has been around since before WWII!
The Q (Quicken Loans Arena) was sold out for games 3 and 4 and the attendance in each of the games ranked the second highest finals attendance ever in Calder Cup history, Philadelphia holds the record, but only because of the slightly higher capacity.
The sold out crowd was treated to one of the weakest performances of hockey ever. With a mix of soft ice, an incredibly bouncy puck, and tired players (line changes were every 30 seconds at some points), people who actually know hockey, maybe 40% of the crowd were witnessing some brutally hard puck control, little checking, and very few good scoring chances (being given up in lieu of needless pretty passes getting intercepted by the defense). Lake Erie had a pair of breakaways that were defended by the goalie while Hersey had a couple good opportunities stopped by Forsberg, who went 9-0 in the playoffs, with a GAA less than 1.50 (not the MVP of the playoffs!). But this game was to win the title, and honestly, that can carry a bad game very far. Apparently well into the first OT period!
The defenses were good. Hersey played a wider defense that was good at keeping shots from the point developing, where as Lake Erie played very tight and formed an impenetrable glob of defensemen. The offense typically consisted of bad passing, almost non-existent down ice passing, and difficult puck control because the puck was made of flubber.
By midway in the third period, the scoreless game was clearly looking like a 1-0 final and the fans were nervous that it'd go the other way. It really appeared as if a dreadful defensive zone pass being intercepted and scored with was going to be the end of the game. The crowd chanted, "We want The Cup!" which could be translated as "We don't want to pay to go to Game 5!"
Despite the low level of play, the crowd was in it to win it... metaphorically. Loud and supportive, the Lake Erie Monster fans can at least think they helped put a little juice into the Monster's legs to keep them going.
In overtime, the fans, oblivious to physical exercise, were getting frustrated when a few opportunities for a breakaway didn't develop because the Lake Erie player's legs were clearly as strong as jello at this point. I pondered whether the next intermission should be an hour long. Checks were more appropriately considered bumps at this point. Teams were rotating half line changes about every 15 seconds and there was little time to develop momentum in the offensive ends. Only icing or a stoppage from a save could do that.
Speaking of which, with 11.1 seconds left in the first overtime period, Hersey iced the puck. The ensuing face off was finally won by Lake Erie, a shot was stopped but not controlled by the keeper leading to the puck getting swiped at and crossing over the line with 1.9 seconds left. The bench cleared because the Calder Cup is the second oldest Main Prize trophy on the Continent. The roof on the arena popped off because we all now know James is no Jordan, so we'll take this as the real thing! "We are the champions!"
The AHL President came out, awarded the MVP, then the Calder Cup which was skated about by the Monsters while the crowd sang a terrible rendition (the crowd's fault) of Cleveland Rocks (I don't think they knew the words), but the Arena didn't play the whole song either. This marks the first time that has happened (the title win, not singing Cleveland Rocks) in Cleveland for over 50 years (back when the AHL was a big deal before massive expansion in the NHL).
Speaking of which, the Calder Cup dates back to 1936... the NBA only 1946... therefore mathematically, the Calder Cup is a bigger deal. To paraphrase a little, Dan Gilbert was right, his team (Lake Erie Monsters) would win a title before Lebron would (in Cleveland). Sure, it isn't as big as say the NBA or MLB where chances to win were squandered (or non-mathematical). Granted Mesa's gift to the Marlins was 20 years ago now! So while it isn't as big as say the World Series, it is much bigger than the Akron Aeros winning the Eastern League or the Cleveland Crunch winning the indoor soccer title in whatever league was around at the time. Over 19,000 witnessed this victory in person (and half of that on the local channel 43), so it matters. Yes, not as much overall, but it fucking matters.
Cleveland Rocks!
