1984 PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL #1

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OHIO LEGENDS vs. NEW CASTLE DUCKS
SERIES PREVIEW	It is the Quarterfinal round series as the New Castle Ducks host the Ohio Legends. These two teams could not be more evenly matched. During the regular season, the Legends finished second in the Adams Division with a record of 48-28-4 good for 100 points. The Ducks finished first in the Norris with a record of 47-29-4 good for 98 points. For Ohio, it is their first winning season and first trip to the playoffs. For the Ducks, it is their most points in a season as they return to the playoffs as defending Stanley Cup Champions. During the regular season, Ohio was fourth in the league in goals per game with 4.14. The Ducks were eighth at 4.09. New Castle was second in defense (goals allowed/game) at 3.24 with Ohio fourth at 3.65. The Legends were led on offense by Tony Tanti who was second in the league with 73 goals, 62 assists, and 135 points. New Castle’s Barry Pederson was third with 37 goals, a league-leading 88 assists for 125 points. Both teams also have All-Star defensemen with Denis Potvin of the Ducks scoring 100 points (27-73) and Ohio’s Ray Bourque just behind him with 93 (24-69). It is no surprise that these two teams split their six games during the regular season.
GAME #1	It’s playoff time and the teams are playing tight Stanley Cup hockey as the first period is scoreless. Ohio dominated play in the period as they outshot the Ducks 18-6! The period was costly for Ohio as their fabulous defensive forward Bob Gainey was injured and did not return. Ohio had a golden opportunity towards the end of the period when the Duck’s Brad McCrimmon got called for a five-minute slashing major and was also given ten-minute misconduct. With 4:11 remaining in the period at the time of the penalty, the Legends spent most of the rest of the period in the Ducks zone firing shot after shot at Ducks goalie Billy Smith. Many shots were blocked while 7 ended on net but Smith stood tall as the period ended at 0-0. It did not take the Legends long to capitalize on the man advantage in the second period as Gordie Roberts scored at the 59 second mark just as the major penalty was ending. 1-0 Ohio. At 2:44 Bjorge Salming went off for two minutes and the Ducks pressed but Mike Liut stood tall in goal for Ohio as the Legends killed off the penalty. Gord Roberts went off at 9:52 and again Ohio killed it off and nearly scored shorthanded when Smith stopped Ron Sutter on a 2 on 1 breakaway. At 15:22, Tomas Gradin of Ohio got a double minor for boarding, giving the Ducks yet another chance. New Castle managed five shots on goal during the four-minute power play but Liut stopped all of them and the teams went to the locker room with Ohio still leading 1-0. New Castle had an 11-5 SOG edge in the second period and as the teams took the ice for the third period, SOG was closer now at 23-17 Ohio. The Ducks have been a great third-period team all season and tonight was no different. At 4:43, New Castle finally broke through against Liut when Rick Meagher scored, assisted by Osborne and Currie. A little more than two minutes later Ryan Walter took a pass from Tiger Williams and put the puck past Liut to tie the game. 2-2 with 11:26 to go. Hokan Loob then went off for 2 minutes for holding and the Ducks had a great chance to take the lead. Once again, Ohio killed off the penalty but just as Loob was returning to the ice, Tony Currie who was playing the point on the power play head manned the puck to Barry Pederson and the Duck’s top scorer put it into the net to make it 3-2 Ducks with 6:02 to go. A little over two minutes later, the Ducks got a 2 on 1 with Osborne and Hardy. Hardy passed it to Osborne who SCORED to make it 4 to 2 Ducks! As the clock wound down, the Legends pulled their goalie and pressed in the Duck’s end. Smith was up to the task and with 31 seconds left Andre Savard put one into the empty net to make the final 5-2, as the Ducks scored FIVE goals in the third period. THREE STARS: 1- NCD Mark Osborne 1G 1 A 2- NCD Rick Meagher 1G 3- NCD Andre Savard 1 G Billy Smith made 30 saves for the Ducks Ducks take a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 will also be played at the Duck Pond before the teams go to Ohio for Games 3 and 4.
GAME #2	Game 2 of the Quarterfinal round at the Duck Pond. The Ducks took Game 1, 5-2. The high-scoring Ohio Legends now look to even the series. The Legends will start Pat Riggin in goal after Mike Liut started Game 1. A wild and crazy game. Hold on to your hats! After game 1 was a tight-checking, relatively low-scoring, affair, Game 2 looked different from the start. Ohio got on the board first, at 5:39, when Ron Sutter put the puck past Billy Smith. A little over a minute later, the Duck’s Rick Middleton ties it. Then 4 minutes after that Middleton scored again and it was 2-1 Ducks with 10:43 gone by. Now it was Ohio’s turn and Mark Pavelich tied it at 15:57. The first period ended 2-2. Each team had 11 shots on goal. On to the second period, and the scoring barrage continued. At 1:45, Tony Tanti – the Legends leading scorer and one of the very top players in the regular season, lit the lamp for the first time in the series. 3-2 Ohio. And so now it was the Duck’s turn – and sure enough, their top scorer, Barry Pederson, came through. It came on, of all things, a Legends power play. With Tiger Williams off for tripping, the Legends dominated in the Ducks zone but a bunch of blocked shots and three really good saves by Smith kept them off the scoreboard. Then Pederson got a 2-on-1 breakaway with Mark Hardy – Hardy passed it back to Pederson and Pederson put it past Riggin for a SHORTHANDED GOAL! 3-3 TIED AGAIN! The back and forth scoring continued as Ron Sutter got his second of the game at 9:01 of the second and Ohio was back in front 4-3. Sure enough at 10:36, the Ducks tied it yet AGAIN – as Middleton scored AGAIN – his third of the game – a hat trick -and it was 4-4 with 9:24 to go in the second. Four minutes later, Lanny McDonald went off for roughing. Early in the power play Steve Yzerman got a clear shot on net and his shot HIT THE POST! The power play continued and as it was winding down defenseman Normand Rochefort took a slapper from the point. Yzerman, right in front of Smith, deflected it – and it HIT THE POST – AGAIN! Twice on one power play. The Ducks killed off the penalty and there were no more goals for the rest of the period and they headed to the locker room with a 4-4 tie. Ohio had a 14-9 SOG in the second period. On to the third period….and the Ducks strike first and it is on the Power Play. Denis Potvin’s slap shot from the point beats Riggin at 6:34 and the Ducks have the lead at 5-4! 14 seconds later, Pat Hickey goes off for 2 and Ohio has a power play. The Ducks kill it off and, after that, the checking then gets tighter and neither team is able to score. With only 3:11 left, the Legends get a killer penalty as Gord Roberts goes off for hooking. New Castle has their fourth power play of the game and they capitalize yet again – as MIDDLETON SCORES HIS FOURTH OF THE GAME! After setting a Ducks record for goals in a season, and after a quiet Game 1, the rightwinger exploded in this one. 6-4 Ducks with only 1:42 to go – and it now looks like a Ducks win. Ohio pulls Riggin to get the man advantage after calling a timeout. The Legends move into the Ducks zone and their version of Middleton – Tony Tanti – SCORES! HIS SECOND OF THE GAME. It is now 6-5 and still 1:09 left on the clock. Can the Legends pull off a miracle comeback? It only took them 17 seconds as the puck goes into the Duck’s zone. Linseman sends it back to the point to defenseman Randy Carlyle. He SHOOTS AND HE SCOOOORES!!! Incredible – Ohio has tied it at 6-6 with two goals in 17 seconds, both with their net empty. Both teams hold their collective breath for the 52 seconds remaining in the period and the teams go to the locker room again, tied. OVERTIME! The puck is dropped to start the OT and the Ducks move it into the Legends zone. Potvin has control of the puck inside the blue line – he sends a pass to Pederson in the high slot. Pederson shoots and SCOOOOORREES! At 55 seconds of overtime, the Ducks WIN IT 7-6! What a game! THREE STARS: 1- NCD – Middleton 4G 2- NCD – Pederson 2 G 2 A 4 PTS 3- NCD – Potvin 1G 4 A 5 PTS SIX Blocked Shots Ray Bourque and Ken Linseman each had 3 assists for Ohio. Billy Smith made 32 saves, many of them spectacular.
	The Ducks are lucky to get the win in Game 2 and they now lead the series 2 games to 0 with Games 3 and 4 coming up in Ohio. Game four of the Eastern Conference playoffs sees the Ohio Legends host the New Castle Ducks. The Ducks lead the best of seven series, two games to one.
GAME #3	Game Four – New Castle 6, Ohio 3 Andre Savard and Tony Currie each had a goal and an assist and Bobby Clarke dished out a pair of assists for New Castle in the 6-3 win over Ohio. The only thing in this game that went the Legend’s way was to outscore the Ducks on the power play, two to one. Billy Smith stopped 32 shots in picking up the victory, while Pat Riggin made 24 saves in the defeat. New Castle returns to the Duck Pond with three games to one lead over Ohio. The Legends are out of rope and now need to win three straight games — with two on the road. If the last words uttered from the Legends locker room were ‘we will be back — don’t wait…..
GAME #4	Game four of the Eastern Conference playoffs sees the Ohio Legends host the New Castle Ducks. The Ducks lead the best of seven series, two games to one. Game Four – New Castle 6, Ohio 3 Andre Savard and Tony Currie each had a goal and an assist and Bobby Clarke dished out a pair of assists for New Castle in the 6-3 win over Ohio. The only thing in this game that went the Legend’s way was to outscore the Ducks on the power play, two to one. Billy Smith stopped 32 shots in picking up the victory, while Pat Riggin made 24 saves in the defeat. New Castle returns to the Duck Pond with three games to one lead over Ohio. The Legends are out of rope and now need to win three straight games — with two on the road. If the last words uttered from the Legends locker room were ‘we will be back — don’t wait…
	It’s Game Five at the Duck Pond with New Castle leading Ohio 3 games to 1. The Ducks will look to end the series tonight on home ice
GAME #5	After losing in Game 3 the Ducks thought about benching Tony Currie in favor of a more defensive-minded right-winger. They decided to stick with Currie, who is on his second stint with the Ducks, and they were rewarded when the speedy right-winger scored the first goal of Game 4 to get the Ducks started in their 6-3 win. In Game 5, Currie was in the lineup again and history repeated itself when he scored the opening goal of the game, this time at the FORTY-SIX SECOND MARK. 1-0 Ducks With a sellout crowd roaring at the Duck Pond, New Castle came out flying in the opening period. After Currie’s goal got things started, the Ducks struck again, at 6:54, on the power play. And it was Currie who once again got it started when his shot led to a rebound in front. Bobby Clarke then fired at goalie Pat Riggin and was stopped but this time Mark Osborne took the rebound and lit the lamp to make it 2-0 Ducks. less than a minute later, would you believe it – Currie did it again – this time putting the puck in the net after taking a pass from Osborne! 3-0 Ducks! The Legends were stunned but they were far from dead. Doug Jarvis scored at 12:30 to make it 3-1 and give Ohio some life. Then at 18:01 of the first, Jim Schoenfeld went off for tripping and Ohio had their first power play of the night. They capitalized on it with 49 seconds remaining when Steve Yzerman put the puck past Billy Smith. The teams head to the locker room with the Duck’s lead now cut to 3-2. Second period and the action is fast and furious and the checking is tighter now. Ohio kills a penalty to Pavelich. Then at 5:25 Barber goes off for interference and the Ducks have another power play. But it’s the Legends who get a 2-on-1 rush as Bob Gainey goes in alone on Smith – who makes the save! Gord Roberts is hurt on the play and has to leave the ice, although he would return. The Ducks are still on the power play and they move it into the Legends zone – Middleton takes it in front of the net and fires and HE HITS THE CROSSBAR! Ohio kills the penalty and it’s still 3-2 as the midway point of the period approaches. That’s when the Duck’s great defenseman Denis Potvin does it again as he takes a pass from Pederson and fires the puck past Riggin to give the Ducks some breathing room at 4-2, with 10:42 left in the second. Five minutes later, there’s Currie yet again as he sets up Osborne in front and the Duck’s #1 pick nets his SECOND OF THE GAME. A huge goal and now it’s 5-2 Ducks with only 5:04 left in the second. No more scoring in the period and the teams go to the third period with the score still 5-2 NCDOhio comes out flying in the third. Facing elimination they are not going to go easily. An opportunity presents itself at the 18-second mark when Dave Shand goes off for hooking. The best scoring chance on the power play is by New Castle however as Craig Ramsey gets a breakaway and is stopped by Riggin. A huge save. With the team’s back at even strength, the Legend’s top scorer, Tony Tanti goes to work as he scores his third of the playoffs to put Ohio right back in it at 5-3, with plenty of time (12:18) left in regulation. Could this be like Game 2 where the Legends came back with two goals in the final two minutes to send the game to OT?A minute after Tanti’s goal, his high-scoring linemate, Tim Kerr goes in alone on Smith but Battlin Billy makes a great save, and it’s still 5-3. The Legends keep pressing (15-9 SOG advantage in the period) but Smith keeps making save after save – stopping Tanti on a great scoring opportunity with 3:50 to go.The clock is winding down and the Legends look to take Riggin out of the net for the extra skater but the Ducks keep the puck in the Legends zone and with less than a minute to go Rick Middleton tries to go around defenseman Root and while he can’t beat him he manages to get a shot off and its A GOOOAALLLL! 6-3 with 37 seconds to go and not even Tanti, Kerr and the Legends can come back from that deficit. The game ends 6-3 Ducks as New Castle advances to the Conference Finals to play the winner of Mackinac Island-Dallas. THREE STARS: 1- NCD Tony Currie 2 G 2 A 4 PTS 2- NCD Mark Osborne 2G 2 A 4 PTS 3- NCD Denis Potvin 1 G 1 A 2 PTS Ohio had the SOG advantage 28-25
SERIES SUMMARY	What a game it was for Tony Currie. With his four-point game, he now is tied for the playoff scoring lead with 8 points (3-5-8) with teammate Denis Potvin (2-6-8). Currie played for the Ducks in 1980-81 and 81-82, scoring 21 and 16 goals in those respective years. He was cut after the 81-82 season and did not play in the MWOTHL in 82-83. The Ducks then drafted him in the NINTH round before this season. He was not expected to play much, if at all – and did not get into a game until November 29. He ended up playing 48 regular-season games and scored 20 goals (6 assists)! And he’s continued his great play in the playoffs. The Ducks move on to the Conference Finals for the third straight year. Last season the Ducks beat Mackinac Island in the Finals 4 games to 2. Will we see a rematch this year? Or will it be Dallas who lost to NCD in 6 games in last year’s Quarter Finals? Congratulations to John Hamel and his Ohio Legends on a great season, the first year that the Legends have made the playoffs. With stars like Tanti, Kerr and Bourque Ohio should be strong again when they return to the MWOTHL for the 1984-85 season.