GENE'S BLOG: Cup Run Memories

Time passes but the memories don't.

They are things you can't forget and wouldn't want to. There are moments in life and sports that are forever burned into your being, no matter how old you get or how much you see.

Whether it's a goal, a game or a series, they just never go away. Often you not only remember what happened but exactly where you were when it happened, who you were with and how you celebrated or commiserated over the result. All of the above applies to the Edmonton Oilers and 2006.

"We're spending money like drunken sailors," was the comical quote issued by Oilers Head Coach Craig MacTavish.

It was in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. He said it because then General Manager Kevin Lowe had swung another deal to bolster the boys in Copper & Blue.

Marty Reasoner was in tears because he had been traded to get Sergei Samsonov. It was like Lowe was playing the role of the great Canadian game show host Monty Hall, in a hockey version of 'Let's Make a Deal'.

One after another they were acquired: Jaroslav Spacek, Dick Tarnstrom, Dwayne Roloson, to name a few. The Edmonton Oilers were going for it. It was a great piece of managerial work that I always felt was under-appreciated.

But the team wouldn't have had the chance if Ales Hemsky didn't score late in the second-last game of the season versus Anaheim, on the same night that Vancouver lost in regulation to San Jose.

The Oilers were in, and they were in for a mammoth challenge.

The club had finished eighth while Detroit was first; 95 points for the Oilers and 124 for the Red Wings, with Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman leading the way.

No one, except for maybe Edmonton's Radio Analyst Bob Stauffer, would have predicted the Oilers would lead Stevie Y into retirement. A six-game series where the young upstarts knocked off the veteran cast. One great series led to the end of one great career.

Onward Edmonton went, moving its hopes to Northern California. San Jose, to be specific.

There wasn't much to choose from between the two teams, at least when it came to points. The Sharks were a 99-point club. They had the 'Cheechoo Train' Jonathan Cheechoo, who scored 56 goals to win the Rocket Richard Trophy. Don't forget they also packed a two-handed punch with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. It was yet another veteran team standing in Edmonton's way.

The Sharks won Games 1 and 2, and I remember speaking to defenceman Chris Pronger after they fell into a 2-0 series deficit. He said something along the lines of, "we got this, we'll be fine, don't worry about us."

He was right. Starting with the Raffi Torres hit on Milan Michalek, things started to change, and once they did the Sharks couldn't bite back. After going down by a pair of games, Edmonton won four in a row. Two series were down and now there were two to go.

Anaheim was next. They, like San Jose, were California dreamin' if they thought Edmonton had run out of the magic potion. Disneyland may be 'The Happiest Place on Earth' but the Honda Center, which is just over five kilometres from the home of Mickey Mouse, was the 'Saddest Place on Earth' when it came to hockey.

Despite the flu ravaging and working its way through the Oilers, it was the Ducks who felt sick. Edmonton started their third-straight series on the road. The Oilers swept the season series with the Ducks and nearly swept the Conference Final. Aside from the Game 3 loss, the Oilers fought off the flu and the Ducks in five. The West had been won and the Oilers were off to a Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1990.

Edmonton was in the Final but they didn't know who they would face. A few days were spent in Tarrytown, NY, at the Rangers practice facility. It was Glen Sather lending a helping hand to his old squad while the Oilers waited out the Eastern Conference Final between Carolina and Buffalo.

The Canes outlasted the Sabres in seven and the Final was set to start in Raleigh.

And what a start it was!

The top goal scorer and Edmontonian Fernando Pisani opened the scoring. Pronger proceeded to score the first penalty shot goal in Cup Final history. Ethan Moreau added one more. It was 3-0 Oilers and the drama hadn't even begun yet. The Hurricanes would storm back in a night to remember for them and to forget for the Oilers. It was a late loss in the opener but to lose Dwayne Roloson for the series in Game 1 seemed downright cruel.

Roloson's injury prompted backups Ty Conklin and Jussi Markkanen into action. The Oilers were in shock and after a 5-0 loss in Game 2, had fallen behind two games to none. With a building and a city rocking for their hockey heroes, the Oilers returned home. Ryan Smyth scored late in Game 3 and Edmonton cut the series lead in half 2-1.

The crucial win set the stage for a close Game 4. The score was 2-1 again, only this time it was the Canes who were victorious. Carolina had the series lead 3-1 and they were headed home.

Game 5 saw former Oilers captain Doug Weight get knocked out of the series for Carolina. He was done but the Oilers weren't. In overtime and shorthanded, with Steve Staios in the penalty box, Pisani went high glove side on Cam Ward, sending Edmonton back to Alberta for Game 6.

I remember Erik Cole, who broke his neck in March, was back in the Canes lineup but the future Oiler did not stop Pisani from scoring his fifth game-winning goal of the playoffs. Edmonton shut out Carolina 4-0. Bring on Game 7.

The date was June 19 and the weather was hot and humid. The sun was shining and by the time the sun would set, there would be a Stanley Cup champion.

Fans were gathering hours before the game tailgating in the rink parking lot. Despite the fact flights were scarce, Oilers fans were very noticeable. Those who didn't go by plane travelled by ground. Just like their team, who were never intimidated throughout the '06 Cup Run, fans weren't afraid of the 38-hour and 3,942-km drive.

The Oilers faithful were as driven as the team to win their sixth Cup in franchise history. Edmonton had the momentum but Carolina had the first goal, and then the second.

It was tense until Pisani notched his 14th of the postseason. Life had been pumped back into the Oilers just 1:03 into the third period.

Pisani would have another great chance to score but the puck slid just wide on a redirect. With the goalie pulled and the pressure on, Justin Williams scored into an empty Oilers net for the final goal of the Final.

Some dreams lived and others died on that third Monday in June of '06.

I'll never forget Smyth skating off the ice in tears. A grown man who had dedicated his life to the game and for one night, the game let him down. It was a letdown for an entire team, city and country. The thrill of victory was replaced by the agony of defeat. That empty-net goal mirrored the empty feeling after Edmonton came so close to winning another Stanley Cup.

Time passes but the memories don't. That Cinderella story Stanley Cup run in '06 will forever last as a memory I will never forget.