Caps' Farm Team Wins Kelly Cup In 7 Games

At a sold out (6610) Sullivan Arena in Anchorage Alaska, with its Olympic-sized ice sheet, the South Carolina Stingrays finally do away with the Alaska Aces in game 7 and are awarded the ECHL's Kelly Cup by a score of 4-2. The Stingrays, the Capitals' AA team, had a 3-1 advantage over the Aces but the Alaska group were resilient sending the series into a game seven.

The Stingrays were out-shot by the Aces in the first period but were able to get the game's first tally at 18:45. Maxime Lacroix scored to give the Rays an early lead. They built off of that lead with a goal early in the second by Rob Ricci. Ricci scored is first career goal as a professional player (let alone a big goal in a game seven series for the championship).

The Aces turned up the heat and it was up to James Reimer, a rookie goaltender, to turn them down. Micheal Neuvirth was the starting goaltender for the Rays at the beginning of the season, but has since helped the Hershey Bears in their playoff run.

Alaska would eventually get a goal to making it 2-1 going into the second intermission, but they could have done much worse if Reimer hadn't turned away chance after chance. He finished the night with 26 saves and the game's first star.

An insurance goal by the Stingrays came in the third at 11:06 and it turned out to be the game winner by Trent Campbell. The Aces made it interesting when the Rays took a bad slashing penalty late and scored to make it 3-2, but the Stingrays held firm and Pierre-Luc O'Brien scored on the empty net to solidify a championship season.

Congratulations to the Stingrays, ECHL's '08-'09 Kelly Cup winners.

Moose Get Even

The Manitoba Moose did not want to go down two games to none against the Hershey Bears in AHL's Calder Cup Final and then face the next three games of the series on the road. The Bears will have to settle for a split on the road and come home with the series tied at one.

Alex Giroux got the Bears off to a good start, but the Moose fought their way back in the game with a power play goal. Jason Jaffray scored to even things up then scored the late third period game winner with under a minute left. The Bears lost their cool in the final seconds and Jaffray was able to answer Giroux's game one hattrick with one of his own on an empty netter.

Highlights of game two can be found here (if they have them up yet, which they haven't at the time this article was posted). The Calder Cup does not resume in Hershey until Saturday June 6. The next three games will be in Hershey then the best of seven will transfer back to Manitoba on June 12.

Meanwhile, another level down, the South Carolina Stingrays are on the verge of a Kelly Cup win in the ECHL. They were up three games to one in the series against the Alaska Aces (a series that stretches 5 time zones!) but lost Saturday night as the Aces stay alive still down three games to two. The Rays have a chance to ice it Thursday night at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage Alaska.