…if you don’t include the 4-3 loss for the final game.
It doesn’t matter, they clinched home ice all the way through before the weekend thanks to a victory in OKC and the Monarchs being unable to get the points.
Last night’s sold-out game opened with a deluge of trophies for the Stars. A perfect finale to a record-breaking season.
- Curtis McKenzie received Rookie of the Year.
- Travis Morin was MVP for leading the AHL in points and assists.
- West Division champs, two years running despite last year it was the South Division.
- The Stars won their first Macgregor Kilpatrick trophy which is for having the most points in 76 games. Pretty sweet too, they only had 17 regular losses, 59 games with at least one point.
- Travis and Colton Sceviour made the All-Star Team.
For the Abbotsford Heat, it was a bittersweet victory. The Vancouver ‘burb grew tired of making up the difference in the team’s lackluster revenues. What were they expecting? The Flames’ farm team hanging out in the Canucks’ backyard? To Americans, it would be equal to the Green Bay Packers having a farm team in the Chicago suburbs. The Chicagoans’ pride would have most refusing to see an affordable game due to their loyalty to Da Bears. They’re in the playoffs but who knows where they will be next year. The smart money is Glen Falls, NY to replace the vacating Phantoms who are going to Allentown, PA. I figure another team going East is inevitable. The bigger mystery to me is how will the AHL re-align. Will the governors designate a team into our conference or just go with the 16-14 split like the NHL. I wish the AHL could support more teams on the other side of the Mississippi River yet I’m a realist, football and basketball, especially at the college level, are the state religions in the South and West. Hockey is a Yankee and Canadian import usually supported by transplants. Portland (OR), Seattle, San Diego, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas are possibilities. I only know the last city is iffy now, the Wranglers are getting kicked out of the Orleans.
Back to my Stars!
They were down 3-0 thanks to some piss-poor defense and bad luck. Then they came back to tie the game. It was short lived. On the upside, they didn’t give up an empty-net goal. What concerns me is they may go into the first round of the playoffs this Wednesday with lackluster play against the Barons, the team that killed our victory buzz last time. Plus the Oilers didn’t finish well so there’s a chance certain eligible players from the NHL can be around the boost. We don’t have such a luxury, Dallas landed the wild-card spot against the Ducks.
Either way. I’m stoked. I received my newest personalized jersey (photo to appear later) to wear to cheer my Stars on. It’s our fourth year in the playoffs out of five. It’s our second divisional title in five and likely chance to get a Calder Cup. I say second because last year we should’ve done better while 2009-10 was an awesome fluke; they exceeded my expectations by just being in the playoffs. First home game will be April 30, when I hope we perform the killing blow a la Mortal Kombat. Suck it OKies!