1993-94 Detroit Jr. Red Wings
JR. WINGS GET MO' BETTER
It appears what the OHL observers were saying about the Detroit Jr. Wings in 1990 was right the target.
The Jr. Wings went into the 1993-94 season as one of the top teams in the Emms Division and a prohibitive favorite to go all the way to the OHL Finals.
But for the third time in four years, the Jr. Wings started the season with a new head coach.
Assistant coach Paul Maurice - a charter member of the franchise from Day 1 - was promoted to head coach when Tom Webster was relieved of his duties after a disagreement in team policies.
It is a tremendous honor to become a head coach in a highly respected league like the OHL," Maurice said before the season. "When a company like Compuware and a man like Jim Rutherford have such faith and confidence in you, it is flattering."
"Paul has served his apprenticeship exceedingly well," Rutherford said. "This leaves him in a very strong position to lead this team, which he knows well, to a successful season."
Maurice brought along an old teammate as his new assistant, close friend Peter DeBoer. The two played together with the Windsor Compuware Spitfires in the mid to late 1980's.
Detroit went into the season with 10 National Hockey League draftees on the roster, including Todd Harvey (1st round, Dallas), Jamie Allison (2nd round, Calgary), Kevin Paden (3rd round, Edmonton), Jeff Mitchell (3rd round, Los Angeles), Eric Cairns (3rd round, NY Rangers), Bill McCauley (4th round, Florida), Kevin Brown (4th round, Los Angeles), Bob Wren (4th round, Los Angeles), Jason Saal (5th round, Los Angeles) and rookie goaltender Aaron Ellis (11th round, Quebec).
AN EARLY SIGN
The Jr. Wings started the season on a different note. Before a sellout crowd in Guelph, they won on Opening Night for the first time in their history, 2-1. Saal was outstanding in goal, while Harvey - playing before his family from nearby Cambridge - scored the game wing goal.
Detroit didn't lose a beat offensively without Pat Peake, who graduated to pro hockey. The Jr. Wings scored 312 goals while leading the league with two different eight-game unbeaten streaks (November 10 - November 26; February 12 - February 26).
After a year of backing up Fred Brathwaite, Saal emerged as the number one goaltender, posting a 3.36 goals against average and a 28-11-3 won-lost record. Brown led the rollicking offense, finishing second in the OHL in scoring with 54 goals and 81 assists while making the OHL First All-Star team. Wren wasn't far behind, scoring 43 goals with 64 assists while making the OHL Second All-Star team. Harvey had 34 goals with 51 assists for 85 points.
On defense, Eric Carins emerged as a physical, capable defender, while Jamie Allison and Mike Rucinski excelled in shutting down to opposition's top guns.
Brown set a franchise record when he scored five goals with three assists November 1 in a 10-5 rout over Niagara Falls at Joe Louis Arena. In the OHL Coaches' Poll, Brown was voted to have the hardest shot in the Emms Division, Harvey the best checker and Dale Junkin (acquired at the trading deadline) the division's best penalty killer.
After chasing the Sault Greyhounds for three seasons, the Jr. Wings finally overtook their arch-rival to win the Emms Division regular-season title with a franchise-best record of 42-20-4, second overall in the OHL to the North Bay Centennials.
The star of this season? Jim Rutherford. Chosen CHL Executive of the Year in 1993, Rutherford made shrewd moves all season, picking up Sean Haggerty just as the season started from Guelph in exchange for a second round draft choice. Around the Christmas holidays, Paden was sent to Windsor for veteran defenseman Shayne McCosh, an excellent puck-mover.
At the OHL's final trading deadline and Detroit in a battle with the Soo for first place, Rutherford went into overdrive, picking up veterans Dale Junkin and Gerry Skrypec (Niagara Falls), Mike Harding (Peterborough) and Duane Harmer (Guelph).
The collective price for these proven, playoff-tested veterans? Dylan Seca, Rick Morton, Pat Barton and several draft choices.
The result of all the deals? The Jr. Wings went 16-6-1 over the last two months of the regular season to win the Emms Division title going away.
THE PLAYOFFS - GETTING A MONKEY OFF THEIR BACK
As Emms Division regular season wers, Detroit received a bye in the first round of the playoffs and met Owen Sound in the second round of the playoffs, where the Jr. Wings swept the Platers in four games while outscoring them 22-15.
Detroit met Sault Ste. Marie in the Emms Division Finals. From the beging in 1990, the Jr. Wings measured their progress as a team against the 'Hounds, who made consecutive Memorial Cup appearances from 1991-1993.
Detroit and the Soo had always played a tough, physical brand of hockey but up to now the 'Hounds always seem to have the edge.
As expected, the first five games of this well-played series was a home-ice series. After Detroit beat the Soo, 6-2, April 21st at Joe Louis Arena to take a 3-games-to-2 series lead the two teams traveled back to the Sault Memorial Gardens for game six.
The Jr. Wings finally broke the home-ice advantage before a sellout, hostile crowd on a Saturday night in the Soo. The Jr. Wings led 5-4 after two periods of play. In a poised, impressive display - and perhaps one of the defining moments of this franchise - Detroit shut down the 'Hounds in the final period to clinch the series and the division title with a 7-4 victory.
Detroit had always stood near the top of the Emms Division, but now they kicked the door in emphatically. As Emms Division champions, they moved on to meet the North Bay Centennials in the OHL Finals.
THE FINALS - HEARTBREAK IN THE NORTH
Again, home ice prevailed as North Bay and Detroit split the first four games of the series.
The Jr. Wings won game 5, 5-2 in North Bay and took an early lead May 9th at Joe Louis Arena in a bid to clinch their first OHL title.
But North Bay head coach Bert Templeton changed goaltenders, replacing veteran Sandy Allan with rookie Scott Roche. The move seemed to energize the Centennials and they beat the Jr. Wings, 5-3, to force a seventh and deciding game May 9 in North Bay.
After the game, Templeton answered questions about which goaltender would start game 7 like a card shark with a few aces in his hand. "I don't know who will start," Templeton said with a tight smile. "We'll sleep on it and decide before the game. You'll see in warmup."
Templeton went with the rookie Roche in game 7. The see-saw game went into overtime tied at 4. The Jr. Wings went into overtime determined to win and pelted Roche with six shots early.
Matt Ball's shot hit the goal post. North Bay's lone shot of the overtime was the game and series-wer as Jason Campeau tipped a point shot past Detroit goaltender Aaron Ellis for a 5-4 North Bay victory.
The Centennials went to Memorial Cup in Laval, Quebec and lost all three games, being outscored 13-6. Ironically, North Bay has had one wing season since 1994.
In watching this playoff, you got the feeling the Jr. Wings would be back...Soon.
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