Old Team Tuesday: The Buffalo Wings
Old Team Tuesday is a
weekly feature taking a look at former teams that have gone by the wayside.
After a two-week hiatus, we return this week to close out a two-part series examining the history
of professional roller hockey in Buffalo.
**********************************************
After financial ruin laid waste to the Buffalo Stampede during the
1995 RHI season, Buffalo was left without a professional roller hockey team.
The absence of a team meant Memorial Auditorium would close its doors for good in
the spring, rather than in late summer when the roller hockey season would come
to a close.
Instability in pro roller hockey continued to be a problem, with
teams folding and relocating at a frenetic pace. After playing for two years in
Phoenix, the Cobras relocated to Glens Falls, New York for the 1996 season. The
move failed to turn around the fortunes of the franchise, so they uprooted
themselves yet again and signed a one-year agreement to play at the new Marine
Midland Arena in downtown Buffalo.
Despite a new name that had a local flavor – the Buffalo Wings –
the team remained relatively intact from the previous season, as 20 players from the Atlantic
Division championship campaign were retained on the protected list. Included on
the roster were former Buffalo Stampede goaltender Nick Vitucci and Riverside native
Kenny Corp.
--- Welcome back,
Rockers ---
The
official revival of the RHI in Buffalo came on June 5, 1997, when the Wings
welcomed an old friend, John Vecchiarelli, and an old foe, the New Jersey
Rockin Rollers, back to Buffalo for the first time since the Stampede days.
Much to the chagrin of the home crowd, Vecchiarelli continued to display the
scoring prowess he became known for in Buffalo, as he and the Rockin Rollers
spoiled the homecoming by beating the Wings 9-4.
Buffalo
dropped their second game to another civic rival, the Montreal Roadrunners, and
fell to 0-3 thanks to another defeat to New Jersey, this time by a 7-4 score.
Buffalo’s homegrown player, Corp, posted one of the team’s goals in the loss.
--- Early unease ---
Just
an eighth of the way through their 24-game slate, management was already
feeling the pinch of small crowds and miniscule gate receipts. Unlike the
Stampede, the Wings were unable to attract crowds that reached four digit sums.
The problem had plagued them in Glens Falls, and was one of the reasons the
franchise was forced to find a new home.
In
Ottawa, things were looking even grimmer. RHI was forced to assume control of
the Loggers after ownership said they needed to take time and reset their
marketing scheme. That forced two early-season Buffalo-Ottawa matchups to be pushed
back to late July. The scheduling chaos piled onto the havoc created just prior
to the season beginning when Toronto, San Diego, and Minnesota all withdrew
from competition.
The
opponent in the fourth game of the season was once again the Rockin Rollers, and the
result was another tally in the loss column. The next meeting went just as
poorly, as the Wings watched a three-goal lead evaporate in a 7-6 loss to the defending
champion Orlando Jackals. Attendance for that game managed to top out at 1,439.
Two
nights later, the regrouped and rebranded Ottawa Wheels came in feeling
rejuvenated, and continued their hot play to defeat the Wings 9-8, and inflate
their record to 4-3. Former Buffalo Sabre Jocelyn Guevremont remained the
team’s head coach throughout the turnover, and guided his team through a
stretch where they had no facility for practice and no equipment at their
disposal. Their quick turnaround vaulted them into third place in the Eastern
Division, while Buffalo sank to 0-6.
After
traveling to Montreal and suffering their seventh straight loss to open the
season, the Wings returned home on July 3 to face the Roadrunners once more. In
their eighth attempt, the Wings finally managed to make it into the win column
by scrapping their way to a 5-4 win at Marine Midland Arena. The win came after
the score remained locked at four apiece after regulation. Ken Blum and Dennis
Maxwell tallied in the shootout and Nick Vitucci held steadfast to turn aside
all three Montreal attempts.
--- The good feelings
never last long ---
The
Wings continued their winning ways by posting two more shootout victories to
improve to 3-7. The following game was far more disastrous for the club, both
on the floor and off it. Prior to their game against the Orlando Jackals, it
was announced that the first 3,000 fans in attendance would receive a free gift
courtesy of Darien Lake Theme Park. Unfortunately, more than 1,000 gifts went
unclaimed, as fewer than 2,000 fans showed up to watch the Jackals pummel the
Wings 13-4.
Four
subsequent losses saw the Wings slip to 3-12 while getting outscored 41-18.
Buffalo beat Ottawa twice in a row to end the skid and remain in playoff
contention, but the schedule was coming to a close in a hurry, and with seven
games remaining, Buffalo needed a miracle to make up the six point deficit they
sat in and climb into playoff position.
A
loss to Montreal stifled their momentum, but a third win over Ottawa in a
four-game span allowed Buffalo to take valuable points away from the team that
held the final playoff spot in the division. A return trip by Montreal once
again put a gash in the Wings’ playoff aspirations, as the loss meant Buffalo
needed to win out while both Montreal and Ottawa didn’t earn a single point in
each team’s final four games.
6-14
Buffalo traveled to Orlando Arena for a date with the league-best Jackals, who
owned a 17-4 record and had been well on their way to the postseason for quite
some time. The Jackals had had Buffalo’s number all season long, and August 6
proved to be more of the same. Orlando led nearly the whole way through a
contest they wound up winning 11-6. The loss officially eliminated Buffalo from
playoff contention with three games to play.
The
three remaining contests – against New Jersey, Ottawa, and Orlando – all went
down as losses, leaving the Wings with a 6-18 record, worst in the Atlantic
Division and in RHI overall.
Despite
the absence of wins, fans slowly started to warm up to the Wings as the season
progressed. A season-high 4,607 attendees came out for Fan Appreciation Night –
a 13-8 defeat against the Jackals – and the late uptick in gate receipts gave
ownership confidence that the Wings would be back for another year.
--- Where do we go from
here ---
The
confidence Wings’ GM Rick Seeley expressed was not common in the RHI. The Los
Angeles Blades – who called the famed Los Angeles Forum their home and were
operated by Lakers owners Jerry and Jeanie Buss – were openly dubious about
their future in 1998.
Those
feelings of uncertainty soon had traction, as league meetings following the
Murphy Cup finals were twice postponed because the league could not come up
with the funds to pay the champion Anaheim Bullfrogs for their successes. The
stresses continued to mount, and by the winter, RHI announced it intended to
suspend play and raise $12 million in a public offering to regroup financially
in time to resume in 1999.
The
hiatus put teams in a bind. While Los Angeles had withdrawn by that point, the
other clubs were now in limbo. After five seasons, RHI had failed to establish
itself and endear itself to its audience. After having invested so much with
minimal return, eleven more clubs followed suit and pulled out.
---
To the eXtreme ---
Now
a team without a home, the Wings entered talks with representatives from the
new eXtreme Hockey League. In late January, 1998, the Wings were announced as
the league’s first franchise, with up to five more to join the fray from New
York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Quebec City, and Montreal. They would begin a
16-game schedule in June, playing mainly on weekends. There were several rule
changes from RHI that the XHL would feature, most notably using quarters
instead of periods, and being more lenient on fighting to mirror NHL rules.
Rick
Seeley announced he would no longer serve as the team’s GM, citing a job offer
that was “too good to turn down.” As such, the team turned to former Buffalo
Sabre and Stampede player Lou Franceschetti to be their general manager. He
also assumed the responsibilities of head coach, replacing Murray Eaves who
joined the Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League.
The
honor of becoming the XHL’s first team wasn’t sentimental or solid enough to
keep the Wings anchored for long. By March, the Wings were still the only team
signed on with the fledgling league, and by April, the team decided to jump ship
and latch on with newly-formed Major League Roller Hockey. Also set to begin in
June, MLRH was a uniquely-styled association with 20 total teams – including
six in the United Kingdom – all competing for the Jason Cup. The cup was named
to honor the memory of a young boy, Jason Kostelnik, who died at the age of 15
after chronic heart-related health issues.
The
14 American and Canadian teams were divided into three divisions. Buffalo was
placed in the Great Lakes Division with the Columbus Hawks, Port Huron North
Americans, Toronto Torpedoes, and Pennsylvania Posse. The 1997 Murphy Cup
champion Anaheim Bullfrogs joined the Wings as the only other RHI franchise to
join MLRH. Additionally, Anaheim was the only team in MLRH outside of the
Eastern Time Zone, as no other club played west of Michigan.
Along
with the league, personnel, and opponent changes, the Wings also pulled up
stakes from Marine Midland Arena. The 18,595-seat building was never the right place for a team that could barely fill 10 percent of those chairs, so they
looked north to Buffalo State Sports Arena. Capacity at the home of the Bengals
was 2,000, smaller than their ideal venue size but much more appropriate for
what the Wings could manage.
--- You root for the
jersey ---
Prior
to the start of the season, MLRH held a player draft, which even included a
celebrity round, for teams to fill up their rosters. Buffalo used their
celebrity selection on Cammi Granato, the captain of the U.S. women’s hockey
team that had just won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. They then used
their first round pick to take RHI’s career assists leader, Victor Gervais,
first overall.
They
continued to stockpile noteworthy additions. John Vecchiarelli and Mark Major –
both members of the 1994 Murphy Cup-winning Buffalo Stampede – were brought back
to Western New York. In the 10th round, Grand Island native Dave Seitz became
the first of the mandatory four homegrown players the Wings would add to the
roster.
Goaltending
standby Nick Vitucci opted not to come back in 1998, one of 17 players to do
so. That left Ken Blum, Ken Corp, and Scott Hillman as the only three returners
to a completely revamped organization. Granato declined the invitation from the
Wings, passing on the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Manon Rheaume.
--- Back at it again ---
Buffalo’s
opening game in MLRH would be as difficult as possible. They were slated to
take on the Bullfrogs – the only other squad with prior playing experience, and
RHI’s last champions – in Anaheim to begin the season.
Predictably,
the Wings didn’t fare well in California. They fell to Anaheim 12-2, equaling
the worst offensive output in team history. However, they turned things around
just two days later when they hosted Port Huron.
In
front of 723 fans at their new home facility, the Wings rollicked to a decisive
14-3 win. The victory was the largest in club history, the 14 goals and 61
shots for were both franchise bests, and St. Catharines and Canisius College
product Josh Oort set a new team mark with eight points (4g, 4a) in the
triumph.
Wins
against Toronto (which had since been renamed to the Force) and Pennsylvania
propped up the team’s record to 3-1 before slip ups in Orlando and South
Carolina leveled their record at 3-3.
The
Wings returned to Buffalo State Sports Arena to take on the New York Riot in an
interdivisional matchup on July 3. Mark Major notched a hat trick and John
Vecchiarelli added five points (2g, 3a) to delight the crowd of 1,604 with an
11-4 win.
Buffalo’s
win kept the Wings unbeaten at home through three contests. However, their road
woes continued, as they fell to 1-4 as visitors with a 7-4 loss in Toronto.
On
July 11, the Force paid another visit to Buffalo, suffering another loss at
Buffalo State to fall to 2-7-1. Chris Palmer matched a team record by recording
five assists, and James Richmond contributed one of his own to extend his team-record
to nine consecutive games with an assist. One week later, the Wings would put
their perfect home mark on the line against the team that battered them in the
season opener.
--- David beats Goliath one time out of a hundred ---
--- David beats Goliath one time out of a hundred ---
While
Buffalo (5-4) had managed to remain unbeaten through its first four home
matches, Anaheim had managed to remain undefeated through its first 13 games
overall, and had long since clinched a playoff berth. Meanwhile, Buffalo still
had 11 games to play, but was comfortably in second place in a division where
the top three teams out of five would make the postseason.
1,740
fans – the largest crowd of the season – turned out at Buffalo State to witness
what many believed would be a seminal moment for the team. Prior to the game,
head coach Lou Franceschetti stated that if the Wings won the game, they could
overcome the nine point deficit they were currently in and overtake Columbus
for first place in the Great Lakes.
Despite
another assist from Richmond, Buffalo fell to 5-5 after Anaheim left town with
a 10-6 win and a 14-0 record. With just six games remaining, the Bullfrogs not
only had home-floor advantage on their minds for the duration of the playoffs,
but were now eyeing the possibility of an undefeated season.
A
quick turnaround was necessitated by the fact that the Wings were due in
Toronto to take on the Force the following night. The weak Toronto squad still
had slim playoff hopes, but was more so jockeying with Pennsylvania to avoid
falling to last place in the division. A 9-6 Buffalo win didn’t help that cause
much, but continued to buoy the Wings’ hopes of extending their season.
Goaltender Kevin Kreutzer – who had won the starting job in training camp –
posted 36 saves in the win. Kreutzer was the third of Buffalo’s local players,
born in Buffalo and having played two seasons of collegiate hockey at Canisius
after transferring out of R.I.T.
Consecutive
losses in Columbus, at home to Tampa Bay, and at home to Columbus in a shootout
put the Wings below .500 for the first time since their opening loss in Anaheim
left them at 0-1. With a record of 6-7-1, the Wings’ 13 points ensured they
would not win the division title, but still placed them in prime position to
take the second spot in the Great Lakes.
--- Flying higher ---
Entering
the final month of the season, there remained five games during which the Wings could clinch a playoff berth. In their first opportunity, they left nothing to
chance.
With
1,205 spectators on hand at Buffalo State Sports Arena, the Wings obliterated
the visiting Philadelphia Sting with a historic 18-3 rout. The victory
broke nearly every record, both individual and team, that had previously been
set in the team’s win over Port Huron on June 14. The 18 goals scored and 62
shots for were among the most impressive stats the night produced.
A
home-and-home series with Pennsylvania became something of a farce three days
later. After the Posse’s primary sponsor pulled out, the team was financially
strapped and couldn’t afford to host its game against the Wings. However, the
league stepped in to fund the team’s travel expenses for the second game of the
set, and on August 8, the Posse became the latest victim of Buffalo’s
recently-discovered high-powered offense.
Buffalo
could have slept through the first half of the game and still won breezily. The
Wings didn’t just shatter any scoring records – they annihilated them, by hanging 27 goals on the shorthanded Posse. They poured on 69 shots during the course of the contest, and were
led by Ken Blum, who supplied a team record 11 points (6g, 5a). His six goals
would have been a team record, except teammate John Vecchiarelli tallied seven
of his own. Chris Palmer had seven assists, also a team record, and James
Richmond continued to push his assist streak to 16 straight games (at least one
in each of the team’s games). The win was technically their third in a row,
which also matched a franchise mark.
Things
regressed to the mean three nights later, as Port Huron subdued the potent
Wings in a 7-6 home victory. Port Huron’s home, however, was now actually
Flint, after the North Americans struggled to draw crowds. The win cemented the
North Americans’ playoff spot, and their first foe was to be the very same
Buffalo squad.
---
Playoff hockey ---
The
Wings then swung east to take on the New York Riot. Buffalo won 7-3, and won
the final game on their schedule by default again when the finale against the
Posse was called off. With four wins in five August games, the Wings were able
to finish the regular season with a record of 11-8-1, good enough for second in
the division, three points ahead of Port Huron but 12 behind division-winning
Columbus.
In
their first-ever postseason game, a home crowd of 1,500 fans cheered on the
Wings as they dismantled the Port Huron North Americans 19-8. Five Wings
registered hat tricks, including Scott Hillman, who put Buffalo up 2-0 with two
goals in the opening 2:24. By halftime, Buffalo had pretty much sealed the win,
as they held a commanding 9-1 lead.
The
team’s opponent in the division finals would be the Columbus Hawks, who rode
into the playoffs riding a 14-game winning streak, and beat the Wings in both
of their regular season meetings. Their schedule concluded on July 31 after
their shootout win in Buffalo, and with a first-round bye, the Hawks would be
entering the game on nearly three weeks of rest.
The
long rest was no disadvantage for the Hawks, who stymied the Wings early and
led 3-1 at the half. But Buffalo clawed their way back into the game, tying
things up at four 6:48 into the third quarter. The teams traded goals until
Columbus led 6-5 heading into the final minute of play. Mark Major evened the
score with 35.6 seconds to go and an extra attacker on the floor. Things seemed
to be headed beyond regulation until a late penalty call put the Hawks on the
power play. With 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Arturs Kupaks
found the back of the net to take a 7-6 lead and send Columbus to the Final
Four in Anaheim.
The
call that cost Buffalo its season came with 18 seconds to go and incensed Lou
Franceschetti so much so that he came off the bench with time remaining to
protest it. Once he returned to his post, he tore down curtains, destroyed
cameras, flipped the penalty box table, and threw water and ice cubes at the
crowd of 900, who sarcastically cheered his antics.
In
Anaheim, the Hawks lost in the semifinals 5-4 to the Orlando Surge, winners of
the South Division. The other semifinal game saw the U.K. Division champion
Brighton Tigers beat down by the Anaheim Bullfrogs 37-2. Anaheim went on to win
the Jason Cup with a 5-4 win over Orlando, while Columbus earned third place
with a 19-1 domination of Brighton. The win gave Anaheim the honor of becoming
the first professional inline hockey franchise to win titles in multiple
leagues, after their Murphy Cup triumphs in 1993 and 1997 with RHI. The ’93 win
also happened to be the inaugural year for RHI, meaning the Bullfrogs also held
the distinction of being the first-ever champions for both leagues.
--- Middle unease ---
Not
long after the season came crashing down on the Wings, it became apparent that
RHI would in fact be revived for 1999, meaning team management had to make a
choice on whether to return to their roots or remain in their current league.
They planned to attend both league’s fall meetings before settling on a
decision.
After
meeting with officials from both leagues and deliberating for about a month,
owners Dr. Frances Ann Edmonston and Jason C. Klein decided the rejuvenated RHI
would be the more appropriate fit for their situation. The league was set to be
merged with an entertainment conglomerate, which would operate it as a public
company to gain capital through an IPO.
An
announcement the following January stated that 10 teams would play in RHI in
1999. Anaheim joined Buffalo in jumping back to the old league, while the San
Jose Rhinos, Minnesota Blue Ox, and St. Louis Vipers would all rejoin the
league after taking sabbaticals the previous season. New teams would be set up
in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, and Utah to round out the 10-team
circuit.
A
national TV deal helped put the league above water and prepared it for a
26-game regular season with a restructured schedule that would be played primarily
on Friday and Saturday nights. RHI previously aired games on ESPN2 before
losing the deal due to fiscal irresponsibility. The loss of the broadcasting
deal was one of the major dominoes to topple before the league shut down for
the season.
--- More drafts than a
middle school English class ---
RHI
held a draft in February to allow its new teams to build up rosters and let its
returners fill their own needs as well. Buffalo protected eight players,
including Ken Blum and John Vecchiarelli. Wheatfield’s Mark Magliarditi, a
goaltender, and forward Dave Dietz from Grand Island were Buffalo’s local
selections in the draft.
Meanwhile,
MLRH was still forging ahead with plans for 1999 despite losing two of its
anchor franchises. In March they announced a team would be representing Denver
in the form of the Colorado Inferno. However, plans for a team in Utica, New
York were scrapped in April, and there was no mention about the return of the
U.K. Division.
Rejiggering
within the RHI saw Utah drop out of contention for a team, so the Detroit
Racers were established as a replacement. However, the Racers and the Florida
Jackals were forced to drop out in April, so the league opted to play the
season with eight teams while holding a dispersal draft in early May.
Back
in MLRH, the New York Riot were one of four teams to suspend operations,
dropping league membership to eight franchises. The announcement from the Riot
came less than two weeks before their scheduled home opener, and the league was
forced to scramble and piece together a new franchise further west in
Binghamton, named the New York Zoo, which it announced on June 5.
While
the old league remained in turmoil, the reworked RHI got its season underway
that very same day when the Las Vegas Coyotes traveled to Buffalo State Sports
Arena to battle the Wings in their professional debut.
--- Bench stability ---
Returning
to coach Buffalo was Lou Franceschetti. Franceschetti pieced together a roster
that featured seven returning players, the most either Buffalo franchise had
ever retained. Of the eight players Buffalo protected in the February draft,
seven returned for the third season of Wings hockey. They were, Ken Blum, Ken
Corp, Scott Hillman, Mark Major, Josh Oort, James Richmond, and John
Vecchiarelli. That group of players was responsible for 70 percent of the
team’s points in 1998, with Blum (30g, 32a), Oort (20g, 31a), and Richmond
(19g, 32a) all surpassing 50 points each. Vecchiarelli posted 49 (25g, 24a)
points of his own, but was limited to just 12 games.
Manning
the crease for the Wings was newcomer Scott Vezina, whom Buffalo acquired in a
trade from Minnesota. He spent 1998 with MLRH’s third-place Orlando Surge, and
led the league in wins (16), minutes (765), and saves (606).
Against
the Coyotes, Vezina made 39 saves and Blum scored four times, but untimely
penalties and giveaways doomed the Wings, as 1,658 saw them lose their third
straight season opener.
Six
days later, the Wings traveled to Dallas to take on the Stallions. Level nearly
all the way through the first three quarters, Buffalo pulled away late to earn
a 6-5 road win. Notably, the Buffalo Sabres were also playing a series against
the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Wings-Stallions matchup
occurred on June 11 at Reunion Arena, just one day after the Stars beat the
Sabres in the same building to level the finals at one game apiece.
After
the road win in Texas, the Wings were scheduled to return home and face off
against Minnesota the following day. The schedule was further compacted when
team officials bumped up puck drop from 7:30 to 4:30 in order to accommodate
Sabres fans, who would be heading downtown later that night for Game Three of
the Stanley Cup Finals. Had the Wings remained at the Arena for the season,
their game may not have been able to take place at all.
High
winds in Chicago forced the team to alter their travel plans and once again
adjust their start time. They were re-routed through Cleveland Hopkins
International Airport, and wound up at Buffalo State only minutes before their
scheduled puck drop. The game eventually got underway at 5:00, and the
beleaguered and weary Wings somehow pulled out a 10-2 win before a meager crowd
of 572.
--- Get used to it, kid
---
For
their June 15 matchup with the St. Louis Vipers, Buffalo once again moved up its
scheduled start time to align better with Game Four. With a few days rest and
no travel, the Wings fell in an early hole and dropped a 15-8 decision at home.
After
a win in Chicago, the Wings traveled west to Minneapolis to take on the Blue Ox
at Mariucci Arena. Blum and Mark Major each recorded hat tricks, and Vezina
made 28 saves to drop Minnesota by an 11-7 count. It marked the first time the
team started a year 3-0 on the road, and also gave them the first three-game
road win streak in franchise history.
The
win streak didn’t live any longer than that third game. After a home loss to
Anaheim, Buffalo traveled to St. Louis to open a home-and-home with the Vipers.
Trailing by one goal heading into the final quarter, Buffalo collapsed, and
allowed six goals in a crushing 12-7 loss.
While
their road mark was solid, their record at home was ghastly. In the second game
of the set with St. Louis, Buffalo suffered a 9-6 defeat to fall to 1-4 at
Buffalo State Sports Arena. However, they hosted two more games before hitting
the road again, and began to reverse their fortunes on home court.
--- Searching ---
Midseason
acquisitions came via trades and free agent signings. Among the new faces:
Scott Humphrey, a goaltender who spent nine games with the Buffalo Stampede in
1995 and held RHI’s best career save percentage (.857). Humphrey was added to
the roster in preparation for Vezina’s eventual departure for the Pan-Am Games
in Winnipeg.
The
second game of the homestand saw the Blue Ox wilt 15-4 in a wildly overheated
gymnasium, and an 11-9 win against the Chicago Bluesmen featured John
Vecchiarelli’s 300th career point when he assisted on the shorthanded,
game-winning goal late in the game.
The
Bluesmen and Wings became quite familiar with each other after that. Between July
9 and July 21, the two squads met four times. By the end of that stretch,
Buffalo had won a franchise record four-straight contests, had taken three out
of four games against their Windy City nemeses, held a 9-7 overall record, and
sat two points behind division-leading St. Louis. With 10 games remaining in
the regular season, the postseason and the offseason were both realistic
possibilities for the up-and-down Wings.
--- Hell unleashed ---
A
two-game trip to California proved utterly fruitless, especially since coach Lou
Franceschetti had been hoping to use the matchups against the San Jose Rhinos
and Anaheim Bulldogs as measuring sticks to show the team’s progress (or lack
thereof). Franceschetti was beside himself when the team returned to Western
New York after suffering losses of 5-1 and 13-3.
Things
didn’t improve in the midsummer heat, as tempers flared in a July 28 showdown
with the Rhinos. Despite the rising temperatures, Buffalo’s start was ominously
cold. They gave up the opening goal 15 seconds into the first quarter, doubled
the deficit one minute later, and soon
found themselves trailing 5-0 early in the second. The 1,557 attendees that had
Buffalo State Sports Arena’s stands at 75 percent capacity didn’t go home witnessing
any ordinary loss, though.
In
the fourth quarter, San Jose’s Rob Trumbley earned an ejection after he showed
his disgust with a penalty call by cross-checking referee Scott Hoberg.
Donnybrooks continued to mar the final frame, as Buffalo’s John Vecchiarelli,
Mark Major, and John Hendry were all assessed 10-minute game misconducts for
fighting. San Jose’s Alex Alepin also earned a 10-minute game misconduct. The
9-3 loss was the first game back for goaltender Scott Vezina since he guided Team
Canada to the floor hockey gold medal at the Pan-Am Games.
Another
loss against St. Louis – the fourth in four meetings with the Vipers – widened the
gap between the two clubs in the standings, and after a fifth-straight loss,
this time to Minnesota, it was announced that head coach Lou Franceschetti would
be dismissed from his post. Despite their 9-12 mark, the Wings were still
clinging to the Eastern Division’s second-place position.
Before
Franceschetti’s departure and the insertion of Vice President of Operations
Benny
Gulakiw into the coaching role, news broke that Team Canada’s floor hockey team
would be stripped of its Pan-Am gold medal after Vezina was found to have
tested positive for three banned substances.
The
team’s next game – on August 6 against the Dallas Stallions – was receiving an
unusually high amount of interest from the Canadian press due to the news about
Scott Vezina. Entering the game, which was to be played at Buffalo State,
Dallas held a 5-14-1 record, dead last in all of RHI. In the only other meeting
of the season between the two teams, Buffalo went into Reunion Arena and topped
the Stallions. Now, they were looking for more of the same to break out of
their rut and deliver a win for their new head coach.
Vezina’s
“week in hell” didn’t improve much immediately after the puck dropped. With what
felt like the eyes of an entire nation scrutinizing his every move, the
netminder allowed two goals while Buffalo was shorthanded and at halftime, the
Wings trailed 2-1. After the intermission, Vezina found a groove, however, and
allowed just one goal the rest of the way while his teammates rallied to score
six more goals and take a 7-3 decision. Despite the wide final margin, the game
remained a nailbiter until John Vecchiarelli poured in three goals in the final
minute of play to clinch the win.
--- Return to normalcy
---
The
following game, Buffalo went west to take on St. Louis at The Kiel Center. In
their fifth attempt of the season, the Wings finally came out victorious,
handing the Vipers an 8-7 shootout loss that wrapped up a playoff berth for the
Buffalo club. The winning streak didn’t stop there, as a 10-6 home win against
the same Vipers three days later put Buffalo back at .500 and vaulted the team
to 3-0 since Franceschetti’s removal. The team then improved to 13-12 overall
with a win in Chicago before they dropped the season finale in Minnesota 8-3.
--- Playhoff hockey,
redux ---
As
had been the case in 1998, the team Buffalo played in its last regular-season
game was also the opponent they drew in the opening round of the playoffs. And
just as similarly, the Wings defeated the opponent when it mattered more – with
the season hanging in the balance.
Buffalo
traveled to Anaheim, where RHI had decided to stage the entirety of their
postseason at Arrowhead Pond. In the conference semifinals, they sent Minnesota
packing by mirroring the 8-3 loss they had suffered just a few days prior.
Shots on goal narrowly favored Buffalo 42-41, but Scott Vezina was strong
between the pipes, turning aside 38 of those attempts to ensure the Wings would
advance.
In
the conference finals, Buffalo faced a tough St. Louis team that had their
number for nearly the entire season, until the final two meetings of the year
saw the Wings take both contests. Buffalo came in undermanned defensively, and proceeded
to lose another defender midway through the game. After South Buffalo native
Ryan Shanahan fell victim to a groin injury, St. Louis reeled off five unanswered
goals to take the lead and maintain it the rest of the way. The final score in
the Final Four read St. Louis 11, Buffalo 7.
In
the finals, the Vipers took on the Anaheim Bullfrogs - who had come within one shootout goal of a perfect season, instead settling for a regular-season record of 19-0-1. In the championship game, St. Louis upset the heavily-favored Bullfrogs to win the
Murphy Cup for the first time in team history.
--- Late uneasy ---
In
April of 2000, RHI announced it would not play again the following summer. Anaheim
team president Rob Montague cited the league’s lackadaisical approach to
business that failed to give teams adequate time to get their affairs in order
before June. Around the same time, Major League Roller Hockey made a similar
announcement, blaming their woes on their rival organization’s failures. Of
course, MLRH had its own issues to look at, as just a few weeks after placing a team In Binghamton, New York, their 1999 season was permanently called
off on June 29. However, they restructured their entire business model and
were back on the floor in 2000. With most of its teams now made up of amateur players and not
ice hockey professionals in their offseasons, MLRH was out of the
professional ranks.
The
implosion of pro inline hockey brought down the Buffalo Wings as well, though
not entirely. The organization had previously created a Junior A squad called
the Buffalo Mission Wings. That team continued play in the new millennium. In
place of a top-tier pro team, however, team management decided to refocus its
efforts on growing the sport at the youth and adult recreational levels. They
formed 18u, 16u, 14u, and 12u elite travel teams with tryouts at the Pepsi
Center that May, and continued to funnel resources into grassroots efforts.
In
2005, MLRH expanded its efforts overseas, and once again had teams in North
America and Europe compete against themselves before facing the other continent’s
winner in a Super League world championship showdown. That arrangement lasted
four seasons before the league switched to a tour format and became a
professional outfit once again. In 2009, the first year of the tour, the Buffalo
Wings had a team compete for – and win – the MLRH Pro World Championship.
After
two seasons of touring, the league reverted to its original, traditional league
layout, but remained a professional organization. Following the schedule change,
an adjustment was made to the time frame in which the season took place. Games would no
longer be played in summer as a complement to winter ice hockey. Instead, they
now directly competed with ice hockey by playing from October to May.
In
2011, the Wings were replaced by the Buffalo Excitement, who played their home
games at the Epic Center in Williamsville. They remained in the league until
the close of the 2012-13 season.