1980 QUARTER FINALS – CAPJACK RANGERS @ PITTSBURGH SPIRIT
PLAYOFF QUARTER FINAL MATCH UP | |
Two very evenly matched teams prepare for what will undoubtedly be one helluva series! |
GAME #1 | What a game!
The Spirit take an early 2-0 lead in the 1st, but Gare, Esposito, and Trottier had other plans as they pot 4 unanswered goals to make it 4-2 at the end of 1. Late in the 2nd, Pittsburgh gets back into the groove and ties it at 4. 3rd period did not disappoint! CapJack pulls ahead 5-4 on a PP goal by Shutt, but Pittsburgh ties it 3 minutes later as MacLeish fires one from the slot. 5-5 The Spirit pulls ahead 6-5 on a PP goal by Vickers. Lonsberry ties it up 6-6 at 13:28. At 18:24 Robinson scores the game winner as CapJack wins Game 1 on the road 7-6. 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CAP PIT Star 1: CAP Esposito 2 G GWG: Larry Robinson Notables: CAP Bouchard 35 saves, Trottier 3 assists CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
GAME #2 | Pittsburgh reeling from losing at home, comes out firing.
Hedberg makes it 1-0 Spirit. CapJack ties it on Robinson’s 2nd of the playoffs. 1-1 Huber gives the Spirit the lead back at 8:05. 2-1 2nd Period Tkaczuk with a SH goal on breakaway makes it a commanding 4-1 lead for the Spirit, but never discount those pesky Rangers. Gare gets one back for CapJack on the PP with his 2nd of the playoffs. 4-2 PIT lead. MacLeish gets his 2nd of the playoffs to pull further ahead 5-2. Head into the 3rd period… CapJack wakes up… goals from Schutt and Cloutier cut the lead to 5-4. Labraaten gets a 2 goal lead back to make it 6-4. With 28 seconds left and the goalie pulled, Gare gets his 3rd of the playoffs to make it 6-5, but with 7 seconds left Redmond hits the empty net to send the fans home happy as the Spirit pulls out a 7-5 victory. 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CAP PIT Star 1: PIT Hedberg 2 G, 3 Pts GWG: Dan Labraaten Notables: CAP Trottier 3 assists, Trottier 22 faceoffs won CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
Very high scoring series thus far as it’s tied 1-1 heading to CapJack for the next 2! – The series heads to CapJack tied 1-1 | |
GAME #3 | Another high scoring affair…
Despite being outshot in the first period 17-7, CapJack DOMINATES as they jump out to a 4-0 lead to end the first. In the second CapJack continues by potting two more to take a commanding 6-0 lead. The Spirit awakens from the near death to then go on to score their own 6 unanswered goals to tie it at 6-6!! We head to OT and before the fans can even settle back into their seats, Douglas (1) sends them home happy 57 seconds in. CapJack wins a crazy one in OT 7-6 to put them up in the series 2-1. 1 2 3 4 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 PIT CAP Star 1: CAP Shutt 1 G, 4 Pts GWG: Jordy Douglas Notables: PIT Sittler 24 faceoffs won Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
GAME #4 | Pittsburgh means business and scores first but CapJack comes back with their own… PIT scores another to end the 1st period up 2-1.
The second period is back and forth with PIT taking a 3-1 lead, but CapJack scores 3 unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd. With 2:28 seconds left, Hedberg scores his 4th of the playoffs to tie it up 4-4! We head into a second straight OT! 3:59 seconds in Labraaten scores his 3rd to steal a win in CapJack and to send the series back to Pittsburgh tied 2-2! 1 2 3 4 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 PIT CAP Star 1: PIT Labraaten 2 G GWG: Dan Labraaten Notables: PIT None Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
What a series! Back and forth and equal by all accounts. Didn’t expect anything less! Back to Pittsburgh to see how this one plays out, but I feel like it HAS to go to seven!!The series shifts back to Pittsburgh tied 2-2. Can the Spirit find some magic at home? |
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GAME #5 | CapJack opens scoring at 8:32 with Shutt (3) scoring from Trottier (9) and Barnes (4) to take a 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh gets it back a little over a minute later with MacLeish scoring his 3rd from Hedberg (4) and Chouinard (6). Tied 1-1 We would go back and forth a bit as Trottier (4) scores for CAP, then Vickers (3) for PIT, then Shutt with #2 of the game to close the period with CapJack up 3-2 despite being outshot 14-9. We go to the 2nd… 1:55 in Chouinard (3) ties it at 3 on the PP. 8:53 Murdoch (2) puts CapJack back on top 4-3 and then scores again less than a minute later for his 3rd of the playoffs, giving them a 5-3 lead. Robinson (4) scores to make it 6-3 as PIT pulls Resch after he gives up 6 goals on 15 shots. A little over 3 minutes later and Shutt (5) gets the HT and makes it 7-3 at the end of the 2nd. Third period sees PIT bombing 18 shots on Bouchard but only landing one (Vickers). Cloutier adds a little salt to the wound as we end with a decisive CapJack victory 8-4. 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CAP PIT Star 1: CAP Shutt 3 G, 4 Pts GWG: Don Murdoch Notables: CAP Bouchard 45 saves, Shutt hat trick, Trottier 3 assists CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
Such a frustrating game. Resch really crapped the bed. Need him to play better. Hopefully the benching did the trick. We will head to CapJack for the first elimination game of the series as CapJack is up 3-2.
CapJack can win the series as they are up 3-2 and playing at Madison Oval Garden in front of a screaming packed house! Pittsburgh Coach Chris Niespodzianski decides to go with Resch in goal despite his poor performance in Game 5. Resch looks determined and steely eyed. Here we go! |
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GAME #6 | 1st period – CapJack comes out firing… shot after shot. Resch makes save after save.
14:25 – Labraaten (4) makes it 1-0 PIT, assisted by Greschner (5) and Houle (4). CapJack amps it up and fires everything but the kitchen sink at Resch, but come up empty in the 1st despite out-shooting PIT 18-8. Looks like Niespodzianski’s “talk” with Resch has worked… so far. Head into the 2nd… An even matchup (despite last game) is personified in the 2nd as both teams manage 8 shots a piece, but the goalies are up to the task and it remains 1-0 PIT lead. To the 3rd with PIT holding a fragile 1-0 lead and on the brink of elimination… This period is ALL CapJack as they fire shot after shot, and play some amazing defense, only allowing PIT to get 3 shots… But Resch stands tall as he gets the Goose Egg and the Spirit go on to steal a victory against the Rangers 1-0. We’ll had back to Pittsburgh for a thrilling Game 7!! 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 PIT CAP Star 1: PIT Resch 37 saves GWG: Dan Labraaten Notables: PIT Resch 37 saves Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
The “talk” that Chris Niespodzianski had with Resch seems to have worked as he stopped all 37 CapJack shots (and there were some good ones!). One big item from the game besides the 37 save shutout? CapJack going 0-9 on the PP! Ouch.
Heading back to Pittsburgh for the most exciting game in all of sports… Game 7! Here we go! Game 7!! Resch stole a victory in Game 6 with a stellar 37 save shutout. Can he step up to the challenge one more time? Or will Trottier and Co. light him up as they have in the previous 5 games? PIT Captain Guy Lafleur looks ready, CapJack Captain Bryan Trottier looks ready. Let’s do this! |
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GAME #7 | 1st period…
A little back and forth. Feeling out. Nice saves on both ends of the rink. Solid hitting and defense. Pittsburgh out-shoots CapJack 16-10, but there is no score a the end of 1. 2nd period… 1:31 in Chouinard (4) makes it count, assisted by Hedberg (5) and Palmer (1). 1-0 PIT lead. That goal seems to have taken the wind out of the sails of CapJack a bit as Pittsburgh controls play now. 16:32 Chouinard (5) pots another from Hedberg (6) and MacLeish (6) to take a 2-0 lead. 35 seconds later Guy Lafleur catches CapJack snoozing as he scores his 3rd of the playoffs from Sittler (6) and Vickers (4). It’s now 3-0 PIT. The home crowd is in a frenzy. Resch still makes it look easy as he keeps his shutout streak going at 5 periods while we head into the 3rd. 3rd period… This is it. This is why we love hockey. 3rd period of Game 7. PIT up 3-0, but in this series that hasn’t meant much for all games except the last. Resch continues to look hyper-focused. Almost robotic. CapJack comes out firing. Gare on a breakaway… stoned! Shutt on a breakaway… stoned! The home crowd is so loud it feels as though the dead are rising in the Prudential Center! The Spirit is strong in this building… can CapJack perform an exorcism before it’s too late? After the initial wave of shots on Resch, the Spirit up the pressure to take it off of Resch and Bouchard is up to the challenge. Turning away all 17 of Pittsburgh’s shots in the 3rd… but unfortunately, he didn’t score any goals, and neither did his team mates as they seemed to give up down the stretch in the last 10 minutes. 3…2…1… Pittsburgh wins Game 7 and the Series! 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CAP PIT Star 1: PIT Resch 28 saves GWG: Guy Chouinard Notables: CAP Bouchard 42 saves CapJack GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate Pittsburgh GA SV Save% TOI W L T Rate |
Pittsburgh wins Game 7 and the Series on the strength of Glenn “Chico” Resch’s back to back shutouts. Let’s not forget “The Two Guy’s” in Chouinard and Lafleur who provided all the offense needed in Game 7.
Pittsburgh moves on but it was a HARD FOUGHT series by CapJack. I honestly thought we were done when they bitch slapped us in Game 5 and we headed to CapJack facing elimination and Resch seeming to be lost between the pipes. He really is the Series MVP just for the last two games. Great series Bill Schindel! Your boys fought hard! Congrats on a great season. Now… who’s next? 😉 |