1983 PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL #2

New Castle Ducks

Dallas_Drakes

 

New Castle Ducks

vs.

Dallas Drakes

SERIES PREVIEW During the regular season, New Castle beat Dallas 5 times in 8 games, with 1 tie. The two teams lit up the lamp at a near-record pace, scoring an average of 9 goals per game. Dallas has now strengthened their goaltending with the acquisition of Glen Hanlon. Will the Ducks continue their dominance of the Drakes? Will the high-scoring games continue in the typically tighter checking atmosphere of the playoffs?

Coaches Scott Needle and Alan Raylesberg will find out as they play their entire series HEAD TO HEAD

GAME #1 The fans in Dallas are roaring as the two teams take the ice for Game 1. Without COVID restrictions in Texas, the place is packed and it inspires the Drakes who score at the 2:34 mark when John Tonelli beats Billy Smith. Five minutes later, the Ducks tied it on a goal by Rick Middleton. A Marcel Dionne goal makes it 2-1 Dallas after one period.
In the second period, the defense took a holiday as the teams combine for EIGHT GOALS. Al Secord at 1:42 and Tonelli again at 2:12 give the Drakes a 4-1 lead early in the period. After the Ducks pull to within 4-2, DAL scores two more (Gould and Secord) to make it 6-2. Barry Pederson and Middleton then beat Don Beaupre and it’s suddenly 6-4 before Dennis Maruk bursts the Ducks bubble with a goal, making it 7-4 after two periods.
In the final frame, Dallas strikes early again as Kenny Linseman beats Smith at the 27-second mark. Smith goes to the locker room, replaced by Don Edwards. John Paul Kelly gets another Dallas goal to make the final 9-4 as Dallas wins in a rout.THREE STARS:
1- DAL Marcel Dionne 1 G 3 A 4 PTS
2- NCD Rick Middleton 2G 1 A 3 PTS
3- DAL Al Secord 2 GBeaupre made 32 saves. Joey Mullen had 3 assists. Dallas won 58% of the faceoffs and outhit the Ducks 17-7. They also outshot NCD 42-36
GAME #2 The Ducks come out flying as they try to even the Series and it’s their superstar center Barry Pederson who scores at 5:50 to make it 1-0. But then Drake’s #1 line goes to work as first Dionne and then Secord scores on Billy Smith to make it 2-1 DAL after one.
In the second, NCD ties it on a goal by Steve Bozek, who beats Hanlon as the Drakes have a new netminder for G2. Joey Mullen breaks the tie before Pederson gets his second of the game to tie it 3-3. Then John Paul Kelly gets his second of the playoffs and it’s 4-3. 30 seconds later Ron Duguay makes it 5-3 and things look good for Dallas. With 2:19 left in the frame, Marian Stastny lights the lamp, and it’s a 5-4 game going to the final period.
The see-saw battle continues as Steve Kasper scores at 4:18 to tie the game at 5-5. Two minutes later, Middleton gets his third goal in two games to put NCD ahead 6-5. The Dallas fans are roaring and it pays off as Patrik Sundstrom ties it at 9:07. The Ducks dominate the rest of the period, as they outshoot DAL 13-6 in the frame, but Hanlon stands tall in goal and regulation ends with the teams tied 6-6.
ITS OVERTIME and defenseman Craig Hartsburg is the HERO as his slap shot, at 4:29, beats Smith and DALLAS has a HUGE win to take a 2-0 series lead.THREE STARS:
1- NCD Pederson 2 G 2 A 4 PTS
2- DAL Mullen 1G 2 A 3 PTS
3- NCD Stastny 1G 2 A 3 PTSRyan Walter (NCD) had 3 assists. Smith made 32 saves as DAL outshot NCD 39-35. Marcel Dionne won 15 of 23 faceoffs. Each team had FOUR Power Play goals in six attempts.
  DALLAS takes a 2-0 series lead winning both at home. The two teams combined for 26 goals in the two games as the defense was mostly absent. It’s now on to New Castle where the Ducks will try to get back into the series.

With the Ducks trailing 2-0, New Castle is happy to be home in the friendly confines of The Duck Pond. With NY Covid restrictions in place, there is a limited capacity, but loud, crowd on hand to cheer the Ducks on. In an attempt to slow down the high-scoring Drakes, New Castle is dressing Tiger Williams and Jim Schoenfeld while sitting Steve Kasper and Harold Snepts.

GAME #3 With the Ducks fans making a lot of noise, John Paul Kelly quiets the crowd at 2:51 with his THIRD goal of the playoffs. 1-0 Dallas. Then at 9:34 – a shocking turn of events as TIGER WILLIAMS – out there for his checking and defense – puts the puck past Don Beaupre to tie the game! Two minutes later, Kelly does it again – his second of the game and FOURTH of the playoffs and DAL is back on top 2-1. Bobby Clarke scores for NCD as the teams head to the locker room tied at 2-2.
In the second period, the Ducks #1 line goes to work as first Middleton, and then Pederson light the lamp, and its now 4-2 Ducks. And that’s how the second period ends as some defense suddenly appears in the series!
Third period – and it is time for Marian Stastny to go to work. The Czech RW scores at 1:55 and again at 12:48. Meanwhile, DEFENSE makes a rare sighting as New Castle shuts down the powerful Drakes offense – and New Castle comes away with a decisive 6-2 win to get back into the Series, now trailing 2-1THREE STARS:
1- NCD-Stastny 2G
2- NCD- Bobby Clarke 1G 2 A 3 PTS
3- DAL Kelly 2 GDon Beaupre made 41 saves as NCD outshot DAL 47-25, including 17-4 in the third period. Bobby Clarke won 15 of 20 faceoffs.
GAME #4 A critical Game 4 as New Castle tries to even the series. Defense takes a holiday once again.
In the first period, the teams combine for FIVE goals as DAL takes a 3-2 lead on goals by Tonelli, Sundstrom, and Linseman. Ramsay and Middleton score for NCD. DAL took a 2-0 lead before NCD tied it and DAL then scored again to end the period ahead 3-2.
Second period – and the goals keep on flowing! Linseman gets his second of the game to make it 4-2 DAL. Then Middleton gets his second of the game (and SIXTH of the Series) to make it 4-3. Dionne gets his third of the playoffs to make it 5-3 but then Marc Tardif makes it 5-4 and Ryan Walter TIES IT UP with his first goal of the series. The Ducks then make it three straight goals when Stastny scores his fourth of the playoffs and suddenly New Castle has come back to take the lead 6-5. The lead lasted all of 17 seconds as the league’s leading goal scorer, Al Secord beats Smith to tie it at 6-6 going to the final period.
The third period starts with some defense (!) as the teams go more than 9 minutes without a goal. Then, Tardif gets his second of the game to put the Ducks ahead 7-6 with under 11 minutes to go in regulation. New Castle now has to hold on to even the Series. But Ilka Sinisalo scores at 14:34 and it is tied once again at 7-7! TWENTY-SIX SECONDS later, Robby Gould beats Smith with Dallas’s EIGHTH goal, and the Drakes lead 8-7 with 5 minutes left! Then a big break for the Ducks as Fred Baxter is called for tripping. NCD is 1-3 on the PP and they are about to make it 2-4 as Barry Pederson gets his FIFTH of the playoffs to TIE IT at 16:57. The rest of the period is scoreless and regulation ends with the teams tied 8-8!
The Ducks fans are roaring as OT begins – and the HERO IS……WILLY LINDSTROM…the LW deflects a Brad McCrimmon slap shot past Beaupre and NEW CASTLE has a 9-8 OT WIN TO EVEN THE SERIES!THREE STARS:
1- NCD Middleton 2 G 2 A 4 PTs
2- NCD Tardif 2 G
3- NCD Pederson 1G 2 A 3 PTsCraig Hartsburg (DAL D) had FOUR assists. Hanlon allowed the first 6 Ducks goals and was replaced by Beaupre with 1:30 to go in the second period. NCD outshot DAL 44-37 including 2-0 in OT. Billy Smith gave up all 8 DAL goals as his save percentage was only .784. Each team scored 2 PPG in 4 attempts.
  The Ducks win both home games, including an OT thriller, to even the Series at 2 games apiece. The Head to Head action has been great and there appears to be a real advantage for the home team in terms of line matchups. Game 5 will be played in Dallas tomorrow.
Through four games, the teams have combined for 51 goals – an average of more than 12 per game!
1982-83 hockey it is – the highest-scoring season in real life NHL history!
GAME #5 Dallas and New Castle are ready for a critical GAME FIVE with the series even at 2-2. The games so far have been high-scoring affairs between two closely matched teams. Two of the games have gone to OT. What will Game 5 bring as Coaches Needle and Raylesberg go at it once again in Head to Head action.

The Drakes get off to a good start as their star Center Marcel Dionne gets his 4th goal of the Series at 8:54 of the first, on a power play. The first period actually appears to include some DEFENSE as the teams check tightly and goals are at a premium. It’s still 1-0 Drakes with less than 5 minutes to go in the period when Ducks defenseman Kari Eloranta breaks up a play at the blue line and gets a BREAKAWAY. Ahead of the field, Eloranta blasts a slap shot past Glen Hanlon and the game is tied! Two minutes later, Willy Lindstrom shoots from outside the circle and Captain Bobby Clarke deflects it past Hanlon and the Ducks lead 2-1.
In the second period, Barry Pederson gets his 6th of the Series and Lindstrom gets his second as the Ducks take a 4-1 lead with 11 minutes to go in the period. DEFENSE has made an appearance at least for the Ducks as Battlin’ Billy Smith looks very sharp in the Ducks net, stopping 18 of 19 shots through the first two periods.
4-1 New Castle going to the third period. Scott Needle has his team fired up as the Drakes pour it on in the third, with rush after rush. But Smith is up to the task and with a little under 2 minutes to go, the score remains 4-1 as the Ducks appear poised to get a decisive win on the great goaltending of Smith. THEN IT HAPPENED – at 18:18 Ron Duguay puts the puck past Smith to make it 4-2 and give the Drakes a glimmer of hope. Dallas pulls Hanlon from the net. New Castle puts their best defensive forwards on the ice and away we go. The clock is winding down…1 minute to go in regulation…and BOOM! AL SECORD, from Dionne and Maruk, SCORES and it is now 4-3 Ducks with 49 seconds remaining. There is no way that Dallas can come all the way back, or is there? Hanlon remains on the bench as Dallas takes the faceoff. Hartsburg gets it over to Sinisalo who goes into the Ducks zone – passes it over to Joey Mullen who shoots AND SCOOOOORRRREEEESSSS! UNBELIEVABLE – THE DRAKES HAVE TIED THE GAME 4-4 WITH THREE GOALS IN ONE MINUTE SEVENTEEN SECONDS. All three goals coming in the last 2 minutes of regulation. 25 seconds left after the tying goal and the shell shocked Ducks hold off yet another rush by the Drakes and regulation ends tied 4-4.
In the frantic third period, Dallas outshot New Castle 21-5! Smith stood tall until the last two minutes when inexplicably things fell apart for the Ducks. With MOE-MENTUM now on Dallas’s side, the game goes to OT!
THE HERO IN OT IS…… RICK MIDDLETON of the Ducks. The high-scoring RW gets his league-leading SEVENTH goal of the playoffs as he beats Hanlon at 6:08, assisted by Andre Savard and Ryan Walter. What a game – and the Ducks feel very lucky to get the win after blowing a three-goal lead in the last two minutes.

THREE STARS:
1- NCD – Lindstrom 1 G 1 A 2 Pts
2- NCD – Clarke 1G 1 A 2 Pts 5 Hits, 3 Takeaways
3- NCD – Eloranta 1G (Breakaway)

Smith made 38 saves and Hanlon 31 as Dallas outshot New Castle 42-36. Each team had 1 PP goal (NCD 1-5, DAL 1-3). Ducks high-scoring Center Barry Pederson was injured in the second period and did not return. Same for Drake’s forward John Paul Kelly.

The road team (NCD) wins for the first time in the series. It is the third OT game, two of them going to the Ducks, this one by a 5-4 score. The Ducks now have a 3-2 series lead, with Game 6 back in New Castle at the Duck Pond.

  The Ducks look to win the Quarter-Final series on home ice and avoid having to return to Dallas for a winner take all Game 7. Head to Head action between New Castle Coach Raylesberg and Dallas Coach Needle
GAME #6 A sellout crowd at The Duck Pond is in a frenzy as they try to root their Ducks onto the Conference Finals. But things do not start out well as Joey Mullen beats Billy Smith at the 5:05 mark of the first period, assisted by Secord and Dionne as Drake’s powerful #1 line strikes again. In a quarter-final series that has not seen much defense, this one was different as the two teams played a tight first period which ends with Dallas ahead 1-0.
Things did not get better for the Ducks in the second period. The tight-checking continued as the period was scoreless past the halfway point. Then ex-Duck Terry O’Reilly, making his first appearance of the Series, beats Smith at 11:33 and it’s 2-0 Drakes. Less than two minutes later Robert Woods puts it behind Smith and suddenly, shockingly, Dallas is ahead 3-0. Don Beaupre is stopping everything that the Ducks throw at him and the second period ends with Dallas leading 3-0.
The tight-checking continues in the third and Dallas continues to lead 3-0 with 9 minutes to go in the game. The Ducks crowd is quiet and a return trip to Dallas looks more than likely. Then at 11:50 the Ducks superstar center Barry Pederson brings the crowd to life as he scores his SEVENTH of the Series to make it 3-1. Having cracked Beaupre finally, the Ducks start to pour it on, with rush after rush and at 13:10 Marian Stastny sends the crowd into a frenzy as he scores his 5th of the playoffs to suddenly make it 3-2. Old Mo-Mentum has shifted dramatically and a minute later, its the #1 line doing it again – as Ryan Walter gets #2 of the playoffs, assisted by Barry Pederson and Rick Middleton, and incredibly, shockingly, the Ducks have tied it at 3-3 with THREE GOALS IN LESS THAN THREE MINUTES. We have ourselves a hockey game with 5:32 left in regulation. Will the Ducks play conservative and go to overtime? No – they keep the rushes coming and less than one minute after the tying goal, it’s Marian Stastny AGAIN – his second of the game and SIXTH of the series and the Ducks TAKE THE LEAD 4-3! FOUR GOALS IN UNDER FOUR MINUTES! The Duck Pond is shaking now and roaring with only 4:45 to play. Dallas is disheartened and the teams go to the final minute with the Ducks holding on to their 4-3 lead. It’s faceoff after faceoff in the Duck’s end, with Beaupre pulled from the net, and Dallas’s big scorers out there. Bobby Clarke wins a faceoff in the Ducks’ end, gets it to McCrimmon who head mans it to Walter who shoots towards the EMPTY NET and SCOOOOOREEEEEES! Five to Three Ducks and that’s the way it ends. New Castle, with an unforgettable comeback win, takes the Series.THREE STARS:
1- NCD Marian Stastny 2G 1 A 3 PTS
2- NCD Ryan Walter 2 G
3- NCD Barry Pederson 1 G 1 A 2 PTSBilly Smith made 31 saves for the Ducks
SERIES SUMMARY The Ducks win the series 4 games to 2 and will advance to the Conference Finals against the Mackinac Island Moose. Its a rematch of last year’s Quarter Finals, won by the Ducks 4 games to 2.
Congratulations to Scott Needle and his Dallas Drakes on a terrific season and thanks to Scott for playing all six games head to head. Great fun!The Ducks # line excelled in the Series, just as they did in the regular season. Walter-Pederson-Middleton combined for 17 goals in 6 games, with Pederson and Middleton each scoring 7 to lead all skaters in the playoffs. The Ducks also got great production from their #2 line (Lindstrom-Clarke-Stastny) as the trio scored 10 goals in 6 games, with Stastny getting 6 of them.
Dallas was led by their powerful #1 line of Secord-Dionne-Mullen, with the trio scoring 12 goals in 6 games, led by Secord’s five.
Not much defense as the two teams combined for an average of more than 11 goals per game.