Nothing short-handed about this Mighty Ducks win

* EDITOR’S NOTE: As a special feature, Guy Hebert, a Newport Beach

resident and former goalie for the Mighty Ducks, will be writing

regular diaries about the team and its experiences throughout the

playoffs.

Well, we should not really be surprised at what we witnessed

Monday night.

Yes, it was just another ho-hum victory for the Mighty Ducks,

their 10th victory in 12 post-season games. I have to admit that I

have had to pinch myself on occasion to make sure that this is really

happening. Then again if it was a dream, the goalie certainly would

have a different name on the back of his jersey.

Hmm, kind of rhymes with Giguere, but.... Anyway, this win was

another direct result of a great team defense and of course we all

know that defense wins championships. This team, if I am not

mistaken, certainly looks like a champion.

I don’t know what goes on in the locker room before or during the

game, but my sense tells me it is something like this. Hey Jiggy, how

about throwing a shutout again and we’ll have, I don’t know, anyone

from Minnesota in here? Oh yea, hey Sauer, how about a short-handed

goal for the game winner just for fun because you’re a native

Minnesotan, and can one of you new guys do something to finally help

out around here? Well, with a shrug of the shoulders, Rob Neidermayer

decides that he could probably chip in and give some breathing room

by scoring another short-handed goal. It seems that easy right now

for the Mighty Ducks to be able to go and win a game in any way they

see fit.

Scary isn’t it? Not too long ago I remember a team that relied on

Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne and Steve Rucchin to provide most, if not

all, of its offense, and the goalie, rhyming with a bear, standing on

his head spitting nickels. The team is finally a team and isn’t it

great to see that Kariya has the support of many teammates to pick up

the scoring when he is well-covered, and that goalie J.S. Giguere

doesn’t have to always be spectacular, although he still has been.

It is with tremendous pride that I have watched this team grow

from the beginning of training camp to where it is today. Of course

there is a part of me that wishes that I was still part of the action

as a player, but to have played with quality people such as Kariya

and Rucchin and see them enjoying the game and the team that they

have sacrificed for, gives me a great sense of satisfaction. If

anyone truly deserves success, it is these two guys. They say that as

an athlete you are not really a superstar until you win a

championship.

Guys like Joe Sakic from the former Quebec Nordique, which became

the Colorado Avalanche, and Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings

have spent their entire careers with those teams and they too had

difficult years. But through perseverance and commitment, they were

finally able to help their respective franchises grow and become

Stanley Cup champions. I like to think that is what we have in Paul

and Steve, and it looks like they are on the way to becoming

superstars.

With the Ducks using their stifling defense they limited the

Wild’s offensive opportunities to a minimum, and the rest was cleaned

up by the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe trophy, Giguere. With

control of rebounds and maintaining his focus and technique, Giguere

has given his teammates a rallying point to believe that they can --

and now expect to -- win this series, and when that job is done, move

onto the finals and look for four more wins. Teams love to get a hot

goalie and ride him to the finals and that is what the Mighty Ducks

have done, but somewhere along the way the rest of the guys decided

also to make big contributions to the cause. It really has been a

great ride so far and hopefully more to follow.

This is something special to behold. In the world of sports this

kind of team and this kind of run does not happen very often. In an

age of corporate ownership and big salaries to the highest bidders,

teams are unable to create this type of chemistry and sustain it over

the long term. I hope that all the hockey fans are enjoying it as

much as I am, and if you know of someone who is not a fan of hockey

or the Ducks, take the time to convince them to tune in. They will be

grateful that you did.