‘We had a special group’

Team members reflect on 30th anniversary of Calder Cup championship

SYDNEY – In what was an average Sunday night in downtown Sydney quickly erupted into pure excitement on May 30, 1993.

For local hockey fans, the attention was on the six-yearold building known as Centre 200 and Game 5 of the American Hockey League Calder Cup final between the Cape Breton Oilers and Rochester Americans.

As the final buzzer sounded, elated fans streamed out of the arena and into the streets – a quiet spring evening would become quite noisy with the sound of honking car horns throughout the city.

Minutes before, Cape Breton had defeated the Americans 7-2 to win the best-of-seven series and capture the organization’s first and only Calder Cup championship title in Sydney.

Inside the arena, the celebration was in full force. In the pandemonium of the Oilers dressing room, players whooped and popped champagne corks in the mob of reporters and supporters.

Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the championship victory, which to date remains the Edmonton Oilers organization’s only Calder Cup title. The franchise is now known as the Bakersfield Condors and is located in California.

Shaun Van Allen had been with the Oilers organization for five years in Cape Breton at the time the team won the title. He would go on to have a 12-year NHL career, but little did he know it would be his only championship ring.

“At the end of the day, that’s what you wanted to do, you wanted to win and for me to win a championship in one of the best places, Sydney, that’s one I’ll always cherish,” said Van Allen.

“To be able to win with a guy like Dan Currie who I had played with throughout my time with the Oilers, it was really special to be able to share that title with him and the rest of the teammates – we had a special group.”

Cape Breton wasn’t one of the teams that were expected to compete for a championship during the 1992-93 season. The club finished with a modest 36-32-12 record and finished in third place in the league’s Atlantic Division.

Van Allen, the current head coach of the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team, admits there were plenty of ups and downs that season, but things changed for the club when the postseason arrived in mid-april.

“Everything seemed to go together,” said Van Allen, who went on to play in the NHL for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, and Montreal Canadiens before his retirement in 2004.

“We had three really solid lines that could play against anybody and that was a huge advantage for us. We had playing depth and on top of that Bill Mcdougall was red hot.”

Like Van Allen, many speak highly of the play of Mcdougall in the playoffs and for good reason. He set the record for most points (52), most goals (26), and assists (26) in the AHL playoffs, while also tying four league records.

In Game 2 of the Calder Cup semifinal, Mcdougall, a New Waterford product, set the record for most points (7) with four goals and three assists. Earlier in the playoffs, he set the record for most goals in one game (5) during the club’s series with the St. John’s Maple Leafs.

Mcdougall would be presented with the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoff most valuable player.

As a franchise, Cape Breton tied a playoff record by scoring 85 goals, tying the Sherbrooke Canadiens, who notched the same amount of goals in the 1987 playoffs.

Dave Andrews was the general manager of the Cape Breton club. While he considered the victory to be a team effort, he said if it wasn’t for Mcdougall the Oilers likely wouldn’t have had the success.

“I think we definitely had a good team and what made it special was all of the players started to play for each other,” said Andrews, who after his time in Cape Breton went on to be the AHL president for 26 years prior to his retirement in June 2021.

“Bill made a huge difference and without him I don’t think we win the Calder Cup.

“Beyond Bill and goaltender Wayne Cowley, there were a lot of players who were offensive players who were blocking shots and there were defensive players who were scoring goals – everyone was pulling on the same rope and that’s what sticks out to me.”

THE CALDER CUP

Cape Breton secured its spot in the Calder Cup final with a two-game sweep of the Springfield Indians in the best-of-three league semifinal.

Meanwhile, Rochester had been patiently waiting for the semifinal series to be over and went directly to the championship series after knocking out the league’s best team in the Binghamton Rangers in seven games.

The Oilers began the final on the road in Rochester and dropped the opening game 5-4 in overtime, but would leave the state of New York with a split, defeating the Americans 6-1 in Game 2.

“At that time, the final was a two-three-two series, so we tried to win one game on the road because we knew we had three games at home,” said Van Allen, noting the team had a perfect 9-0 record in the comforts of Centre 200 in the playoffs.

“Having that home ice advantage was huge for us. The crowd was a big part of that championship win and they may not have even known it at the time, but they gave us that extra boost that we needed after a long pro season.”

Cape Breton would return home and take the next three games – 5-2 in Game 3, 5-3 in Game 4, and 7-2 in Game 5.

Peter White, who was a rookie player on the team playing in his first pro season after four years in the NCAA with Michigan State University, has fond memories of the celebration.

“I remember the locker room was packed and someone was dressed as Elvis Presley,” laughed White, who would spend the remainder of his career after Cape Breton playing between the minor league and the NHL.

“It was packed and there were so many people. I remember we gave poor Dave Andrews fits with the Cup because we had broken it during all the celebration.”

White, who would watch the final period of the game many years later online, doesn’t recall exactly how the Calder Cup broke that night.

“All I remember is Dave wanted the Cup and someone asked him which half he wanted,” laughed White, who today works as a pro scout for the NHL’S Los Angeles Kings.

On the way to the championship, the Oilers would eliminate the Fredericton Canadiens in five games in the Atlantic Division semifinal, before sweeping St. John’s in four games in the division final, and eventually faced Springfield in the semifinal.

The Oilers posted 16 wins and two overtime losses during the 1993 playoffs.

The championship parade would be held in the days following the win and brought hundreds of people to the streets of Sydney to get a glimpse of the Calder Cup and to celebrate with the players.

“Having that home ice advantage was huge for us. The crowd was a big part of that championship win and they may not have even known it at the time, but they gave us that extra boost that we needed after a long pro season.” Shaun Van Allen Forward, 1992-93 AHL champion Cape Breton Oilers

THE FANS

The Oilers, who had a leaguerecord 36 sellouts in 199091, had a rabid fanbase that lived and died with the team, which arguably put added pressure on the players and organization to be a winner.

“The one thing I found was that the fans were knowledgeable and that made a difference,” said White. “They knew when a team was working hard or not working hard or were playing well.”

While the fans were eager to win, they showed the players respect in the community and would go out of their way to make them feel at home, whether that was helping them find an apartment and furniture or providing meals.

“The thing that struck me was that they were always willing to help,” said Van Allen.

“You’d come home and there would be a meal waiting for you on your steps. There were so many different things in Sydney that I don’t think you’d get in a bigger city and that made it very comfortable for me.”

Today, Andrews can still feel the building the night the team won the title.

“It was outstanding,” said Andrews. “I think the players felt a chemistry with the fans and how important it would be to win a Calder Cup in Cape Breton.

“There was some momentum and I think we could all feel it in the community. Our players wanted to win for themselves, of course, but also because you could feel how important it was to have that kind of success for the community.”