DUCKS GONE WILD KARIYA'S TWO GOALS PUT ANAHEIM ON BRINK OF ITS FIRST CUP FINAL DUCKS 4, MINNESOTA 0.Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Paul Kariya Paul Tetsuhiko Kariya (born October 16, 1974 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), is a professional ice hockey player who plays for the St. Louis Blues. Personal life , for years the sole attraction and lone household name on the Mighty Ducks
Mighty Ducks is a half-hour Disney animated series aired on ABC and The Disney Afternoon in the fall of 1996. Twenty-six episodes total were produced. , has been overshadowed by goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere's heroics in the Ducks' historic playoff run. He's been just one member of a group of players playing team hockey at its best. Until Wednesday. Kariya came up with his best game of the playoffs when the Ducks needed him most. With the possibility of putting the Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Their symbol is a bear made to look like the wilderness. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). in a 3-0 hole in the Western Conference finals, a deficit even the ever-resilient Wild isn't likely to bounce back from, Kariya scored twice in the Ducks' 4-0 win before a sellout crowd of 17,174 at The Pond. Determined not to give the Wild any thoughts of another playoff comeback, the Ducks powered to their most convincing win of the playoffs. Kariya scored twice in the second period, when the Ducks turned a 1-0 lead into a 4-0 rout. Only two teams have come back from a 3-0 series deficit: the Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). in 1942 and the New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, a hamlet located on Long Island in Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. in 1975. ``We put ourselves in a great spot and we need to take advantage of this opportunity,'' Ducks center Steve Rucchin Steve Rucchin (born July 4, 1971 Thunder Bay, Ontario) is a centre who currently plays for the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League. Rucchin played high school hockey for Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London, Ontario. said. ``Of course we're proud of what we've accomplished, but, you know, by no means have we really accomplished anything.'' Nothing except put the Wild on the brink of elimination and the Ducks on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of their first Stanley Cup finals. But the Ducks are focusing on the fact Minnesota has rallied from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the playoffs to get here. ``We realize we're playing a good hockey club,'' Kariya said. ``We're going to have to ... play our best game to beat them (Friday).'' The key to extinguishing the Wild's hopes of getting back in the series was in the first period. After Rucchin's goal, Giguere stopped leading playoff scorer Marian Gaborik on a breakaway. The Ducks then shut down the Wild's playoff-leading power play twice in the first and again at the start of the second. In the series, Minnesota is 0 for 12 on the power play. ``Maybe it's a result of the breakaway, not scoring, and other chances that we had that we didn't score that gave them the lift,'' Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire said. ``(At the start) we were in their end quite a bit, controlling, making good plays and getting good chances.'' Giguere got his third consecutive shutout against the Wild, but it nearly went unnoticed after the Ducks' big second period. Giguere finished with 35 saves to become the sixth goalie in NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there history to record three consecutive shutouts in the playoffs and the first to do so in the conference finals. He hasn't allowed a goal against the Wild on 98 shots. Giguere ran his shutout streak to 213 minutes, 17 seconds. The record is 248:32 by Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. goalie Normie Smith, set in 1936. ``I'm sure they're thinking that Jiggy's not going to be beaten,'' Ducks right wing Steve Thomas said. ``That just adds to the frustration of their hockey club.'' Rucchin put the Ducks up 1-0 just under five minutes into the game. Mike Leclerc bullied his way to the right faceoff circle for a shot. The rebound turned into a sinker Sinker A bond whose payments are provided by the issuer's sinking fund. Notes: A portion of these bonds are retired by the issuer each year. See also: Sinking Fund, Super Sinker Sinker that Rucchin batted out of the air past Minnesota goalie Dwayne Roloson. Kariya gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead 8:20 into the second period. Behind the goal, Petr Sykora knocked the puck to Adam Oates, who passed out front to Kariya for a one-timer. Stanislav Chistov scored to make it 3-0 and Minnesota replaced Roloson with Manny Fernandez. Kariya greeted him with his second goal of the period. Sykora's shot deflected off Fernandez's glove and Kariya made an acrobatic move to backhand the rebound out of the air. ``I just did my baseball impression,'' Kariya said. ``I was waiting for it to come down (below the level of the crossbar, to avoid using an illegal high stick to knock the puck in.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Jean-Sebastien Giguere's third consecutive shutout gave the Ducks a 3-0 series lead over Minnesota. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press (2) Minnesota sat dejectedly de·ject·ed adj. Being in low spirits; depressed. See Synonyms at depressed. de·ject  ed·ly adv. on the bench late in the third period of their 4-0 loss to Anaheim. Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press Box: (1) STORY LINES (2) GAME RECAP |
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