NO ROAD SCHOLARS HERE: DUCKS NEED WIN.Byline: Brice Nixon Staff Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Their confidence is back and the series is even. Now all 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. have to do to move within one step of a chance to hold the Stanley Cup Stanley Cup: see hockey, ice. Stanley Cup Trophy awarded annually to the winning team of the National Hockey League championship. Named for its donor, the Canadian governor-general Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston is win in New Jersey. Therein lies the problem. The Ducks knew they would have to win at least one game here to win the Cup, but that's easier said than done; they failed in Game 1 and Game 2 at Continental Airlines Arena before winning the next two games at home. If they can't accomplish the task in Game 5 today, they'll lose any momentum from two consecutive overtime victories and be a game from elimination. ``We knew from day one that we were going to have to win a game on the road to get what we needed,'' Ducks coach Mike Babcock Mike Babcock (born April 29, 1963 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada [1]) is a Canadian hockey head coach and former player. From 2002 to 2005 he was the head coach of the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, leading the Ducks to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals said. ``We've been the best team on the road in the playoffs.'' Until the first two games of the Finals, that is. The Ducks were 6-1 away from the Pond in the postseason before the Devils made quick work of them in two 3-0 victories. The Ducks knew they had more in them, but it didn't show until they returned to Anaheim. Now, they're running out of chances to get their first victory here since 1996. ``Those first two games are behind us,'' 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. ``That wasn't our game we were playing.'' Still, the Devils' home-ice advantage was obvious in the first two games, as it has been throughout the playoffs; they are 10-1 at home. And New Jersey fans are sure to be in a tizzy tiz·zy n. pl. tiz·zies Slang A state of nervous excitement or confusion; a dither. [Origin unknown. after there was an apparently exaggerated report Disney CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) was CEO of The Walt Disney Company from September 22, 1984 to September 30, 2005. Early life Michael Eisner was born to a wealthy family in Mt. Kisco, New York, and raised on Park Avenue in Manhattan. already was planning the victory parade Victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades. . Eisner was quoted as saying the Ducks would win in six games (Game 6 is at the Pond on Saturday), and the Ducks' fans had been much more boisterous than New Jersey's, who were ``dead.'' Babcock downplayed the effect fans have on the actual game. ``I never saw any fans score any goals or finish any checks,'' he said. No, but they have been known to toss octopi oc·to·pi n. A plural of octopus. , or batteries. Neither team was concerning itself much with that. Both know the opportunity to grab an edge in the series will be out there today, and both teams liked their chances. ``Two out of three with home-ice advantage, we have to feel good about it,'' Devils coach Pat Burns
Said Babcock: ``We feel good about ourselves. We'll be better than we have been yet in this series.'' The Ducks probably will have to be. The series has gotten progressively tighter, with Anaheim having to bridge the gap. The Ducks' 1-0 victory in overtime in Game 4 was the closest of the series. ``The first time we came here, we just weren't ready to play,'' Ducks captain Paul Kariya said. ``We didn't have the legs underneath us, and obviously we had some time off. ``Now we're into the series. Our legs are going. We're moving the puck better and we're starting to play like we did throughout the playoffs when we were great on the road.'' And now the Ducks will try to move a step closer to becoming the fourth team to win the Cup after losing the first two games of the series. Only Toronto in 1942 and Montreal in 1966 and 1971 have done it before. The '71 Canadiens are the only team to have lost the first two on the road and come back to win. Brice Nixon, (626) 962-8811 brice.nixon(at)sgvn.com GAME 5 Today at at New Jersey 5 p.m., Ch. 7 TV/Radio: ESPN/830-AM, 1540-AM CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Said Ducks coach Mike Babcock: ``We knew ... we were going to have to win a game on the road to get what we needed.'' Bill Kostroun/Associated Press |
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