Post by jetbloodisback on Mar 24, 2008 13:23:45 GMT -5
Quoted from 'The Winnipeg Jets Book'
They started slowly and until late January were just another fair to middling team in the National Hockey League. In fact, for the better part of four months during the start of the 1984-85 season, the Winnipeg Jets were barely a .500 hockey club.
And then, with the playoffs in sight, Dale Hawerchuk and a remarkable group of goal scorers virtually exploded.
With Hawerchuk scoring at a record-setting clip (53 goals and 77 assists for 130 points) and with Brian Mullen (32), Laurie Boschman (32), Thomas Steen (30), Doug Smail (31) and Paul MacLean(41) all tallying at least 30 goals in the season ( and with Scott Arniel and Perry Turnbull adding 22 apiece), the Jets won 22 games in the final two and half months of what was to become the greatest 10-week run in team history. In fact, down the stretch, the Jets were unbeatable. After losing 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 15,693 at Winnipeg Arena, the Jets went 10-0-3 to finish the season. It was the final month of hockey in the team's history and, suddenly, tickets became a hot commodity.
In a city that had pined for championship hockey since 1979, the Jets were winning back their fans. The team had four sellouts in the final month and never drew fewer than 12,846. They finished second in the Smythe Division, behind the Oilers, fourth overall in the NHL and would meet an inferior Calgary team in the Conference quarter-final.
When the playoffs opened in Winnipeg on April 10, 1985, 14,794 fans, most of them clad in white, created one of the most incredible atmospheres in sports history. The White Out was born and the Jets took out the flames in five games.
The Oilers ended the Jet's dream by eliminating Winnipeg in four games in the Smythe Division final as the Jets tried to compete without Dale Hawerchuck, who suffered broken ribs in the opening round against Calgary.
Still, it was a remarkable season and stands as the greatest in team's history.
" As I look back, '84-85' was clearly our best. Had we been in the Norris Division instead of the Smythe, we might have gone to the Western Final or the Stanley Cup Final. What a year Our guys sure deserved more than a second round loss to Edmonton."
- General manager John Ferguson, February 7, 2007
They started slowly and until late January were just another fair to middling team in the National Hockey League. In fact, for the better part of four months during the start of the 1984-85 season, the Winnipeg Jets were barely a .500 hockey club.
And then, with the playoffs in sight, Dale Hawerchuk and a remarkable group of goal scorers virtually exploded.
With Hawerchuk scoring at a record-setting clip (53 goals and 77 assists for 130 points) and with Brian Mullen (32), Laurie Boschman (32), Thomas Steen (30), Doug Smail (31) and Paul MacLean(41) all tallying at least 30 goals in the season ( and with Scott Arniel and Perry Turnbull adding 22 apiece), the Jets won 22 games in the final two and half months of what was to become the greatest 10-week run in team history. In fact, down the stretch, the Jets were unbeatable. After losing 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens in front of 15,693 at Winnipeg Arena, the Jets went 10-0-3 to finish the season. It was the final month of hockey in the team's history and, suddenly, tickets became a hot commodity.
In a city that had pined for championship hockey since 1979, the Jets were winning back their fans. The team had four sellouts in the final month and never drew fewer than 12,846. They finished second in the Smythe Division, behind the Oilers, fourth overall in the NHL and would meet an inferior Calgary team in the Conference quarter-final.
When the playoffs opened in Winnipeg on April 10, 1985, 14,794 fans, most of them clad in white, created one of the most incredible atmospheres in sports history. The White Out was born and the Jets took out the flames in five games.
The Oilers ended the Jet's dream by eliminating Winnipeg in four games in the Smythe Division final as the Jets tried to compete without Dale Hawerchuck, who suffered broken ribs in the opening round against Calgary.
Still, it was a remarkable season and stands as the greatest in team's history.
" As I look back, '84-85' was clearly our best. Had we been in the Norris Division instead of the Smythe, we might have gone to the Western Final or the Stanley Cup Final. What a year Our guys sure deserved more than a second round loss to Edmonton."
- General manager John Ferguson, February 7, 2007