Skip to main content

Detroit Red Wings (NHL, 1992-93)

1992-93 Regular Season: Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues
     The Detroit Red Wings were and up-and-coming power in the NHL by 1992-93. After spending the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s in the basement, the franchise had been moving steadily upward since 1987. Led by Head Coach/GM Bryan Murray, the Wings had made the playoffs the previous two seasons, and had won the Norris Division regular season crown in 1991-92.
     The Wings set a franchise record for wins in 1992-93, going 47-28-9. Their 103 points were just three less than division champion Chicago, and fifth overall in the NHL. After that strong season, the team was an early favorite in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
     The Red Wings of the early 1990s were an offensive juggernaut, and this season was no different. The Wings topped the NHL, scoring 369 goals. They were led by longtime captain Steve Yzerman. "Stevie Y" had another excellent season, scoring 58 goals and 137 points, fourth best in the league. Veteran super-pest Dino Ciccarelli was right behind Yzerman, pitching in 41 goals and 97 points. Joining the 30-goal club that year were Ray Sheppard (32), Sergei Federov (34) and Paul Ysebaert (34). Legendary enforcer Bob Probert chipped in 14 goals to go along with his 292 penalty minutes.
     The Wings had a strong season on defense, as they allowed the eighth-fewest goals in the NHL, with just 280. A mid-season trade for veteran defenseman Paul Coffey helped strengthen the blueline, as Coffey tallied 30 points in 30 games. Detroit used just two goaltenders this season, Tim Cheveldae and Vincent Riendeau. Cheveldae, in his fifth pro season, was a workhorse. After taking over the starting position in 1989-90, "Chevy" played over 60 games for three straight seasons. In 67 games this year, he went 34-24-7, with a 3.25 GAA and 4 shutouts. His backup, Vincent Riendeau, was 13-4-2 in 22 appearances, sporting a 3.22 GAA.
     The Red Wings opened the postseason with their archrivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs were returning to the playoffs after a three-year absence, featuring a veteran lineup and an outstanding rookie goaltender in Felix Potvin. The series would go down as an all-time classic, requiring the full seven games. Detroit seemed to have full control of the series after two convincing wins at Joe Louis Arena, only to see the Leafs storm back to take a 3-2 series lead. The Wings evened the series with a 7-3 win at Maple Leaf Gardens, but fell in overtime in Game 7. The fans left frustrated, as the Wings made another early postseason exit. They vented their frustration at Cheveldae, who struggled in the series and would eventually be traded to Winnipeg at the deadline next season.
     This is an 80-page program, as much a magazine as it is a game-night program. It's from the January 21, 1993 game between the Wings and St. Louis Blues, which Detroit won, 5-3. Assistant Coach Dave Lewis offers "Three Keys to Beating St. Louis", which includes keeping an eye on the Blues' top scorers (Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Craig Janney) and forgetting about losing to the Blues the last time they played. A recap of the NHL All-Star Game's Skills Competition by Cynthia Lambert is included, as is a biography of video coordinator Joe Ducharme. Vincent Riendeau is featured on the cover, and an article about the Riendeau family adopting a child from Mexico.
     Local advertisements include Little Caesar's, Ultimate Hair Systems of West Bloomfield, The Original Mexican Village Restaurant and Saffron Billiard.

References:
National Hockey League Statistics, 1992-93, from hockeydb.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Port Huron Hockey: Flags/Wings (1962-81)

Now, on to Port Huron.      Port Huron has had a long, yet checkered, history of pro hockey. The most successful franchise, by far, was the Port Huron Flags (also called Wings for a few years) of the IHL. The Flags were, for the most part, a competitve team on the ice, making the Turner Cup Finals seven times and winning the Cup on three occasions. For three years, (1971-74), the franchise was a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and sent numerous players on to the NHL in it's existence. However, the team had problems drawing big enough crowds. While the Flags lasted for nearly 20 years, former GM Morris Snider later admitted that the franchise could have folded three years before it actually did, due to declining attendance. I've found some Flags/Wings programs online over the years, and here's what I have. 1963-64 Regular Season--Flags vs. Windsor       1963-64 was the second year of existence for the Flags. After missing the playoffs in their inaugural cam
Post a Comment
Read more

Flint Generals yearbook (IHL, 1973-74)

     I recently bought two yearbooks from the Flint Generals of the IHL. This one is from the 1973-74 season. It's a 40-page book, all in black-and-white, and on glossy paper. Each player for that season has a full page photo and a short bio. The statistics and a team photo for each Generals season are included. Stats for every player that wore the "blue and gold" are listed in the back of the yearbook. Flint Journal sportswriter Len Hoyes added an article previewing the remainder of the 1973-74 campaign.       One thing that Hoyes noted in his article was about attendance: "With all of their problems, the Generals were still attracting fans at a rate of 3,950 per game. Attendance was down slightly, but Flint's percentage rate of almost 100 percent remained the envy of minor league hockey." (Hoyes, 1974)      The original Generals were a popular team for most of their existence, and attendance only bottomed out when the region's economy tanked
Post a Comment
Read more

Fort Wayne Komets (1967-68, IHL)

1967-68 Regular Season--Komets vs. Des Moines Oak Leafs      1967-68 was the sixteenth season of Fort Wayne Komets hockey, all in the IHL. The team was coached by Ken Ullyot, who had been with the franchise since 1958. The Komets played      Having lost to Toledo in the 1967 Turner Cup Finals, the Komets slipped to fourth place in '67-68. While Muskegon ran away with first place, the battle for the second-fifth slots was hotly contested. Fort Wayne finished 30-29-13, their 73 points one ahead of Toledo and just five behind second place Dayton.      The Komets were also in fourth place in offense, scoring 282 times that year. Fort Wayne legend Len Thornson led the team with 38 goals and 97 points. Three others, Bob Baird, Randy Gates and Merv Dubchak, joined Thornson in the 30+ goal club. Three others scored at least 20 goals.      The Komets had the second-best defense in the IHL that season, allowing just 272 goals. Fort Wayne used three different goaltenders that year. Rob
Post a Comment
Read more