Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad...

I'm a little late on this one (what else is new) but the Washington Capitals made it 2 out of 3 in organ-EYE-zation championships this past Friday as the team's AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, won their record 10th Calder Cup title with a 4-1 Game 6 victory over the Manitoba Moose. Goalie Michal Neuvirth was named the playoff MVP. Between Neuvirth and Caps playoff hero Simeon Varlamov, the Caps future in goal looks bright indeed.

So while the Pittsburgh Penguins may have gotten the guns, the Caps have the numbers with both the AHL and ECHL (South Carolina Stingrays) affiliates win their leagues. Here now is a cool YouTube clip, taken by a Moose fan, of the celebration and the Calder Cup presentation.


Best parts of these two vids? The classy applause from the Moose fans in Winnipeg and the videographer's "eh's?" Spoken like a true Canadian. Way to go Stingrays and way to go Bears! Your move Caps.

One Championship For The Capitals Organ-EYE-zation

While the Caps season has been over for a little while now, both of the team's minor league affiliates, the AHL's Hershey Bears and the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, made their respective finals. In other words, the Caps may be the only team in the chain to NOT win a championship.

Well, chalk it up at 1-for-1, as the Stingrays won the ECHL's Kelly Cup, defeating the Alaska Aces. The Stingrays had taken a 3-1 lead over the Aces, before losing Game 5 in Charleston, SC and Game 6 in Anchorage to force a Game 7. But the Stingrays managed to avoid the fate that has befell the Caps over the years and fought back to beat the Aces 4-2 on Alaska's home ice. Trent Campbell got the winning goal for the Stingrays and Rays goalie James Reimer was named playoff MVP.

(By the way, how sweet are those Alaska Aces uniforms? Nice)
Here's a link to the game story.

As for the Bears, they are tied 1-1 in their series for the AHL's Calder Cup with the wonderfully named Manitoba Moose. The Bears took Game 1 in Winnipeg in overtime, while the Moose took Game 2 3-1. Games 3&4 will be played on back-to-back nights in Hershey, Pa, tonight and tomorrow.