Loveland – The Cup is back in Colorado.
It may not have the fame of the one named Stanley, but to the Colorado Eagles, the Ray Miron President’s Cup is as good as it gets, and it returned to Loveland on Wednesday night after a one-year absence.
The Eagles, Colorado’s Central Hockey League team that has played to sold-out crowds since starting as just a dream of part-owner Ralph Backstrom, won their second championship in three years with a 4-3 victory in Game 6 of the CHL Finals over the defending champion Laredo Bucks at the raucous Budweiser Events Center.
When it was over, confetti fell, fans reached for the roof and players skated with the Cup to the requisite serenade of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
“This is a great dream to be able to share this with these fans here,” Eagles veteran Greg Pankewicz said. “These opportunities don’t come along very often. This one’s a little bit sweeter than the last one, I think, because we did it in front of this community that has supported us so unbelievably well.”
Pankewicz, one of two Eagles with NHL experience, was the hero and earned CHL playoff MVP honors. He broke a 3-3 tie with 5:47 left in the third period, a quick one-timer in the slot past Bucks goalie Eric Marvin.
After that, Eagles fans and players craned their necks at the clock, hoping it would go a little faster. Eagles goalie Tim Boron wasn’t tested too severely, however, as the defense stuffed the blue line and cleared loose pucks.
“These guys will savor this one for a long time,” Eagles coach Chris Stewart said. “This team played an awful lot of hockey this year. They played 91 games, but they just persevered. Pankewicz has scored a lot of clutch goals for this hockey club, but none more than that one.”
The Eagles were trailing 3-2 in the second period before center Ed McGrane tied it with a pretty score. The Eagles carried play much of the third period, even when Laredo went on the power play.
Shortly after the penalty kill, Pankewicz snuck down the middle before flicking Ryan Tobler’s pass to the far post.
“It was a great pass by Ryan, because he passed the puck to a great shooting position for me,” said Pankewicz, who also scored Colorado’s first goal. “I just had to give it a quick one-timer, and that’s the only shot I could have made in that position.”
Nelson and former housemate Tobler celebrated the win by snapping pictures on the ice with loved ones. Pankewicz hugged his two children and Backstrom – who won six Stanley Cups as a player – savored another title.
“I won my first Stanley Cup when I was 21. To win the President’s Cup in the CHL at age 69 is comparable to me,” Backstrom said. “After 53 years in hockey, winning a Cup never gets old.”
Tobler, the other former NHLer, took a look around at the many fans still in the stands long after the game and marveled.
“This has just been a storybook thing since I got here. These fans are really a big reason why we’ve been so successful,” he said.
“Through thick and thin, they’ve always been there. And tonight, we’re really going to celebrate this with them, let me tell you.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
CHL PLAYOFFS
RAY MIRON PRESIDENT’S CUP FINALS
COLORADO VS. LAREDO
Eagles win series 4-2
May 11: Colorado 5, Laredo 2
May 13: Colorado 6, Laredo 2
May 17: Laredo 6, Colorado 3
Saturday: Laredo 4, Colorado 2
Sunday: Colorado 4, Laredo 0
Wednesday: Colorado 4, Laredo 3
