Wade in with the winning Ducks

* EDITOR’S NOTE: As a special feature, Guy Hebert, a Newport Beach

resident and former goalie for the Mighty Ducks, is writing regular

diaries about the team and its experiences throughout the playoffs.

I have played hockey for a long time and have been a fan of the

game my entire life. With this said, if you have not been a hockey

fan before, you must certainly be one now. Orange County has been

treated to some great hockey so far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and

it appears that the Mighty Ducks have only bigger and better things

to offer.

Game 1 between Anaheim and the Dallas Stars on Thursday night was

a closely played contest, which offered great defense, solid

goaltending and plenty of physical play. This game went from merely a

good game to one for the ages when it entered the fifth overtime and

Petr Sykora scored the winning goal at the 58-second mark. When the

final whistle blew, this game had entered the history books as the

longest in franchise history for the Mighty Ducks and the fourth

longest in the National Hockey League.

Hold on, though. If the Ducks continue at this pace, they may have

more overtime thrillers in store for their fans. When you reach

overtime in the world of postseason hockey, where each overtime is

contested as a sudden death 20-minute period with no TV timeouts and

no real stops in play, the entire game changes. The mental and

physical fatigue can lead to exhaustion and the game is usually won

on a mental mistake.

Peter Sykora capitalized on just such a mistake by Dallas -- one

that the team usually does not make. Both defensemen for Dallas left

the front of the net, and although their center man, Jere Lehtinen,

was responsible for Sykora, he was a little late. Sykora let go of a

quick shot that beat Stars goalie Marty Turco to his right side,

capping off a thriller and taking a one game lead in the series.

Again, just as in the first round against Detroit, Anaheim has won

Game 1 on the road, gaining home advantage.

The Ducks are quietly becoming a favorite to make it out of the

Western Conference. If any team in the league doesn’t consider

Anaheim to be a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup, then they

will more than likely be the next victim. The Ducks have rolled off

five straight victories, including three on the road, and those wins

have all come against the top two seeds in the West. Need any more

convincing that you should jump on the bandwagon and find yourself

wearing teal and burgundy?

How about those guys next door? The Angels made an improbable run

to the World Series and now hold the distinction of being the world

champions. The similarities I see between these two teams are their

chemistry and teamwork.

Each player on the roster has a particular role, and when you have

those roles being filled with talented personnel, you have success.

The Ducks are able to mesh their skills and personalities with the

common goal of the team first, and the byproduct of this is winning.

They are an undaunted team right now with only one goal in sight.

That goal is to win the next game at hand, and when that game is

over, Head Coach Mike Babcock has them refocus on the next.

One thing that comes to mind is that the Ducks coaching staff has

done a fantastic job of formulating a game plan and having the

players buy into it and stay with it no matter what seems to be

happening on the ice. There is always some tweaking to the system

varying on the team you are playing, but the Ducks seem to be only

concerned on what they are doing and this makes Dallas adjust to

them.

With Game 1 under their belt, both teams will need to recharge

their batteries and get ready for Game 2. The Ducks have done their

job in assuring a split and look to take a 2-0 lead coming back to

the Pond. The pressure certainly lies on the favored Dallas Stars to

not fall into the same situation as the Red Wings did -- being down

two games going on the road.