Public Relations Director of the Year: Bob Kaser
Record: 35-40-6, 76 points
Home: 19-19-3, 41 points
Road: 16-21-3, 35 points
Lost in Finals against Denver Grizzlies
1994-95 Turner Cup
| 1995 Eastern Conference Playoff Champions Public Relations Director of the Year: Bob Kaser Record: 35-40-6, 76 points | |
Team members
Andrei Buschan, Viacheslav Butsayev, Ilya Byakin, Jan Caloun, Alexander Cherbayev, Shean Donovan, Larry Dyck, Gary Emmons, Kevin Evans, Pat Ferschweiler, Dean Grillo, Ken Hammond, Ken Hodge, Jim Hrivnak, Duane Joyce, Viktor Kozlov, Vlastimil Kroupa, Fredrick Nilsson, Ron Pascucci, Jean-Francois Quintin, Claudio Scremin, Dody Wood, Kevin Wortman, Russ and Diane Parker (owners), Doug Soetaert (GM and vice president), Jim Wiley (head coach), Mark Kaufman (assistant coach), Les Lundberg (trainer), Mike Aldrich (equipment manager)
The Blades limped into the playoffs, barely qualifying. They had finished the season five games below .500. This season the league allowed 16 teams into the playoffs. By virtue of having more points the the Indianapolis Ice, the Blades slipped into the Eastern Conference for their playoff run.
During the playoffs, the Blades would do the unthinkable, racking up three of the top ten playoff upsets in the league's fifty year history. The first test was the Detroit Vipers.
The Blades and the Vipers were separated by 26 points in the regular season standings. Game 1 was a 3-1 loss at the Palace of Auburn Hills. But, soon things would take a turn for the better. The Blades got back two of their big defensive guns back, goaltender Larry Dyck and defenseman Claudio Scremin. The Blades won game 2 with an overtime goal by Gary Emmons. Back in KC, the team lost a close one 2-1. They came back big time in game 4, outshooting the Vipers 41-19, and winning 5-1. Then, game 5 was the Dody Wood show. Wood had a hat trick in the game, scoring the game winner with 6:33 left in the game. This series tied for the 6th biggest playoff upset. The team moved on to face their next test.
The next test was the Peoria Rivermen. The Blades and Rivermen were separated by 37 points in the regular season. The Blades won the series in five games, with three overtime games, and an incredible come back from a 5-0 deficit. This became the biggest upset in the fifty year history of the International Hockey League.
Next up was the Kalamazoo Wings. The Blades and Wings were separated by 24 points in the regular season standings. The Blades won the first three games on their way to sweeping the Wings, but the Wings would not go away so easily, winning the next three. This set up the dramatic game 7 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Blades proved to be too much for the Wings, winning 7-3, tying for the 9th biggest playoff upset in league history.
The Kansas City Blades were moving on to the Turner Cup Finals, giving the team their second shot in 5 years at the title. The Blades were to face their Western Conference rivals, the Denver Grizzlies. The Grizzlies had dominated the Blades during the season series, and would do so in the Turner Cup Finals. The Grizzlies, with former Blades Jeff Madill and Kip Miller, swept KC in four games.
But Blades fans still had much to cheer about, their team had made history, provided excitement, and gave them 51 extra days of hockey.
| Last updated June 23, 2002 |  |