Four years ago, John Stevens and Michel Therrien -- the coaches of the Flyers and Penguins -- were coaches of their AHL affiliates, the Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. They met in a playoff series. It was apparently memorable, or at least quotable.
After a couple of losses in the middle of the series, Stevens did the rhetorical tour de force. (All of this stuff comes from the archives of the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.) Stevens said the referees were intimidated by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans. He said a goal judge was biased after he inadvertently turned on the red light on a Penguins shot that went wide. He made some kind of complaint about the Penguins' radio broadcaster, although the accounts at the time don't specify what it was. And then there was this beauty, suggesting the Pens were faking injuries:
"It's a man's game," Stevens said. "Stand up and play the game the way that men do." Stevens added that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton trainer Pat Steidle "is going to get in awfully good shape by the amount of time he's running on the ice here. It's unbelievable. I hope he's got a good training program, or he's going to wear himself out."
The whole series was about all of the what's-old-is-new-again arguments -- that the Penguins were taking dives and that the Flyers were taking liberties. It's the same stuff, always the same stuff. It must be embedded in the organization DNA.
After a later loss in the series by his team, Therrien fired back.
"We have to give credit to their coach," Therrien said. "He has criticized the referee and got under their skin...Three altercations, three times we were in the box. We're receiving shots to the head after the whistle, and we're the ones in the box....It's got to stop. I know Wilkes-Barre is a small blue-collar town. We're proud people. We're competing against a big city. We deserve a lot more respect. We're working hard. Our guys deserve respect and I believe we are not getting it."
And so it went. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won that series. The next year, the teams played again in the playoffs and the Phantoms won on the way to taking the Calder Cup. Now, here -- with added layers of controversy from the last couple of seasons at the NHL level.
I love this stuff.
Rich Hofmann has been at the Daily News since 1980. He previously blogged the Eagles' postseason run in 2006. 
Ed Barkowitz was the first Philadelphia Newspaper journalist to write a blog, starting back in 2002.
Comments (12)
I love it! This is awesome, it's like watching married people bicker back and forth. It's damn funny.
Well now it is. Once the series starts I'm sure it'll be very heated. Odds on the Number of Peanlties called for 'breathing' on Crosby?
"The Broad Street Bullies MUST have been fierce. It's been over 30 years and their Reputation is still drawing penalties."
Posted by flyler | May 8, 2008 1:14 PM
So we're stuck with Beninati doing his impression of play-by-play? Ugh. I had my fingers crossed that someone that knows a little bit about hockey like Doc Emrick would get to call our series for Versus.
Posted by PSUFlyers | May 8, 2008 1:39 PM
Add to that Phantoms series win in 2005 the complete collapse of the WB/S Pens in the third period of game 5 in Philly: 4-1 Pens lead with about 12 minutes to play... Phantoms win the game 7-4.
Oh, and anything Stevens may have said about the Pens then radio announcer Tom (dis)Grace was probably completely true. You guys think Beninati is painful to listen to? You shoulda heard this guy...
And I agree with you - I LOVE this kind of playoff hockey.
Posted by HockeyPhan | May 8, 2008 3:01 PM
the flyers have to play like they did against washington superstars. flyers fan
Posted by darrin .f | May 8, 2008 3:07 PM
The Penguins have been a dirtier, cheaper team than the Flyers for years. The Flyers will continue to be singled out for punishment because of a 30 year old nickname. We'll have to suffer watching on versus, where the coverage will alternate between Diverboy lovefest and anti-Philly bigotry.
I use the word bigotry because it means: "Stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own." The widespread hatred of Philadelphia sports and fans throughout the rest of the country, and in much of the rest of the state, is without question a baseless and intolerant hate. These bigots cannot acknowledge that every team and every city has had episodes as shameful and frequent as any that are commonly cited to demean Philly.
Posted by Mike | May 8, 2008 3:55 PM
ah, the bad old days of the nhl- when it took 152 minutes of playing time to score 3 goals, and a 1 goal 3rd period lead was insurmountable. also the terrible darren pang played a large role in televised hockey in the U.S. he had the most annoying catch-phrase "jumpin' jiminy!" or something. he would have made a good robin in a batman movie...
Posted by mike#2 | May 8, 2008 4:19 PM
Are you serious with your comment about the Pens being a dirty team over the years? Maybe you're thinking of the Baby Pens, up in Wilkes Barre. The NHL Pens have always been a team of finesse, and skill. Which team was it that had at least 2 players suspended prior to the season beginning? THE FLYERS! You have a whole cast of characters that are cheapshot artists. Hartnell, Hatcher, Cote, to name a few.
Posted by Pens Fan | May 8, 2008 4:57 PM
im tired of whining flyer fans already pens in 5
Posted by dave | May 8, 2008 6:04 PM
Does hockey still exist? As a satellite customer, I can't tell since Comcast blacks out all the games. And people wonder why hockey isn't popular.
Posted by GeneC | May 9, 2008 9:05 AM
Ruutuu taking out Briere's knees, Laraque sliding into Biron, yeah you guys are clean. How many concussions did Gil dish out over the year/ how about how many careers kasparitis and Ulf tried to end. Sure the pens have always been finesse lmao
Posted by Cross Checker | May 9, 2008 5:25 PM
Hey pens fans have you guys ever beat us in the playoffs? Even with the officials eyes on wonderwomen crosby the flyers will answer the call
Posted by FlyersRule | May 12, 2008 7:10 PM
Dress Cote, Dress Timo, Dress Coburn with a cage! This is Professional Hockey at the championship level - lets go flyers - step up
Posted by FlyersRule | May 12, 2008 7:49 PM