Maven's Memories: Me, My Son, Mike Bossy and a Third Cup

It was the spring of 1982 and in the 65-year life of the National Hockey League no American-based team had ever won three Stanley Cups in succession.
Now it was the Islanders chance to make history.
Slowly -- relentlessly -- coach Al Arbour's troops fought their way through the thorny preliminary rounds -- and got slightly wounded along the way.

The first challenge came from Pittsburgh. In what was a downright scary series, the Nassaumen had to pull out all stops to beat a Penguins team that came this close to pulling off a colossal upset.
Playing the Rangers next was almost -- but not quite -- a relief. The series went six games with Arbour's skaters winning all three games at The Garden.
Next up were the Quebec Nordiques in the Cup semis. "I expect a tough series," predicted Mike Bossy.
It wasn't -- 4-1, 5-2, 5-4 (in OT) and 4-2. The Champs were flexing their muscles.
Then again, so were the soon-to-be-threatening Vancouver Canucks.
Although they finished the regular schedule under .500 (30-33-17) the Canucks got hot at the right time and now led Chicago, three games to one in the semi-final.
That set off an S.O.S. -- and the excitement meter -- at SportsChannel's office in Woodbury. Because of their close affiliation with the Isles, SportsChannel had a stake in Chicago vs. Vancouver.
Unfortunately, SC was not going to be able to do the actual play-by-play of the Final, our company wanted to somehow get a piece of the action; and it did.
Knowing that the Final Round would be carried on national networks in Canada and the States, SportsChannel wanted to hold as much of its Islanders audience as possible, minus the game action.
"We thought it would be a good idea to show Game Five of the Chicago-Vancouver series," said my SC boss Jerry Passaro. "That way if the Canucks win, we'd have a jump on the Final."
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
The 1988 Division Title
Catching Up With Darius Kasparaitis
My Mike Bossy Moments
Remembering Jean Potvin
The Unheralded Lorne Henning
Wayne Merrick Makes Mark on Cups
Don't Forget Tomas Jonsson
The Underrated Stefan Persson
Maven's Haven
To get that "jump," my bosses decided to create a make-shift studio in the Nassau Medical Building a few blocks east of the Coliseum.
The plan was for me to watch the Vancouver-Chicago game on a tv monitor with Helene Elliote, who then was covering hockey for Newsday. Between periods we'd analyze the game and the series.
Because we were in a medical building and not a regular studio, A tv "set" had to be built with an SC "curtain" as a backdrop.
Shazam! The game began and -- in no time at all -- it was apparent that Vancouver had a better team than its won-loss record indicated. It also was a tough club -- and not one to play by any Good Housekeeping rules.
By the time the second period had ended it was clear that the Canucks would bully their way to victory. The other thing that was obvious was our jury-rigged set.
Like the early moments of an avalanche, the SC curtain began falling apart. Nothing serious; at least not until I began my between-periods interview with Helene Elliott.
Just before my stage manager, John MacPherson, gave me the signal to start the interview, I took one quick backward look at the curtain, and said to myself. "Uh, oh, that looks like trouble."
And it was, but not until the middle of our interview when the curtain came tumbling over Yours Truly and my not-very-pleased guest.
Had this been a sight gag, it would have been funny. But in the context of a serious hockey discussion neither Ms. Elliott nor The Maven thought it was a joke.
With some serious help from stage manager MacPherson, the backdropped was hastily put back into place and we finished the interview as well as a post-game chat.
Vancouver easily won the game -- and the series -- and suddenly looked like a very formidable foe. That made me nervous about the Final, which I'd watch as a spectator since SC wasn't doing the games.
Over three playoff series, the Canucks emerged as a tough, nasty club with troublesome Roger Neilson working behind the bench. He had top scorers such as Stan Smyl, Thomas Gradin and Ivan Boldirev, as well as the toughies led by Tiger Williams.
Neilson had coached the Maple Leafs over the Isles in the 1978 playoff upset and his plan now was the same -- bulldoze the champ Isles with the same hit man he had in Toronto, Williams.
Writing in his autobiography, "Boss," Bossy stated, "I knew Tiger would be trying to kill me again."
Since I wasn't involved in the broadcast, I decided to take my 10-year-old son, Ben, to the game for one of those rare father-son quality-time family episodes.
Having already been raised as an Islanders fan, Ben would snugly fit in with the crowd -- melding quite well with Dad's fervent rooting interest. And like many in the capacity crowd, we were expecting a relatively easy Islanders victory.
But the Visitors were not picking up on our favored script. My son, Ben, in particular, noticed the troubling trend. He turned to me during one break in the action and said, "Dad, Vancouver looks better than us."
What could I tell him? The Canucks not only were good; they were scary good; especially their goalkeeper Richard Brodeur. I sensed the disappointment in Ben's body language and his voice.
I wanted to somehow console him because it now was late in the third period and Vancouver was ahead, 5-4. The time clock was not doing us any favors either as it showed only five minutes left in the third period.
"Somebody's gotta come up big," I told Ben. "Yeah," he shot back, "but who?"
Of course, neither of us would dare say it -- but the obvious choice was Mike Bossy who had scored 64 goals during the regular season.
Then, it happened.
Left wing John Tonelli -- working now with Bryan Trottier and Bossy -- chased after a loose puck that was heading toward goalie Brodeur. Somehow the puck slithered free.
Bossy and a Canuck defender chased the loose rubber. Mike then fortuitously knocked down the Vancouver D-man, reached the puck and flipped it past Brodeur before Poor Richard could react.
There was only 4:46 left in the period when the red light flashed and the scoreboard read 5-5. Mighty Mike had given his defending champions another chance; only now it would be in the Sudden Death session.
"What do you think, Dad?" Ben wondered.
"I don't know what to think," I replied, "other than the Canucks are giving us their best shot."

And so they did in the first overtime period. But our clutch goalie Battlin' Billy Smith repulsed every drive right down to what appeared to be the final 10 seconds of the extra session.
"Looks like you're gonna get a bonus. second overtime," I said to Ben, watching what seemed to be time running out on the game clock.
Meanwhile, Vancouver defenseman Harold Snepsts captured the puck at the left of his net. "He'll 'eat' the puck," I said to Ben, "kill time and the period will end. Then I'll go get us some hot dogs."
But somehow, Snepsts, Vancouver's normally reliable defenseman, tried a clearing pass in the waning seconds; hoping -- I figured -- for a Hail Mary-type breakaway.
Ever-vigilant, Bossy read Snepsts' mind, intercepted the biscuit and fired a patented Bossy laser. "Why he didn't just freeze the puck in the corner," wondered Bossy, "I'll never know."
Mike's sniper drive flew over Brodeur's shoulder and the game was won -- and with only five seconds left on the clock. Ben and I shared a victory embrace hoping that Game One would be a portent of more good things to come.
It was, but not until Bossy's game-saving hat trick. The Nassaumen took the next three games and became the first American team ever to have a straightaway hat trick of Stanleys.
Not knowing if I'd ever see another Stanley Cup game with my son, I still look back to that precious experience with paternal pleasure. After the third-in-a-row championship was secured, Ben added his own postscript with a "Thank you, Dad!"
To which I added the punch line. "You don't have to thank me; thank Mike Bossy."