Hockey Whooha

With

Wingnut

Of

Pepee's Pornn Palace

And The Winners Are ...

I'm going to have to take a minute to wipe the sweat off from my forehead before I write this article. This year's playoff race is so tight and so competitive that it is making me sweat!

The Eastern representative has been decided, with the Carolina Hurricanes winning game 6 in overtime taking the series 4 games to 2. This is the first ever appearance in the cup round for the Carolina (Hartford) team, certainly a far cry from those lean years in Hartford. They certainly have the making to become the "Cinderella story" team this year that might even be good enough and have the confidence to skate with the cup. Just maybe ..

They know their upcoming opponent will be either the Detroit Red Wings or the Colorado Avalanche depending on the outcome of that series (with game 6 tonight). Either of these teams will be favored to win the cup going in, but Carolina will be looking at things in a different light.

EASTERN CONFERENCE As of 5-29-02
Rank	Team	Wins
3	CAROLINA	4
4	TORONTO	2

Consider each opponent, if Detroit takes the series to seven games with a win tonight the final victor of game 7 will move on to face the rested and healthy Carolina team. If Colorado were to pull a win out they would move on to play the Canes, but Colorado has played two game sevens so far this playoff year and looks to be a possible third. Fatigue will be an issue for the Colorado team if they move on. If Detroit were to force and win game seven and move on, fatigue will still be an issue, not to mention the Carolina Defensemen Aaron Ward. Ward was trade away to Carolina this year, and spent much of his time in Detroit on the bench, a victim of Scotty Bowmen's doghouse. I'm sure Ward would love to punish his former teammates.

With the season winding up to it's final climax, there will only be another two issues of Hockey Whooha. It's been a great year of Hockey and I've enjoyed sharing my passion with all of you readers. I hope to have at least turned one non-fan into a budding hockey freak like myself, if so then I did my job well. Now is the time for one of you to take this column and run with it. If you are interested in having your own column in the DFN, just drop us an e-mail.

Keep your stick on the ice and put the puck on the net.

Wingnut

WESTERN CONFERENCE As of 5-29-02
Rank	Team	Wins
1	DETROIT	2
2	COLORADO	3