While the Wells Fargo Center is known to Flyers fans as a hockey arena (and one of the NHL's best, at that), it took on a whole new purpose this week, entering the national spotlight as a political arena.
The Democratic National Convention set up shop at Wells Fargo Center this week, and it provided more than its fair share of controversy and history (none of which, however, was able to be witnessed first-hand by operators of vehicles larger than five tons). It thrust the City of Philadelphia back into the national spotlight, and brought a wide variety of guests from across the country.
This year's DNC served as another momentous occasion for the Wells Fargo Center, as the building celebrates the 20th anniversary this summer. Time certainly flies, and the Flyers' home building is certainly no exception. With that in mind, here are the arena's best Flyers (and hockey) moments, ranked in no particular order.
2010 Stanley Cup Final, Game 6
I'll keep this one brief, due to the painful memories associated with it. The Chicago Blackhawks snapped a 51-year Stanley Cup drought on the unlikeliest of overtime goals. Truly a brutal and rough ending for the scrappy 2010 Flyers, but nonetheless, a run that gave them something to be proud of.
2010 Stanley Cup Final, Game 3
The Wells Fargo Center was set to host its first Stanley Cup Final game since 1997, but the Flyers entered in dire straits, trailing the Blackhawks by a 2-0 series deficit. Claude Giroux, however, decided there was no chance that the Hawks would take a 3-0 lead, and redirected a Matt Carle shot past Antti Niemi at 5:59 of overtime. With the win, the Orange and Black won a Stanley Cup Final game for the first time since 1987, and they would go on to even the series a game later.
2010 Eastern Conference Final, Game 5
Fresh off their miracle comeback against Boston a series earlier, the Flyers went right back to work against the eighth-seed Montreal Canadiens (marking the first time that seventh- and eight-seeds met for a conference final since the format was introduced in 1994). As the series shifted back to Philly for Game 5, then-captain Mike Richards scored arguably his most notable goal as a Flyer (known as 'The Shift') on a penalty kill at 4:25 of the first period, and the Flyers went on to win 4-2. Richards touched the Prince of Wales trophy, after they secured their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1997.
2009-10 regular season, Game 82
The 2009-10 Flyers had been counted out of the playoff picture by December, however, the replacement of coach John Stevens with Peter Laviolette saw the team make significant strides towards a berth. The Flyers found themselves in a home-and-home with the New York Rangers to close out the season, and after dropping the first game, Game 82 would decide who would get the final playoff spot. After Matt Carle tied the game at 3 on a power play with 13:06 to play in the period and overtime didn't yield a winner, both teams headed to a shootout. Giroux put the Flyers ahead, and Brian Boucher's left-pad stop of Olli Jokinen — and subsequent victory jig — sent the Flyers to the playoffs for a third-consecutive season. The Flyers' historic 2010 playoff run all began with one of their biggest weaknesses, no less.
2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 6
Much to the surprise of the NHL world, the Flyers took a 3-0 series lead in their first-round series against the heavily-favored arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins, but the Pens made the series interesting with a pair of wins in Games 4 and 5. Giroux made up his mind that the Flyers would leave the building with a series win, and called for the game's first shift. He then proceeded to level Sidney Crosby off of the opening faceoff, and followed that up with a laser off the post and past Marc-Andre Fleury just 32 seconds in (topped off, of course, with a rousing "let's f—ing go!").
I remain certain that, had their been a mayoral election in Philadelphia at that time, Giroux would have taken the popular vote by a landslide.
2005 Calder Cup Final
While the NHL was shuttered for the 2004-05 season thanks to a lockout, there was still reason to be excited about hockey in Philadelphia, as the old Philadelphia Phantoms embarked on a Calder Cup run. Led by the murderers' row of Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Patrick Sharp, Jon Sim and Antero Niittymaki, and John Stevens behind the bench, the Phantoms jettisoned the Chicago Wolves in a four-game sweep in front of a sold-out Wachovia Center, bringing home the franchise's second Calder Cup.
2000 Eastern Conference Final, Game 7
Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Final against New Jersey will always stand out in Flyers history, but for all the wrong reasons. Eric Lindros and the Flyers looked to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three years, but the Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Midway through the stanza, Lindros took advantage of a Scott Niedermayer turnover in the neutral zone, went to skate the puck into the Devils' zone, carried the puck across the blue line with his head down, and … well, you know the rest. Lindros would leave the ice for the last time as a Flyer with a concussion thanks to the freight train that was Scott Stevens, marking the beginning of the end of the Eric Lindros Era in Philadelphia.
1996 World Cup of Hockey
Known then as the CoreStates Center, the new building opened in August 1996 by hosting three games of the inaugural World Cup of Hockey. Team USA topped Team Canada 5-3 in a preliminary-round game on Aug. 31, featuring a goal from then-Flyer John LeClair. USA and Canada met again in the opening game of the three-game final on Sept. 10, with the Canadians winning 4-3 in overtime (which LeClair happened to tie up with just 6.3 seconds on the clock).
2004 Eastern Conference Final, Game 6
The Flyers had relentlessly pursued their third Stanley Cup in 2004, and had the talent to win it all that year. But as they entered their Eastern Conference Final matchup against top-seeded Tampa Bay, injuries were beginning to take their toll, particularly on the blueline. Trailing 4-3 against the Lightning with 1:49 to play in regulation, captain Keith Primeau forced overtime (as part of his "Suprimeau" playoff run), while Simon Gagne forced a deciding seventh game with 1:42 to play in overtime. To date, it remains one of the loudest moments in Wells Fargo Center history.
1997 Eastern Conference Final
Fresh off of an Eastern Conference Final loss to the Devils in 1995 and a second-round loss to Florida in 1996, the Flyers were ready to take the next step under Terry Murray in 1997. All that stood in between them and their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in a decade were the vaunted Rangers, led by the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter. The Flyers were able to dispatch their rivals in five games, in what would ultimately go down as the last-ever playoff appearances for Gretzky, Messier and Richter. It would also send the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals for the only time in the Lindros era.
2014 NCAA Frozen Four
While the Philadelphia area is known for its plethora of higher-learning institutions, its college hockey scene is relatively small. That did not prevent the NCAA from selecting Wells Fargo Center as the host for its 2014 Men's Ice Hockey Championship, which Union College won 7-4 over Minnesota. That championship provided Flyers fans with their first glimpse at one of their 2012 draft choices, Shayne Gostisbehere, and did he ever deliver. He carried the Dutchmen over the Golden Gophers with a goal, two assists and a plus-7 rating. Incidentally, the tournament situated Dave Hakstol behind the Wells Fargo Center bench for the first time, as his North Dakota squad fell 2-1 to the Golden Gophers in the Frozen Four just two days earlier.
2001-02 preseason tie against Rangers
As the nation began the recovery process in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Flyers welcomed the Rangers for a preseason matchup. In the second intermission, however, arena staff had played President George W. Bush's riveting address to Congress on the Arenavision scoreboard. The speech carried into the start of the third period, but both teams (and fans) couldn't help but focus on what the President had to say. After the President had sent his message, both teams decided that there were more important matters to focus on rather than finishing the game, so they opted to shake hands at center ice (to a rousing ovation), finishing with a 2-2 tie. For one night, two bitter rivals were able to put their differences aside, as the nation came together.
Bonus: Flyers fan falls into penalty box against Tie Domi
As the Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Flyers late in the 2000-01 campaign, known agitator Tie Domi found himself in familiar territory early in the third period — in the penalty box. Upon hearing some verbal barbs from the Flyers faithful, Domi, just messing around, turned around to squirt a water bottle at several fans. One fan, Chris Falcone, took umbrage at Domi's behavior, and leaned in closer to give Domi a piece of his mind. The glass partition separating Falcone and Domi gave way, and Falcone found himself one-on-one with Domi himself.
Did the incident go too far? Absolutely. Was it hilarious? Absolutely. Falcone was cited by Philadelphia Police, while Domi was fined $1,000 by the league. Years later, both men looked back fondly on the incident on Sportsradio 94 WIP's morning show.
Wells Fargo Center has provided hockey fans with plenty of tremendous memories on Broad Street over the past 20 years, and will continue to do so as long as it's open. Do you have any favorite moments from Wells Fargo Center? Let us know in the comments, or tweet us @Flyerdelphia.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
