Matteau Matteau

It was the Friday Night of Memorial day weekend, the City was electric and pensive, nerves were on end. I was scared out of my boots as I rode the subway up to Mustang Sallys, our traditional pregame watering hole in the spring of 1994…….I couldn't even eat…..just stood by the door with Donn and Craig , washing down Budweiser beer like it was going out of style...Penn station was abuzz with Commuters getting away for the weekend, upstairs in the Worlds Most famous Arena the Broadway Blueshirts were about to take the ice for a critical game 7 of the Eastern Conf Finals against the hated NJ devils……..I settled into my seat in section 419, row f , put two full buckets of said Budweiser under my aisle seat, rose for Mr Ammorante and the singing of our National Anthem…..and I remember thinking to myself, for the rest of my life, whatever happens tonight, will come flooding back to me every Friday of Memorial Day weekend …..they have to win……….first period was a scoreless draw…..more Budweiser beer…….getting more nervous as the night wears on, which of course leads to faster drinking…….out to the rotunda between periods……staring at the Post office…….please God……..midway through the deuce…….Brian leetch skates in from the circle……broduer defending 7th ave…….Leetchie pulls a spin-o-rama----lets go with a bullet….the light goes on……….the Garden erupts……YES !!!!!................the period ends…….more beer….back to the rotunda……20 minutes from the finals…..the City knows it…….people are now gathering on the Post Office stairs across the street…….people without tickets are coming to the garden area to share in the celebration….I had chills on my neck……ran into Kenny Coco…….the last thing he says to me is that when we hold on to win 1-0 , Richter will tie the record for most shutouts in the postseason……..Richter……The Rock of Gibraltar….he was going to single-handedly win this thing…….very nervous to start the 3rd period…..it only gets worse….every shift….every dump in…..every whistle…..the crowd is bezerk……watching the clock….praying for an insurance goal…….10 minutes……..8 minutes…..5 minutes……we are soo close……..2 minutes……the place is on its feet……..can't hear the whistle….can't hear yourself think……high fives all around……"THIS IS THE LAST MINUTE TO PLAY IN THE PERIOD"…….BEDLAM……….goosebumps….chills…..sweating……nervous………30 seconds………broduer to the bench……they dump in…..one last push…….i'm squinting toward the 7th ave net from my 8th avenue seats……..10 seconds……loose puck…mad scramble…..cant follow the puck……the devils are jumping up and down….why?....the light is on….7 seconds….tie game……..

It was like being kicked in the stomach……..stunned silence………I left my seat and walked to the rotunda before they had the faceoff……..stood starring at the post office………TV Crews with live reporters waiting on 8th ave for the delighted faithful to exit the building…..word spreads that they tied the game….the lights for the cameras start getting turned off…..we are going to OT……..a sad sickness and eerie silence hovers in the building……we are never going to win this damn cup….


Me , Donn and Craig barely said a word to each other during intermission……it was like Clavins up there……somebody must have died……we retook our seats…..I could not concentrate…..the first ot was a blur……..I watched the red light behind richter fully expecting to see it go on…….everytime they came into our zone I was sure the game would end……….midway through the period , the faithful woke up………Lets Go Rangers was back……we were exhausted and angry…….but we could not score…….back to the rotunda…..back to the window….

Back to our seats…….double OT …….wornout….feel like I went 10 rounds with Tyson….not sure how much more of this I can take……Devils are shooting at 7th ave…….blushirts are attacking our 8th ave net…..we get a chance, they get a chance…..back and forth and back and forth……3 minutes in.. the puck dances through our crease….it's going in ……..out of nowhere comes leetch……he swats it away…it hits a devil and is heading back towards the empty net….where is richter?.......still not sure what happened….to this day I think it hit the post….somehow the light did not go on……somehow the puck did not go in…I can't take this………..we dump in….they dump out….BUT NO …..we keep in and redirect around the net……not sure who is chasing the puck, watching Tikanen sneak in from the point for a pass……someone is emerging from the boards behind the net with the puck….a devil is hounding him……pass it to TIK……..NO…..he attempts to stuff it in ……YES !!!!!!!!...

MATTEAU MATTEAU………..STEPHANE MATTEAU…………..and the Rangers have one more hill to climb and it's Mount Vancouver……the Rangers are going to the finals………..the rest is beautiful history……..

As for me……we stayed and watched the trophy presentation…….the Garden was electric again….like New years eve……back to Mustang Sally's….Met Kevo there....a cab home…..cars honking horns on the Brooklyn Bridge…….went to PJ's Pub……was still there at 4:00 a.m. ……….people walking up and down 5th ave with beers, stopping traffic…..it was crazy………..

NOPE…..I will never ever allow the Friday of memorial day weekend to pass without reflection on that night….