'Keep on believing': Fans electric after Oilers force Game 7 in Stanley Cup final
Edmonton looking to become 2nd team ever to lift Cup after 3-0 deficit in final
Taylor Nichols received her second post-secondary degree Friday — but she was joyously crying after the Edmonton Oilers forced a decisive Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final.
Standing in a gated section of Ice District, outside Rogers Place, surrounded by raucous fans, Nichols was overcome, wiping tears from her eyes, when she told CBC News the win was better than graduating.
"I've got two degrees. This beats it," she said. "Go, Oilers! Play La Bamba, baby."
Downtown Edmonton was electric Friday night after the Oilers convincingly evaporated the series deficit against the Florida Panthers, sending the final back to Sunrise, Fla.
In the dying moments of Game 6, the fans inside Rogers Place chanted, "We want the Cup!" Outside in Ice District, after the final horn blew on the 5-1 Edmonton victory, members of Oilers Nation danced, cheered and hugged.
In the downtown streets, fans high-fived as they walked past each other and motorists honked their horns — with some passengers sticking their heads out of sunroofs to cheer.
"Oilers in seven" was stated throughout.
Mary Loewen, the woman known as Mama Stanley, was hugged by multiple people after the game.
"I'm feeling ecstatic," said Loewen, in her staple game-day costume.
"Believing is what got us here, so keep on believing."
History and the Stanley Cup will be on the line Monday in South Florida.
The Panthers have a fourth and final try to capture the franchise's first championship. Edmonton, meanwhile, is just the third team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 in the final, but only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs finished the job and hoisted the trophy.
The Oilers could win their first Cup since 1990 — and sixth championship overall, which would tie them with the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks for fourth-most all-time.
They could also become the first Canadian team to lift the Stanley Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
Amanda Buffalo, donning a No. 93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins alternate jersey, was barely audible over the drumming, music and cheering in Ice District Friday night. Yet, it wasn't lost on her that the Oilers were in this position before, pushing the 2006 final to Game 7 but losing to the Carolina Hurricanes on the road 3-1.
"Oh my gosh. This has been 18 years in the making," Buffalo said. On Friday, her daughter wore a home Edmonton jersey with a 2006 Stanley Cup final patch.
"We are taking this Cup."
Game 7 puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT Monday.
- What would a Stanley Cup win for the Oilers mean to you? Tell us about it in an email to ask@cbc.ca.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Nancy Carlson and Adrienne Lamb