May 14, 1995: The Quebec Nordiques beat the New York Rangers, 4-2 at Le Colisée de Québec, and close their 1st Round Stanley Cup Playoff match to 3 games to 2.
But they will lose Game 6 at Madison Square Garden. And they will be moved in the off-season, to Denver, to become the Colorado Avalanche. So this is the last Nordiques home game. After 23 years, the Nords are gone.
The Nordiques began play with the World Hockey Association in 1972, reached the Finals in 1975, and won the Championship in 1977. They were admitted to the NHL in 1979, reached the Conference Finals in 1982 and 1985, and won regular-season Division titles in 1986 and 1995. Their inter-Provincial rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens occasionally got nasty, and drove up attendance.
But attendance wasn't their only issue. Quebec City was the smallest market in the NHL, and the Colisée, built in 1949, seated only 15,176 people, with none of what would eventually be called luxury boxes. Neither the City nor the Provincial government would build the Nords a new arena, and so, team owner Marcel Aubut sold out to COMSAT Entertainment Group, owner of the NBA's Denver Nuggets, who moved the team to Denver, and renamed it the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs won the Stanley Cup the very next season. To their credit, the players took the Cup to Quebec City, to properly thank their former fans.
Adam Foote retired after the 2011 season, making him the last active Quebec Noridque.
Although the 18,259-seat Centre Vidéotron opened in 2015, to replace Le Colisée as the home of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts, Québec City has not yet been considered as the home of a new NHL team, either expansion or moved. The metropolitan area is still considered too small a market.
As of May 14, 2022, Le Colisée de Québec still stands.
UPDATE: In February 2025, it was announced that demolition would soon begin.
The Nordiques never started a team Hall of Fame, but they retired 4 uniform numbers: 3, for 1970s defenseman Jean-Claude Tremblay; 8, for 1970s left wing Marc Tardif; 16, for 1980s left wing Michel Goulet; and 26, for 1980s center Peter Šťastný.
Goulet and Šťastný were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. So was right wing Guy Lafleur, who played 2 seasons for the Nords after a legendary career with the Canadiens; and 1990s centers Mats Sundin, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. Sundin went on to star to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Sakic and Forsberg -- and also the last Noridques general manager, Pierre Lacroix -- remained with the team after the move, and became Hall-of-Famers identified with the Avalanche. So did Patrick Roy, a Quebec city native who tended goal for the Canadiens, but did not join the Nords/Avs franchise until after the move to Colorado.
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May 14, 1995 was a Sunday. Actress Rose Lavelle was born.
Also in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after 67 years, the last competitive sporting event is held at the Boston Garden. The Boston Bruins lose Game 5 of the 1st Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 3-2, and are eliminated. The last goal is scored by Adam Oates. The team that eliminates the Big Bad Bruins? The New Jersey Devils.
And the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 6-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Luc Robitaille scored the winning goal, 4:30 into overtime. The Penguins won the series in Game 7.
There were 3 games in the NBA Playoffs:
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic, 106-95 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 114-110 at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.) Kevin Johnson scored 43 points for the Suns.
* And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 80-71 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jack McDowell started for the Yankees, Zane Smith for the Sox. The Yanks scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Mike Macfarlane hit a home run off Steve Howe in the bottom of the 9th to win it.
* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Mark Grudzielanek grounded out to 1st base in the top of the 13th inning, allowing Mike Lansing to score the winning run. Rico Brogna hit a home run for the Mets.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Orel Hershiser outpitched Arthur Rhodes. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Ron Gant hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to win the game.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 6-3 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Andújar Cedeño hit 2 home runs. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-5.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 12-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 8-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Brian Jordan singled Scott Cooper home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Darren Lewis singled Royce Clayton home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout.
* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-2 before being pinch-hit for.
This was also the day that Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League title in improbable fashion: But they lose, 2-1, to Liverpool, at Anfield, the former club and former home ground of their current manager, Kenny Dalglish. The crowd believes that the title has been blown.
But soon, word comes that Manchester United, 2-time defending Champions, having only managed a 1-1 draw, away to East London team West Ham United, and that gives Blackburn the title by 1 point. I have a separate entry for this event.
Elsewhere in English soccer, an embarrassing season ends for North London team Arsenal with a 2-1 loss to crosstown opponent Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in West London. The Gunners finish 12th, and that remains their worst performance since 1976.
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