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TBT: Colorado Avalanche Beat Detroit Red Wings to Win Conference

The Colorado Avalanche once played spring hockey on a regular basis. Hells, they played summer hockey twice — and that’s more than a lot of teams in the NHL can say.

On May 29, 1996, the Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final to win the conference and earn the right to play summer hockey. The epic game which eventually led to the first professional sports championship in Colorado took place in the now-defunct McNichols Arena.

Goalie Battle

Actually, the game wasn’t so much a goalie battle as a goalie school, with Patrick Roy showing Detroit goalie Chris Osgood why #33 would eventually be retired in two arenas and why Roy would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.