In 2013, Ducks reporter Eric Stephens compiled the top 10 sports moments at Honda Center as the venue turned 20 years old. As it turns 30 on Saturday, many of those moments have held up for another decade, including the Ducks’ Stanley Cup victory in 2007 at No. 1. Current Ducks reporter Lisa Dillman updated the list with four more great moments since 2013. We’ll update again in 2033.
1) June 6, 2007 – Ducks win their first and only Stanley Cup
Four years earlier, the Ducks came up one game short of the National Hockey League mountaintop. This time around, they went the distance as Corey Perry’s third-period goal punctuated a 6-2 Game 5 rout of the Ottawa Senators that had the jubilant 17,372 in attendance on their feet in the final minutes and a joyous Teemu Selanne in tears after the final horn. Soon, Scott Niedermayer was taking the Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and passing it off to his brother, Rob.
2) June 7, 2003 – A knocked-out Paul Kariya sends the Mighty Ducks to Game 7
Kariya had set up two first-period goals that led to a 3-1 Ducks lead in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final when he was leveled in the open ice by hard-hitting New Jersey defenseman Scott Stevens in the second period. The team captain lay motionless on the ice for about a minute and needed assistance to the dressing room. Five minutes later, Kariya was back on the ice to the amazement of the sold-out crowd. Not long afterward, the club’s first superstar blew a slap shot past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur in the eventual 5-2 win. Many who were there say it remains the loudest they’ve ever heard the arena during a Ducks game.
3) Dec. 2, 1995 – His Airness makes his first landing in Anaheim
Remember when the Clippers dipped their toes into Orange County before choosing to stay in downtown L.A. and accept second banana status at Staples Center? Light years before Lob City became the rage, the Clips played several “home” games in Anaheim between 1994 and 1999. Michael Jordan and the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls paid a visit to the Pond and 18,517 – at the time the largest crowd to ever watch an NBA game in Southern California – came out to watch the Bulls ease past the then-hapless Clippers, 104-98.
4) Oct. 8, 1993 – Mighty Ducks break the ice in the NHL
Bill Hader’s “Saturday Night Live” character Stefon would have called the Pond one of Anaheim’s hottest clubs. There was the mascot that would become known as Wild Wing and another screaming ghost-like musician called the Iceman. Skating cheerleaders. Characters from “Beauty and the Beast”. A light show and fireworks. Sinister Duck masks suspended over the two goals. The production was extravagant, celebrating the inaugural hockey game for the team named the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. And then the game itself occurred, a 7-2 beatdown at the hands of the powerful Detroit Red Wings.
5) Dec. 4, 1994 – UCLA defeats Kentucky in the inaugural Wooden Classic
Freshman J.R. Henderson would coolly sink two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining in front of 18,307 to lift the Bruins in the first meeting between the college basketball bluebloods since John Wooden coached the Bruins to a win over the Wildcats in the 1975 NCAA title game, the last of his legendary career. It was also an early-season matchup of two teams ranked in the top five. UCLA would eventually capture its 11th national title the following April. From 2013-2019, the Wooden Classic was an eight-team tournament played every Thanksgiving week, but the 2017-19 events were played entirely at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Gym. Since 2021 (the 2020 event was canceled), it has become a two-day, four-team event held at the Anaheim Convention Center.
6) May 22, 2007 – Ducks clinch return to the Stanley Cup Final
Selanne’s stunning overtime goal in Game 5 set the stage for a celebration and the Ducks made it happen in Game 6 with a 4-3 win over Detroit to capture the Western Conference. Rob Niedermayer’s short-handed goal got them started and scores by Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in the second period made for a 3-0 lead. The Ducks got a key insurance score by Samuel Pahlsson in the third and survived two power-play tallies by Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk to earn the right to not touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.
7) May 5, 2017 – Comeback on Katella
Who knew that deep inside an old-school coach was a gambler waiting to climb out? Trailing by three goals against the Edmonton Oilers late in Game 5 of the second round of the playoffs, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle pulled goalie John Gibson three times for an extra attacker and, improbably, the Ducks scored three times in the final 3:01. They were the first team in Stanley Cup playoff history to force OT when trailing by three goals with less than four minutes left in regulation. Corey Perry won it, 4-3, for the Ducks in double overtime. “We willed it through,” captain Ryan Getzlaf told reporters after the game. “We did whatever we had to do. We scratched and clawed at the end and found a way to get ourselves back in that game.”
8) March 12, 1998 – Utah upsets top-seeded Arizona in NCAA West Regional final
Arizona was looking to defend its national title behind a loaded cast that had Mater Dei graduate Miles Simon, the tournament’s most outstanding player in 1997, and included future NBA players Jason Terry and Mike Bibby. Utah coach Rick Majerus surprised the Wildcats with a triangle-and-two defense that held them 40 points below their season average in a 76-51 blowout. Andre Miller delivered an 18-point, 14-rebound, 13-assist triple-double to bring the Utes their first Final Four berth since 1966.
9) Jan. 11, 2015/Oct. 21, 2018/Feb. 17, 2019 – Jersey Retirements
Teemu, Paul and Scott.
That would be franchise icons Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer – all Hockey Hall of Famers – and their jerseys hanging in the rafters of Honda Center. Selanne’s was the first to be retired, followed by Kariya and then Niedermayer. Register colleague Elliott Teaford: “Selanne’s jersey retirement was a no-brainer, a love-in, a celebration of all he accomplished as the greatest Duck in their 25-year history. Kariya’s jersey retirement, more than three years later, took some coaxing in order to make it happen.” These days, the good news for the Ducks is that Kariya and Niedermayer have recently become more involved with the organization – Niedermayer as a special advisor to hockey operations and Kariya as an unofficial advisor.
9) April 14, 2014 – Teemu Selanne’s final regular-season game
This was vintage Selanne – emotional and lovably spontaneous, taking his night and also making it someone else’s night. The Ducks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, in overtime in the regular-season finale for both teams. Unplanned, Selanne shared the post-game moment with his former teammate, Avalanche goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, grabbing Giguere (who had also played in his final regular-season game). And the two important pieces of the Ducks’ Stanley Cup championship in 2007 took a final lap around the ice together. Selanne’s powers of persuasion also paid off in another way – Kariya was in attendance. “I didn’t take no for an answer,” Selanne told reporters.
10) April 24, 2022 – Ryan Getzlaf’s final NHL game
It was so fitting that the final point of captain Ryan Getzlaf’s NHL career happened to be an assist, a behind-the-back pass to Adam Henrique at 17:19 of the third period, in a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Honda Center. The final numbers: 1,019 points in 1,157 games, all with the Ducks. That, and 120 points in 125 playoff games and one Stanley Cup championship in 2007. Beyond his accomplishments on the ice is Getzlaf’s continuing involvement in the Orange County community efforts. His charity golf tournament at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, over the past 12 years, has raised more than $5.3 million in support of CureDuchenne’s mission, funding research for children impacted by Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Honda Center turns 30: Here are the biggest acts that played the Anaheim arena
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