Ducks celebrate Cup win UM’s Penner proved key

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Teemu Selanne sat on the bench with tears in his eyes, remembering the days when the Anaheim Ducks were mighty in name only.

After 14 seasons and various stops around the Western Conference, the Finnish Flash and the rest of his Ducks teammates are first-time Stanley Cup champions. Well, all except Scott Niedermayer now a four-time winner of hockey’s most cherished prize.

“It was heavier than I thought,” Selanne said Wednesday night, referring to the 35-pound trophy.

The heavy prize will eventually make its way to former University of Maine player Dustin Penner’s hands as each member of the Ducks will get a chance to have the Cup for a day. Penner is the second former Black Bear to go on to win a cup. Former UM player John Tortorella won as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.

Penner scored the game-winning goal in game four for the Ducks. He finished his second NHL season with 29 goals and 16 assists in 82 games played.

Penner played for Maine in 2003-04 and helped the Bears reach the NCAA title game. He was named to the NCAA championship all-tournament team.

Selanne broke into the NHL with a bang by scoring a league rookie-record 76 goals with the former Winnipeg Jets. Selanne came to Anaheim for his first stint with the Ducks in February 1996 when the team was 3 years old and nowhere close to competing for the Stanley Cup.

Not even the Disney movie that gave the team its original name could think of something so far-fetched.

But when the Ducks were on their way to a 6-2 victory in Game 5, Selanne recalled the rough days when he thought this moment might never come.

Suddenly the horn sounded, fireworks exploded overhead and streamers and confetti fell from the rafters to signify Anaheim’s win over the Ottawa Senators and mark the Stanley Cup’s first deliverance to a California champion.

“Unbelievable,” said Selanne, the 36-year-old forward, the oldest player in the series. “There were so many times that I wasn’t sure if this was ever going to happen. It’s been 15 years and over 1,000 games. That’s why the last two or three minutes in the game, I was crying on the bench because I was so happy.

“I’ve been waiting for this for such a long time.”