Posted on 06/19/2006 1:14:27 PM PDT by fanfan
Ward is playing well - and it looks like he has a very motivated team outplaying their opponent 1/2 way through this one in front of him.
5 on 3, then 4 on 3, great stop off a Pronger slapper, with traffic in front of him.
Just when I thought McCreary swallowed his whistle, man-advantage to Oilers 7:22 left in the 3rd. Hedican to the box for roughing (after the whistle).
Killed - great PK by the Canes.
HMCS Cayuga, commanded by Captain Jeffry Brock, and sister ships in the Pacific Destroyer Command, HMCS Athabaskan and Sioux, quickly responded to the war alert and set sail for Korea.
Initially, the threesome was dispatched to prowl waters and islands off the west coast of Korea to search junks and sampans that might be carrying munitions or North Korean marines. Early in December 1950, however, the situation on the mainland redirected the Canadian flotilla's attention.
Facing more than 300,000 Chinese Communist soldiers (who entered the war in November 1950), UN troops in advanced positions near the Yalu River in North Korea began retreating south. The withdrawal was known as the Big Bug-Out. Overnight, Brock received new orders to lead a task force and to assist by all means in his power the evacuation of the Eighth U.S. Army from Chinnampo, the port for the North Korean capital of P'yongyang.
The RCN destroyers Cayuga, Athabaskan and Sioux steamed toward the enemy port preparing to provide cover for a fleet of U.S. transport ships exiting the harbour, to give gunfire support to the retreating army and to make sure that the large stores of fuel and munitions in Chinnampo did not fall into Chinese hands.
The mission faced seemingly insurmountable problems.
Chinnampo was situated 30 kilometres up the Daido-Ko River, well beyond the range of RCN naval guns. In addition, Daido-Ko estuary was cluttered with a maze of low islands and shifting mud flats. The tides would be difficult to navigate, as would the floating mines planted by the North Koreans. Complicating matters was the winter weather, which had closed in with freezing drizzle and north winds that effectively reduced the temperature with sub-zero wind chills. On Dec. 4, 1950, as Brock assembled his relief armada, he received word that Chinnampo was bulging with soldiers, civilians and equipment and that the situation had reached emergency proportions. The Canadian captain would now have to launch his Dunkirk-like rescue mission in the dead of night.
"It was as black as the inside of a cow," Brock later wrote in his log.
Nevertheless, the RCN ships led the way. First minesweepers attempted to clear a channel 500 yards wide with unlit dan buoys, but the strong winds ripped most of them loose. That forced Cayuga's asdic (sonar) operators to guide the flotilla away from semi-submerged mines all the way up the estuary.
Meanwhile, the tide ebbed to its shallowest depth. At times the ships' keels had less than 20 inches of water beneath them, so the naval squadron was forced to advance "dead slow ahead." Then, the drizzle became a blizzard and visibility was diminished so badly that double the number of lookouts were positioned on bows. As another precaution, shells were stockpiled on deck to reduce the number of steps should the shooting start suddenly.
Below decks, the watch became a nightmare for the ships' navigators as they dashed from radar screens to chart tables and back. In Cayuga's plot room, Andrew Collier made 132 navigational fixes that night, described by one officer as "a masterful piece of work."
By daybreak, Cayuga had led the armada safely into Chinnampo harbour. Throughout the morning, Brock supervised the evacuation of troops and materiel onto the U.S. transports. Meanwhile, as a steady stream of sampans carried refugees out of the city, Athabaskan scrutinized each vessel for mines and weapons. Simultaneously, UN navy demolition and fire parties were dispatched to destroy what equipment couldn't be saved. And as reports of a Chinese breakthrough north of the city reached the port, Brock ordered the transport vessels to weigh anchor, leaving the last three destroyers alone in the harbour to complete the job.
At 5:35 p.m., Brock ordered all guns to open fire. Within minutes, explosions rocked the railway marshalling yards, the city's cement factory, its shipyards and gasoline storage tanks. North Korea's key port city, which had once been home to 75,000 people, was now, from its industrial district to its waterfront, an inferno. A day later, when the entire UN flotilla was clear of the Daido-Ko River channel and en route to safety in the south, Chinnampo was still ablaze.
Following what was heralded as "the most important and most dangerous naval mission of the Korean War," Cayuga's skipper was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, its navigator, Andrew Collier, the Distinguished Service Cross, and its coxswain, D.J. Pearson, the British Empire Medal.
CAROLINA IS STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
HURRICANES WIN!!!
bttt
What a series....Edmonton could never recover from blowing a 3-0 lead in game one.
Carolina played great and deserved to win.
Great series - congratulations Carolina Hurricanes!
Great series - great champions - a great year for hockey!
A lot of sports bars around Fayetteville and Ft Bragg were filled with Airborne Troopers and cheering last night. "Local" news stuck to The triad area for it's coverage but sneaked in a little from our area.
I am so sad to see this season end. On a good note, this was one of the best games I have watched in years.
I woke up my son with 3 minutes left in the game, as is tradition in my house. He watched the end, saw the cup raised and went right back to sleep. But before drifting off, he asked me what would it take for him to raise the cup one day.
"Hard work, dedication, a never ending thirst for getting better and 24 others that share the same goals."
He smiled, gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and off he went.
The Stanley Cup needs to take a trip to Iraq!!
:( I got kinda sad seeing that Cup raised in Carolina.
Last time was in Florida.
Be happy that hockey is taking hold in America.
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