Ron takes one last skate Originally posted 1/06
May 27, 2006
 One of my other passions is hockey and this past Saturday evening I had the honor of attending the Carolina Hurricanes game on Ron Francis night. He is a big reason for the success of the hockey team here in the middle of ACC Basketball and NASCAR country. Although I’m still loyal to the Bruins the Canes have won a place in my heart with the way they play and Ron was a big part of that. I admit that I was very skeptical when they first came here and they choose a pig for a mascot and the first game I attended they had a blimp floating around dropping vouchers for frozen turkeys. They have come a long way and have put a quality team on the ice and have done great things to enrich the community.  The run up to the Stanly Cup playoffs in 2002 showed the world that the Raleigh area was worthy of a World Championship team and we came so close. This year maybe the year as the Canes are currently in 1st place.
 Ron Francis is a class act and he went out with grace, it was an honor to stand there and watch him and his boys skate around the rink one last time. I doubt this is the last the NHL will see of this great man I’m sure he’ll be back in the future in some other capacity. From now on when ever I go to the arena and I look up I can say I was here when the number 10 was raised to the rafters and Ron took his final bow in a town that 10 years ago not many even knew what the game of hockey was all about.
 
[quote]Canes give Francis night to remember
By JACK DALY, The Herald-Sun
January 29, 2006Â Â 12:25 am
RALEIGH — As his jersey fluttered to the rafters, Ron Francis took a final lap around the RBC Center ice, shaking hands with his former teammates and waving to the adoring crowd.
His son, Michael, lagged just behind. The Carolina Hurricanes had just made Francis’ No. 10 the first jersey retired in franchise history, and the two generation of Francises basked in the moment.
“Michael kept kind of yelling at me, ‘Dad, this is really cool,’ ” Francis said. “That sort of makes it even more special.”
From NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to Hurricanes’ owner Peter Karmanos to Francis’ closest friends and family, a string of hockey notables attended Francis’ jersey retirement Saturday night.
They saw Francis’ former team give him a trip to western Canada, heard the center’s name chanted again and again by the standing-room only crowd and felt the overall emotion of the evening.
“I thought it was a great ceremony,” Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. “I was standing behind Ray Whitney on the bench, and he goes, ‘I guarantee you my wife is crying right now.’
“I said, ‘Your wife? I’m about ready to cry.’ Then he looks at me and he goes, ‘Me too.’ So it was real emotion. I don’t know; I thought it was special.”
After the ceremony, Carolina outclassed Atlanta 4-1 in a gritty, penalty-filled game that didn’t quite match the pregame festivities for excitement.
With the victory, the Hurricanes (35-11-4) not only improved their home record to an astounding 23-4-1 — the last time Carolina lost in regulation in the RBC Center was Nov. 27 to Atlanta — but also moved four points in front of Ottawa for the overall NHL lead.
So call it a perfect night for Francis and the organization.
“I can’t remember us ever winning when Ronnie had a milestone or we had ‘Ron Francis night’ or whatever,” said Erik Cole, who picked up 20th goal of the season on a deflection in the first period.
“It was definitely great for this organization and a great night for Ronnie and his family to reflect on such an unbelievable career. It was special to be a part of, and I’m glad we capped it off with a win.”
Francis said he was touched by the spectacle, which also included all of the Hurricanes wearing the No. 10 out of the locker room and a string of video clips that featured hockey folks such as Steve Yzerman, Gordie Howe, Jeff O’Neill and Paul Maurice paying tribute.
The former center played for Hartford, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto and is second on the NHL’s all-time assist list, fourth in overall points. He retired after the 2003-04 season and still lives in Raleigh.
“All week, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, how I was going to react,” Francis said. “I had a lot of sleepless nights leading up to tonight. It was kind of a remarkable feeling. … When I went out on to the ice, I had to hold it together and get through it. It was a fun night.”
As for the game itself, Justin Williams scored a goal some four minutes in to give the Hurricanes a quick 1-0 lead. Cole’s goal made it 2-0 at the 9:21 mark of the first period.
New acquisition Anton Babchuk scored his first goal for Carolina — the Hurricanes traded Danny Richmond to the Blackhawks for the defenseman last week — on a power play in the second.
Atlanta tried to make things interesting in the third when Marc Savard scored 19 seconds into the period. But Scott Mellanby’s apparent goal was waved off late in the third for goalie interference, and Carolina’s Kevyn Adams added an empty-netter to secure the win.
“I thought the guys played so unbelievably hard tonight to make sure [we won] — we needed to end the night in the right way,” Laviolette said. “It was a terrific night, but we needed to make sure we ended it in the right way. The guys in the room really stepped it up big tonight and really put their foot on the gas pedal.”
NOTES — Before the game, Bettman said Raleigh is still scheduled to get an All-Star game — one day. “We haven’t focused on a time frame, but when we make a promise, we keep it,” Bettman said. “We will bring an All-Star game [to Raleigh].” … Friday’s standing-room only crowd of 18,930 was the largest of the year. Carolina had a standing-room crowd in its home opener against Pittsburgh, but attendance that night was 18,787. … Matt Cullen missed his first game with a broken jaw. He’ll be out two-to-four weeks.
URL for this article: http://www.herald-sun.com/sports/18-695188.html
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Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, I’ll explore new places and ideas I’ll learn new things and I’ll teach the things I’ve learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
[...] All of these photographs are ones I took at the game. The quality of some is not that great because they were taken from the nose bleed section. Behind us is the press boxes and Eric Cole and Ron Francis watched the game from there. In between the 2nd and 3rd period a young fan noticed Ron & Eric up there and tossed them her shirt to be signed. What a great thing to witness a young fan getting two great hockey players autographs. [...]