After a long fought seven game series, the Carolina Hurricanes have defeated the Edmonton Oilers to be crowned Stanley Cup Champions. In dramatic style, it was a fight to the end with the final score Carolina 3, Edmonton 1. This game seven victory against the historic Oilers will bring Carolina's first ever Stanley Cup home.

With the fans going crazy all game long, refusing to sit in their seats, the Hurricanes knew that it was their time, their time to join the elite, to become champions.

Both teams came out with fire. Skating their fastest and hitting their hardest while playing like there was no tomorrow, the Hurricanes took an early 1-0 lead just 1:26 into the first period with a goal scored by defensemen Aaron Ward. But Edmonton did not give up. They fought, dove, shot, and sacrificed themselves for the better of the game, and gave it all they had. All of their hard work seemed as if it wasn't paying off when they skated off for the second intermission down two goals to the forceful Hurricanes, the second goal scored by defensemen Frantisek Kaberle on a powerplay, but the Oilers wouldn't hear it. The game wasn't over till the whistle blew.

Edmonton started the third period just as Carolina had started the first, with RW Fernando Pisani scoring a goal in only 1:03 into the period. It was down to a one goal game again, the fight was back on. And that is exactly what the teams did, they fought like they had never fought before. Exhaustion was no excuse, injuries meant nothing, all that mattered was the puck and the net.

With a minute and a half left in regulation, Edmonton was still down so they pulled goalie Jussi Markkanen, hoping that a sixth man skating will give them the goal they needed to bring the game to overtime. That goal would not come for the Oilers, only an empty netter by Hurricane Justin Williams would come, eventually end the game and all hopes for Edmonton's comeback.

When the final whistle was blown and the horn sounded it was finally written down in the books, the Carolina Hurricanes were the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions. The emotion took over the players as they hugged each other, cried, laughed, and bent over to take it all in. As the Hurricanes celebrated, all the Oilers could do was watch and wait for the handshakes and hugs, knowing they would return home without the glory of being champs.

After a long line of best wishes and handshakes, it was time to present the hardware. First out was the Conn Smythe trophy given to the playoff MVP. Who would it be awarded to? To the heroic veterans who showed everyone how to play the game, or to the young players bringing a spark to a team of age? It was then announced that rookie goalie Cam Ward was the winner, providing 22 fantastic saves in this final game seven.

In an emotional post-game press conference Hurricane Captain Rod Brind'Amour praised Ward. "The kid came in when we were down and out, so to speak, and just brought us life. Goaltending wins you championships, there's no mistake about it, everybody knows it, and we had the best goalie in the playoffs. We got to raise the Cup because that kid."

Ward held the trophy up for a few seconds but immediately wanted to put it down because there is only one real trophy he wanted to hold that night, the one that showed this game is not all about him, but about his team. "Obviously it's a huge honor to win the award and I truly feel you could have given it to anybody on this hockey team. And to tell you the truth, it's completely irrelevant to the Cup, the trophy that matters the most is that Stanley Cup and our guys deserve it.

"You work all season long to get home ice advantage for a game seven in the playoffs and we were excited to come back into our own building where our fans have been tremendous all season long. And once again you saw tonight how loud and loyal they can be. Us as a team deserve it, but the fans truly deserve it also."

Every man on the team did deserve the Cup. Young or old, experienced or novice, they are all class acts. They worked hard and earned every bit of joy they receive. With players like Glen Wesley being in the league for 18 years, Brind'Amour and Mark Recchi for 16, and Bret Hedican for 13, all the way down to the rookies Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, and Andrew Ladd, each and every person on this team fought their hardest and never gave up.

"Long after I hold the Cup up tonight and have my time with it in the summer, I'll remember where this team came from, how hard they fought for each other. As a coach it's probably the most rewarding and fulfilling thing that can happen, and to watch those guys hold the Cup over their head tonight was...it's what I'll remember," Carolina Head Coach Peter Laviolette expressed in the post-game press conference.

As for the Edmonton Oilers, they cannot hang their heads low. They went from struggling to make the playoffs to writing history books as being the first eighth seed ever to make it to the NHL finals. They put up a great fight down to the last minute of the seventh game, and showed the world what they are made of.

"We didn't do ourselves a disservice in this game. The one thing I wanted the players to do is to get through the disappointment as quickly as they can. You know when you work, your lifes work is to try and win a Stanley Cup and you fall short like we did tonight, it's disappointing, but a good effort overall," Oilers Head Coach Craig MacTavish struggled to get out at the post-game press conference.

It was a phenomenal effort and now Edmonton can proudly say that they are no longer a team of the past, but rather a team of the present and a team of the future.