Two Teams Left Playing in 2004-05 Hockey Season

The Chicago Wolves and Philadelphia Phantoms begin play for the Calder Cup on Thursday night. The best-of-seven series to decide the American Hockey League championship is the final major event on the bare-bones 2004-05 hockey calendar.

The AHL could not have asked for a better final match-up: two of the league's largest markets and a handful of future NHL stars, including Jay Bouwmeester, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Braydon Coburn, Joni Pitkanen, and Kari Lehtonen. Not bad for minor league hockey.