Pittsburgh Hornets
The Hornets, still a minor-league team for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, made their debut in the International-American Hockey League in 1936–37.The Hornets reappeared in the new Civic Arena in 1961 and, after a poor start, they became AHL contenders again, this time as a farm club for the Detroit Red Wings.Following the 1967 win, the Hornets permanently closed operations, as the Pittsburgh Penguins began play the next fall and took over the market when the NHL expanded.Larry Aurie, a member of that team, was a player-coach and led them to their first appearance in the Calder Cup Finals in 1940 where they were swept in three games by the Providence Reds.Following the season Larry Aurie ended his stint as coach to finish with a record of 129–162–39 in 330 games, a .450 winning percentage.For the 1946–47 season the Hornets returned to the AHL Finals for the second time in team history, losing Game 7 to the mid-state Hershey Bears.The Maple Leafs' success with four Stanley Cup championships between 1947 and 1951 helped to solidify the position of the minor league Hornets.The Hornets played the Maple Leafs' style of hockey that involved hard, close checking that produced low scoring games.However, in 1949 tragedy struck the team when Hornets star goaltender Baz Bastien lost his right eye after being hit by a puck in the preseason.However, during the 1954–55 season Pittsburgh defeated the Buffalo Bisons in six games to capture the club's second Calder Cup Championship.The Hornets franchise was suspended for five years because of Pittsburgh's urban renewal project, Renaissance I, called for The Gardens to be torn down.Demolition started on August 13, 1956, to make way for the Park Plaza apartments and a local fixture, Stouffer's Restaurant.Today Duranti's Restaurant features the only remaining evidence of the Gardens, with 2, 11-feet wide sections of exposed red brick wall.[1] In 1961 the franchise returned as a minor league team for the Red Wings, the Hornets emerged from five years of inactivity and played their first game at the Civic Arena, on October 14, 1961, in front of 9,317 fans.Goaltender Roger Crozier won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award for being the AHL's Rookie of the Year.On April 30, 1967, they finished the sweep of Rochester Americans in the Calder Cup Finals after Billy Harris scored:26 seconds into overtime in what would be the last goal in Pittsburgh Hornets’ history.Thirty-one years after the Hornets first game, Coach Baz Bastien and team captain Ab McDonald were presented with the Calder Cup.When the Hornets returned to the ice in 1961 after their five-year hiatus, they wore red and white wool jerseys with tie-down collars.