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On this day in Canes history ...

June 19, 2006

The Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final. The win marks the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history and the first major professional sports championship in North Carolina. Cam Ward wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player.

For most everyone reading this, the above description wasn't even necessary - you knew exactly what happened on this day 14 years ago. June 19, 2006 is one of those "Where were you when?" dates.

The best season in franchise history came down to one game. Three periods. 60 minutes. One last winner-take-the-Stanley-Cup faceoff against the Oilers.

It's the moment dreams are made of: Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Hurricanes, as they did all throughout 2005-06, rose to the occasion. They weren't letting the Cup slip from their grasp for a third straight game.

Aaron Ward opened the scoring just 86 seconds into Game 7. Frantisek Kaberle gave the Canes a 2-0 lead in the second period. The Oilers halved the Canes' lead early in the third period, but Justin Williams, playing in the third Game 7 of his career, sealed the victory with an empty-net tally with 61 seconds to play.

The Carolina Hurricanes were Stanley Cup Champions.

Let those who experienced it Video: Moment 1: Hurricanes Win the Stanley Cup.

Rod Brind'Amour: "It's kind of hard to put into words, to be quite honest with you. Everything you put into it since you dreamt about winning it - to me, it's always that extra work you did in the summer, the practices, the broken bones, your family sacrificing. For me, I had three kids at the time old enough to enjoy that. Everybody that was a part of it. Honestly, it was gratitude. That's what I remember sitting in my stall, just being so grateful that I was able to accomplish that with the guys that I did and that my family was able to be a part of it. Our sport is really unique that way in that it's such a sacrifice for your family just to be able to get you to play as a kid. They're with you every step of the way. For me winning it, especially at that stage, I think it just made it that much more special. I just remember being so grateful."

Happy Stanleyversary, everybody. Here's to doing it again soon.