Denver finals history notes

A Denver area sports team will play in a major North American sports league final for the eleventh time when the Denver Broncos face the Carolina Panthers in the 50th Super Bowl this Sunday.

The Denver area teams are (4-6) in previous finals.

They started (0-4) as the Broncos currently (2-5) in finals, lost in their first four such appearances.

Next came a finals winning streak of four involving Denver area teams.

The NHL Colorado Avalanche began the streak winning the title in their first season in Denver having been the Quebec Nordiques before that 1995-1996 season.

The Broncos won Super Bowls in back to back seasons 1997 and 1998.

The Avalanche (2-0) in finals won the Stanley Cup/NHL final in the 2000-2001 season.

The current 2 finals Denver area loss skein began when the baseball Colorado Rockies were swept by the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series.

Then 2 years ago, the Broncos were routed in the 2014 season Super Bowl/NFL final by the Seattle Seahawks.

The NBA Denver Nuggets have never advanced to that league’s final but did lose to the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association’s last final and final game in the 1975-1976 playoffs.

Patrick Roy, pictured above, the current Colorado Avalanche coach, was the goaltender in both Avalanche Stanley Cup victories and the last two Montreal Canadiens’ titles. The Canadiens had won 15 titles in 24 seasons (1956-1979) but have won but two since that time. Roy was their goaltender both times.