While things have changed in more recent years, hockey players have long had a reputation for enjoying a few beers \u2014 and the 1988-89 Calgary Flames were certainly no exception.<\/p>\n
That team brought the Stanley Cup to Calgary for the first and only time in franchise history, defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games and clinching the championship on the road.<\/p>\n
While thousands of Calgarians filled the streets to celebrate, the Flames had a party of their own going on 30,000 feet in the air.<\/p>\n
The team decided to fly home to Alberta immediately after winning the Cup rather than spend the night in Montreal. Everything was going just fine until they realized, somewhere around the halfway point of the flight, that they were running low on booze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was somewhere about halfway home at 2 or 3 in the morning, and we\u2019re asking Cliff [Fletcher] if we can stop in Winnipeg and get some more beer,\u201d Flames enforcer Tim Hunter recalled on the Clearing The Crease podcast.<\/p>\n
@clearingthecrease<\/a> Tim Hunter tells the wild story about a Stanley Cup celebration in the sky! @ozooncanada \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 #clearingthecrease<\/a> #hockeypodcast<\/a> #timhunter<\/a> #stanleycup<\/a> #nhlplayoffs<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 clearingthecrease<\/a><\/p>\n Landing the plane in Winnipeg to restock the beer would have made for an incredible story, but unfortunately for the Flames, it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n We know this thanks to Lanny McDonald, who shared the same story on the Spittin\u2019 Chiclets podcast earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got halfway home from Montreal, five-and-a-half-hour flight, and this was like three in the morning,\u201d McDonald explained. \u201cWe asked Cliff, \u2018Can we land in Winnipeg? We\u2019re out of booze.\u2019 And Cliff said, \u2018Guys, Winnipeg closes at 9. We\u2019re only two from Calgary. No, we\u2019re keeping going.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we made up for it once we got home. I can guarantee it.\u201d<\/p>\n @spittinchiclets<\/a>After Lanny McDonald and the Flames won the Cup in Montreal they were out of booze on the plane by the time they reached Winnipeg \ud83c\udf7b\u266c original sound \u2013 Spittin Chiclets<\/a><\/p>\n And really, what better way to celebrate the first Stanley Cup in franchise history than to run out of beer somewhere over the Prairies?<\/p>\n That 1988-89 Flames team remains absolutely iconic in Calgary, having accomplished something no other Flames roster has been able to do since: win the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n The current Flames are still working their way through a rebuild, but with the organization slowly beginning to turn things in the right direction, perhaps it\u2019s only a matter of time before Calgary has another excuse to celebrate.<\/p>\n You might also like:6 Calgary Flames prospects who could make NHL debuts this season<\/a>
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