Maybe the current Salt Lake Golden Eagles will go down as the losingest team in club history; and maybe they will be remembered as the team that was in uniform last when professional hockey left Salt Lake City. But, man, can these guys write an ending.

Steven Spielberg couldn't have done it better.Playing the final home game in the franchise's long, colorful and sometimes just plain strange history, the Eagles, the worst team in the International Hockey League, met a good San Diego Gulls team Wednesday in the Delta Center. And won.

The largest crowd ever to see a hockey game in Utah witnessed The End. In a game that was part funeral and part Mighty Ducks, the Eagles rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the score 4-all and force a shootout. Seven shots were fired, and seven shots were stopped, the crowd hanging on every rejection, until finally, the eighth skater, the Eagles' Kimby Daniels, slipped a shot into the goal. Moments later, goalie Milan Hnilicka stopped the Gulls' last shot to end the game.

Seizing the moment, the Eagles stood at center ice, sticks raised, as applause and cheers (and litter) descended from the stands. "Ladies and gentlemen, YOOOOURRRR Salt Lake Golden Eagles!" the announcer shouted.

But not for long. The Eagles and pro hockey are out of here. They're history. Wednesday night was closing night. Aside from the security guards in the bathrooms, the huge crowd and the victory, the Eagles went out in fairly typical fashion: three brawls (all shown on instant replay), two ejections and umpteen renditions of "Y-M-C-A" (hey, but it beats organ music).

Only six months ago, the Eagles were celebrating their silver anniversary season, and now they're gone. Who would have thought it possible. The Eagles were an institution, like Temple Square. They had been nothing if not resilient. They had survived more close calls than Clint Eastwood.

During their 25 years, the Eagles narrowly escaped extinction six times, dodging parent-team problems, folding leagues and tight money. They survived seven team affiliations, three leagues, 13 coaches, eight losing seasons and Charlie Finley. When one owner fell to his death from a 19th-story window, when another owner was murdered, when two players were stabbed by women with ice picks . . . the Eagles played on.

They are the longest-surviving pro sports team in Utah history. They were skating before the Utah Stars were born; they were skating when the Stars died. Not only did they outdraw the Utah Jazz one year, but Jazz owner Sam Battistone once called then-Eagle owner Art Teece into his office to ask him a question: "Art, how can we get the kind of crowds you're getting?"

All that has changed, of course. Larry Miller, who had rescued the Eagles from financial ruin by buying the club five years ago, suddenly announced last month that he was selling the Eagles to a group in Michigan.

Eagles fans were furious at Miller. Taking away Bikini Night was one thing, but this. . . . The trouble was, the Eagles' diehard fans weren't enough. Average attendance is 4,800 per game - well below the 7,500 Miller says he needs to break even. Curiously, in the five games since Miller made his announcement, attendance has averaged 8,408.

On Wednesday, 14,144 fans showed up in the Delta Center. Most of them didn't know the difference between a crease and a slot, or thought icing was only dessert. But they came anyway, just to see the farewell. Most of the fans took something home by which to remember the occasion. On a normal night, Eagle souvenirs reap $600. On this night it was $1,700 - in the first period. Eagle hats, T-shirts, sticks and pucks were sold out in the Delta Center.

It was also a big night for security, which was more than doubled for the game to handle both the huge crowd and the angry hockey fans who had threatened vandalism in retaliation against Miller. Guards were posted everywhere, even inside the restrooms.

The Delta Center escaped damage, but Miller's reputation didn't. "Boycott Anything Miller Sells," said the signs. And the T-shirts: "Boycott Miller The Eagle Killer." Miller, who rarely attends Eagles games anyway, wasn't there - he was in New York for NBA meetings - but his son, Greg, was.

"I was pretty hot about the T-shirts at first," he said. "I wonder where they would have watched hockey the last five years without (Miller)."

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Better question: Where would they have been without Art Teece? He had helped manage the Eagles during their first 20 years, 15 as owner, and four times had saved them in times of crisis. But not this time. Teece could only shake his head as he took in Wednesday's goodbye scene from the stands.

"Seeing this crowd convinces me that hockey can survive here," he said. He proceeded to discuss the matter at length when he wasn't interrupted by fans. "Thanks for all the years of hockey, Mr. Teece," they told him as they shook his hand. Teece, 81, would like to give them more.

"If I were 10 years younger, I guarantee you hockey would be in Salt Lake," he said. "All they need is a winning team."

For one memorable last night, they had one.

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