HARTFORD, Conn.  The Raimundo home in Connecticut rocked with the sounds of "Brass Bonanza," this week as the Carolina Hurricanes reached a milestone. The Shelton family reveled in the Hurricanes' 8-2 win over Montreal, which landed the team in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The former Hartford Whalers still remain near and dear to many Connecticut fans five years after bolting the Nutmeg State to Tobacco Road. Chris Raimundo, 21, has been a fan since he was a young boy. As the Canes crushed the Canadiens on Monday, Raimundo loaded the team's classic theme song, "Brass Bonanza," on his computer and blared it out the speakers with every goal. Eight times.

"It was amazing," Raimundo said. "I was joking with my friends we should get a petition to bring the Whale back in 2008 as an expansion team. It would be great." The franchise arrived in Hartford 28 years ago, as the New England Whalers of the old World Hockey Association and joined the NHL during the 1979 expansion. They had just three winning seasons in their first 18 years in the NHL, so every Whalers milestone was a reason to celebrate in Hartford. The city treated the club to a downtown parade in 1986 when it reached the second round of the playoffs. They lost in that round to the Canadiens. Owner Peter Karmanos moved the team to North Carolina in 1998, citing financial losses in Hartford. The Whalers' final game was a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay before a sellout crowd of 14,600 on April 13, 1997 at the Hartford Civic Center. They left a trail of broken hearts. "I believed in the team and I believed in their place in Hartford," said Lieutenant Gov. M. Jodi Rell. "The fan base is just superb." Rell spearheaded an 11th-hour season ticket drive to keep the team in Connecticut. She still follows the progress of the team, which hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday. "I'm glad they finally beat the Canadiens and advanced. Ron Francis deserves a win," Rell said. "I just wish there was a big "W" on their jerseys." The Whalers banners still hang from the rafters of the 16,000-seat Civic Center. Filling the void now are minor league hockey, college basketball, and this week, the circus. Mary Lynn Gorman began working in the Whalers front office in 1984. As a community relations representative she worked closely with the team for fund-raisers and other charity appearances. Now, she performs the same duties for the Hartford Wolf Pack, the New York Rangers' AHL farm team. She doesn't look back much, she said. "I kind of let that go. It was great and now we're moving on," Gorman said. "The (Wolf Pack) kind of picked up where the Whalers left off." But there are plenty of signs that the Whalers are gone but not forgotten. Several Web sites remain dedicated to them. The Whalers booster club is still in existence in Connecticut. Fans bedecked in green-and-white Whalers gear continue to drive the 600 miles for Hurricanes games. Deb Risisky, 31, doesn't have to drive as far. She grew up in Farmington and is now a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She dons her Whalers jersey and attends Canes games as often as she can. "I just got my tickets for the next round," she said recently. "I still scream 'Go Whalers.' I'm kind of in denial, but that's OK." Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.