Dallas Stars DJ Apologizes For Playing 'La Bamba' Following Game 2 Win Over Oilers

The song has special meaning to the Edmonton Oilers and young superfan Ben Stelter, who passed away in August 2022 after a battle with brain cancer.

One of the NHL's most intense playoff matchups of the late 1990s and 2000s is renewed between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final.

A song choice after the Dallas Stars' Game 2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night led their music director to apologize on Sunday.

Jonathon 'Shippy' Shipman said on social media he tends to play the La Bamba by Los Lobos, originally written by Ritchie Valens, after home wins. He also routinely plays a song that mocks the opposing team, whether it's Chelsea Dagger after beating the Chicago Blackhawks or New York, New York when defeating the Rangers.

So after the Stars beat the Oilers 3-1 on Saturday, Shipman played La Bamba.

But La Bamba, the Oilers' win song, has extra special significance to Edmonton.

The Oilers first started playing La Bamba as a tribute to Joey Moss, an Oilers superfan who had been a dressing room attendant since 1984-85, who passed away in October 2020. Moss, born with Down syndrome, was inducted to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, and La Bamba was his favorite song.

Then, during the 2021-22 season, superfan Ben Stelter became well-known across Edmonton and the hockey world. His post-win catchphrase of "play La Bamba, baby" became a key theme for the Oilers as they reached the Western Conference final that year.

Stelter was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, before he turned five years old. He passed away at six years old on Aug. 9, 2022. Four months later, the Ben Stelter Foundation was created to provide memorable experiences for children with cancer, provide medical equipment for them at home and supporting medical research.

After learning the song's significance to the Oilers after Game 2, Shipman apologized on social media.

"I'm sorry, Oilers fans," Shipman wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "If I knew what I know now about the significance of La Bamba to your franchise and fan base, I certainly would not have played it. I thought it was just a happy, fun win song. Thank you to all the Oilers fans who have been so understanding. Much love!"

Shipman said he would not play the song going forward, and he also shared a screenshot of a donation to the Ben Stelter Foundation.

The Stars and Oilers will be back in Dallas for Game 5 on Friday, May 31. But first, they must play Games 3 and 4 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Monday and Wednesday, with the series currently tied 1-1.

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here.