Alucard

I actually meant to italicise Nez's responses; apparently I forgot!

4–3 Bears

166 Titans 167 Reign 168 Wranglers 169 Express

Nezhmetdinov Slow to Settle VHL.com 23/09 Evgeny Nezhmetdinov scored his first goal for the Express against the Americans earlier this week. With just four points in twenty six games, Kazakh winger Evgeny Nezhmetdinov has been slow to settle in the VHL. An impressive debut season in the VHLM saw Kiyar net twenty eight goals in seventy two regular season games, and seventy one points over the course of the regular and the post season, including twelve points in twelve playoff games. He was drafted sixth overall in the VHL Entry Draft by the Köln Express, but thus far has struggled to find his feet in the league. He recently scored his first VHL goal in a 4–0 win over the New York Americans, and following that game VHL.com caught up with the youngster to see how he is adapting to life in the big leagues. Evgeny, it's fair to say that you haven't had the quickest of settling in periods; how do you feel about your first few weeks in the VHL? Nezhmetdinov: It has not been easy. The players here are much more physical than in the VHLM, and sometimes I feel like a punching bag out there. It's not a big deal, though. I just need to put my head down and work hard, train hard, and my ability will show. I have a lot to learn, but I'm on a great team and I'm optimistic about my future. You say you have a lot to learn; has that come as a surprise to you? You were one of Oslo's top scorers in S44, and now you're surrounded by players with a lot more experience than you. Nezhmetdinov: Yes and no. I think I knew it would be difficult to move to the VHL, but when you are playing well for Oslo it's easy to think that the gap is not so big. I did not start well for Oslo either though. I think I had something like one or two points in twenty games, and then finished with fifty nine points in the regular season. Speaking of slow starts, the Express had a slower start than they would have liked. How's the mood in the locker room now? Nezhmetdinov: It's good. We lost too many games in the first two weeks, but the locker room is very positive and now we're winning again. Do you have any goals for the season? Either as a team or as an individual? Nezhmetdinov: Stop getting beat up! Ah, I don't know. I need to get stronger, and I need to get better. I just have to work hard. The first few weeks were weird for me because I had a lot of personal stuff going on outside of hockey. Now I'm just looking forward to playing hockey and trying to help the team reach the playoffs.

Evgeny Nezhmetdinov—Oslo Storm + 2

Oslo have stormed back into contention after tonight's 2–1 victory over the Saskatoon Wild in game 3 of the Founder's Cup Finals. Don't let the narrow scoreline fool you; this game would have—and should have—been a blow-out were it not for Ariel Weinstein's heroics. The Storm held the hitherto free-scoring Wild to just seven shots on net, with just one of those beating Clegane. The visiting Wild did not manage a single shot on net in the first period, but it wasn't until the second minute of the second period that Oslo's dominance came to fruition, as winger Evgeny Nezhmetdinov set up fellow rookie Wesley Babiy for the game's opening goal. The Wild struck back midway through the period through R Truth, but Nezhmetdinov continued his excellent post-season form with his third goal of the playoffs to put the hosts back in front before the period buzzer. The third period yielded no goals, and so the Storm have narrowed the deficit to one game heading into game 4. The were 0 for 9 on the powerplay, but if they can restrict their opponents to so few shots in future encounters then they may just be able to spring an upset. Another victory on home ice will set us up for a thrilling conclusion to this season's VHLM campaign. P.S. Go Storm Go!

Back in business!

Seriously guys, can you make that show? I'd watch the hell out of it.

Year of the Goalie VHL.com, 23/08 With the current season drawing to a close, the attention of many has already turned to the upcoming VHL Entry Draft. This season's class is a curious one, with as many as three netminders being widely regarded as solid first round picks. While it remains to be seen where and when each of these bright prospects will go, VHL.com takes a look at the goalies in question. 1. Greg Clegane (Yukon Rush) Save %: .900 GAA: 1.56 Shutouts: 17 Probably the highest rated prospect in the entire draft class, Yukon goaltender Greg Clegane has had a rookie season to remember. Over 72 regular season games he played more minutes than any other goalie in the league, and his GAA of 1.56 ranked him at third in the league. While he is regarded by many as the best player in his class, his GAA was actually lower than that of either Weinstein or his brother Sandro. 2. Ariel Weinstein (Saskatoon Wild) Save %: .910 GAA: 1.27 Shutouts: 24 Whilst the Clegane brothers have drawn plaudits for a variety of reasons, Saskatoon goaltender Ariel Weinstein looks set to end the season with both praise and silverware, as the Wild sit two games to the good in their VHLM Final series against the Oslo Storm. Weinstein led the league in regular season shutouts and GAA, and his performances have been such that even those who claim that any goaltender would succeed with Saskatoon would not deny his talent. 3. Sandro Clegane (Oslo Storm) Save %: .916 GAA: 1.30 Shutouts: 21 Brother of Greg, Oslo goaltender Sandro Clegane has arguably had an even more memorable season than his sibling. While the Rush were eliminated by the Wild in the Conference Final, Sandro and his Storm teammates marched all the way to the Playoff Finals with a riveting 4–3 victory over the Bratislava Watchmen. Despite being thought of as the third best goaltender in the class at the beginning of the season, Clegane's performances with the Storm this season have been amongst the most impressive of all players in the league. Numerous were the games when Oslo relied upon his heroics, and no goalie in the league managed a better save percentage. The Also-Rans The other goalies up for selection in this season's draft will be the Bern Royals' Ryan Price, the Ottawa Lynx's Teuvo Rinne, and the Brampton Blades' Filip Lundqvist. Most impressive of these three during S44 was Rinne, who—despite facing more shots than any goaltender in the league (2446)—managed to put up a very respectable save percentage of .904. He also put up more shutouts (5) than either Price or Lundqvist (2), and in many regards was one of the shining lights of a miserable season for the Lynx. Price lost 50 of the 59 games he played in, though he did manage to maintain a 100% record against penalty shots, albeit against only 5. As for Lundqvist, he played only 839 minutes during the regular season, but did win 9 of the 14 games in which he started. His draft stock will certainly be effected by his lack of ice time, and his true potential may not become apparent until S45.

YES!

Hey! Shut it , Valmount! You're lucky you're a Habs fan or I'd insult you so bad you'd cry like a Boston bitch.

Shots fired. Brotherly love.

From the VHL.com forums, after game 1 of the Oslo–Bratislava series: Are you shitting me? How the hell did we not win tonight's game?! Thirty-four shots to TWELVE, and we still manage to lose? Am I the only one who's suspicious about Coca Cola not taking his mask off? That was some Carey Price shit out there; are we sure that was even Cola in goal? —an irate Storm fan. This is actually a possibility. Seriously, we battered them in the regular season, and then Cola's pulling off Price-esque saves? Suspicious to say the least. The league should investigate this shit. —Storm fan, conspiracy theorist. You guys are full of shit. Do you even listen to yourself when you talk? Or do you just kind of drift in and out? Carey Price playing for Bratislava... you guys need a reality check. —Someone who's not full of shit. Whatever dude. Your mom needs a reality check. The bottom line is that whoever's in goal for Bratislava can't pull off this superhero shit four games in a row. We'll bounce back in game 2—mark my word. —Storm fan. Sing it with me: Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong. You're wroooooong. Same shit in game 2. —Storm fan from the future.

That final line may be the most painful pun I've put in a VHL article. I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed of myself.

Storm Confident Despite Defeats Oslo, 15 August Oslo's #19, Evgeny Nezhmetdinov, was down-trodden after game 2, but insists the series is far from over. The Oslo Storm fell two games behind in their series against the Bratislava Watchmen last night, but according to Storm forward Evgeny Nezhmetdinov the team are still confident that they can turn things around. They outshot their opponents in both games, and will be scratching their heads as to how they've wound up two games down as they travel to Bratislava for games 3 and 4. The end result is that Oslo must win four of the next five, or face elimination. If the Storm were in disbelief about their loss in game 1, they will be doubly confused as to how they are now two games behind. Just as in game 1, tonight's game saw Cola Cola's goal peppered with shots, yet it is Bratislava who hold a two game lead after overtime winner. The forward has now scored four goals in two games against Oslo, and seven overall in the playoffs. As for the Storm, the bright side is that Game 2 saw the return of their powerplay. After going 0 for 7 with the man advantage in game 1, Oslo leapt into a 2 goal lead inside the first five minutes with 2 powerplay goals from Maxime Perron. Grady Simons pulled the Watchmen to within 1 a couple of minutes later, before a mass brawl saw three players from each side penalised for fighting. The same remarkable incident also saw three players called for roughing, and one for slashing. The powerplay struck again in the second period, but this time it was Bratislava's special teams making the difference as Simons recorded his second goal of the night and pulled the visitors onto level terms. When a fifth goal arrived, it was again in the wake of a penalty: Bratislava's Tanner Hynes got the gate, and Giovanni Reuel netted his first goal of the playoffs to make it 3–2 Oslo. The Watchmen wouldn't give up however, and it was Valmont who equalised before the final buzzer, and he again who netted the winner in overtime, handing his side a surprise two game lead in the series. Despite this setback, winger Evgeny Nezhmetdinov was adamant in a post-game interview that the series was not out of the Storm's hands, and was far from over. "We were unlucky in game 1," he said. "We played them off the ice, but Cola was incredible. Tonight we were the better team again, but credit to Bratislava—they didn't know when they were beaten, and they robbed us again. We were better today though; we moved the puck well, we won the majority of the face-offs, and most importantly we came up big on the powerplay. There is still a lot of hockey to be played in this series, but I know we can go to Bratislava and turn it around. Those Men better Watch; there's a Storm coming."