Peace

I'd like to say I'm impressed with Moscow leading the series 3-1, but having just experienced a 3-1 deficit with Vasteras, I know the series isn't over yet... although I'm interested to see if Moscow can finish off the Wolves tomorrow and wrap this season up. It's been a long season, a frustrating season, and I'm well aware that's the grave I dug for myself. I'm beyond ready for it to end, I'm ready for my player to be on Toronto and I'm ready to begin preparing for the entry draft. This season could mark the first season in a long time where I might be absent, so I have to dot my I's and cross my T's before sending in a priority list. Or I can have someone show up for me. Reflecting back on the playoffs I'm honestly surprised DC fell in four after fighting hard against Chicago, but I suppose STHS decided the teams who lost their first game would be swept in the second round. Oh and the European conference first round were both sweeps. The fuuuu.....

Kyle Peace finished the VHLE playoffs with nineteen points in Vasteras' fourteen post season games, which, well, obviously concludes his first and final VHLE season with a championship in true Vasteras fashion. We quote another veteran VHLer in saying it was 'the most inevitable outcome', the team fought hard to get the VHLE's ultimate trophy; we covered it in another article, but we'll reiterate it here: Vasteras has a history as a dissolved/regressed team, so that quote is a reference to the Iron Eagles former life. Today, much to the disappointment of the Italians, Vasteras is the inaugural champions of the VHLE! The team is celebrating a comeback victory after trailing the series three games to one. But how were those games, we can look at the play-by-play to reveal the stories. GAME ONE: Rome wins 5-3, leads series 1-0. Baby Bob scored the game winning goal 11:26 seconds into the third period, it was a goal that broke a then 3-3 tie and gave the Gladiators a small but significant 4-3 lead heading into the second half of the final frame of the first ever VHLE championship game. They wound up coasting to a 5-3 victory over Vasteras despite some late game efforts to even the score, ultimately Rome would head to the dressing room leading the series one game to none over the Iron Eagles. An otherwise innocent play doomed the 'comeback kids'. Gladiators' Numminen won a defensive zone faceoff against Eagle Captain Armani Calamari, dished the puck to Aky who opted to dump the disk into Vasteras' zone after being pressured through the neutral zone. Eagles' defender Nano retrieved the puck, but Nathan Steele connected on a quality check moments after Nano took control of the play. Numminen acquired the loose puck and set the game winning play up, he dished it back to the point where Ben Aky received a pass, quickly recognizing a now open Baby Bob. The twine was stretching before Booberry could really react. GAME TWO: Rome wins 4-3, lead series 2-0. If the finals were a science fiction novel, then Otto Numminen would have been the antagonist to our Vasteras heroes. The Gladiator center simply dominated during game two, accumulating three points, ten shots on goal, thirty one and a half minutes... you get the point. Numminen also scored the game winning goal 16:57 into the third period, meaning Rome once again broke a 3-3 stalemate to win the game. Unlike Bob's game winning goal in the first game, Numminen's GW tally was pretty straight forward. An errand pass by Kyle Peace was intercepted by Nalwa, but before a sloppy play resulted in Numminen's breakaway, Peace intercepted Otto's pass in the neutral zone. Now that there's some context, we can imagine the play developing. Numminen has the puck in the neutral zone, gets pressured into making a play, and the puck is intercepted by Peace. Peace doesn't have a lot of space, tries to squeeze it through Numminen's legs, but Nalwa is there to collect the puck. The clean pass over a sprawling Peace was enough to enable Numminen to enter Vasteras' zone on a breakaway, and he quick work of a chaotic moment. We're not even sure Peace was off the ice before the goal was scored. GAME THREE: Vasteras wins 4-3, trails series 2-1. Vasteras' first win of the finals wasn't a literal 'flip the script' moment on the Gladiators, but it was a moment the team would take. Unlike the first two games, which were tied three apiece before a game winning goal was scored to seal the victories for Rome, Vasteras had already scored the game winning goal 15:39 into the third frame. The difference between Vasteras' first fourth goal in the first three games was their lead when it was scored, which so happened to be 4-2 when the goal was registered by Jocke Jockesson's first goal of the postseason. The play was pretty simple. Calamari was applied pressure through the center of the Gladiators zone, took a shot on net, and collected the rebound that scooted off towards the boards. A quick pass through some bodies found Jockesson's stick, and the Eagle tapped it home for a goal that extended the Eagles' lead to two. Less than two minutes later Rome would tally to cut their lead to one, but the goal held up and consequentially became the game winning goal. Booberry stopped 39 of 42 shots to give his club the win. GAME FOUR: Rome wins 5-4, leads series 3-1. The fires of Mount Doom are glowing red, and the showers of the category five hurricane 'Gloom' are rapidly approaching Vasteras. Other than the obvious Lord of the Rings reference, there's also a subtle one if you can find it on the scoresheet. It doesn't take that long, but it is a bit of a stretch, so the hints you get are 'fellowship' and what happened to it. Oh fuck it, we'll explain why Nalwa's third period goal wound up being the final nail in the Iron Eagles' game four efforts. You see they lead the game 3-0 heading into the second period, and just after the second frames 11th minute, the Eagles had secured a 4-1 lead over the Rome Gladiators. Everything was looking up, the fellowship of the ring was healthy as it could be. Optimism was high, the mere idea they could tie the series at two had unified their play, and then the Orcs -- er we mean Gladiators -- ruined the fellowship by completely dismantling the Eagles through the last eight minutes of the second period. A once 4-1 game was tied at four heading into the third period, and Nalwa secured the victory over Vasteras 15:50 into the final leg. Brink of elimination. GAME FIVE: Vasteras wins 4-3, trails series 3-2. Okay now we have a literal 'flip the script' situation here. Does this seem familiar at all to you? It's the third period, the game is tied 3-3 and the game winning goal breaks a stalemate to become the game winner. Yeah, it's pretty familiar to us too, but this time fortune favored the bold as Vasteras threw everything they had into the eventual powerplay goal. Oh damn, was that another reference? Just like any Star Trek movie, or really any movie not labelled Infinity War lately, our heroes seem to always find a way to have plot armor... er, find a way to achieve victory. Tipton's third period goal just over five minutes was enough to give Vasteras the lead, but it wasn't enough to secure the game. Oh no, that came on the back of Xavier Booberry, who had to make seventeen additional stops to ensure the Eagles weren't eliminated in game five. Overall the goaltender stopped all twenty three he faced during the period, and perhaps some of the most important saves were before Tipton scored the go-ahead goal, but nevertheless Xavier deserves special recognition for building a shield. Xavier La Forge, anyone... no? Oh and for the first time this series, Vasteras was able to save their 3-1 lead. GAME SIX: Vasteras wins 7-4, series tied 3-3. Vasteras' win was pretty convincing in game six, and truthfully a spoiler to how the club would play in the decisive game seven. The seven goal output was nice, but the real factor in the victory was limited the Gladiators to just twenty four shots throughout the game. In a league/era where goals are seemingly scored through shot volume, the Gladiators simply didn't have enough darts on the board to get a bullseye. We're done with the movie references so don't worry, I had my fun and now it's over. The Eagles-Gladiators series, however, has now become more interesting than anyone could have predicted following the first four games. In another 'flip the script' moment, Vasteras was able to comeback from Rome's 3-1 lead and successfully tied the series, something they were unable to do -- including game five -- throughout the finals against Rome. Our game winner this time around was scored back in the first period, on the Eagles fifth goal of the frame, which really recapped an impressive display from Captain Armani Calamari. Onto game seven! GAME SEVEN: Vasteras wins 6-1, wins series 4-3. Okay now the ultimate 'flip the script' moment has been completed. The Eagles' 6-1 victory has secured the players, staff, fans and city the inaugural VHLE championship. I'm not really sure what the award is called for the winning VHLE team but I'm sure someone will point it out. Regardless, and fortunately for our heroes in this book, the Eagles are ending the season on the highest note possible. The climax has arrived, and now the final chapters will be written in the history books. Many players will be graduating to their VHL teams, leaving Vasteras a hollow shell of the team that just won the VHLE's top trophy. In a six-one victory it's hard to pinpoint any particular turning point, the scoring was so spread out six individual skaters all recorded goals in the contest, although it could be said Vidot's four point effort or Booberry's excellent goaltending helped the team achieve what they achieved. The truth it this seventh game was a complete team effort, unlike some of the games above despite a win or loss at the end of the night. Everyone on the ice was celebrating as if it were the Stanley Cup, no one really cares who got the game winner, or who scored the most points. Remember that good sportsmanship is key. It was a hard fought series, Rome, you should be proud of your effort; you were a great antagonist to this story.

I change your car tires, I repair your car tires, and I always correct your tire pressure.

I'm interested!

So something familiar happened to Toronto this season. We had two players reach triple digit points with Asher Reinhart [118] and Matty Fire [112] both climbing above 100, although I will acknowledge we're in a much more productive era than the low scoring 70's and the low player counts of the mid 60's probably inflating personal achievement somewhat. The familiar thing about two of my players climbing over a hundred is quite familiar to me, I've experienced it in the past back when I played for HC Davos Dynamo nearly twenty season ago. Both my previous Peace (Rylan Peace) and Nyko's previous player, Dogbird, I mean Dalhberg recorded over one hundred points each and the club missed the playoffs. We know why, we know it's STHS and all the finnicky things about it, but I thought it was somewhat cool. Enough for 2 TPE anyway.

Vasteras has a long history under old management, but under this new league -- the European division of the Victory Hockey League [VHLE] - they've got no former technical history, it's the inaugural season and every team is starting with a clean slate. For the Iron Eagles, the story they wrote was fairly frustrating yet just enough to keep the pages turning: It was a fairly rocky season, they barely squeezed themselves into the playoffs by finishing just a mere point above the Cologne Express, and had it gone to a tie-breaker they'd be playing golf instead of hockey. As much as the Iron Eagles' roster would like to think the current round is nearly over, they've got to stay focused and close out the series in game six before getting comfortable with a lead, or worse before anyone gets complacent about the teams last three performances. Sure, in the last three games they've only allowed two goals, and are currently riding a two game shutout streak but the Vikings were the top team in Europe for a reason and are likely to regroup. Eagles and Vikings' fans have all eyes on that decisive sixth game. One side will be cheering for their team to advance into the finals, while the other side will be cheering for their in hopes they return to form. Kyle Peace is determined to stay focused, all his energy is being directed at settling his nerves and calming himself before the butterflies in his stomach turn into trembling hands and missed opportunities on the ice. There's only a few moments left for him in Europe, his destiny is to join Toronto next season, it'll take all the focus he has to conquer himself. His feelings about his team though? He's immensely proud of the work ethic they've shown, how the group has strung together a hot run and is ultimately impressed with the last three games against the leagues top team. Memories are made every game, memories that'll stick with the young Legion prospect for quite some time. "I don't know what everyone else is, well, you know, how they're preparing for tomorrow... but for me? I've got to keep myself on my toes." Peace said in an interview with VHL.com earlier today. "I know myself, and I know if I let these wins get inside my head I'll perform terribly tomorrow, so I think after this interview I'm turning away from social media and TV. I might go fishing, or maybe go for a bike ride on a trail near Vastaras... hell, maybe just stay in and order some decent flippin' food." We asked Peace about his team shortly after receiving an earful from the young man. "I'm extremely proud of the team," Peace stated. "I'm very happy with how the last three games have turned out. We went from trailing the series two - zilch to leading three - two, and we've all played a role in climbing above the Vikings. Everyone's play recently has been downright impressive, I'm... simply overjoyed with the club. Bravo, Eagles, bravo, and that's enough to sum it all up." Vasteras hosts Stockholm tomorrow for game six.

1. I've heard LA is going to the finals somehow. 2. Probably Spartan. 3. Honestly I don't think I'd relocate any team right now, they're all in a pretty good city IMHO. Questions: 1. Did you do anything IRL for Halloween this season? 2. Did you participate in the Halloween TPE hunt? 3. What are some of the best costumes you've seen in your life?

Not by trading picks. A VHLM team at the dispersal draft with zero picks turns into a team that goes 10-62 throughout the season. If a player requests a trade from a shit team, then it should be up to said teams GM to communicate with the player in order to find a new home for him while disregarding any player value at all. Just my $0.02.

Or just remove pick trading all together.

Gross.

As a former VHLM GM hearing this kinda breaks my heart. I'd be glad to help if you need my assistance.

Wait. What?

1. Calgary 2. Probably not. 3. I'm I would not oppose of the idea, but it's not something that fits the VHL. Questions: 1. Do you play any musical instruments? 2. Do you have any hobbies you'd say are less common than others? 3. How fun would you rate the VHL?

It's been a tough year for Toronto, but a scorched-Earth rebuild usually is, and now we're ready for the reinforcements we've been looking forward to since the season began! Five new faces could don the historic Legion white and blue in the upcoming season, one is a surefire guarantee [K. Peace] while another is likely to join Toronto [@Doomsday's O. Lindbergh] after his season concludes with Vasteras. The other three listed below are gambles and ultimately boils down to whether or not they'd like to join, and of course the decision would be up to them. If they're at -- or above -- the 350 TPE soft cap and would like to play in the VHL, I'll absolutely call them up and slot them into our lineup. If they'd like to stay down for an extra season, I'm alright with that too. @WildfireMicro's Calamari has been making steady progress and could potentially reach the 350 TPE minimum by the S81 VHL Entry Draft, although Micro would need to smash some max earning weeks to reach the goal. @Viper's Jakub Brozik has quietly slowed his earning rate again but should also reach the 350 minimum, I'm tagging him just to say 'Hey, I'm watching you... light that fire under your ass, S79 prospect' and I hope it works. @FBR's Kimura has been earning steadily through a graphic and practice facility, but I'm anticipating Kimura being under the 350 TPA cap so FBR will likely spend another season in the VHLE, hopefully a season that sees Kumura produce more consistently on a roster filled with Legion prospects.

Regular claim since I was using this as a doubles while claiming a multi-week article.

If he ever makes the HoF, he's already got an article!

Kyle Peace's fall from grace has been rather spectacular, but simply frustrating for the young Toronto Legion prospect and current Vasteras Iron Eagle; he was once tied for the league lead in goals, only to fall out of the top ten altogether shortly thereafter; he once found himself in the top ten shooting percentage, but has collapsed into the high thirties throughout the middle of S80; and a once disciplined player has been taking more penalties, likely due to the increased frustration and disappointment in his own play. "I have to find ways to be more consistent," Peace commented. "Plain and simple, no excuses and no further comments." The Vasteras Iron Eagles' left winger recorded his first game winning goal just a few games ago, perhaps the worst of the slide is over. It's common for a young player to feel snake bitten, even veteran players can experience the mounting pressure to perform and quietly slip into an unhealthy mindset. Feet to the pavement... so to speak, and eventually the slide ends.

Erik Killinger was a decent defensemen within the VHL prior to his retirement, but what story has the free man written now that a professional team doesn't own his rights? What has Erik been doing since he left the VHL, perhaps he returned to the armed services of his country or disappeared into the wilderness to only be seen once a month by loved ones. One would be understandable based on his history, the other would be a total opposite of his personality, so the truth lies somewhere in the middle... or at least it should. Frankly Erik Killinger hasn't gone far, I reckon, as the now wealthy individual enjoys life from the comfort of his Toronto dwelling. In fact he's probably only left his house a handful of times since retiring. The former Legion, United and Titan defender has picked up a career in streaming content to various platforms, such as YouTube and Twitch. His name alone generated enough interest to build a community large enough to sustain himself, not that he needed the income after retiring with more than thirty million earned during his career; his growth has been comparable to numerous actors when they've announced a 'gaming channel' or when particularly favored individuals in the entertainment sector are revealed to live stream video games on the internet. Through the camera we can see Killinger lives a fairly modest lifestyle; his walls are chipping away, painting in a boring grey; his living room sofa doesn't represent the higher class, but rather the working class; his living room area is often compared with regular fans, often loosing in the aesthetics department; and his 'office' sits in the middle of his living room, as if he was truly the amateur broadcaster he is. Instead of adopting the high society life he's certainly earned for himself, Killinger chose to 'regress' back to a generally classic low/mid-income family home, stating he prefers the atmosphere it creates more than a multi-million dollar home he could of had. It's not a very interesting post-retirement story, but it's a story that reveals Killinger was never enticed to join the VHL for monetary gains, his motivation was never money but rather the success he hoped to achieve throughout his career. He finished his career with five hundred seventy five [575] games played, a hundred fifty eight [158] goals, four hundred thirty two [432] assists for a total of five hundred ninety [590] points as a member of the Toronto Legion, London United and the Helsinki Titans. He recorded thirty three [33] points in thirty four [34] post-season games, appearing in the playoffs twice with Toronto and London, and once with the Titans during his final season. Killinger won two heavily debated awards with the United in S77, yet all of those accomplishments pale in comparison to the fun he's having just sitting at home. "I feel like I'm myself now, I'm way happier than I ever was in the VHL and I don't hide from it." Killinger stated in a Zoom interview. "Streaming video games and eating potato chips all day certainly has it's moments, but I've met more amazing people than ever before, that's not an opportunity you get as a VHL player. In the VHL you're always focused on improving yourself, improving your team play and trying to rise above your own shadow in order to help the team win the championship. I never got to experience that, and the sacrifices I made for the various teams I played for just made me feel hallow throughout my career." "I won awards, sure, and had what I consider a good career, but I was never really happy... I'm happy now, and that's what makes this feel so natural for me." Game on, Killinger. Game on.

Final claim

1) Why do you think teams with lesser talent and skill are doing so well in the VHL the past couple seasons? Is it skill or luck? I think it's just STHS' design flaws coming to light, it's time for a new sim engine for frak sakes. 2) Which VHL franchise would you never want to play for? Invasive question, I do have a two-team list but I'd rather keep that to myself. 3) Are you into the podcast game? Any recommendations? Did a podcast, I really enjoyed it, want to participate in more. I don't really have any recommendations. My questions: 1. If the league switched to a new sim engine -- or tested a new sim engine for a season or two -- what sim engine would you prefer? [EHM, FMH4, 5, 6, 7... 8?] 2. When did you join the league? What season was it? 3. Who was the first person to give you help/guide you around when you first registered on the forum?

The intent behind a full scorched-earth rebuild was to quickly assemble the foundations of a competitive roster with the strength of the picks we had; we all knew Toronto's season was going to be rough, but I'll admit I expected more than just two wins nearing the halfway mark of S80. Through the draft the Legion had three of the top six draft picks, and as a club we selected Matty Fire [2nd overall], Oskar Lindbergh [4th overall] and my own player, Kyle Peace [5th overall]. Sadly it has been announced that Doomsday is missing in action, and as his friend I've been unable to contact him at all. If I had known he was taking a step back in the league for whatever reason, from a complicated life to teetering interest in the VHL, I probably would have kept Andrew Bowman on the roster instead of trading the goalie to Riga earlier this season. I'm thinking with a proper goalie between the pipes instead of a CPU G, we would have easily won some of the one goal games we've had with other teams.

3/4

How is your team doing? Are you on track to make playoffs? Nope! Toronto is a lock for the sixteenth team in the league. What is the number 1 thing your player needs to improve upon? I need to get more attributes in passing and skating before making the VHL. Do you have a unique tape color or do you stick with a basic black or white? I can't remember when I started doing this, maybe in middle school, but I've always liked red and black stripes on the blade. Questions: Do you base your attributes off successful VHL players? What do you think of the VHL's general activity away from Discord? Do you have a favorite TV show right now?

The Vasteras Iron Eagles have been doing 'alright' by my books, nothing to really celebrate but nothing to complain about either, I feel like that's how I most comfortably explain our teams tendency for 1-1 sims. That being said I'm certainly hungry for more... as the title of this blurb VHL.com article suggests, I feel like Vasteras is better than our record currently shows but I gave up trying to figure STHS out a lot time ago. I anticipated the Eagles dominating the VHLE based on the assets RJ was able to pull from the draft, as well as a moderate look at other teams rosters and their makeup, but that simply hasn't happened yet. I of all people know that STHS can go either way at any point throughout the season, so I acknowledge we could be talking about something entirely different by the sixty game mark.

Klamasteris @chikn Off work early today, but I think that's my last pick so whooo finally done!