Although he is somewhat disapointed that Davos missed the playoffs, John Madden is pleased with having so much time on his hands for the off-season. He has been spending most of his spare time watching the VHLM playoffs in Halifax and Houston, following his old team, the 21st. A few of his good friends still play in Halifax. Nathan MacKinnon, who was Madden's mentor when he came into the league, still plays for Halifax on the second line. Madden spent time giving tips to the young Rhye Tyr as well as Teagan Glover and got to know them fairly well. He had a great relationship with the Halifax GM Anthony Rogers, but easily his two biggest friendships on the team were with AGM Aran Thranduil and Basaraba Moose, Madden's childhood best friend who has asserted himself as a star defenseman in the VHLM.
Madden arrived in Halifax on Monday, following Davos' elimination from playoff contention, just in time to catch Halifax's playoff opener against Houston. He was picked up at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport by Aran Thranduil at 5 AM EST. The two of them went for breakfast along with Anthony Rogers and talked about how their seasons had gone. John was disappointed at how his team had done in the regular season, but relatively satisfied with his point total. He congratulated the others on another successful season and thanked them for all the hospitality they had given him in S64. He talked about how, after Shawn Glade left at the end of S63, he had no idea what to expect from the new GMs, but was very pleased with how they treated him and talked about how he would often go to Thranduil's mansion in South Beaufort, Halifax, on Saturdays, with Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Flipachyev and the four of them would play VHL 19 all day, before switching to some ministicks in the evening. Thranduil wasn't very good at ministicks, but he is very young as far as GMs go, only 21 years old, so he knows how to have a good time with his players.
Thranduil and Rogers told Madden that they missed having him in Halifax and watched his games whenever they got a chance. They said that they were very proud of how he transitioned his game from a scrawny, offensive-minded winger, to a physical, 2-way second line center in only one season. Madden wished he could've spent another season or two in Halifax, but Davos needed him to play. After his meetup with Rogers and Thranduil, John went off to meet his best friend Basaraba Moose. The two hadn't seen eachother since the court case against Dr. P. Ennis, the stalker journalist who had watched them in the bathroom and then released an article about it, which had happened the previous summer, so they were glad to meet up once again. Basaraba introduced John to a lot of the newer players to the team, a few of them John knew. Rhye Tyr, Teagan Glover, Chase Klein and a few others had been on the team in S64. Nathan MacKinnon was Madden's main role-model in Halifax in his first season and had just returned to Halifax from college. He recognized Dimitri Volosenkov, who had played for Ottawa in the previous playoffs, when Halifax eliminated them in 6 games. He was impressed at the skill of young forwards Jett Jaguar and Julius Freeman. John spent the day training and practicing with the team, giving them pointers and tips for when they hit the pro leagues.
Game 1 of the series versus Houston happened that evening and Halifax took it by a score of 5-3. Every player played well and Madden was very impressed with his former team, cheering louder than any other fans. Dimitri Volosenkov really stood out to him as an great player, with his 2-way play in the game. Game 2 ended in another win for Halifax, with the 21st taking it 4-3, with a 2 goal performance by Basaraba. John celebrated with the team following the game and they went out clubbing until the GM Anthony Rogers got fed up and took them home at 5 in the morning. The next two games were in Houston so Madden went on the team jet with the 21st, following them to the Bulls' domain. Halifax did well to split the games in Houston, dropping the first game 3-2, but barely winning the second 1-0 in overtime, with the winning goal by Teagan Glover. After watching the effort by Halifax in game 3, John felt that that was the turning point in the series and he knew Halifax would win. Game 5 kicked off the next day back on home ice. After spending so much time with the 21st players, John got to know them all really well and felt like part of the team once again. After a very strong first five minutes by the 21st, where they scored 2 goals, by Julius Freeman and Nathan MacKinnon, Houston began to take over, scoring the next 4, including 3 goals in less than five minutes in the 3rd period, to win the game by a final score of 4-2.
The next game was back in Houston, and by this time, the team had lost some confidence in themselves. Game 6 was a real battle, close from beginning to end. The first period was very tight checking and close, with Halifax scoring the opening goal from Basaraba Moose, 4 minutes into the first period and Houston answering back with a goal of their own, 12 minutes later, with Maximilian Kirbsson potting his third goal of the playoffs. At the end of the first, the shot clock showed that the shots had been 8-6, in favour of Houston. Both teams needed this game. As John watched from the stands, he didn't doubt the 21st for one moment, but Houston came out flying in the second period, outshooting Halifax 14-5. It was only because of the stellar play by Halifax goaltender Chase Klein that the 21st managed to keep the Bulls off the scoresheet. The two teams headed into the third period, still knotted at one. Houston once again played really well and Chase continued to make outstanding saves for Halifax. Teagan Glover scored his 3rd goal of the series for the 21st, 2 minutes into the period. Halifax gained confidence. All they would have to do now, is hold on to the lead and they would be in the finals, but with five minutes left in the game, the Bulls tied the game, causing the whole city of Houston to erupt into chaos. The game headed into overtime with the score at 2-2, in what had been a very close and entertaining game.
Halifax started the overtime period well, getting 7 of the first 9 shots and hitting a post, but they couldn't buy a goal, and Owen May kept Houston alive. The heartbreak came for Halifax in the 11th minute of overtime. There was a faceoff in the 21st's zone, following a great save by Chase. Teagan Glover won the draw off the tie-up and pulled it to the inside, with Maximilian Kirbsson poking at the puck. Glover panicked and attempted a pass to defenseman Edward Vignealt, but it was intercepted by Karri Jurri, who threw it to Kirbsson in front. It was an easy tap-in for Kirbsson who beat goaltender Chase Klein low blocker side. As Madden watched, the dejected players skated off the ice, saddened by the result, but still confident enough to win the series. He could feel it in his heart, Halifax was going to win game 7 and there was no way around it.
Claiming for weeks ending April 14 and April 21.
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