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After a successful two-year stint with the VHLM's Las Vegas Aces culminating in a Founder's Cup Championship, Swedish defenseman Albin Aldgard said his goodbyes to his Las Vegas teammates and fans and has now joined the team that drafted him 4th Overall in the S97 VHL Draft, the D.C. Dragons. The Dragons are in full rebuilding mode and Algard expects to be an important part of the plan to mold them into a contender. A lot of work still needs to be done to the roster but Aldgard has liked what he's seen and heard so far. "I know there are going to be challenges the first little while but I've had some good talks with GM @qripll and I think he has a definite vision for the Dragons and we'll hopefully be ready for the start of the season. I'm looking forward to all the opportunities that will be coming." A smaller, creative blueliner who's a powerplay magician, Aldgard led the Aces with 39 assists and 51 points during the S97 regular season and then led them with 9 goals on their Cup run.

Week 2/2 (1200+ words)

1. Winning the Cup obviously was the best moment but a couple other favorites was beating Miami in the first round when we were complete underdogs and my Game 5 performance when I had 2 goals and assisted on the OT winner to give us the 3-2 win and series lead. 2. Awesome! This is my fourth Founder's Cup and second with Vegas and it never gets old. This one was especially sweet as it was more unexpected. 3. Have to say OCO. Our defense was good but 5 shutouts?? Two shutouts in series clinching games?? C'mon, it's a no brainer. Satou was brilliant as well but I think OCO has the edge. 4. Enjoying the win but refocusing and getting trained up for next season. 5. Ceson first as the captain but then OCO. 6. Let's go European! Italy, Portugal, something like that. Probably my last LV presser for a while. Thanks @Big_Dyl for all the great questions!

Congrats Bears!

What!?!? The nominees are all from different teams?!?!

Gunner now needs 3 goals to tie Locke and 1 point to tie Campbell! At least one more game to go. Unreal! But... he has one more season left as well!

The Las Vegas Aces defeated the Halifax 21st in Game 6 of the Founder’s Cup Final to win their first VHLM championship since their back-to-back Cup victories in S83-S84 and the 11th in franchise history and 6th since moving to Las Vegas. GM @sadie built arguably the deepest defensive foursome in the league and backed that with the signing of one of the top goalies in the league, Onyekachukwu Chidieber Oluwaseun (also known as OCO) @TenIQ. And while it seems ludicrous to some critics that the second-lowest scoring team during the regular season ended up winning the Founder’s Cup, I would suggest that the clues were there and the stats didn’t paint a clear picture on how formidable this Las Vegas team was. S97 Founder's Cup Champions - Las Vegas Aces Clue #1: While it’s true that Las Vegas’ 126 goals scored were more than only the last-place Mississauga Hounds’ 120, their goals against was tied for third in the league. They also played in more 1-goal games than any other team. The Aces’ 20 overtime and shootout losses led the league by a wide margin and could have swung their way. If they were closer to the league average and had won 10 of those extra-time games, that would have made them a much-stronger looking 94-point team. During the playoffs, they also avoided overtime for the most part with only three games going past regulation with them winning two and losing one. Clue #2: I would also state that the goal differentials of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, Miami and Halifax, that were both beaten by Las Vegas, were inflated due to playing the bottom two teams in the league many times. For example, the Aces’ Finals opponent, the Halifax 21st, had the best record in the league and was the highest-scoring team. They may have looked like the far superior team but their record against the Philadelphia Reapers and Mississauga Hounds was a combined 18-1-2 with a combined goal differential of +56. Subtracted from their regular season goal differential of +96 and that leaves a +37 differential against the rest of the league which would have been fourth in the league instead of first. The Western Conference was a much stronger conference as every team was just about at a .500 winning percentage or higher. Although, to be fair, Las Vegas did have a perfect 9-0 record against the Hounds as well. Clue #3: Special teams were a huge part of Las Vegas’ regular season having the top-ranked power play and the fourth-rank penalty kill. They were also the least penalized team in the regular season with 46 less penalty minutes then the next least penalized team. So it’s really no surprise that they were given more power plays (31-14) against their first round opponent, Miami, although the discrepancy in penalties could be debated. To their credit, the Marauder’s power play did do well against Las Vegas at 28.57%, the best rate behind the Aces, but their penalty kill was torched by the league’s best power play, which found another level in the playoffs. Whatever power play formations the coaches drew up for the postseason worked to perfection as the Aces operated at 29.87% for their playoff run. No one could stop them. 23 of their 47 goals scored in the playoffs were scored with the man advantage. Their penalty kill also found another level as they only allowed 6 power play goals on 53 attempts. That means that after Miami went 4 for 14 against them in the first round, the Aces' penalty-killers only allowed an incredible 2 for 39 the rest of the way including blanking all of Saskatoon's 18 chances! Clue #4: Signing Oluwaseun in the off-season may have been the Aces’ shrewdest move in the off-season and did the Burkina Faso native ever deliver! One of the consensus Top-3 netminders during the regular season after leading the league in GAA (1.52) and finishing third in SV% (0.923) and shutouts (11), Oluwaseun continued his hot run leading the Aces with a 12-3-1 record, 1.68 GAA and a league record-tying 5 shutouts (former Ace Deadpanda @Alex set the record two seasons prior). Throughout the playoffs, it was more how OCO devastated opponents at crucial times that astonished the league. In both of the first two series, he posted a shutout in Game 1 and in the series-clinching game. While Halifax turned the table in the Final and shutout Las Vegas in the first game, OCO returned the favor and shutout the 21st in Game 4 to tie the series at two games a piece. They then only allowed one goal on 16 shots in the Cup-winning game to go along with assisting on all three Vegas goals!. To summarize, OCO’s stats in series-clinching games was 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA, 0.974 SV%, and two shutouts. Definitely one of the more clutch performances in VHLM history! Clue #5 That the Aces’ defense core would lead them offensively in the playoffs like they did in the regular season cemented a curious but effective strategy by GM Sadie. During the regular season, the Aces’ top four scorers and leading goal scorer were all defensemen. Led by Albin Algard’s 39 assists and 51 points and Kazuma Satou’s 22 goals, that duo continued their offensive brilliance along with Mathias Gunnarsson and Manuel Ceson especially on the power play. With a combined 98 power play points and 15 game winning goals, it was as inevitable as Thanos that those four would have to factor in every game for Las Vegas to have a shot at the Cup. And they sure did. Satou led the playoffs with 14 assists and 22 points while Aldgard was second in the M with 9 goals. Satou was third with 8 goals while Aldgard was T-3rd with 18 points. Satou and Ceson led the playoffs with six power play goals each and Satou set the modern-day VHLM record for game-winning goals by a defenseman in a single post-season with 5 (including both of Las Vegas’ overtime winners)! In fact, after Raoul Cyr and Lorenzo Mancini scored the Aces’ first two goals in Game 3 in the Final, defensemen scored the next nine Las Vegas goals to give them the 4-2 series win. And, true to form, the four Vegas blueliners were the top four power play producers in the playoffs with a combined 36 power play points. They also scored 9 of the needed 12 game-winning goals. Ceson was credited with the Cup-winning goal in Game 6 at 1:47 of the second period on – you guessed it – the power play. Other notable Las Vegas contributors: Cyr did have a great playoff as well finishing 3rd on the team and 5th overall with 17 points. Danny Ross was held without a goal but finished with 6 assists, a league-leading 54 hits and 62.67% faceoff winning percentage (among those with 25 or more taken). Ethan Ashcroft tied Cyr for the team forward lead with 5 goals including 2 game-winners. To conclude, Las Vegas was perhaps more of a Cup contender entering the playoffs than the pundits assumed. The old adage states: “Defense wins championships.” And when your defense is also lethal on the power play and scores more than most forwards, then that saying is even more accurate. Congratulations to the Las Vegas Aces – The S97 Founder’s Cup Champions!

The Animal Sports Agency extends their congratulations to the Las Vegas Aces for winning the S97 Founder’s Cup. We would especially like to congratulate our client and friend, defenseman Albin Aldgard for his heroics in the playoffs. After leading Las Vegas in scoring during the regular season, Albin led the Aces with 9 goals in the playoffs, one behind the league lead. His six points in the Founder’s Cup Final and 18 points (tied for fourth in the league) over 16 games is further testament to his determination and ability to raise his game in big moments. We look forward to celebrating this victory with him in the off-season and helping him prepare for his first VHL season. Our Agency is proud to support high-level athletes and proud of our relationship with the VHL and VHLM. Albin’s Founder’s Cup victory is the fourth VHLM Championship for our clients and second with the Las Vegas Aces and we are happy to be a part of their successes! ASA’s clients’ Founder’s Cups: Gunnar-Rune Rorvik, S5 Toledo Scorpions; Ondrej Ohradka, S69 Saskatoon Wild; Joel Castle, S84 Las Vegas Aces; Albin Aldgard, S97 Las Vegas Aces

Good series Halifax! Aces!! We did it!!

OMG!

1. Among defensemen, I was 9th in scoring (51 points), 3rd in shots (195) and T-2nd in powerplay assists (17). I was T-4th in powerplay assists and T-7th in powerplay points in the league. 2. The Las Vegas Aces 3. I'll pick the surprise teams - Toronto and Las Vegas. More logical choices: Riga and Halifax. 4. Canucks runs to the Stanley Cup Finals, 1994 and 2011 5. Not really 6. Play a few (drums, piano, bit of trumpet, mandolin, bass). Would like to learn guitar better, steel drums, uilleann pipes.

1. As Las Vegas is still in the playoffs, I am excited for our unexpected run and for next season in D.C.! 2. No I did not predict that. 3. Yes, they are sneaky good. 4. Really it's up to the BOG vote. Sometimes it doesn't always make sense. 5. Happy Birthday! I hope you had a great day and was able to celebrate with friends and family! 6. Maybe for young talent but we may want to see what we have before becoming buyers too quickly. 7. Well, there are a lot of good young D joining the VHL next season and I've fallen behind a bit in my earning the past month (super busy at work and home) so we'll see. Always a possibility!

1. Not really. It would have been hard to make any significant moves without probably mortgaging the future. 2. As an offensive player obviously points and power play points but I also am looking at plus/minus and blocked shots. 3. Ah, can't think of one 4. Probably not watching but it'd be cool to see the Chiefs get a three-peat. 5. Geography, Band, Computer Science 6. Dry salt and pepper

Only if there is pineapple on the pizzas...

Don't think he's catching me and Condor