animal74

1. Well, I'm kinda of cheating here as the week is done, but we were perfect! With the Hounds up next I see the win streak continuing! 2. He may embody the spirit of the hallowed monarch and play with a little more respect. And he'll want tea and crumpets on the bench in between shifts. 3. They're a strong team but as we've improved, we've played them better lately. They're tough but beatable. 4. Definitely! He's working hard and learning from me as much as he can. He's going to continue to get the good results. 5. Look, we can't go around catering to every bot that Ceson infects. Give him a bump from minimum wage and take it from Ceson's bonus. 6. My daughter's 11th birthday party.

@StackThePads Hasek with his first career shutout for the Aces!

Great story!

TPE caps and 2 or 3 leagues aside, I think this point here must be made the real crux of the issue. There needs to be some measures put in place in the M for more parity to help curb the boom/bust cycle (teams must have a roster minimums or draft pick minimums?). Due to the nature of the type of league it is, the cycle won't go away, but what is happening in Mississauga this season is appalling. Having a team like the Hounds doesn't just hurt the developmental and social side for those on the neglected teams but also hurts the competitiveness of the M and is not good for rainbow flavoured unicorns to have a team with two players going 0-20 for the league in general. Why isn't the league doing more about the Hounds, even to add some of the inactives? One suggestion to perhaps help the M with rosters (as there are obviously players around) is to add a round or two to the M draft. That coupled with a roster/pick minimum as I mentioned earlier, would lessen the chance that teams can trade all their picks and not construct a decent roster and/or have a weak locker room.

Game 67 Review

Game Review: Game 67: Halifax 21st vs. Ottawa Lynx The first of two straight games between the second (Ottawa) and third (Halifax) place teams in the East started off with a bang as the Lynx potted two quick goals against Halifax netminder Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro as Sadie St-Louis @sadie and Brayden Albrecht @Gage2 each scored their fifth goals of the season before the game was two and a half minutes old. Halifax responded less than three minutes later when Jeffrey Bezos @jsdeac scored his 10th of the season on the power play and Bedirhan Paard @Bedirhan tied the game three minutes later on another powerplay. St-Louis took back the momentum for the Lynx with their second of the game a minute and forty seconds for the final tally of the period. Halifax was lucky to be only down by one thanks to spectacular play from Sparks who stopped 22 of 25 shots in the frame. The Nova Scotian team sang some riveting sea shanties during the break because they came out for the second period singing a new tune. Bezos tied the game at 4:45 and then Pasi Anssi @PasiAnssi97 gave the 21st the lead four seconds into a power play 24 seconds later and Bezos capped the run of three goals in under three minutes with his hat trick goal to put his team up by two. Sparks continued his brilliance stopping all 27 Ottawa shots. The Lynx pressed hard in the third and finally came within one on Albrecht’s second of the game but despite pouring 20 more shots on the Halifax net, Sparks stood on his head stopping 19 of them and Bezos sealed the deal with his fourth of the game and 13th of the season into the empty Ottawa net. Although goalie Ash Sparks ridiculously was shut out of the 3 Stars, his teammate knew he was the real star crafting one of the best goaltending performance of the VHLM season stopping an incredible 68 of 72 shots to give Halifax the much needed 6-4 win. By contrast Lynx crease crawler Fuukka Rask @Jubis stopped 20 of 25 shots. 3 Stars 1 - Jeffrey Bezos @jsdeac (HFX): 4 Goals, GWG, 8 Shots 2 - Brayden Albrecht @Gage2 (OTT): 2 Goals, 18 Shots 3 - Babay Shrimp @Blazzer (HFX): 4 Assists

Won his first game too!

Claim 2/2

Great leadership group! #NighthawksRising

1. I think we will fare just fine and be a contender like we thought. We know we can beat all the top teams so we just have to do it even more consistently. 2. I enjoyed the renaming of the bot 3. Well, that's good. Gives him something to do when he retires besides scaring the rookies and the ice girls. 4. You guys are fantastic! More coffee in the LR would be nice though... 5. Oh me! I sure hope so. With this presser, I will officially max out my 200 TPA so that will be all I can give. It's nice to help the team win and also be on the leaderboards. 6. Any of our top line have a good chance. Barksdale is my sneaky (not-so-sneaky) darkhorse to lead us in scoring.

2-0 for the Aces!

Houston's numbers are inflated by playing the Hounds 7 of the first 9 games. They will fall back to earth.

But then they were shutout by LVA twice so...

S85 VHLM Dispersal Draft Update: The Goalies In an unprecedented turn of events, the most recent VHLM Dispersal Draft saw seven goalies taken within the first 15 picks and ten goaltenders taken overall. Three teams (Las Vegas, Halifax, and Ottawa) actually took two goalies, with one goalie being traded to the Houston Bulls shortly after the season started. Most if not all of these netminders will eventually face off against each other in the VHL, but for now, their sights are set on development and playing for the Founder’s Cup. Here is how their performances have fared so far after 9 VHLM games starting from the first drafted to the last. Alexander Minion @Minion, 3rd OV (1st Round), Saskatoon Slightly older than his fellow draft class and widely considered the most game-ready, Minion has provided the Wild with a chance to win every night and has done his job admirably, keeping his team firmly in the playoff picture with a 5-3-1 record. He currently leads the league in save percentage (0.936) and shots against (392) by a wide margin highlighting how valuable he’s been to Saskatoon’s playoff hopes. Lachlan Summers @kirbithan, 6th OV (1st Round), San Diego A bit of a surprise choice at 6th overall, familiarity was the reason behind San Diego selecting the goalie who played 8 games for them in S84. Summers has been solid and while the Marlins are last in the Western Conference with a 4-4-1 record, it’s not by much. Only Minion has faced more shots than Summers and he’s third in the league with a 0.917 save percentage. He’s also one of only three goalies to post a shutout. Jeremy Swayman @Agito, 7th OV (1st Round), Mexico City The Kings went back to the goalie who stepped up in S84 and won 21 of 25 games with a sparkling 1.73 GAA taking Swayman 7th overall. Swayman’s numbers have not been as good as last season playing behind a younger team but the Mexico City Kings are still tied for second place in the West. Bill Nye The Puck Stopping Guy @Big Newff, 11th OV (2nd Round), Miami Another older prospect, The Puck Stopping Guy was scooped up as a free agent early last season and won 40 games with Houston. Miami snagged him with the first pick in Round 2 and hasn’t looked back. One of three netminders leading the league with 6 wins, The Puck Stopping Guy has Miami hanging on to first place in the East with a 6-1-2 record and is fourth with a 2.36 GAA. Joel Castle @animal74, 13th OV (2nd Round), Las Vegas Seen as a late riser in the prospect ranks, it was a surprise for Castle to drop in the draft but not a surprise who he went to. He won all five of his starts with the S84 powerhouse Las Vegas Aces before winning the Founder’s Cup and they gladly brought him back with their first pick in the draft. The Aces are having an up-and-down season with a 5-4-0 record but Castle has played well posting a 0.918 save percentage (2nd in the league), a 2.33 GAA (3rd) and leads the M with two shutouts. Fuukka Rask @Jubis, 14th OV (2nd Round), Ottawa Another surprise slider in the draft, Ottawa was delighted to get Rask and he has come as advertised, helping the Lynx keep within one point of first place Miami in the East. The Finn shares the league lead with six wins in eight starts, is tied for fourth with a 0.910 save percentage and is fifth with a 2.45 GAA. His playmaking from the crease has been on display as he’s one of three goalies with an assist so far. Ash Sparks @DarkSpyro, 15th OV (2nd Round), Halifax With a high-powered offense but porous defense, Halifax selected Sparks, the last of the “Heavenly 7” goalies, to stop the puck and he’s done an admirable job with not much help. He’s lost more one-goal games than any other goalie buy that can also be attributed to facing the third-most shots against. Despite the barrage, Sparks has been resilient, posting the fourth-best save percentage (0.910) and a shutout. Igor Vezina @Ian Ertmann, 45th OV (5th Round), Halifax With teammate Sparks playing well, Vezina has been regulated to back up duty and while he hasn’t played yet, he is providing competition in the crease and continues to work hard so he’s ready when called upon. Matthew Mccagg @Jack kidd, 63rd OV (7th Round), Ottawa With Rask expected to move up a league next season, the Lynx grabbed his heir apparent in the last round. He finally got a start in Game 8 of the Lynx’s schedule and made 16 saves on 18 shots in a tight 2-1 loss against Saskatoon. A good start to give the Ottawa fans hope that between the pipes will be a strength next season as well. Shadow Thompson @Kelsey, 70th OV (7th Round), Las Vegas (traded to Houston) In one of the most interesting storylines of S85, Thompson had the dubious honor of being the last selection (70th overall) in the draft. A couple of days after the season started, Thompson was traded by Las Vegas to the Houston Bulls who had failed to secure a goalie in the off-season. He has gone on to win six of his first seven starts (albeit all against the lowly Hounds) and lead the league with a fantastic 1.73 GAA. The next four games will pit the Bulls against stiffer competition so it will bear watching how they fare. Obviously, this has only been a small sample size and these goalies will continue to develop. Will the West continue to be a dog fight? Will Mississauga be able to stop the bleeding? Who will rise to the top and lead their team through the playoffs to the Founder’s Cup? How many will move to the next level and eventually, will any of them become Continental Cup champions or make the VHL Hall of Fame? I hope to do periodic goalie updates with more analysis. Thanks for reading! 1000 words.

Even though the Las Vegas Aces have played through a tough schedule the first part of the season, they are keeping pace in the ridiculous parity of the Western Conference where every team is at a 0.500 winning percentage or better. Thanks in part to the play of starting goalie, Joel Castle, the Aces are in fourth place in the conference with a 5-4-0 record but are only four points from the surprising first place Houston Bulls. After being shutout by Lachlan Summers @kirbithan and the San Diego Marlins in the Aces’ fifth game of the season, Castle and the Aces returned the favor twice against their rivals in the next two meetings with Castle picking up the win and the shutout both times to give him the league lead with two goose eggs and the first two of his young career. He did get a lot of help from his teammates as Las Vegas only allowed the Marlins 16 and 15 shots in the two games.

Joel Castle gets his second straight shutout against the Marlins to give him a league-leading 2!

1. I'm so happy to be back! I had a great time with my short stint with the Aces last season and then to be selected by the team in the draft was very fortuitous! 2. I think we have a good chance of repeating. There are a few strong teams but we've shown early on that we have the talent to beat anyone in this league. 3. It's great having the Captain back. His experience, leadership, and physical presence will be essential to us getting back to the Finals. 4. @Shindigs has laid down such a solid foundation for the Aces that any GM that comes in will be able to succeed. Now, to be fair, they will be huge shoes to fill as Shindigs is one of the most involved and detail-oriented GMs I've met in the VHL. 5. I think the draft went amazingly for Las Vegas and almost took care of all the teams needs. It looks like Shadow Thompson is the steal of the draft having been picked so late and seems to be doing so well early one (even though we traded him). 6. I plan on doing all the things. I still have to write my Junior Report. I think I'll focus on RT, HS, SC, & RB until I reach 200 TPE.

F Nezuko @Phil

G Papa Emeritus @Baby Boomer

You were a great AGM in Malmo @Lemorse7 and it would be great to work with you. I'll throw my name in.

D Alessandro Nano @Phil

F Anze Miklavz @Baby Boomer

"Heavenly 7"?

I thought you preferred dice rolls?

@Phil Janser what picked a couple spot above you.