Mr_Hatter

The Music of the VHL By A. Simon-Cowell-Type Part 5 Welcome back to another edition of The Music of the VHL! Moving on from the expansion teams, we are now going straight to the top dog in the league right now. Let’s take a look at the Helsinki Titans! Helsinki Titans @Quik Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell The Titans have had a great season so far. Leading the league with 84 points, 9 higher than conference and division rival Malmö, they are truly living up to their name as Titans of the VHL. However, all this success with go for nothing if they are unable to transition it into success in the postseason. And to get there, the Titans may have to go back to their roots and get a little bit of team bonding done. Linked from the famous sports film “Remember the Titans,” this Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet is a fantastic love song, that also doubles as an anthem of sorts for anyone searching to get back to where they belong. For Helsinki, that is the Continental Cup. In the film, the song acts as a catalyst for the team turning into, well, a team. And boy, if Helsinki can get any more in sync, the cup is theirs for the taking - if it isn’t already. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned next week for more coverage!

ouch

gooooooo moscow

10/6-10/13 Answer 6 questions to claim 2 TPE 1) We are coming off the back of playing Houston in four of the last five games. We split the series 2-2; are you satisfied with that, considering their current form? 2) In those four back to back games, three of them went to a shootout, with the fourth being decided by a single goal. It seems we are very evenly matched. What do you think we can do to gain the edge in such a close match-up? 3) Speaking of close matches, we lead the league in overtime losses, tied with Philly with 6. What can we do to turn that around and take those points in the future? 4) Do you think that we will meet Houston in the playoffs? If so, in what round will it be that we knock them out? 5) Ottawa surprised us in our last game, at home no less. It’s dropping those points that can haunt a team come playoff matchups. Will it come back to bite us? 6) Out of the final 22 games, we play Houston, Las Vegas, and Yukon a total of only 6 times, relatively few. How important will those games be going into playoffs? 7) Would you prefer to end the season by playing easy teams, building up a win streak and confidence, or by being challenged by the top teams in the league, and perhaps dropping a few? 8) Do you have any favorite teams in the VHL to watch? 9) Speaking of the VHL, Matt Thompson appears to be running away in the Points race. Do you think he will take it in his final season? 10) In the VHLM, it looks like one of the two big scorers from Las Vegas will take it. Graves or Tates, who is your pick? Or will there be a surprise coming to shock the league?

I took him in fantasy too

Name a better WJC goalie tandem. I'll wait

Haha it never is

Rift keeping them in the game wow

526 words, for Raymond Bernard S2 #2 Thursday, October 3rd: Dear Diary, Today I decided to start this with “dear diary.” Though I guess you already know that. Diary, you know me so well! Ok with that weirdness out of the way, let’s get back into it. It’s been a bit of a disappointing season so far. We started out strong, but haven’t been able to keep form. Out of the last eight games we have only been able to take one of them. It’s seen us drop in the standings pretty considerably, to 5th in the conference, only ahead of Prague (though to be fair, 8th overall, which is still in playoff position). Though that being said, I let in 4 goals against that Prague team. To be honest, I haven’t been up to snuff so far this season. It’s tough knowing you can do better, but still posting an abysmal 3.65 goals against average with only an .887 save percentage. Now I know I’m a rookie and I shouldn’t expect much more, but let’s be real here; I’m only playing against the expansion teams, more or less, and I need to do a lot better than 3.65 goals per game. It’s pretty rough. I am really happy to have the game time, I’m just disappointed in myself for not doing more with it. In this league you have to seize every opportunity you are given, and so far I am not doing that in the least. All this being said, I think I should be grateful to have this situation right now. I was obviously not ready to immediately step into a starting gig; if I can’t stop the shots for the lower placed teams, what do I think would happen against Helsinki? I’m not trying to be too hard on myself, more so I think I need this as motivation to work harder. I have to put my time in, and then I can reap the rewards. My situation at Ottawa last season in the M kinda just fell into my lap, and I ran with it. It’s a lot harder up here in the majors to make that work. The team has been really welcoming though. It definitely is great to play with so many accomplished players. We brought in Kingfisher as a third goalie, and though that’s a little concerning for me in theory, in actuality it is nice to have a veteran in there to teach me the ropes. Owen May has been supportive as well, and really helpful getting me up and running. On the skaters, there’s nothing better than having some really lethal forwards to practice against. As frustrating as our defensive woes have been, our scoring has been absolutely killing it, placing us second in the league in goals for. Exciting hockey right? If only we could hold it down a little better in the back. At the end of the day though, it’s a process, and we need to take it as it comes. It just hurts how many games have been so close. Lots of single goal losses that really sting. Oh well, I need to take my mind off it. Time for a massage I think. Until next time!

The Music of the VHL By A. Simon-Cowell-Type Part 4 Welcome back to another edition of The Music of the VHL! Last week we took a look at one of the two new expansion teams this season. Let’s continue that this week, as we head to the capital of the United States for a look at the DC Dragons. DC Dragons @Enorama In a Sentimental Mood, Duke Ellington (with John Coltrane) Although the Duke was based in NYC for much of his career, the jazz icon was born in Washington DC. Usually we try and link up the song chosen with the current status of the team; we can still do that, but in this case we just had to go with this instrumental piece from two legends of jazz. Ellington was supported by the dulcet tones of saxophonist savant John Coltrane, and wow, if it isn’t something special. The song, as it’s title suggests, evokes a distinctly sentimental mood, with a shift into gear around the two minute mark. Although DC has not had the dream start to a team’s existence, there must be some amount of sentimentality that surrounds the organization. After all, what better could there be than setting all the team records right off the bat? Thanks for reading, and stay tuned next week for more coverage!

9 8 4

Vancouver 4-2

Vancouver Moscow Seattle Calgary

oof

Unsure if I'm eligible, but if so, I'm ready if ya want me ?

9/29-10/6 Answer 6 questions to claim 2 TPE 1) Rough game against Vegas. Was it their goalie standing on his head, or our fault for not putting quality shots on goal? 2) Brendan James Lawn got a Major/Game Misconduct early in the first period. Do you think it was deserved? 3) Houston has jumped up on us in the standings, is that cause for alarm? 4) Perhaps more interesting is the run Mississauga is on, having won all ten of their last games. What do you think they changed to go on such a run? 5) Speaking of Mississauga, we face them next. Who is going to take the game? 6) The difference between first and sixth this year is only 7 points currently. Will this continue to the end of the season? 7) As mentioned in an earlier conference, our scoring is pretty spread out. Who do you think will lead our team by the end of the season? 8) Looking back to our blue line, on the defensive end our boys are pretty consistent for Shots Blocked, but DeYeeto and Amberback are leading on Hits. Makes sense as they are our top two pairing. Who do you think has been our most valuable defensive contributor so far this season? 9) We’ve played Mexico 7 times so far this season, and have won all but one. Why do you think we match up so well against them? 10) Conversely, we’ve played Mississauga twice and lost both, once in regulation and the other in OT. Small sample size, or an unfortunate trend?

Riga 4-3

Review: Hey I've seen these before! Haha, still, awesome job. The colors are super clean, and this looks like it could be a legitimate jersey for Ottawa. One critique is on the shorts of the third jersey, you use the old lynx head rather than the new one. Not sure if intentional, but maybe a little inconsistent. Love this!

Review: Very funny concept, something a little more in character and less meta than many posts, which I like. I do feel like the background could use something more than just an offwhite color, maybe something to add there. Still, good work!

Review: This is a really cool idea, and I think it deviates from what many graphics try and accomplish to do its own thing. Really clean, and I love the subtle filters over every city. Very well themed!

Review: Wow this is astonishing. Super high quality, and I love the fire effect in the second part, how it flits over and behind the words. The words look great too. Wow haha.

Review: Normally I'm not a fan of crazy color, but this looks wonderful. The filter is great, and the render sits on top of the background perfectly. The white "konstantin" is a little hard to read against the white on the jersey, but overall good regardless. Great work!

Review: Wow this is really well done. Not to mention I love Burns The teal flare lighting looks fantastic, and I love how simple and understated the text is. Great job!

Review: Really cool graphic! I love how its not a solid block image, and it plays with the borders a little. Also the way the words fit inside itself looks great. Only critique is the grey-scale of the jersey looks a little off to me. Overall fantastic!