Erik Summers

Yeet!

As we enter the final round of this season’s exciting playoffs, we here at the VSN thought it would be a great opportunity to hear from some of the top performers of this postseason. I sat down with a couple of players who are competing in these finals. Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest instalments here: | VSN Radio | VHL Weekly | VHL Award Tracker | Deep Rewind | Under 250 | Aleksander Rodriquez What has been the highlight of the playoffs for you this season? I am truly impressed by the fact that I got 4 game-winning goals trough 12 games before the finals, but I love the fact that I got a short-handed goal since it is probably my first one in my VHL career and I'm not even supposed to be on the penalty kill Hahahahaha. Coming into the playoffs, who did you expect to face if you made it to the finals? I did not expect to make it to the finals at first. I mean Vancouver is a really strong team on paper and we got the game 7 against DC as well, but I did wish that we would have faced Riga. It was the team that drafted me in the VHL so I do have a little bit of remorse from getting traded without getting a chance to play for them. You are one of the top performers on your team this postseason, is there someone on the roster who you think might be being overlooked due to a lack of statistical performance? Well, I feel like Scott Green got his well-deserved recognition already even though he didn't make the ASG, but I would like to throw Guy LeGrand, my former teammate in New York, in there. I saw him being a bit harsh on himself, but he is top 5 in points and I believe with 7 goals? He is contributing more than enough. This season, the finals are between the two teams who have won the last three cups. What do you think has lead to the sustained success of your team? I was certainly not apart of the regular-season success. I do believe that our amazing goaltender Rayz Funk and our defence were really vastly overlooked and we have shown that defence can win you games in the playoff. We just need 2 goals for Funk and then good luck to score on us. I know it is early, but do you have any thoughts on your plans for next season? I have been thinking of retiring next season so I am maybe playing as a d-man for my last year. All of this will depend on my negotiations with my GM so I will not say anything else yet. But hey, playing with Fontennete and MSG on a team would be amazing in another life. Recreate that Mexico dream team we had going on that year since we made the playoffs with an expansion team. Does your team have any plans for what they are going to do in the days that follow if you get to lift the cup? I do not want to jinx us, but I would have no idea, to be honest. This is my second playoff appearance and I am killing it right now so I really do not know what to expect. I will follow the vibe I guess. Henrik Zoiderberg What has been the highlight of the playoffs for you this season? The highlight of the playoffs has definitely been the 4-0 sweep of Malmo, capped off by a 7-2 drubbing in game 4. Coming into the playoffs, who did you expect to face if you made it to the finals? To be honest, I think anyone in the North American Conference could have made it to the finals. That conference was very strong this season. There were a couple of strong teams in the European Conference as well, but some of those teams weren't as strong as we were or as strong as the NA teams. You are one of the top performers on your team this postseason, is there someone on the roster who you think might be being overlooked due to a lack of statistical performance? Gritty only has 7 points in 10 games, but he has a strong two-way play. If the games were only played along the boards, he'd be an all-star. This season, the finals are between the two teams who have won the last three cups. What do you think has lead to the sustained success of your team? Two things - a strong core of players either drafted or added through trades and free agency and a good job of drafting supporting talent that will eventually become the core of the team. I know it is early, but do you have any thoughts on your plans for next season? Both myself and the team and currently keeping all of our options open. It's too early to say anything definitive, but it's looking more and more likely that Moscow will not be my home for my final season. Does your team have any plans for what they are going to do in the days that follow if you get to lift the cup? Yeah - we'd go to Disney World and take the cup on a parade down Main Street. It was very fun to get to interview these two players and I think we learned some very interesting things. The fact that neither of them may end up with these teams next season means we could see a major shake-up at the top of the league next season. It is sure to be an exciting off-season as we watch what happens with these players in the future.

Thinking that you aren't responsible for being an asshole because you were emotional is exactly why you belong on a clown list. But I've had enough of the circus.

If you did nothing wrong, then you would say that you reacted. Overreacting implies that your reaction was not right for the situation; also known as wrong.

"I did something wrong, but I won't apologize...." Classic.

Welcome to the final edition of VSN’s S71 Weekly recap (Games 386-432). We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance. Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest installments here: | VSN Radio | Under 250 | Future Watch | The Talent Behind the Trophies | Recap With the season over and a short week, we’ll be doing a slightly shorter version of weekly review this time. The big story this week in the European Conference was who would get the final playoff spot. Seeding at the top of the conference was mostly settled, with Moscow securing the top spot early in the week, but Malmo entered the week with just a three-point lead over Helsinki. The Nighthawks didn’t give the Titan’s much of a chance, however, with a strong finish to the season, securing ten of fourteen possible points this week. In the North American Conference, the noteworthy stories were all about playoff seeding. The Vancouver Wolves held onto the lead the established last week and Seattle took hold of the second spot. The most shocking result was the fall of the Calgary Wranglers who find themselves as the fourth seed. There were many points throughout this season where a Calgary-Vancouver first-round matchup looked possible, but few would have guessed Vancouver would be the number one seed in that scenario. 3-Stars First Star Finn Davison (VAN) - 0.953 SV%, 1.38 GAA, 4 SOs Second Star Roque Davis (DAV) - 3 G, 8 A, 23 SB Third Star Owen Nolan (NYA) - 4 G, 4 A, 1 HT Notable Games Game 397 - Vancouver Wolves vs. Prague Phantoms Although it will be highlighted in the shutouts section bellow, I chose this game to bring special attention to the role Finn Davison played in Vancouver’s control of the top stop in the standings this week. The other major factor in the Wolves’ success was their absolute dominance in time of possession. They outshot opponents all week, but especially in this game, outshooting Prague 43-20. For the Phantoms, this game was essentially the end of their dreams of making the top seed int he European Conference. Game 399 - Calgary Wranglers vs. Seattle Bears On the flip side of Vancouver’s rise to the top was Calgary’s fall from grace. By the end of the week, the Wranglers found themselves as the fourth seed in the North American Conference. This crushing loss to the rival Bears played a big role in that decline. Despite only having one more shot than Calgary, Seattle outscored their opponent 3-0. Not only did Rayz Funk have a shutout in this game, but he also got a point with an assist on the game-winner by Odin Omdahl. Jacques Lafontaine simply couldn’t keep up with the veteran in this one. Game 416 Moscow Menace vs. Malmo Nighthawks This game was exciting for several reasons, but chief among them for the Nighthawks was that it clinched their playoff spot for them. You could tell they knew what was on the line in their determination to make every shot count. The Malmo scored all four of their goals on their first seven shots, resulting in Moscow goalie, Raymond Bernard, being pulled for their backup. The nighthawks would only manage ten more shots from there, all of which would be stopped. At the other end of the ice, Henrik Zoiderberg was on fire, scoring a hat-trick with a goal in each period. The rest of the Menace roster, however, was unable to find the back of the net, making the final score 4-3. Events of the Week Fights Game 409 - Lahtinen beats up Tear This game was a battle in every sense of the word, so it is fitting that we got a real battle as well. As Malmo was fighting to secure a playoff berth, Calgary was fighting to stop their freefall into the fourth seed. Shortly after Calgary tied the game 1-1 in the first period, Mikko Lahtinen and ACL TEAR got into a bit of a tussle. The tangle resulted in both players dropping gloves and going at it. Despite winning the fight decisively, Lahtinen would be on the losing side of the larger battle as Calgary failed to outscore their opponent in any period. Game 412 - Svoboda beats up Zoiderberg Sometime scrappy works and one of those times is when you are the last-place team in the league facing off against the juggernaut of your conference. Davos entered the third period with a lead but lost that lead just five minutes into the period. It was a slog from there that got heated in the twelfth minute with a fight between Pat Svoboda and Henrik Zoiderberg. Svoboda would win the fight and his teammate would go on to score the winning goal off his assist in the final minutes. Game 420 - Washington draws with Vikingstad and Forest draws with Nygren Despite not having much of an impact on the game, seeing as Seattle was down 3-0 with less than five minutes left in the game. These two fights were notable because they took place only four seconds apart. Apparently, after seeing what great fun George Washington and Ola Vikingstad got into, Boris the Forest and Markus Nygren decided to have a go at it themselves. Neither fight was overly decisive and, in the end, Seattle would just narrowly avoid being shutout with a powerplay goal with just twenty-six seconds left on the clock. Hat-Tricks Game 389 - Brady Stropko Jr Calgary has an abundance of defenders who can score, but it is always special when one gets a hat-trick. Brady Stropko Jr. had eleven goals so far this season going into this game, so it was a big jump to his total to earn three in a single game. Stropko started off the scoring in this game with a goal in the fifth minute and then went silent until the third. Early in the third, he scored his second, which would go on to be the game-winner, and then followed that up just a few minutes later with his third. Game 405 - Phil Marleau When Phil Marleau scored his first two goals in this game it was to pull Riga back into a tie with the Titans both times. However, by the time he completed the hat-trick, Riga had already scored the game-winning goal. Marleau is another player who isn’t necessarily known for goal-scoring who scored a hat-trick this week. Going into this game, Phil was fifth on the Reign in goals scored. Game 416 - Henrik Zoiderberg In the final games of the season, we had a rash of hat-tricks that were kicked off by this one by Henrik Zoiderberg. Zoiderberg scored all three of Moscow’s goals in this game and all on assists from Jet Jaguar. However, three goals would not be enough for the Menace to overcome Malmo, who scored four goals on just seventeen shots. Game 426 - Uhtred The Seattle Bears were already up 4-1 going into the third, so they likely could have just played conservatively and locked up the win. However, no one gave Uhtred that memo. He entered the period without a goal and in less than seven minutes he had three of them. His first came on the power play in the second minute and he quickly followed that with goals again in the fourth and seventh minutes as well. Game 430 - Owen Nolan Owen Nolan had himself a great season, but it looked like he was going to come up just shy of a point per game. He wasn’t having any of that, however, and completely changed this game in a single period. New York entered the second period down 3-0, but, due to Nolan’s efforts, left the period tied. With just twenty-three seconds left in the game, the Americans would find the winning goal to end it in regulation. Shutouts Game 388 - Vancouver vs. New York Vancouver wasn’t outshot in any period of this game, as the whole team contributed heavily to this shutout by maintaining offensive pressure at the other end throughout. New York managed to make a little bit of headway in the third, getting eight shots in the period, but Finn Davison remained perfect with twenty-one saves in total to secure the shutout. Game 397 - Vancouver vs. Prague It was an amazing start for Finn Davison this week, earning both of the week’s first two shutouts. Again, Vancouver was dominant on offences, including spending over thirteen minutes on the powerplay, and outshot Prague 43-20. Brick Wahl was also incredible, making forty-two saves, but the one he let in will haunt him as the game ended at a score of 1-0. Game 399 - Calgary vs. Seattle It was a rough week for Calgary and this is really how it all got started. Despite outshooting the Bears in the first two periods, and only being outshot by one goal in the game, they were unable to find the back of the net. Meanwhile, Jacques Lafontaine allowed three goals, but, after facing thirty-six shots, it would be hard to ask much more from him. Rayz Funk made all thirty-five saves for what was arguably his best performance of the season. Game 401 - D.C. vs. Moscow This game started with fifty shots in fifty minutes but not a single goal for either team. That alone was a solid performance from both goalies, but it was JB Rift who was able to hold out until the end. In total, Rift faced thirty-two shots, stopping them all. Game 402 - New York vs. Riga The close of the season came with several great goalie duels. In this one, A Red Guy faced off with Greg Eagles, and each player faced twenty-three shots. However, it was Guy who made all twenty-three saves, as Eagles let in a goal while shorthanded in the closing minutes of the second period. Game 404 - Moscow vs. Vancouver For the third time this week, Finn Davison has locked the other team completely out of the game and, amazingly, for the second time this week, Raymond Bernard has earned one of the three stars of the game while being the second-best goalie in the match. While he had to make twenty-four saves in total, Davison also had the easiest period of his life while Vancouver outshot Moscow 22-0 in the second period. Moscow made a huge surge in the third with seventeen shots, but ultimately they were unable to put one past Finn, who has been on fire all week. Game 407 - Riga vs. Toronto Jaxx Hextall is developing well, but this season was far from an excellent one for the young goalie, giving up more goals than any other goalie in the league. You won’t find him on many of the leaderboards for positive stats, except, this was Hextall’s fourth shutout of the season. That is a promising marker for the future of this rookie how made thirty-four saves in his best performance of the season. Game 408 - HC Davos vs. D.C. You can’t ask for anything better than a shutout from your back-up goalie. It wasn’t a gimmie either as Stone Wolski made twenty-three saves to earn his first shutout of the season. D.C. scored early and used that advantage to play a more conservative style that assisted in this shutout. Game 415 - Vancouver vs. Toronto For much of the season, it looked like the top of the shutout leaderboard was going to be a race between Michael Johnson and Brick Wahl, and going into this week, Johnson appeared to have the spot locked up with a two-shutout lead. However, with his fourth shutout of the week, Finn Davison propelled himself into a tie for first on that leaderboard. Vancouver followed the formula that has worked for them all week by dominating time of possession and only forcing Davison to make twenty saves to earn yet another shutout. Game 417 - Seattle vs. HC Davos Seattle had a powerful showing in the final week of the season and it was capped off by this Rayz Funk shutout. Holding Davos under ten shots in each period, Funk made a total of twenty-one saves for his fifth shutout of the season. Game 428 - Calgary vs. Malmo As I mentioned before, Michael Johnson and Finn Davison were tied at nine shutouts on the season. But, with one game left, Johnson claimed his spot at the top of that list. Despite being outshot 38-25. Johnson put the team on his shoulders and carried them to victory with a flawless thirty-eight saves for his tenth shutout of the season.

That is so cool! Thank you!

Seattle 3-2

17 Calgary Wranglers @ Vancouver Wolves 18 D.C. Dragons @ Seattle Bears 19 Malmo Nighthawks @ Moscow Menace 20 Riga Reign @ Prague Phantoms

Welcome to the fifth edition of VSN’s S71 Weekly recap (Games 301-385). We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance. Recap Before we delve fully into the playoff pictures in each conference, I want to mention a couple of non-playoff related things that happened this week. The first is that we will not have any one-hundred point teams this season. The league is at such extreme parity this season that no team will even be able to reach the ninety-eight points Malmo led the league within S68. That makes this the most evenly matched season since the expansion. I also want to highlight a spark of hope for the teams at the bottom of each conference. HC Davos has seen an impressive resurgence this week for a team with nothing to play for but the lottery. It is too little too late, but I am calling it now that they will be one of the top contenders in the coming season. For Toronto, the hopefulness should come from the fact that they are only twelve points out of first place in the league. They may be last in the conference right now, but it was very tight all season. If just a couple things had gone differently for them we could be having a completely different conversation. As we approach the end of the season, playoff seeding couldn’t be more up in the air. The only spot that feels certain is that Riga will be the third seed. With a six-point cushion ahead of them and seven-point buffer behind, it is highly unlikely that they will change position in the next eight games. Somehow, the two-point deficit that Seattle faces seems nearly as insurmountable, as competition has been incredibly tight for those spots this season. The top of the North American Conference currently has Vancouver in the lead by one point, with Calgary and D.C. tied for second. This is the first time in a few weeks that Calgary has fallen from the top spot. In the European Conference, there are two exciting races still going on. At the top of the conference, we have Moscow and Prague fighting for the lead. Moscow currently holds a four-point advantage, but Prague has had some great streaks this season, so they shouldn't feel too comfortable with that spacing. At the opposite end, Malmo and Helsinki are duking it out for the last playoff spot. Malmo currently holds the fourth-place position, but only by a single point. Each team seems to have solved some of the offensive struggles they faced earlier in the season, so it is really anyone's guess who will come out on top in this one. 3-Stars First Star Mikko Aaltonen (DCD) - 5 G, 10 A Second Star Cinnamon Block (PRG) - 3 G, 12 A Third Star Brick Wahl (PRG) - .924 SV%, 2.15 GAA Power Rankings European Conference Moscow Menace - (+1) Back on top for the reigning champs. Prague Phantoms - (-1) Their first conference title is in sniffing distance. Riga Reign - The only team going into the post-season who already know their seed. Helsinki Titans - (+1) A strong week makes me believe they can make up the final point in the standings Malmo Nighthawks - (-1) A big question remains whether they can live up to their potential. HC Davos Dynamo - How is the bottom team in the league so exciting? North American Conference Vancouver Wolves - (+1) I've been on this train all season. They finally proved me right. Calgary Wranglers - (-1) It feels weird not to have them at number one, but it is just so close. D.C. Dragons - (+1) They had a good run this week when it was starting to look like they would fall to the fort Seattle Bears - (-1) After a great mid-season surge, they are trying to find some more of that magic for a final push. New York Americans - (+1) It is crazy that just a few points feel like such a huge gap. Toronto Legion - (-1) Could we see a final week tank for the sake of the lottery? User-Voted Rankings Because of a forum error, my poll went up with only two options. This largely skewed the results, so we will not have user-voted rankings this week. Notable Games Game 301 - Vancouver Wolves vs. Moscow Menace It is always exciting when you get a matchup between the top teams in each conference. When this game happened, Vancouver hadn’t quite claimed that spot, but with hindsight, it is easy to see just how important this game really was. This game was pretty uncharacteristic for both teams, as the best defensive team in the league outshot the best offensive team in the league 40-25. A large factor in the unexpected role reversal was the poor play of the otherwise steady Raymond Bernard. Allowing four goals on thirteen shots before being pulled with five minutes to go in the first, Moscow found themselves in a hole they just couldn’t escape. That was when Vancouver’s defensive excellence kicked in and they held Moscow to just three shots in the second period. Game 357 - Helsinki Titans vs. Malmo Nighthawks The intensity oozed out of this game. Helsinki pushed back up this week to finish just one point behind Malmo for the last playoff spot in the European Conference, but the Nighthawks held their lead with this victory late in the week. For two teams that have been known for their defences earlier in the season, they both have taken a more aggressive approach as the postseason approaches. The shots were 42-35 in Malmo’s favour, but the majority of that deficit was created in the first period as the Nighthawks went up 2-0. However, Helsinki has had an expected secret weapon all season, short-handed specialist Brian Strong leads the league with three short-handed goals. This time, it wasn’t he who put it in the net, instead, he sprung teammate, Ben Hafkey who took the opportunity to put the Titans on the board. Helsinki managed to tie the game early in the third with a goal from Erik Summers, but it was the battle of the defensive defenseman as Condor Adrienne answered with a goal of his own to bring us to the final score of 3-2 Malmo. Game 365 - D.C. Dragons vs. Calgary Wranglers Calgary has fallen from the top spot in the North American Conference for the first time since very early in the season, and this was likely the most impactful of their losses this week. The Wranglers actually got on the board first with an early goal from Tyler Barabash Jr., but that was followed up quickly by two D.C. goals and they would not regain the lead from there. Jacques Lafontaine had an unusually rough game making just twenty-four saves from twenty-nine shots while JB Rift outplayed him making thirty-one of thirty-four. D.C.’s scoring was remarkably condensed for a five-goal game with Mikko Aaltonen, Luciano Valentino, and Boris the Forest all having three-plus point games. Events of the Week Fights Game 337 - Stark vs. Gunnar & Jubis Do you think there might be some animosity between these teams? I’m going to guess so when the league’s leading scoring gets into a brawl less than two minutes into the game. Oh, and then gets into another one less than thirty seconds after getting out of the box for the first. Ambrose Stark’s fisticuffs with Sigard Gunnar were a little lack-lustre as the two mostly just drug each other around until the refs split them up. However, when Stark came back for more against RJ Jubis, he got a little more than he asked for. Jubis pummeled Ambrose thoroughly, but, unfortunately, must have made Stark decide to stop fighting and start scoring with a goal coming quickly after he left the box the second time. Game 344 - BRAWL! Sometimes line brawls serve no purpose and are just a vent for pent-up aggression, other times they lead to something bigger. This one easily could have been interpreted as the former as Riga had just lost badly to Moscow a couple of games prior and found themselves down again. However, the comeback attempt that followed shows that this fight got some kind of spark going that the Reign bench really needed. This brawl’s combatant included Kyl Oferson and Henrik Zoiderberg fought to a draw, Ryan Busser beat up Jet Jaguar, Shush Nyko and Killy Foilen fought to a draw, and Jagger Philliefan, Lincoln Tate, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, and Dean Clarke were given minors for their involvement. Game 364 - BRAWL! This was a ridiculous first period in every other sense, so why not add in a line-brawl less than two minutes into the game? Just after, Riga opened up the scoring with their first of five goals this period, and all of the goals they’d score this game, both sides decided it was time for some hijinks. In decisive fights, Kristopher McDagg beat up Kyl Oferson, Rusty Shackleford beat up Codrick Past. and Chad Magnum beat up Ryan Busser. Codrick Past was ejected for instigation and Jagger Philliefan, Lincoln Tate, Erik Killinger, and Aron Nielsen each earned a minor for their involvement, putting ten players total in the box. Hat-Tricks Game 363 - Vladimir Pavlov Hat-Tricks were down this week, but each of them was significant in their own regard. Vladimir Pavlov became the third Menace player to score a hat-trick this season, moving Moscow into the shortlist of teams to accomplish that so far. Entering the game with just nine goals so far this season, Pavlov hit a wicked hot streak starting late in the first period. He scored again in the opening minutes of the second and then finished the hat-trick halfway through the period. Game 368 - Erik Draven Erik Draven’s hat-trick was especially notable because it is his second of the season, one of only three players to accomplish that feat so far. One of the other members of that exclusive club is Draven’s teammate, Brian Strong, giving Helsinki the lead for the most hat-tricks this season. Erik actually had a five-point game in this one, finishing his hattrick with under two minutes left in the game. Game 377 - Dalton Wilcox Dalton Wilcox is in his fourth VHL season and entering the twilight of his career, but he has successfully earned his first career hat-trick. In a season that he is on pace to best his personal points record, Wilcox’s performance has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise underachieving New York roster. Despite the fact that they would end up only needing two, Dalton scored the American’s first three goals this game, as he appeared to have Rayz Funk’s number all night. Shutouts Game 302 - Calgary vs. Prague This one had to feel pretty good for Brick Wahl. After nearly winning the cup with the Wranglers last season, he was replaced by the up and coming Jacques Lafontaine. Now in Prague, Wahl, and the rest of the league, have been chasing Calgary all season. Each goalie in this matchup made thirty-two saves, but Wahl got the shutout and Lafontaine let it four. Revenge must taste sweet. Game 309 - Seattle vs. Malmo Malmo was outshot or even in shots every period of this game, but Michael Johnson held fast to lock in the 5-0 shutout with twenty-eight saves. Dan Baillie earned points on four of the Nighthawks five goals and Johnson sits back atop the shutout leaderboard. Game 326 - HC Davos vs. Riga Davos continues to look like a new team in the second half of this season. It is highly unlikely that they will dig their way out of the hole they made for themselves in the first half, but if they can continue this form into next season, they will be a true force. Previously a liability at times in his career, Pekka Pouta has looked almost elite the past two weeks earning the shutout in this game with twenty-seven saves. Especially impressive was this third-period performance during an absolute onslaught from the Reign that he shut down completely. Game 328 - Vancouver vs. Seattle This was one of the most bizarre games we’ve seen in a while. Entering the game with fifteen goals, Uthred scored the only two of this game, both from Scott Greene assists, but that isn’t so strange. What really caught my attention first was two entirely penalty-free periods to start the game, then, when someone finally gets called for one, it is Finn Davison for one of only two calls this game. Then I noticed the shots. First period, nineteen shots, third period, nineteen shots, but the second had just six shots between the two teams. Well, all of that is to say that Rayz Funk stopped twenty-three shots for his first shutout of the week. Game 330 - Malmo vs Helsinki The Titan’s haven’t made things easy on Virgil Ligriv this season, but he has done an excellent job of keeping them afloat. Currently, on pace to face the second-most shots of any goalie in the league, he saw twenty-three in this one and stopped them all. This game also had huge playoff implications as these two teams have been back and forth all week within a point of each other for the last playoff spot in the conference. Game 334 - Riga vs. Moscow Speaking of shutouts with big playoff implications in the European Conference, Moscow surged back into sole possession of the first place spot in the conference this week. The ever consistent play of Raymond Bernard was a big factor in that. He stopped twenty-four shots in this statement-win over the Reign. Game 375 - Vancouver vs. HC Davos One of many accomplishments for Vancouver this week, who finds themselves in sole possession of the first place for the first time this season, the Wolves held an increasingly put-together Davos team to just nineteen shots and Finn Davison did the rest to hold fast for another shutout. Game 378 - Toronto vs. Prague We have had an impressive number of different goalies achieving the shutout this week. This time, it was Jaxx Hextall’s turn to lock one up. It didn’t come easy, as he faced thirty-one shots, but this was probably the best performance we’ve seen from Hextall all season. Hopefully, this is the goalie we will see a lot more in his second season. Game 385 - Malmo vs. Prague This game will likely be the deciding factor in who leads the league in shutouts when it is all said and done. Michael Johnson and Brick Wahl have been battling it out all season for that title, but with his thirty saves in this game, Johnson takes a two shutout lead as we head into the final week of the season. Rookie Spotlight Ola Vikingstad Joining the VHLM in S69 with the Mississauga Hounds, Ola actually played a much larger role in the playoffs than he did in the regular season as he helped the Hound attempt to take down the juggernaut that was Saskatoon that season. Despite his impressive nine postseason points, they would come up just short and he would be sent off to the Ottawa Lynx in the following draft. There, he would score one-hundred and thirty points and once again turn it on in the playoffs with thirteen goals and eleven assists. However, just as in S69 he would come up just short of the cup as the Minnesota Storm took down the Lynx in six games. This season, Ola was drafted 3rd overall going to the Seattle Bears and immediately earning himself an important spot of the roster. His role for Seattle has been all about offence, with forty-two points and a solid seventeen goals so far in his rookie season. Vikingstad has shied away from contact all year with just twelve hits and fifteen shots blocked, it will be interesting to see if this tentativeness develops out of him as he matures. Ola Vikingstad will likely find himself as an essential cog in a true contender as Seattle enters yet another competitive window over the next few seasons. He has largely been moved to the wing this season in the Bear’s abundance of riches at the centre position, but it will be interesting to watch whether he starts to take more minutes in the leading role of a line next season.

Moscow 3-2

391 D.C. Dragons @ Helsinki Titans 392 New York Americans @ Riga Reign 393 Seattle Bears @ Moscow Menace 394 Toronto Legion @ Vancouver Wolves

It was not. Apparently, when you accidentally close the window while typing your post it recovers the post but not the poll.

CGY 3-2

331 Helsinki Titans @ Malmo Nighthawks 332 D.C. Dragons @ Calgary Wranglers 333 Toronto Legion @ Vancouver Wolves 334 Riga Reign @ Moscow Menace

Welcome to the fourth edition of VSN’s S71 Weekly recap (Games 217-300). We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance. Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest installments here: | VSN Radio | Under 250 | VHL Award Tracker | Deep Rewind | Recap We had several more trades this week as the trade deadline loomed. Hiroshi Okada made a splash with a hat-trick in one of his first games as a Titan and John Frostbeard announced his retirement just days after being traded to the Americans. Malmo appeared to be selling it all for the future and then immediately turned around and grabbed up Shawn Glade Jr and ACL TEAR. By the end of the week, it looks like the dust might finally be settling and it will just be a matter of time before we know how these trades will be remembered. In the European Conference, acquisitions by Helsinki and Malmo added an extra level of excitement to their tight race for the final playoff spot. At the start of the week, it looked like the Titans might pull away with it, but the Nighthawks now wold a five-point lead. At the top of the conference, Moscow, Prague, and Riga all sit within two points, so the number one seed is open for anyone to grab. If their goaltending continues to hold, my current favourite to win the conference is the Phantoms, but the margins are extremely narrow. In the North American Conference, the field has begun to pull away from their European counterparts as well as from the teams not currently in playoff spots. While it appears that we know who to expect in the playoffs out of North America, the seeding is way up in the air. Just three points separate first and forth and I can’t say I even have a good guess who will win it. Vancouver has been the team I thought was a sleeper all season, but Calgary has maintained their lead throughout the week despite some adversity. 3-Stars First Star Brick Wahl (PRG) - .956 SV%, 1.64 GAA, 5 SO Second Star Scott Greene (SEA) - 10 G, 8 A Third Star Erik Summers (HSK) - 13 A, 28 SB Power Rankings European Conference Prague Phantoms - (+2) On the back of great goaltending, they made an outstanding surge this week. Moscow Menace - (-1) I had told myself that I wouldn’t demote the reigning champs until they gave up first, but tied will have to do. Riga Reign - (-1) They captured some real magic for a while, but I’m not sure it is sustainable. Malmo Nighthawks - (+1) Their trades seem to have paid off handsomely. They have a chance to look up a playoff spot Helsinki Titans - (-1) It was a great start to the week and they got exactly what they wanted on the trade market, but will it be enough? HC Davos Dynamo - They might be in last, but this team is becoming more and more respectable by the day. North American Conference Calgary Wranglers - They have fiercely defended first place all week. I just don’t know who is going to beat them. Vancouver Wolves - Their goalie announced his retirement this week. This is the season for them to make a move. Seattle Bears - One of the most well-rounded teams and even more so after this week’s trade. D.C. Dragons - It feels wrong having this team in fourth, but the top four are just so close. Toronto Legion - It is a shame that they don’t have much of a shot at the playoffs this season. They were very exciting to watch this week. New York Americans - Their trade this week might help them this season, but is going to be rough in the long term. User-Voted Rankings European Conference Moscow Menace - First in the European Conference, fifth in the league. Riga Reign - (+4) Finally the recognition they deserve. HC Davos Dynamo - Is this meme going to die? Prague Phantoms/Helsinki Titans - (-1/0) I sure hope people aren’t still sleeping on Prague Malmo Nighthawks - (-4) Roller coaster central over here. North American Conference Vancouver Wolves - (+5) I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. Calgary Wranglers/Seattle Bears - (-1/+1) It is just so close here at the top. D.C. Dragons - (-2) Exhibit A. How is a team this good in fourth in these rankings? New York Americans - (-1) I’m interested to see if this will change at all this week. Toronto Legion - (-1) At least it isn’t lonely down here. Notable Games Game 263 Prague Phantoms vs. Moscow Menace The Phantoms have been on a roll this week, especially on defence, and, at the end of the week, they are sitting tied for first place in the European Conference. The Cinnamon Block and Seabass Perrin combo on defence has been smothering and Brick Wahl has lived up to his name. This was put on full display in this shutout against Moscow. Despite giving up thirty-eight shots to possibly the best offence in the league, Prague held on and, with two goals from Roll Fizzlebeaf, ended it 2-0. Game 286 - Riga Reign vs. Calgary Wranglers Calgary finished the week on top of the standing again this week, and this game was a prime example of what they are capable of. It was actually the third in a series of games these two teams played this week and Calgary won them all. Since acquiring Greg Eagles, Acyd Burn, and Phil Marleau Riga has jumped up into the position of being a real contender. However, the North American Conference just looks significantly better at the moment. Calgary did an excellent job of wrangling in the star players of the Reign roster, with the only one of those big-name signings that appeared on the score-sheet being Greg Eagles. Game 288 - Vancouver Wolves vs. Seattle Bears The battle for first place in the North American Conference and, by extension, the league, was very tight all week. At the end of the season, we will look back on these rivalry games with extra importance as they will each be huge in determining playoff seeding. Scott Greene and Will Clark each had multi-point games, but the goaltending was the real story of this match as each goalie stopped thirty or more shots. In the end, Rayz Funk and Finn Davison combined for an SV% of .941. Events of the Week Fights Game 222 - BRAWL! Fights have been way down this season from last, but Helsinki and Davos set out to begin fixing that problem, though the Titan’s certain came out the worse for it. After Anthony Matthews scored just seconds into the third period, Kronos Bailey sought revenge with his fists. This sparked a line-brawl that included Erik Draven, Chico Smeb, Guillaume Fontenett, Derek Eriksson, and Cody Smith. Then, later that period Kronos Bailey started another fight, this time with Milos Slavik. The resulting ejection and powerplay would lead to the final nail in the Titan’s coffin this game. Game 270 - Brawl…? This was considered a line brawl, but somehow only two players received fighting majors. Kris Rice and Hunter Hearst Helmsley fought to a draw and were penalized the full five minutes while Mikko Lahtinen, Jeff Downey, and Sigard Gunnar only got minors for their involvement. Game 285 - Forest beats up Laughton Sometimes a fight can be used to kill an opponent’s momentum as much as it can be to fuel your own. That was the case when Boris the Forest laid a brutal beat-down on Blake Laughton late in the second period. Helsinki had just come within one goal and seemed to have a good deal of momentum. However, after the fight, D.C. regained control and closed out the game without another goal. Game 294 - BRAWL! Helsinki has been a very physical team this season and you will not find a fiercer rivalry in the VHL than Titans vs. Reign, so this was to be expected. A high-stick from Cody Smith started it all when Guy Sasakamoose took umbrage with it and started swinging. He would end up getting the additional instigation penalty as he beat up Ben Hafkey. Jim Bob won one for Helsinki as well in his fight against Patrick Tallinder and Erik Draven and Apollo Hackett fought to a draw. Guillaume Fontenette and Phil Marleau also got involved with some pushing and shoving but were only called for minors. Hat-Tricks Game 241 - Brian Strong and Hiroshi Okada Helsinki showed everyone that they got exactly what they wanted in their trade for Hiroshi Okada. In his first week with the Titans, he has already nearly doubled his point total for the season. He was going criminally underutilized on Calgary’s third line, so I’m sure this is a breath of fresh air for the up and comer. Another effect of having Okada on the team is that it has open up space on the ice for his teammates. Brian Strong was one of the main beneficiaries of that in this game with a hat-trick of his own. Erik Summers also had a career-best game with five assists in this 8-4 score-fest. Game 248 - Soren Jensen Soren Jensen, MGS, and Fredick Elembeck combined for a lightning-fast start. With three points apiece, Jensen did the majority of the scoring with his first hat-trick of the season. The Americans spent the rest of the game just holding off the Wolves so cling to a 4-3 victory. Game 251 - Ambrose Stark This has been a great season for individual efforts, and hat-tricks are way up from last season. Ambrose Stark spaced this one out, scoring his first goal to give the Bears a two-goal lead early in the first. We didn’t see him again until after Toronto had done some scoring of their own when he once again gave Seattle a two-goal lead at the start of the third. He then increased it to a three-goal lead to complete his first hat-trick of the season. Game 254 - Mikko Aaltonen This has to be the worst-feeling hat-trick of the season. Mikko Aaltonen carrier his team into overtime scoring all three of their goals. Then, after extra time went scoreless, it was the Wranglers who one as Aaltonen’s shootout shot sailed wide of the net. Game 280 - Pat Svoboda Back with his old team this season, Pat Svoboda has slowed down a bit in his final season, but he is still a great leader in Davos. Currently, he is the only player on the Dynamo roster with a positive +/-. He did everything he could to help them win this one, scoring once in each period, but it came up just short. Regardless, it is exciting to watch the veteran still put up highlight-reel performances. Game 284 - Mat Tocco The first period was action-packed with a final score of 3-2, and Moscow was deadly on the powerplay, scoring on both of their opportunities. But from there, it was all Mat Tocco. He scored again in the second and third periods to finish out his hat-trick. Game 289 - Zeno Miniti When the last-place team in the North American Conference faces the reigning champs, you don’t expect to get a great game. That expectation was smashed when Zeno Miniti led the Legion to an impressive victory with his first career hat-trick. Game 292 - Benny Graves Some people discount hat-tricks that include an empty-netter, but not here. This is especially true when no one could have deserved one more than Benny Graves did in this game. Graves’s first two goals kept the Dragons in this game while the rest of the team struggled. But, late in the second, his teammates turned it on to make the comeback and lead the game 5-4. That was what gave Benny the opportunity at the empty netter for his first hat-trick of the season. Game 295 - Jeff Downey Jeff Downey scored the opening goal and the one that would go on to be the game-winner in the first period for his initial two goals. After that, he waited until the third to finish his hat-trick and chase Seattle goalie Rayz Funk in the process. With an assist as well, he had himself a four-point game. Shutouts Game 217 - Toronto vs. New York The battle to stay out of last place in the North American Conference got off to a big start this week. Shots were fairly even throughout with New York actually out-shooting Toronto in the second and third periods, but nothing could get past Jaxx Hextall. Despite being only his second shutout of the season, I would say he is playing pretty well considering the struggles Toronto has had so far. Game 230 - H.C. Davos vs. Vancouver One of the few predictions I’ve gotten right, I was on the Jimmy Spyro train very early and this kid continues to amaze. Davos actually managed to get off quite a few shots, but Spyro stoped all twenty-nine of them. He was especially brilliant in the third, facing thirteen shots as his opponents tried desperately to find a hole. Game 231 - Prague vs. Riga Sometimes experience beats the hottest new thing, and that’s what happened here. Brick Wahl has announced that he will be retiring at the end of this season, but he still has a few lessons to teach the new guard. This game had extra meaning because it is extremely close at the top of the European Conference right now and any of these games could be the one that decides it. Game 250 - D.C. vs. Malmo The Dragons were a mess in this game. JB Rift had one of the worst games of his career, letting in two of the first six shots he face and getting pulled just over five minutes into the first period. Once they had the lead, Malmo did what Malmo does best, shut it down. After an amazing first period, Michael Johnson had a much easier time in the second and third, facing just eight shots in each to close out another great shutout. Game 252 - Prague vs. H.C. Davos For a team that has spent most of the season in a pretty distant last place, Davos still manages to look very competitive in short bursts. They absolutely dominated this game, outshooting the Phantoms 37-13 and handing Samuel Ross one of the calmer shutouts of his career. Game 253 - Prague vs. Vancouver Prague's goaltending has been on a streak of its own as well, besting both sides of the Davison/Eagles trade this week. Brick Wahl benefited from a team in front of him that control the momentum for much of the game, forcing Finn Davison to make thirty saves. Both goalies had an excellent night, but it was Wahl who walked away with the shutout. Game 255 - Malmo vs. Seattle Word to the wise, don’t let Malmo go up 2-0 on you in the first period. It will almost always end with a shutout. However, when Hulk Hogan is ejected for head-butting and Ambrose Stark is sitting for a fight, it is kinda hard to stop them. Seattle made a good effort with eleven shots in the third, but Michael Johnson held them off to climb back atop the shutout leaderboard. Game 262 - Toronto vs. D.C. D.C. had pretty good control for most of this game. There were a few moments in the first period where things could have gone the other way, but once they got to the second they really shut things down. JB Rift and Jaxx Hextall were each excellent this game, but it was Rift who sealed it off and earned his fourth shutout of the season. Game 263 - Moscow vs. Prague This is another major battle for dominance in the European Conference and Brick Wahl delivered again. Moscow maintained a high level of pressure throughout, forcing Wahl to make thirty-eight stops, but he kept them all out. This also moved Brick back into a tie for first for shutouts this season. Game 267 D.C. vs. New York What a game for A Red Guy! Thirty-nine saves against one of the best teams in the league right now. The rest of the Americans’ roster owes him a big one for this performance. Guy continues to be able to stand on his head to bail out his team when the occasion necessitates it. Game 277 - Seattle vs. D.C. D.C. had a bit of a slide in the middle of this week and this beatdown delivered by the bears capped it off. JB Rift topped himself from earlier in the week having the new worst game of his career, getting pulled after stopping just two of the first four shots against him. At the other end of the ice, Rayz Funk was flawless, securing the shutout with twenty-five saves. Game 281 - Riga vs. Calgary This was billed as one of the most exciting games of the week; two incredibly hot teams vying for position in their perspective conferences. But, for a game that could realistically be a preview of the cup final, this was incredibly one-sided. Calgary dominated with forty shots while Jacques Lafontaine only faced sixteen in this shutout. Game 287 - Malmo vs. Prague The battle for the top spot on the shutouts leader board has been very contentious and it came to a head in this game. Michael Johnson and Brick Wahl faced off for a chance to take the lead. Malmo had an absolutely smothering first period, giving up just two shots, but it looked like Prague might breakthrough in the second. Johnson was able to hold them off and Malmo regained control in the third, once again allowing almost no shots. With that, it was Michael Johnson who would claim the shutout title, for now at least. Game 290 - HC Davos vs. Vancouver You won’t find Samuel Ross on the many of the goalie leaderboards, but he just quietly earned his fourth shutout of the season while starting ten fewer games than most other starting goalies. Ross, and the entire Dynamo roster to some extent, have been very all or nothing this season and, unfortunately, it has been more nothing than all. However, the sparks of greatness like we saw in this game give a fair amount of hope for the future. Rookie Spotlight Roque Davis If the season ended today, I think Roque Davis would be the clear favorite for Rookie of the Year. Not only does he lead the league in scoring among rookies, but he has done it on an HC Davos squad that is the only team in the league to score under one hundred goals. That means that Davis has a point on nearly half of Dynamo goals this season. This is all from a defenseman who is also very noticeable at his own end of the ice with eighty-two shots blocked. This should come as no surprise to anyone who followed Davis’ VHLM career. Joining Mississauga at the cutoff for his first season, buy the playoffs, he was already a central figure of that roster, scoring twelve points in fifteen playoff games. The following season he was drafted by San Diego where he scored over two points per game and had over a hundred shots blocked. It is really going to take a major upheaval to shake Roque’s grip on rookie of the year, but there are a couple of candidates who could still accomplish it. We’ll look at one of those rookies next week.

DC 3-2

259 New York Americans @ Calgary Wranglers 260 HC Davos Dynamo @ Vancouver Wolves 261 Malmo Nighthawks @ Riga Reign 262 Toronto Legion @ D.C. Dragons

Helsinki Titans Receive: C Hiroshi Okada Calgary Wranglers Receive: RW Gary Tarantino S73 HSK 2nd Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest installments here: | VSN Radio | Under 250 | VHL Award Tracker | Deep Rewind | Weekly Review | Analysis When analyzing any trade, I think there are three important aspects to consider, the market, the price, and the return. The biggest story as we approach the trade deadline this season has been the market. When looking at other blockbuster trades, teams have been paying exorbitant prices to “get their guy”. We have also seen that most trades aren’t just happening as an exchange of players for picks. This is because most teams are struggling to stay under the cap at the moment and have to move contracts to make room for the new players. So, with that market in mind, let's take a look at what each team got out of the deal. Helsinki was the clear “buyer” here, acquiring a proven player coming off a solid sophomore season who seems to be experiencing a bit of a regression this season. However, the Titans have struggled offensively all season, so it is clear that they were in need of someone with the potential of Hiroshi Okada. I think the bigger question is what did Calgary get out of the deal? Calgary is among the frontrunners to be the cup favourite at the moment, so it is hard to imagine that they are selling off pieces to build for the future. Their time to win is now. In that light, my first thought about this trade was that it was a simple cap dump. Calgary has another trade lined up that was just waiting for the cap space to open up to close the deal. Then I saw that they retained more than a third of Okada’s salary, freeing up just $250,000 in cap space. Maybe that is all they needed, but that doesn’t seem likely. What about the player they received? Gary Tarantino might pan out as a solid bottom-six forward, but he has had an incredibly rough rookie season so far. But maybe the leadership in Calgary believes that it was just the fit in Helsinki that was holding Tarantino back. Finally, there is the pick. Early second round picks hold some amount of value, but late-seconds are risky. So which is it likely to be? Well, Helsinki is theoretically at the low point of their rebuild/retool and will be back on the upswing next season. Will they be cup favourites? Probably not, but a deep playoff run is certainly possible, which makes this pick rather risky. So, considering the market, it seems like the Titans got a bargain, but there is one big question that will likely determine who this trade is remembered. How does Okada slot into the Helsinki roster? Currently a centre, Hiroshi would certainly find himself third in the depth chart at the position on the Titans. However, with a change to left-wing, he could find himself on the top line. Receiving passes from players like Ben Hafkey, Brian Strong, Erik Draven, or Kronos Bailey could make a big difference in returning Okada to his form from last season. Get-to-Know the Players Hiroshi Okada After his first twenty-two games with the Ottawa Lynx, Hiroshi Okada looked like a big gamble even for a VHLM team. Because of that, he ended up falling to the third round, going 25th overall to the Philadelphia Reapers. That gamble paid off big time as he put up ninety-eight points in the following season. Now proven, he went 9th overall to the Calgary Wranglers who had very successful drafts in S69 and S70 with the likes of RJ Jubis, Kris Rice, and Mikko Lahtinen. Now a leader on a very young roster, Okada had a successful sophomore season with thirty-eight points. He now appears to be in a bit of a slump, but there is still great potential for this player. Gary Tarantino Long-time VHLMer, Gary Tarantino found great success, playing for two championship-winning teams. After a rough start with the San Diego Marlins, he was drafted by the Saskatoon Wild super team that won the S69 cup. The following season he was traded to the Minnesota Storm and helped lead them on their cup run as well. The only knock against Gary is that his development has been slow, but it has been consistent, so there is good potential for the future. He hasn’t seen a ton of ice time on the third line in his rookie season, so it will be exciting to watch the player he becomes as he gets more opportunities to prove himself.