CowboyinAmerica

Hat trick? I think I'll take that

259 Legion vs HC Dynamo 260 Reign vs Americans 261 Bears vs Legion 262 Meute vs Wranglers

3-2 Titans

Good win. And a Johnsson goal!

WELP.

It's a Race for 4th and 5th - Who's Left Out? It’s a near miracle – a competitive playoff race! Since the VHL moved to the five team playoff format, most of the playoff battles have been for third place (and that first round bye), or for top seed overall. There has usually been, though, a clear delineation between the top five teams and the bottom three teams in the VHL. That certainly isn’t the case this season, though. As it currently stands, the Wranglers and Reign are tied for fourth with 59 points, and the Dynamo are just 2 points behind them and currently out of the playoffs – but with one fewer game played. This is going to be a race that may very well come down to the final sim, and one of those three teams will find themselves out of the lottery. With all three so close, what might separate them in the end may not be talent after all, but how easy their schedules are during the final third of the season. With that in mind, I decided to take a look at all three teams and how their schedule breaks down through the end of the year. To do so, I’m breaking the league into three different tiers of strength – Tier 1 (NY, HEL, SEA), Tier 2 (CGY, RIG, DAV) and Tier 3 (QUE, TOR). Calgary Wranglers – 59 points – 17 games left Tier 1 games (9): New York x3, Helsinki x3, Bears x3 Tier 2 games (5): Riga x2, Davos x3 Tier 3 games (3): Quebec x2, Toronto x1 Analysis: The Wranglers may hold the fourth spot right now, but it will be tough to imagine they’ll do so the rest of the way through the season. In playing the league’s top three teams three times a piece, it’s conceivable that Calgary will be underdogs in over half the games they have left. That might not be enough to capture the top spot, and especially if they have an under .500 record against Riga and Davos the rest of the way, there may not be enough wiggle room to capture the top spot. Winning all three Tier 3 games left is a must, and even that will be complicated by the fact that goalie Norris Stropko still needs to sit six more games. The next two sims will teach a lot, with Calgary having games against Davos, Helsinki, and New York twice. Riga Reign – 59 points – 17 games left Tier 1 games (10): New York x5, Helsinki x3, Bears x2 Tier 2 games (4): Calgary x2, Davos x2 Tier 3 games (3): Quebec x2, Toronto x1 Analysis: But if Calgary’s schedule looks tough, then Riga’s looks downright deadly. The Reign face what most people would consider the top team in the league, the New York Americans, five times down the stretch. That’s not a good thing, considering Riga is a solid 0-5 in its five games against New York so far this season. When that’s coupled with only playing last place Toronto once and not having many games against Calgary and Davos to catch up with, then Riga’s another candidate to go into a spiral. And similar to Calgary, they’re another one that will need to play their backup goalie, as V2A hasn’t sat yet this season. HC Davos Dynamo – 57 points – 18 games left Tier 1 games (8): New York x1, Helsinki x6, Bears x1 Tier 2 games (5): Calgary x3, Riga x2 Tier 3 games (5): Quebec x3, Toronto x2 Analysis: The Dynamo might be in sixth right now, but in the final third of the season, they also look to have the easiest schedule. While Davos only plays one less Tier 1 game than Calgary, six of those eight games are also against Helsinki, a team that (in this writer’s opinion) doesn’t have New York’s depth and should be easier to plan for. Meanwhile, five games against Tier 3 teams should lead to easy points, especially since starting goalie Shawn Brodeur has done all the sitting that he needs to do this season. The next sim will be a crucial one, with a game a piece against Calgary and Riga, but as long as Davos picks up 2 points in those games combined, I feel good about saying they’ll make the playoffs. My prediction: Calgary and Davos make the playoffs

Ah ok, it all kind of jumbles together once you go back a certain ways. I said I wouldn't run another league post-MSFL and I haven't, respect to people like the current commissioners because it's a hell of a lot of work.

From Advantage's latest media on why he returned: It got me thinking once again back to what was my first sim league, which I figured was about a decade ago. And I was nearly exactly right - the final MSFL game was simmed on May 8, 2008, which is almost exactly one decade ago. And it made me feel very old, but also nostalgic. The MSFL probably isn't something that a lot of people around here know about, especially given how long ago it was and the long line of mostly failed football leagues that followed it. But in its day, it, along with the RSFL (which I believe YEAH was heavily involved in but not totally sure), were the only two sim leagues that had any sort of longevity. It was the MSFL that added a bunch of player sim concepts that have continued to this day - I recognize probably half the VHL Rule Book because the original one was based heavily off the still-running MSFL's at the time (largely with @Knight having high-up roles in both leagues). It also taught me a lot about refining my personal writing style and engaging in leadership roles, stemming from my then-high school self somehow being trusted with Head Grader and Commissioner roles in the league. The MSFL only lasted five seasons, but that spans more than two calendar years - only having one sim a week and 14 weeks in a season will do that to you. Having been there from beginning to end though, it felt much longer. But most importantly, it taught me that there are communities where you can have fun online without taking things too seriously or getting too angry. That's a big reason why people like myself, @Jonessee27 and @frescoelmo and others are still kicking around from the MSFL a decade later, because the power of an engaged community is just as fun as the actual games themselves. I turned 28 last week, but as long as I'm still having fun, I see no reason not to still be engaged. It's a getaway. It's also why you see old VHL people popping in and out, even after years away. It's also why, frankly, I'm in support of having a quick trigger on guys like Boubabi who primarily exist to argue - the point is to foster a communal and fun atmosphere, everything else be damned. I'm a whole lot busier now in life than I was in high school, and yes, I'm a hell of a lot older. But I hope to stick around here in some form because this place, just like the MSFL before it, has brought me a lot of joy.

Four point game, making that late MVP push!

Weeee, first star playing against Cornerstone. I like it.

Naturally

I like how that schedule's laid out, very clean. I guess I'm rooting for Costa Rica since Minnesota United's captain made the squad. Otherwise, don't feel that strongly, probably will root for people like Iceland or Egypt because I like the stories.

3-2 Bears

217 Legion vs Meute 218 Reign vs Titans 219 Bears vs Wranglers 220 Wranglers vs HC Dynamo

But I'll take this one. And nice to see Reinholdt with the goal!

Ah, the V2A revenge game.

4 points for Gretzky, 3 for Johnsson. I like it.

On 6 shots too, that's efficiency

Capitals (M1) vs. Lightning (A1) Winner: Capitals # of Games: 6 WESTERN CONFERENCE Golden Knights (P1) vs. Jets (C2) Winner: Jets # of Games: 6

Eh, everyone has a bad game at some point. Still out-shot em.

Yay we beat the Legion this time!

Woooo! Nice bounce back game

Naturally. Kills my point/goal streak too

Lolol. 11 games. Sure, why not?

Lol, 10 game goal streak. Would have been nice to pick this one up as well, but I'll take the point.