tcookie

The last few weeks have seen the Malmo Nighthawks and Moscow Menace start to pull away from the pack in what was once a tightly-contested European Conference, with the two teams now sitting first and second in the entire league. The Nighthawks, at one point led by their defense and goaltending while their offense struggled, rocketed to the top of the EU once their offensive issues resolved, embarking on a phenomenal 32-game run in which they went 26-4-2. While holding a firm grasp on the European Conference lead, their ascent to the top of the VHL standings was a little slower due to strong play from Los Angeles and Calgary, but they eventually voertook the NA leaders. With 20 games to go, Malmo sports a 37-10-5 record, five points clear of second place. Meanwhile, the Moscow Menace began an incredible surge of their own. Moscow was expected to be in contention for a playoff spot at the start of the year, but probably not as high up the standings as they currently are especially in a conference where Helsinki, Prague, and London all boasted very formidable rosters too. But at around the same time the Nighthawks got going, so too did the Menace, who had at one point won 15 in a row (and, incredibly, only managed to pick up one point on Malmo during that time frame as they had gone 14-0-1 over the same stretch). Though their streak would end in a shootout loss to Seattle, they bounced right back by defeating LA and have picked up points in 17 in a row. That puts them at 35-13-4, sporting the same record as Calgary, tied for second in the VHL. There's a 10-point cap between Moscow and third-place Helsinki, and with a 22-point gap between them and Warsaw, both Malmo and Moscow have essentially assured themselves a playoff berth already. If the two teams continue playing at their current level, they seem destined to meet each other later on in the playoffs with much higher stakes.

Claim week 2/4

A few days ago, Malmo Nighthawks rookie Phillip Rave talked in an interview about living for the big moments. Then, in the next two games Malmo played, Rave scored two goals - breaking a tie in the final two minutes of a 7-5 win over Davos and then scoring the eventual game-winner in a 3-2 win over DC. Rave has scored 8 goals do far in his young VHL career, but 3 of them are game-winners. It goes a little beyond that: 11 of Rave's 33 goals with the VHLM's San Diego Marlins back in S90 were GWGs, and 3 of his 6 goals in this year's world juniors were, too. Rave has only just begun a hopefully-long VHL career and has shown tremendous growth over the past two seasons. His upside is sky high, though he's certainly still developing into it. But he's already got a knack for showing up big in big moments. With a penchant for scoring clutch goals and trips to the VHLM and VHLE already on his resume, Rave is showing not just talent, but the kind of intangibles that teams love.

Note beforehand: I selected players for this based on appropriate ratings, not stats - so it's entirely possible some of the players here are not having all-star calibre seasons, or players who deserve to be at the all-star game were not selected. Also, I made sure every team had at least one player in the skills comp, and the results were determined relatively randomly with some consideration given to the appropriate ratings... I didn't use any kind of script or anything for this. It's all just made up. --- DC: Welcome to Los Angeles for the VHL All-Star Skills Competition! I'm Dan Callaghan for VSN and with me today is Landon Fairhaven. With players from each of the VHL's 16 teams in attendance competing for the All-Star Cup, testing their skills in a variety of different competitions, let's get right into the fun times! LF: First up, we have the Hardest Shot competition. Competitors will get two attempts each and only the best will count. One point will go to the team with the winning player and one point will go to the overall winning team. Your competitors for the Hardest Shot are: John Jameson (Prague) @Frank-- 97 ST, 89 SC, 6'3 215 Wann Kerr (London) @VattghernCZ -- 99 ST, 88 SC, 5'9 189 Todd Cooke (Los Angeles) @KRZY-- 99 ST, 89 SC, 6'6 190 Jimi Jaks (Toronto) @ke1vi -- 99 ST, 90 SC, 6'0 190 ATTEMPT 1: John Jameson 96.4 MPH / Wann Kerr 97.2 MPH Todd Cooke 99.7 MPH / Jimi Jaks 81.4 MPH DC: Well, Landon, three pretty good efforts there and then it looked like Jimi Jaks didn't get much on their attempt, but fortunately, they will all get another crack at it. LF: Todd Cooke is probably the favourite in this event and got a pretty good blast off there! They'll be tough to beat. They're so strong and that 6'6 frame can really get a lot of leverage to rip a puck. Let's see what happens. ATTEMPT 2: John Jameson 98.5 MPH / Wann Kerr 95.4 MPH Todd Cooke 100.1 MPH / Jimi Jaks 99.2 MPH FINAL RESULTS: John Jameson 98.5 MPH / Wann Kerr 97.2 MPH / EU Total: 195.7 MPH Todd Cooke 100.1 MPH / Jimi Jaks 99.2 MPH / NA Total: 199.3 MPH DC: You called it Landon - Todd Cooke comes through and even gives us a triple-digit blast. And his teammate Jimi Jaks is going to come in second here after a much better shot! That puts the North American Conference up 2-0 after the first event. Next up, we've got the Accuracy Shooting competition! Players will shoot until they hit all 4 targets. One point will go to the team with the winning player and one point to the overall winning team. Your competitors for Accuracy Shooting are: Molly the Cat (London) @JCarson -- 92 SC, 91 WS Nikolas Kauppi (Prague) @Tetricide -- 88 SC, 90 WS EU Conference Passer: Babay Shrimp (Riga) @Blazzer (91 PA) Jason (DC) @Jason kranz -- 90 SC, 91 WS Napoleon Dynamite (Los Angeles) @thadthrasher -- 88 SC, 93 WS) NA Conference Passer: Randy Bobandy (Calgary) @AJW (89 PA) RESULTS: Molly the Cat: 4 for 4, 9.1 seconds Nikolas Kauppi: 4 for 6, 15.5 seconds EU Total: 8 for 10, 24.6 seconds Jason: 4 for 5, 13.2 seconds Napoleon Dynamite: 4 for 6, 14.2 seconds NA Total: 8 for 11, 27.4 seconds LF: Molly the Cat shows off the quick release on their wrist shot AND their deadly accuracy with a very impressive 4 for 4, and in just 9.1 seconds - a fantastic performance! DC: The EU ties up the Skills Comp as they grab the team point for this one, too. It was a good performance by Jason here but this one shot here, their fourth attempt, just barely misses the target and rings the iron. LF: It keeps things interesting though! 2-2 after two events. There are a lot of young fans in here right now having a great time, meeting the players and getting a competitive event. That's what it's all about! DC: Well, now we shift our attention to the Fastest Skater competition! This one's a real fan favourite. Each player will get two attempts with only their best lap counting. As with the other events, one point goes to the team with the winning player and one to the overall winning team. Let's meet the competitors for the Fastest Skater: Jacob Stone (Malmo) @scoop-- 92 SK, 6'6 222 Daryl Dixon (Helsinki) @Ricer13 -- 90 SK, 5'10 170 Liv Slater (Vancouver) @Subject056 -- 88 SK, 5'9 148 The Frenchman (DC) @OrbitingDeath -- 90 SK, 5'11 170 ATTEMPT 1: Jacob Stone: 17.206 seconds / Daryl Dixon: 14.069 seconds Liv Slater: 14.401 seconds / The Frenchman: 15.209 seconds DC: Jacob Stone might be the guy with the best top-end speed here but had some trouble with one of the corners and couldn't get it back together. Daryl Dixon had a lightning-quick lap with a real competitive time and it looked like The Frenchman just didn't get up to speed in time, they're capable of better, but let's see how this second run goes! ATTEMPT 2: Jacob Stone: 14.854 seconds / Daryl Dixon: 14.312 seconds Liv Slater: 14.188 seconds / The Frenchman: 14.552 seconds FINAL RESULTS: Jacob Stone: 14.854 seconds / Daryl Dixon: 14.069 seconds / EU Total: 28.923 seconds Liv Slater: 14.188 seconds / The Frenchman: 14.552 seconds / NA Total: 28.740 seconds LF: Well, that was exciting! All four players really flew around the rink on that one. Three of them improved on their times. DC: But ultimately nobody touches Daryl Dixon's first lap here! 14.069 is an excellent time. Liv Slater gave it a really good run, their acceleration and agility was clearly on display. The team score is very close here but it looks like the NA will take that point, countering the point Dixon gets for the EU. LF: So we have a 3-3 tie! But now we get to the real good part... DC: It's time for the Shootout competition! Each player will take two shootout attempts on the opposing netminder. One point is awarded for each goal scored! Let's meet the players: AK92 Wit da Hoodie (Riga) @hedgehog337 -- 94 PH, 78 PS Left Alone (Moscow) @okochastar -- 90 PH, 80 PS Alfred Champagne (Warsaw) @Anthique -- 88 PH, 78 PS EU Goaltender: Fuukka Rask (Helsinki) @Jubis -- 64 PS Skor McFleury (Calgary) @Alex -- 94 PH, 78 PS Severus Targaryen (Seattle) @Banackock -- 85 PH, 74 PS Mac Atlas (Toronto) @v.2 -- 92 PH, 80 PS NA Goaltender: Art Vandelay (Los Angeles) @Gustav -- 55 PS DC: Coming in for their first attempt it's the VHL's current leading scorer, AK92 Wit da Hoodie. LF: 30 goals and 62 points in 39 games so far this year, those are stunning numbers. You know they can put the puck in the net. DC: A lovely little forehand-backhand move there and Vandelay is caught out of position! Chalk up a goal for the EU there! And trying to match that now will be Skor McFleury of the Calgary Wranglers. McFleury comes in with speed and a flurry of moves! LF: I see what you did there. DC: He puts it past Rask and our score is now 4-4! Back to the EU Conference's turn, it's Left Alone. He skates in, toe drag, a great little move but Vandelay stones him! An excellent blocker save from Vandelay! LF: So the North American Conference will have a chance to take the lead here. Severus Targaryen, second-year pro from the Seattle Bears will take the shot. DC: It looks like he bobbles the puck here a bit picking it up but makes a nice recovery, walks in, takes the puck to the backhand but puts it wide. LF: Rask gave him no room there, he tracked the puck really well all the way across. Targaryen was looking for whatever little space was there but there wasn't any. DC: Alfred Champagne, the Warsaw representative here, will get a chance now. He skates in, fires a quick shot but it looks like Vandelay was ready for that one all the way. Now we have Mac Atlas to take the shot. He's got Rask on his heels as he comes in fast, takes a shot and oh my! He scores! That shot couldn't have been placed any better. LF: No chance for the goalie there, that's why Atlas has back-to-back 40-goal seasons. DC: North America has a 5-4 lead here. We'll go in reverse order for the second try, so it's right back to Atlas. He's got the moves this time! Takes it out wide, comes back in, backhand-forehand-backhand and a lovely finish - that's two magnificent goals from Atlas. That one's really got the crowd going. LF: And North America has a 6-4 edge. Champagne is back out to try to narrow the gap. DC: Ohhhh and he wires it off the crossbar! A more promising effort than the first one but Champagne can't quite bulge the twine. It's a chance for the North American team to take a stranglehold here and Targaryen comes back out. Targaryen comes in quick and - oh! Would you look at that, he tries to go between the legs and that would've been something magical but Rask wasn't fooled. LF: A good job by Rask of staying in position with the fancy move happening right in front of him. DC: Left Alone, driving out wide to the left side of the ice and now he slows it down as he cuts back in, fires and scores! LF: Alone catches Vandelay here by changing the angle and beats him low blocker with a well-placed wrister. The lead is back down to one, it's 6-5 for North America. DC: Skor McFleury coming back in here. Flying out wide, now cutting all the way back across the circles and he slides the puck through Rask! LF: McFleury is so smooth out there, not hard to tell why he's one of the best defensemen in the league. He probably would've had a chance in the Fastest Skater and he put that speed to good use there, really put Rask in a bad spot. DC: AK92 Wit da Hoodie is hoping to keep the lead at one before we get into the Breakaway Relay. He pulls up at the dots and tries a slapshot! And it works! Oh, the fans love that. He caught Vandelay off guard by going for the slapper there. LF: And it was a heck of a shot, too! What a rocket. DC: So with that, we have a 7-6 score in the skills comp. And we've got one final event to decide it all! It's the 3-on-0 Breakaway Relay. Teams of 2 forwards and 1 defenseman will take three 3-on-0 attempts against the opposing netminder, with one point awarded for each goal scored. Here are the Breakaway Relay lineups! Yaroslav Bogatyrev (Malmo) @Bojovnik-- 85 SK, 87 PH, 69 PA, 89 SC Leonard Triller (London) @Triller-- 91 SK, 94 PH, 94 PA, 83 SC Pierre Emile Bouchard (Helsinki) @Gaikoku-hito -- 84 SK, 91 PH, 85 PA, 87 SC EU Goaltender: Lachlan Summers (Davos) @kirbithan Francesco Mancini (New York) @GioSivo -- 87 SK, 86 PH, 91 PA, 86 SC Yaroslav Trunov (Chicago) @qripll -- 80 SK, 88 PH, 67 PA, 85 SC Mark Calaway (DC) @Beketov -- 87 SK, 90 PH, 68 PA, 90 SC NA Goaltender: Merome Dilson (Calgary) @MexicanCow123 DC: And here we go! Triller picks the puck up at centre for Europe and he comes in fast! Pass to Bouchard, who one-touches it back to Triller, and oh my! He pulls Dilson out of position beautifully and sends a magnificant feed to Bogatyrev. That's a tap-in for Big Boga and our skills comp is tied. LF: Triller led the league in assists last year and he's one of the most crafty players in a league where shooters get a lot of the attention. That right there is what a great playmaker can do! DC: Mark Calaway moves the puck ahead to Trunov here and the NA team is in on Lachlan Summers. Trunov passes off to Mancini, he throws it back to Calaway who fakes a shot, passes back to Trunov, but the pass is a bit off and bounces away from Trunov, an unfortunate break there. It looks like the EU is sticking with what's working as Triller picks the puck up with speed and flies over the line. Throws on the breaks and gives the puck to Bogatyrev, he sends it back to Bouchard and Bouchard rips the shot home! Suddenly, Europe has taken the lead! LF: Nothing like a good back-and-forth competition! DC: This time Mancini will run the play for North America. He fakes a shot and passes to Trunov who hesitates, drops it back for Calaway and he lets a rocket go! It's off the post and into the back of the net! LF: Calaway is one of those guys with a great shot from the back end and he shows it off there. No defending that one! DC: So, the teams are tied and we have one attempt each left. LF: Oh, the drama! You know, it's just a skills competition but these guys are competitors. They don't want to lose, especially when it gets to the end and it's this close. DC: Triller with a little razzle-dazzle as he puts on a spin move as he picks the puck up! He passes it to Bouchard, to Bogatyrev, back to Bouchard and back to Triller for the finish! Brilliant passing and the European Conference goes up 9-8! LF: That right there is why a 3-on-0 is a goalie's worst nightmare. There's nothing Dilson can do about that. I talked about that Calaway shot earlier being impossible to defend, but this play here is just another level entirely. DC: It's a must-score situation for the NA trio and Trunov picks the puck up. He runs a little give-and-go with Calaway, moves it over to Mancini. Mancini tries a move and OH NO! He lifts it just a shade over the net! Mancini had Summers beat but gets a bit too much on it. LF: That was an excellent move and Summers here goes for the poke check, Mancini just gets around him, this probably should be a goal but he just got a little too excited there and skies it! What a finish. DC: That's a tough one for Mancini, but at the end of the day, this event was for the fans and hey, they got their money's worth! A dazzling display of skills from the VHL's most talented players and a thrilling scoreline overall. Congrats to Team Europe for ultimately grabbing the 9-8 win - we hope you enjoyed the show! --- 2484 words so claiming for the next 4 weeks

With the Malmo Nighthawks sitting at the top of the European Conference, Phillip Rave finds himself in a familiar place about halfway through his rookie year. It's maybe not the place everyone dreams of being when they envision being a professional hockey player, but you won't hear Rave complaining about it too much. Rave finds himself a role player for the second straight year - he's playing more than he did last season for the VHLE's Cologne Express, but the offense just isn't there for him right now. Fortunately, Rave plays a pretty complete game and prides himself on being responsible defensively in addition to providing that scoring touch. He would be the first to admit, though, that the transition to the VHL hasn't gone quite as smoothly as he'd hoped. "It's been fun, for sure. You know, the fastest way to get better at anything is to play against people that are better than you... I'm pretty early on in my career, and there's a lot I can learn from my teammates and from other players, and I'm just trying to get better every shift and learn wherever I can," says Rave. "This is the top level of hockey you'll find. The players here are so, so good. It's taking some getting used to but... it's not a level that I don't think I can get to. It's just going to take some hard work and discipline." Rave has just 5 goals and 14 points in 32 games, but it feels like he's close. He sports a +8 rating, which is good for fifth on the team, and has 106 shots on goal. His shooting percentage of 4.7% suggests he's just been a little unlucky so far, although some might argue it suggests he's just taking bad shots, instead. Among VHL rookies, Rave isn't particularly close to the scoring lead, which belongs to Helsinki's Grimgor Ironhide (31 points in 32 games), but he isn't letting it get to him. "Yeah like I said, this is the best league in the world and those are the best guys in my draft class, so... look I'd have loved to be a Rookie of the Year contender, but at the end of the day, what I really appreciate is looking at the standings and seeing the Malmo Nighthawks in first place." The EU was expected to be the more competitive of the two conferences in S92, and so far, it's living up to that billing with the top-five teams separated by eight points. The Nighthawks have a five-point gap over the London United and Helsinki Titans for second. There's a bit of a gap after the Moscow Menace, eight points down to the Riga Reign, so with 40 games left in the season, the Nighthawks sit in a playoff position by 16 points. Early in the season, it felt like the Nighthawks were fighting the puck a little. Strong play by the defense and from netminder Ash Sparks held them afloat until the offense came around. With a recent surge in offensive production, the Nighthawks are finding their stride. For Rave, who played in the VHLM finals two seasons ago with San Diego and won a Renaissance Cup last season with Cologne, he's exactly where he wants to be. "I live for the big moments," says Rave. "I don't care about how many goals or assists I score in a random regular season game in the middle of the year. I just want to be there when we're fighting for the trophy at the end of the year. And I've been fortunate to the in that position so far in my first two years, and fortunate to be playing for a team that has a chance to be there again this year. That's all I want, man. I want to win games... the rest takes care of itself."

I kinda get it though, there were exactly two teams who didn't have their goalie mentioned at all... dead last Seattle and first in the EU Malmo. Our offense was struggling pretty bad until like two sims before the time of writing, so it's entirely defense and goaltending that got us up there, and Sparks was like a .932, which while seventh, was behind three goalies at .933 (two of whom are now behind Sparks), so no practical difference between that and being tied for 4th... he mentioned a guy who was like 41st in league scoring as leading our offense. It's just a writeup for entertainment in a sim league so like not a big deal at all but I can see where's he coming from. And from someone on the team, Sparks is absolutely our MVP right now.

This was my first reaction to reading that and I'm happy you found it

Congrats! That's our captain

The Malmo Nighthawks have come out of the gate hot - as we get past the first third of the season, the Nighthawks currently lead the EU with a 17-6-3 record, just ahead of the Moscow Menace. The Nighthawks' offense has taken some time to get going, with 73 goals in 26 games - that ranks them as the 7th best offense in the league - but they have shone defensively and between the pipes, Ash Sparks is having the best season of his career so far. He has shaken off a bit of a slow start to sit at 14-6-3 with a 2.18 GAA and .932 SV%. The Nighthawks have allowed just 58 goals in 26 games. Fortunately for the Nighthawks - who are led in scoring by defenseman Jacob Stone and centre Viktor Jensen, each of whom has 26 points in 26 games and are tied for 33rd in league scoring - they have shown some signs of life over the last few games. Over their first 19 games, they had been averaging just 2.52 GPG but in their past 7, they have lit the lamp 25 times, 3.57 GPG, bringing them up to 2.81 on the year. There is plenty of talent on the Nighthawks roster up front, and there is no reason to suspect any of Jensen, Yaroslav Bogatyrev, or Henry Eagles will sit behind the PPG mark for an entire season. If the Nighthawks have truly turned the corner offensively, they could be a force to be reckoned with in a competitive European Conference.

1) Ever since I saw the video of Edwin Diaz walking to the mound to "Narco" a few years ago, I've thought it's a brilliant intro/entrance song, and while it probably fits a little better as that than as a goal song, I think it would be pretty cool to hear after a goal, too. I'd probably go with that, but maybe "Break" by Three Days Grace. 2) The first things I can closely remember are all from a time where I was growing up in Thompson and watching the Norman Northstars, a Midget AAA team that to any hockey-loving kids there was pretty much the coolest thing. We idolized the guys that were good enough to make that team. I lived there for four years and we went to a ton of games. Loved the rink, every seat in the place was up close to the action, it really captured the whole "small hockey town" vibe, though I don't know if it really did or if it just felt that way because I was a young kid. One year they auctioned off the jerseys... we won the one won by Shane Clarkson and I wore it to one of the games. He came out of the locker room that night with his stick; lots of kids were grabbing at it and he picked me out and said, "this one's for the kid with the cool number". So that was pretty awesome! Watching the Northstars makes up a lot of my childhood hockey memories. I remember being at Manitoba Moose games prior to that but I was too young to have any real recollection of what was going on beyond just, "I was in the stands". 3) Number 11. I kind of just try to pick a number that I think will look good on a jersey. I'm usually a little partial to single digits but I wanted to pick something different this time around. I don't know if there's particularly any rhyme or reason to it, although my dad did wear 11 when he played hockey growing up and I may have subconciously factored that in a bit. 4) I'd probably say Daryl Dixon - Rice was my original GM when I got into the league and was such a good GM and helped so many of us first gens out in those early years. I've never got to play on a team with him (at least not while I was active, possibly towards the end of McLaren's career I might have ended up somewhere with him but I don't know), but it would be cool to get the opportunity. Plus, Dixon's a darn good player with one of the few 1250+ TPA builds out there so it probably couldn't hurt to be on his line! 5) I generally entertain myself with video games, so I'd probably prefer to just bring a Nintendo Switch with a Pokemon game or Tears of the Kingdom and occupy myself with that - but in the interest of answering the question that was asked, I'd say a movie. I'd probably bring Infinity War and Endgame, although if I wanted to keep it on brand, being a hockey road trip and all, might just go for Miracle. 6) I've been doing a lot of research & practice in the field of content creation ... stuff like social media marketing, video editing, creating good titles/thumbnails for YouTube, etc. but I'm self-taught, work a full-time job, and there's SO much to learn! I love doing it and I know I've improved a lot, but it would be pretty cool to just instantaneously be really good at all of it. It's the kind of thing that I would really enjoy being able to do as a full-time job over working a 9-5 in the office, not that I dislike my current situation or anything.

This is great, well done!

These are awesome Z

I think 9 season careers aren't necessarily supposed to work super smoothly, right? Like, of course it should be completely possible to make a Hall of Famer that plays a 9-year career, absolutely, but it is supposed to be very hard. The VHL has been based around 8 season careers for its entire existence. I kind of disappeared right around when the 9th season started to become an option, but if I recall correctly, the whole thing was you can try the 9th season, but it's going to be very difficult. It was never hidden, and it isn't intended to be the main route you take just because it's available and you earn a lot. Besides, there are a LOT of guys on this list that are in a 1200-1500 TPE kind of range. Not that it's a small amount of TPE, but then again - you have Nico Pearce showing you can maintain a build (and Spartan mentions he even over-prepared for depreciation, so you don't need 2200 TPE for it) throughout a 9-season career. If you can maintain the build, then obviously you can have a Hall of Famer. But yeah, you aren't gonna maintain it with 1500 TPE. And I think that's entirely by design and also a good thing. I might be a little biased because I just really like the whole 8-year career for everyone thing. But I think 9 being an option that is sort of disincentivized, not even close to the default, but an option for those who want to try it... is exactly the right place for it. I will admit, encouraging top earners to sandbag to avoid going over the TPE limit for the E isn't a good outcome. But then maybe the E TPE limit should be increased so that you don't have to sandbag (I'm not familiar with how far over you can get, haven't done that math) and the option is always there for you.

In S74 when I joined, there was the massive recruitment drive a couple days after me, and in Miami we ended up with 4 or 5 really active first gens all signing up at basically the same time. As a new member, it was cool to have a lot of people at the same stage of their VHL careers who all wanted to improve and I think that environment helped motivate and push us all to improve together. GM Rice was a big part of it too. I see the same kind of thing happening right now, maybe in a couple of VHLM places, but especially in Houston!

GAME RECAP: Game 46 - Houston Bulls vs. Saskatoon Wild Houston and Saskatoon are not at the top of the VHLM standings early on, but this was nonetheless an exciting matchup for fans as it prominently featured some of the most promising new players in the VHL system. Fans that turned the game on got rewarded with a back-and-forth, 13-goal thriller. Two goals from Saskatoon's Forum Content got the game going but Houston newcomer Nathan Ecker answered the second of those just eleven seconds later, keeping the game close heading into the second period. The second period was an eerie parallel of the first, with Saskatoon scoring two goals and Houston answering (this time courtesy of Trimiskez Artav) twelve seconds after the second. With the score 4-2, the Bulls came out hot in the third period, scoring four goals in 1:26 to jump to a 6-4 lead. Chris Reynolds scored twice in that run, while Lucy Leitner picked up a pair of assists. Then, Artav, with three points on the night already, scored again to stretch the lead to 7-4. There was no quit in the Wild, who stormed back as Annie Oaks set up Xavier Barbeau to cut the lead to 7-5, then Forum Content completed the hat-trick with his 6th of the season with just over two minutes left. Try as they might, however, the Wild couldn't put another puck past Ondrej Vencko in the final two minutes and the Bulls hung on for the 7-6 victory. Players like Artav, Leitner, Ecker, and Oaks have quickly gained attention from VHL scouts and are flying up the rankings for the S93 draft, and for scouts, this will be a prime game to throw the film on to get a good look at a lot of great young players at once.

Early on in S92, the Malmo Nighthawks have raced to the top of the EU Conference standings, sporting a 7-2-2 record through 11 games. Their 16 points has them just ahead of the Helsinki Titans, Moscow Menace, and London United in a tightly-packed, competitive group. Over the off-season the Nighthawks faced some controversy over some "non-traditional" choices, such as naming a goaltender captain. The Nighthawks took a defiant response in defense of Sparks when facing questions about it. Sparks is currently 5-2-2 with an 0.925 SV% in addition to providing his strong leadership. "I mean... we all tried to tell you he was the right man for the job," said rookie winger Phillip Rave when asked about Sparks' leadership and start to the season. Then came the day where most of the Nighthawks were spotted at Taco Bell ahead of practice, flying directly in the face of modern science as far as keeping your body in top athletic shape is concerned. "I'm feeling good," Rave shrugged. "The team has had a blast, it's a team bonding experience, you know? It's not like I'm sitting on the couch with eight tacos and a 2L of Baja Blast every night. We still work hard, practice hard. We just like tacos." The Nighthawks have prioritized being a tight-knit group over following best practice, conforming to tradition, and the results on the ice - at least so far - speak for themselves. But it's a long season, and the Nighthawks will continue to be tested every night. We'll see if they can maintain this hot start.

claim week 2/2

Captain Sparks going off we do whatever we want

Oh no what has Vencko gotten himself into hahaha

On the eve of S92, Malmo Nighthawks general manager Christopher James held a press conference introducing the team’s leadership group for the upcoming season. The Nighthawks hope to be a playoff contender in S92, and these are the players who will be leading the way. Wearing an “A” on his jersey will be Viktor Jensen. Jensen posted the first PPG season of his career in S91 with 75 points in 72 games, and he seems poised to take another step forward in S92. While Henry Eagles and Yaroslav Bogatyrev are bigger names, Jensen is the player who carries the “face of the franchise” mantle as the #1 centre and high upside former top draft pick. “We had some shakeups this past season, but Viktor remained committed and has helped create a fantastic culture in the locker room,” James told the media. “We’re definitely excited to have him with us!” The second “A” goes to another S89 first-rounder, second-year forward Savaisk Tzesar. Tzesar has consistently impressed with his leadership for a player of his youth; he is a key member of the Nighthawks’ locker room and showed some promise in his rookie season with 15 goals and 33 points. Tzesar is a well-rounded power forward with some physicality to his game and has improved his game a lot over the off-season. With the opportunity to step into a first line role this season, look for big things from Tzesar in his sophomore season. Tzesar maintains that his goals are entirely team focused: “my goals are to help lead this team into the playoffs and further!” Finally, sporting a “C”, goaltender Ash Sparks. Sparks has become a Malmo mainstay since coming over from Seattle, with this being his fourth year holding the starting job. Last season, Sparks posted a 38-21-5 record and 0.923 SV%. With 92 wins and 14 shutouts in a Malmo jersey so far, Sparks is a constant source of stability in net. Of course, more importantly for the captain of a team, Sparks is also a prominent member in the locker room. “He's been a staple of the Nighthawks for quite some time and has formed into a great leader within our locker room. We are extremely thrilled to have him back in net with Malmo and are excited to see him use his experience to lead us forward!” explained James. In a moment, we will get more reaction from the Nighthawks on their leadership group and the upcoming season, but first, a word from our sponsors! — When you need a taco, you need a taco. And sometimes, that just happens to be at 6am on your way to practice. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Malmo Nighthawks and new captain Ash Sparks to bring you the Taco Bell Breakfast Box deal. Grab yourself two tacos and a burrito of your choice, plus a drink and a Malmo Nighthawks S92 team poster featuring Ash Sparks for $5. Available every morning until 9:30am for a limited time only. Live Más with Ash Sparks and the Malmo Nighthawks. — The Nighthawks have some big names in Henry Eagles, Yaroslav Bogatyrev, and Jacob Stone that will not be wearing a letter this season, but the Nighthawks emphasized that, with so many good options and leaders on the team, you don’t need a letter to lead. Eagles, an eighth-year vet in his third season with the team, is expected to wear an “A” on nights when Sparks has the night off for rest. “It’s a great honour to be named Captain and play along such a great group”, Sparks told the media after being introduced as the new captain. “I’m confident in the leadership group, the management group keeping us on track and focused, and of course the entirety of the team. Every skater on our roster is critical to us making a push for the cup and I’m excited to chase after glory with these guys!” “I’ve had a blast with these guys since getting here,” said rookie forward Phillip Rave. “It’s been a lot of fun in the locker room and you notice that guys like Tzesar and Sparks are always such a big part of it, so I think we’re all pretty united in feeling that they deserve some recognition. It’s such a good group, so it’s never easy to pick a few guys as the leaders, and I think we all know we can contribute to leading this team in our own ways, but these guys all deserve to wear those letters so much.” With the leadership group in place, a talented roster, and by all accounts a strong locker room atmosphere, the Nighthawks believe they have what it takes to contend in S92. There are elite, first-line calibre talents in Jensen, Bogatyrev, and Eagles, a bonafide #1 defenseman in Stone, a proven veteran goaltender in Sparks, and plenty of good young players ready to make an impression. “I'm proud of the team we've assembled in Malmo and look forward to S92 with these wonderful individuals leading the charge,” concluded James. “I’m just fired up and ready to lead our team back to the promised land,” Sparks said as the media wrapped up their duties, clearly looking forward to getting on the ice and embarking on the quest to the Continental Cup. Forward Ronald Johnson MacWallace III echoed his excitement for the upcoming season. “I want to flatten other teams players like a hydraulic press coming down on an empty aluminum can.” With the team assembling for one final team bonding session ahead of the new season, Rave grinned at the chaos ensuing as players left the press conference. “See, it’s an awesome group,” he told a reporter as he hung back for a minute. “Pretty happy I ended up here, just thankful overall for everything working out as it did. We all can’t wait to get out there. I think we have a good thing going here, and you can’t discount the value of good chemistry in a team sport.” --- 1003 words, this week & next @DarkSpyro @hylands @KaleebtheMighty @Bojovnik @RJMW @comrade cat @Advantage @Greg_Di @Spaz @scoop @UnkemptCL4PTP

Transaction ID: 77185952FW8258152 $10 5 Uncapped TPE Doubles Week

So, so good! Captivating writing and I love the dialogue - realistic-sounding dialogue is so hard to get right and I think you nailed it. This is one of my favourite pieces of writing I've read on here, well done! And welcome to the league!

After finishing the world juniors round robin 8-1-1, good for first place in the tournament heading into the medal round, Team Europe let their guard down at the most important time. Despite boasting a 39-31 edge in shots, the European squad could not solve Olober Syko, who made 38 saves on 39 shots for Team USA and led them to a 2-1 upset victory. The Americans had earlier defeated Team Canada in the wildcard game to earn a chance to play Europe. USA's Chris Sanzone scored both goals to help lift an elated American squad into the gold medal game. Expectations were high coming into the tournament, as the Europeans have owned the event recently. They had appeared in the past six gold medal games going back to S85, and won five of those six, including the last three in a row. Unfortunately for this group of players, they will be a part of history for the wrong reasons as those streaks have come to an end. "It's never what you set out for; obviously we have had a lot of success at this tournament recently and you come here with an expectation to win, not to play for bronze. But full credit to those guys, they played hard and their goalie stood on his head and they took advantage of their opportunities when they came. They played a great game, they earned it, but yeah it always hurts to lose that chance to play for gold," said Europe centre Phillip Rave after the loss.

let's do this