S91 North American Playoff Race - Calgary Wranglers holding onto wildcard spot
Who would've thought that Randy Bobandy would be traded from Seattle to Calgary just to fight against them for a wildcard spot in this season's VHL playoff race.
Team
5. Calgary Wranglers*
GP
68
W
28
L
29
OTL
11
P
67
ROW
24
GF
159
GA
173
+/-
-14
Last 10
4-3-3
6. Seattle Bears
68
27
30
11
65
20
174
219
-45
4-3-3
7. New York Americans
69
29
35
5
63
23
185
230
-45
5-5-0
Above shows the standings for S91 VHL North American Conference regular season, 5th place to 7th place specifically.
The VHL's 11th, 12th, and 13th ranked teams by points are all brawling out in the North American Conference this season for the final wildcard spot. The Calgary Wranglers and the Seattle Bears have 4 games remaining while the New York Americans only have 3 remaining. The Calgary Wranglers currently hold the 5th position and final wildcard spot in the North American Conference. Statistically you would think that Calgary has a good chance to clinch this spot, but in the last 13 games played, Calgary has been shutout four times and held a record of under .500.
Calgary Wranglers Last 13 Games Played
443
Calgary Wranglers
0
London United
3
L
455
Calgary Wranglers
0
HC Davos Dynamo
1
L
460
Malmo Nighthawks
4
Calgary Wranglers
5
W
465
Chicago Phoenix
3
Calgary Wranglers
4
W
476
Calgary Wranglers
3
New York Americans
1
W
481
Chicago Phoenix
4
Calgary Wranglers
3
OTL
490
Calgary Wranglers
1
New York Americans
2
SOL
502
Calgary Wranglers
1
Toronto Legion
4
L
509
Los Angeles Stars
4
Calgary Wranglers
0
L
518
Calgary Wranglers
4
London United
3
W
525
Prague Phantoms
2
Calgary Wranglers
0
L
535
Calgary Wranglers
3
Toronto Legion
1
W
538
Prague Phantoms
2
Calgary Wranglers
1
SOL
The Wranglers look to finish out their season strong in order to clinch the final wildcard spot, but standing in their way is a double header against two strong EU teams who could hold their own if placed in the NA. Although Calgary's road to the finish lane is not exactly smooth sailing, the Seattle Bears have some heavy waters to sail. HC Davos Dynamo, projected S91 Victory Cup winners, is next on the Bears' schedule and they have already shown Seattle how unbeatable they truly are. Seattle's second game is against the leaders of the NA, the Los Angeles Stars, followed by Vancouver and then another top team in the league, the Toronto Legion. Seattle will not have it easy at all, but the team with the best chances to win their remaining games is surely the New York Americans. New York gets a double header against the Warsaw Predators to close their season as well as a game against the D.C Dragons before then. Although D.C has cruised through S91 only a couple of wins more than Calgary, New York has struggled to beat the Dragons and could struggle in tonight's sim as well.
Calgary Wranglers
Game #
549
Home Team
Calgary Wranglers
Visitor Team
Helsinki Titans
Conference
European
S91 versus Record
0-1-1
League Ranking
7th
551
London United
Calgary Wranglers
European
1-1-0
5th
562
London United
Calgary Wranglers
European
1-1-0
5th
569
Calgary Wranglers
Helsinki Titans
European
0-1-1
5th
Seattle Bears
Game #
547
Home Team
Seattle Bears
Visitor Team
HC Davos Dynamo
Conference
European
S91 versus Record
0-2-1
League Ranking
1st
552
Los Angeles Stars
Seattle Bears
North American
1-3-1
4th
559
Vancouver Wolves
Seattle Bears
North American
4-1-1
14th
573
Seattle Bears
Toronto Legion
North American
1-3-0
6th
New York Americans
Game #
553
Home Team
D.C. Dragons
Visitor Team
New York Americans
Conference
North American
S91 Versus Record
1-4-0
League Ranking
10th
560
New York Americans
Warsaw Predators
European
2-0-0
16th
570
New York Americans
Warsaw Predators
European
2-0-0
16th
My predictions will be that Calgary clinches the spot, bias or unbias, New York has the best remaining schedule and will likely tie with or place higher than Seattle, but won't pass Calgary. If it comes down to a tiebreaker, Seattle will most likely not make it due to ROW's, and Calgary's goal differential is untouched giving them an advantage there. I honestly believe the only way Calgary does not clinch the spot is if they lose the next four of their remaining games, therefore believing one more win is enough to guarantee a wildcard birth for the Wranglers after an upsetting S90 finish.