VSN Presents: Game 7 Stories - S61 HC Davos Dynamo & Calgary Wranglers

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Game 7 Stories: S61 HC Davos Dynamo & Calgary Wranglers

 

Welcome to the second installment of a series called Game 7 Stories, where we take a deeper look at the players involved in and the stories surrounding the many Game 7s that have occurred in the VHL’s Continental Cup Playoffs. The first story was about the S33 Riga Reign & New York Americans

 

Make sure to check out other series VSN has to offer, such as our weekly reviews, podcasts, and scouting reports as well as the introduction to this series in the first installment and the definitive Top 75 VHL Players of All-Time.

VSN Radio | VHLM Power Rankings | VSN Scouting | Around the VHL | BOG Update | Game 7 Stories S33 | Top 75

 

 

S61

 

The VHL’s 61st season saw a shift of power as a few very good veterans made way for a handful of stars entering their primes who battled each other for supremacy to cement their future Hall of Fame legacies. One transaction rocketed this shift along more than any other as one of the most lopsided deals in history saw Seattle go into full rebuild mode and send Gabriel McAllister, Otto Axelsson, and the rights to free agent Mats Johnsson to Davos for the 4th overall pick to then see Johnsson sign with the rising Calgary Wranglers instead of Davos. 

 

Mats Johnsson recently reflected: “...ultimately, Calgary's roster felt like the best fit for me at the time. With Canmore and Stopko, as well as Keat (Keaton Louth) coming in the previous season, and then making the switch to wing when I signed, there was a mix of knowing we would be competitive as well as having some friends already on the team.”        

 

The defending champions Helsinki Titans were still a contender led by league-leading scorer Mattias Forsberg, defenseman leading scorer and defending playoff MVP, Ay Ay Ron, and off-season acquisition and two-time Cup winning goaltending legend Markus King who had one last shot at glory. Four teams separated themselves from the rest of the league with 100-point seasons, the Wranglers (109 points), the Titans (108), HC Dynamo (107) and the New York Americans led by 105-point man Chase Keller and unheralded puckstopper Ike Arkander.

 

Calgary Wranglers

 

The Wranglers were on the rise even though they were in the midst of a 16-season Cup drought. Definitely aided by the addition of Johnsson, they also made a significant trade the off-season prior acquiring rising star Keaton Louth and two first-rounders that netted them left wingers Oyorra Arroyo and Johannes Vihjalmsson from Quebec for star center Lukas Muller, two 1sts (Veran Dragomir, Bryce Zhields) and a 3rd (Theo Lefevre). Louth and Arroyo joined future HOF’er Jasper Canmore in leading the Wrangler attack while Johnsson and rising goalie Norris Stopko held the fort in the backend. After just making the playoffs in S60, each of those players enjoyed career years and orchestrated a 31-point jump in S61 to lead the VHL with 109 points. 

 

In a reversal of fortunes, Calgary met play-in winner New York in the playoffs after the Americans swept the Quebec Meute. Just the playoffs before, New York were the Victory Cup winners awaiting the play-in winner who happened to be the Calgary Wranglers. The Americans won in six games and then would go on to lose in seven games in the Continental Cup Finals to the Helsinki Titans. 

 

Ike Arkander and Norris Stopko

 

Calgary won the first two games 5-2 and 2-1 on the strength of Stopko’s brilliance and two goals each from Louth and Johnsson. Then the Americans clawed back with a 4-3 overtime victory when Aksel McKnight scored his first goal of the series to stop his team from going down 3-0. Calgary would take Game 4, 4-2 with the help of Evan R. Lawson’s two goals. Seemingly cooked like a Calgary Stampede brisket, the Americans’ offense finally woke up and managed to solve the Stopko riddle, scoring four goals in each of the next two games to even the series and set up a Game 7. 

 

Lawson opened the scoring 3:09 into the first period and the score would remain 1-0 after one. Then the flood gates opened. Keaton Louth scored just after a minute into the second, New York would score the next two goals to tie it, but Calgary would retake the lead on Louth’s second of the game at 12:17 and Arroyo would score 19:15 and chase American netminder Ike Arkander to the bench. Even with their backup goalie in net, New York matched Calgary in the third with each team hurling 13 shots. Calgary would pot two more goals before McKnight put one past Stopko with less than five minutes to play. There would be no more goals. Calgary overpowered the Americans 6-3 in Game 7 to avenge last season’s series loss and move on to their first Finals in 14 years.   

 

HC Davos Dynamo

 

After a stretch of futility rarely seen in the VHL, HC Davos Dynamo had been bold, if not lucky, in the offseason and were ready to contend for a title. The Swiss club had only been to the Continental Cup Finals twice since Thomas Landry, Davey Jones, Lennox Moher and others led the franchise to four consecutive Finals appearances and two Cups from S36-39. Now, mired in their own 22-year Cup drought, the surprising acquisition of reigning league MVP McAllister along with other solid players propelled the Dynamo to their best season in a while with a 52-win, 107-point record - good for third in the league behind only the Helsinki Titans and the defending Victory Cup champions Calgary Wranglers. On the back of McAllister’s third 50-goal campaign, Davos faced the defending Cup champion Helsinki Titans in the first round with their three 50-goal scorers (Jack Shephard, Forsberg, and Aleksei Fedorov), Ron and King.

 

Helsinki owned Davos during the regular season winning seven, and losing three including one in a shootout. The season series was closer than the record indicated though as six of the ten games were decided by one goal, another two by two goals, and three went into extra time. How would the Dynamo’s stifling defense handle the Titans’ explosive offense in a best-of-seven? A close series was expected.

 

Not surprisingly, Helsinki drew first blood with a 4-3 win in Game 1. Despite being outshot 37-31, the Titans tied the game at 3 and then went ahead with two goals 28 seconds apart in the 14th minute of the third period as Forsberg completed the hat trick. Game 2 was unlucky for the Titans as Markus King was unavailable to patrol the crease and so relied on the backup goalie. It was Davos’ turn to fight back though as they came from behind two goals in the third period with McAllister tying it up at 15:53 and then assisted on Joseph Bassolino’s first career playoff goal to win it in overtime 5-4. King was back in the crease for Game 3 and the Titans took advantage. They outscored Davos 11-5 in the next two games with Shephard posting his second 4-point game of the series in Game 4’s 6-2 throttling. Jeff Gow scored three of the Dynamo’s five goals but his team was now down 3-1 and looking like the wind was out of their sails. They needed a miracle. Fortunately, they had their own McAngel to provide one.

 

Needing three straight wins against the team they had managed to beat only four times now in fourteen games seemed insurmountable. Then Game 5 happened. The Titans were hungry to close out the series and were outshooting Davos 26-22 early in the third when Ay Ay Ron snuck a wrist shot past Shawn Brodeur at 3:00 on the power play with McAllister off for tripping to give Helsinki a 2-1 lead. The Charm would respond for Davos just over five minutes later with his second of the game and the playoffs and the goalies stopped everything else on route to overtime. The first overtime solved nothing as both teams were hesitant only totaling 15 shots between them. The Dynamo came out buzzing in the second overtime period, throwing everything at the net. After 16 minutes, they were outshooting Helsinki 14-9 with many more shots missing the net or being blocked. After King covered up McAllister’s third shot of the period, Davos won the ensuing faceoff and McAllister and defenseman Ko Kane determinedly cycled the puck in the zone until Kane had a good look, whipped the puck at the net where McAllister deftly deflected it past King at 16:40 to keep Davos alive. Game 6 was another close affair even though Davos jumped out to a 3-0 lead including McAllister’s 5th of the series and the Dynamo held the Titans to two third period goals to bring the series conclusion down to one game.

 

Dynamo's The Charm and Ko Kane

 

Special teams were the story of Game 7 as well as one of the greatest clutch performances in VHL playoff history. Davos jumped out again to an early lead as McAllister potted a power play goal less than a minute in after Ron took a holding penalty. Then with Kane in the box, Bassolino scored shorthanded at 3:41 with McAllister getting one of the assists. Helsinki’s Shepard responded just over a minute later to make it 2-1. A man on a mission, McAllister completed a three-point first period snapping a wicked wrister past King later in the period to make it 3-1. A five-goal second period saw Helsinki score short handed, with The Charm responding on the power play to regain Davos’ two-goal lead. The Titans scored two goals 29 second apart before The Charm scored his second goal of the period to give Davos a 5-4 lead going into the third. Would Helisinki be able to come back after letting a 3-1 series lead slip away? Gabriel McAllister said no. He and Bassolino assisted on Slava Aleksei’s first goal of the series 1:46 in which ended King’s night and then McAllister put the game out of reach by scoring his hat trick goal on the power play and willed the Dynamo into the Finals with a 6-point performance in Game 7.     

 

 

The Finals

 

In a narrative of parallel turnarounds, the HC Davos Dynamo and the Calgary Wranglers were in the Continental Cup Finals two seasons after not even making the playoffs from S57-S59 and S58-S59 respectively. Both teams were now on a collision course on the VHL’s brightest stage after conducting Game 7 wins in the Semi-Finals and both were looking to end long Cup droughts.  

 

Gabriel McAllister continued his hot streak in Game 1. A Mats Johnsson power play blast gave the Wranglers a 1-0 lead midway in the first period and then Shawn Brodeur and Norris Stopko kept things close as no one else scored until midway in the third when McAllister tied things up by deflecting a Slava Aleksei shot past Stopko. Only 1:23 later the roles reversed when Oyorra Arroyo blocked McAllister’s wrister but the puck careened off his shin pad right to Aleksei who deposited it past an outstretched Stopko for the 2-1 lead. Brodeur continued to shut the door stopping the next four Wrangler shots although Calgary couldn’t generate another chance with Stopko pulled for the final minute of the game.

 

Game 2 was another close affair. The Wranglers opened the scoring again early in the first period on a Niko Bogdanovic goal. Only 1:20 into the second frame, Jeff Gow scored his 7th from Aleksei and McAllister to tie the game. Evan R. Lawson put Calgary ahead with less than a minute to go with McAllister in the box for high-sticking and both teams were stifled in the third period as they only managed a combined nine shots.

 

Calgary struck first for the third game in a row but this time they didn’t stop at one. Louth, Johnsson and Canmore each had two points in a three-goal first period. The Dyanmo’s undisciplined play hurt them once again as the Wrangler scored twice with the man advantage. Joseph Bassolino finally snuck a goal past Stopko at 8:06 in the second period but Arroyo scored his second of the game less then a minute later and the goalies would do the rest as the game resulted in a 4-1 win and 2-1 series lead for Calgary.

 

It was rumored that Davos held a players-only meeting after Game 3. They had only scored four goals in three games. Their special teams that had carried them in the Semi-Finals had been anything but special, their power play going 0-7 so far in the Finals and allowing four power play goals on 18 attempts.

 

The meeting must have worked as all those problems were fixed in Game 4. McAllister opened the scoring - on the power play - late in the first. Then Bassolino added another power play marker in the second. Johannes Vihjalmsson got Calgary on the board with his first of the playoffs early in the third but Davos responded with two more including Otto Axelsson’s first of the playoffs - on the power play. The series was tied. The Finals were down to a best-of-three.

 

The next game belonged to Stopko.

 

Stopko with one of his 67 saves in Game 5

 

Davos again lit the lamp first with another Bassolino power play goal but Louth got the equalizer shorthanded almost nine minutes later. Stopko was otherworldly in the opening period stopping 26 shots as Davos outshot Calgary 27-5! The Wranglers were outshot in the second as well, 10-7, but Stopko shut the door. Jasper Canmore scored his first goal in seven games early in the third to give the Wranglers a critical lead as they were again being badly outstot but McAllister responded at 13:32 to tie the game and sent Game 5 to overtime. Stopko had turned away 51 Dynamo shots so far. The first overtime period solved nothing. Both teams had 10 shots but both goalies were perfect. Calgary was buzzing around the Davos zone to start the second overtime getting three pucks on Brodeur in the first 2:14. Then Davos got a couple of chances that were blocked by Stopko. The action was end-to-end. Davos had four chances to end it in a span of under four minutes but Stopko rose to the task. Just past 11 minutes into the frame Calgary intercepted a Davos pass in the neutral zone and the puck was given to Louth. He ripped a shot that missed the net but Canmore retrieved the puck in the corner and sent it to Bogdanovic who passed it back to Canmore behind the net who spotted Louth in the slot and threaded a pass right on Louth’s stick who snapped it home at 11:57. Calgary was one game away from winning the Continental Cup and Stopko had literally saved them stopping 67 of 69 shots in one of the best games of his career.

 

With the Wranglers having all the momentum, Davos found themselves in a familiar position - behind the eight ball. Facing elimination. The Wranglers knew it and came out in waves in Game 6, outshooting their foes 12-5. This time, it was Shawn Brodeur’s turn to shine as he stopped every shot in the first period. Then Davos flipped the switch and pinned Calgary in their own end for extended periods. The Wranglers did get on the board first, though, as Arroyo scored on the power play at 9:37 with McAllister in the box but good thing he did as the Wranglers were being outshot 11-5 in the period. The Dynamo desperately continued the barrage and finally got the equalizer at 15:57. Then McAllister put on his cape once again and gave Davos the lead on the power play with 20 seconds left in the period. McAllister would assist on Bassolino’s insurance marker at 12:29 of the third to keep Davos alive with a 3-1 win and take the series to Game 7. Both goalies were superb again as Stopko stopped 37 of 40 shots and Brodeur stopped 27 or 28. But who would outduel who for the Cup? 

 

Shawn Brodeur backstopped Davos to Game 7

 

Game 7. The Cup on the line. The Wranglers and Dynamo were both 1-0 in Game 7s this postseason. One team would hoist the prize, the other would have tears in their eyes. Davos had outshot Calgary in four of the six games, the last two by a wide margin. Brodeur had allowed 12 goals over the six games and Stopko had allowed 13 but had faced 41 more shots. McAllister had 28 shots in the last two games. 

 

The first period was a deadlock. Shots were 11-10 in favor of Calgary. And they struck quickly in the second period. Vihjalmsson snuck the puck between Brodeur just 14 seconds in after the opening faceoff was won by Lawson. Davos woke up and blasted seven shots on Stopko before defenseman Adam Warlock deposited his third of the playoffs at 9:29. They would have had more shots in that time if not for a shot blocking clinic by Arroyo. Warlock’s goal shifted the momentum to the Dynamo and they took full advantage. They didn’t give Calgary a sniff over the following six minutes outshooting the Wranglers 4-0 and then Axelsson’s shot fooled Stopko and it was 2-1 Dynamo. Ten seconds later The Charm would add to Davos’ lead with his fifth goal and third point of the period. Calgary didn’t give up though. They threw all they could at the net in the third but had trouble hitting it. The Dynamo defense was blocking anything they could throw their bodies in front of, too. Four minutes in, Arroyo stole the puck in the neutral zone, skated into Davos territory and played give-and-go with Vihjalmsson ending with Arroyo’s snapshot finding twine. 3-2. 15:48 left to play. Both teams gave it their all, trading chances and sacrificing their bodies. Time was ticking down. Stopko vacated his net at 19:03 just as Bogdanovic was robbed by Brodeur. On the ensuing faceoff, the Dynamo’s Noel Roux won it back to his defense and Davos skated the puck out of their zone, passing deftly down the ice until The Charm passed the puck back to Roux who made no mistake hitting the empty net. 4-2. Histeria on the Davos bench. Calgary kept the pressure but got caught looking for the perfect shot and didn’t get one off. The Wranglers iced the puck with three seconds left. Fittingly, The Charm, with four points, won the final faceoff back to Warlock who passed it back to The Charm who picked up his Game 7 souvenir as the horn sounded and they were mobbed by their Dynamo teammates. 

 

HC Davos Dynamo went 5-0 in elimination games in the S61 playoffs to win their first Continental Cup in 22 years. Even though he didn’t get on the scoreboard in the final game, there’s no doubt Davos would not have had the chance to play for the Cup without Gabreil McAllister’s heroics night after night. He led the playoffs in goals, points, shots, penalty minutes, hits and tied for the lead in power play goals and was the only player beside Helsinki’s Forsberg with a hat trick. He was an easy choice to win his second Kanou Trophy in three seasons as playoff MVP. 

Davos captain Gabriel McAllister with the Continental Cup

 

As McAllister looked back on that resilient Davos team, he said: "I don't think a lot of people really gave this team a chance, which is fine. But when we're coming back against Helsinki, then we're coming back against Calgary, and stealing Game 7's against two teams that topped us in the standings - that just showed we were intimidated by nobody. Championship-less streak be damned, this team came to play.

 

And for me... it was nice to show I wasn't a one-hit wonder. I had gotten it done in Seattle before, but to come into a new team and snag another championship and Playoff MVP right away following the trade, it proved that I could elevate my game and my team no matter the stage. The Davos title holds a special place in my heart. Management had enough faith in me to believe that I was the perfect final piece to put them over the top. I'm glad I could repay that trust."

 

 

Epilogue 

 

Stopko and the Wranglers did not stay down and went on to win the Continental Cup the next season in another seven game series against Quebec. Then they would lose in the S63 Finals to Riga in spite of Stopko’s heroics which had him sharing the Kanou Trophy with Riga’s Ryuu Crimson. Stopko would end his career on top as he backstopped the S64 Toronto Legion to the Cup with a few of his ex-Wrangler teammates and Davos rivals where he was awarded his second consecutive Kanou Trophy. 

 

Many of the players mentioned would be inducted into the VHL Hall of Fame.

 

Special thanks to Mats Johnsson @Quik and Gabriel McAllister @CowboyinAmerica for supplying quotes for this article.

 

Other players mentioned: @Dangles13 @Banackock @boubabi @Kendrick @STZ @Beaviss @omgitshim @Velevra @Bushito @Higgins @Smarch @Fire Vigneault @TheLastOlympian07@Tyler @TurnDaddy @Da Trifecta @OrbitingDeath @Doomsday @SlapshotDragon

Edited April 13, 2021 by animal74