Best VHL Game of Season 78 (so far)

[DMaximus 1,046]

Best VHL Game of Season 78 (so far)

 

I combed through all the data from the games of season 78 and found the most exciting game of the VHL season to this point. Let’s take a closer look at how the game played out.

 

Game 159 - Moscow Menace vs Warsaw Predators

Based on their distance in the standings, it might be a little unexpected to have these two teams in the most exciting game of the season. But both Moscow and Warsaw play with an offense-first mentality. This style of play lends itself to back-and-forth exciting games loved by fans. Which is exactly what we got here. Let’s dive into the details.

 

1^st Period

Moscow showed they came to play by bursting out of the gates and scoring a phenomenal opening goal in the first minute of the game. A clean face-off win by Cole Newhook @GrittyIsKing09 led to a sequence that saw Moscow move down the ice into Warsaw’s zone leading to a beautiful passing sequence where every Moscow player touched the puck. The passing sequence ended when Grapes @Grapes-Tophat_Clan- fired the puck on frame. Warsaw goalie, β-WAR G, only caught a piece of the puck and it barely trickled over the line. The ref was unsure and went to video replay. The replay showed the complete puck barely crossed the line before being swatted away by β-WAR G. Barely is all you need and it was ruled a goal after the replay.

0:42 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 0. Grapes 6 (Cole Newhook 9, Pietro Angellini

 

Moscow’s early goal sequence and the replay decision appears to have lit a fire under Warsaw, especially Chris Hylands @hylands. Hylands intercepted a pass from Shaggy Tipton @TheTiptonKing, led Warsaw down the ice, and pounced on the bounce off the boards from an errant shot by Uhtred @leafsman. Hylands drove that loose puck home and tied the game 33 seconds after Moscow’s opening goal.

1:15 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 1. Chris Hylands 6 (Uhtred 10, Victor Grachev 16)

 

A Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath  high-sticking penalty gave Warsaw the first power play opportunity. Moscow held strong thanks to the excellent work of Pietro Angellini @okifenoki who intercepted passes and cleared the puck all the way down the ice on two separate occasions during this PK. About a minute after the penalty expired, the Gregg Stallion @SweatyBeaver show came to town. A strong check by Aloe Dear @Renomitsu on Grapes freed up the puck for teammate Tim Waters @Siddhus who passed it to Stallion. Stallion looked like a novice horse rider as they stumbled their way down the ice, losing and regaining control of the puck, then they fired a shot that missed the net, only to grab that loose puck and send it past a confused Kevin Malone @WentzKneeFan036.

4:56 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 1 - Warsaw Predators : 2. Gregg Stallion 4 (Tim Waters 13)

 

Warsaw was presented with a great opportunity to extend their lead as Moscow found themselves 2 players down after Hard Markinson @STZ and Dolant Fertitta @Dolant penalties. During the 5-on-3 sequence, Kevin Malone was peppered with shots, but stood strong and stopped them all. Shaggy Tipton helped out by blocking a shot and clearing the puck out of the zone, wasting precious seconds. Moscow rode the wave of positive energy from killing off the 5-on-3 and scored their next goal shortly after returning to even-strength. Moscow took advantage of a Warsaw line change to quickly enter Warsaw’s zone. A great Bob Tristan @N0HBDY pass setup Cole Newhook with an open look which he slammed home to tie the game.

7:35 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 2 - Warsaw Predators : 2. Cole Newhook 5 (Bob Tristan 8, Pietro Angellini 9)

 

Now we enter the longest sequence in this period without a goal. 4 minutes and 5 seconds. Worried the fans might actually be able to take a breath, Warsaw just started firing the puck on net. But Moscow was a tough nut to crack. Shot by Uhtred, save by Malone. Shot by Dakota Lamb @dlamb, blocked by Tipton. Shot by Uhtred, blocked by Markinson. Victor Grachev @KaleebtheMighty picked up the loose puck from that block and slotted it home under a sprawling Malone to give Warsaw the lead again.

11:40 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 2 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Victor Grachev 6 (Uhtred 11, Dakota Lamb 19)

 

Creating a turnover on defense can help spring your offense to life because it helps jump start a fast break. Moscow demonstrated this when defenseman Hard Markinson intercepted a Uhtred pass leading to a rapid fire break out thanks to a quick 1-2 with partner Shaggy Tipton. Markinson hit a streaking Kyle Glass @Tbeez99 who scored to tie things up and then sang a song of exalting joy.

15:40 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 3 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Kyle Glass 5 (Hard Markinson 11, Shaggy Tipton 10)

 

Fans love powerplays because it creates this anticipation of a goal. The team on the powerplay has an opportunity to control the puck more, slow things down, take high quality shots. All of that adds to the excitement felt by fans. We had 6 straight even-strength goals so far in this game. It’s almost like the teams got together and said, how can we make this game even more exciting? They answered that question by saying, let’s make the next 6 goals powerplay goals. So, they did just that. Jordan Tate @Aye my name jeff started the powerplay goal frenzy after an interference penalty on Hadrian @bluesfan55. Moscow did a good job of maintaining possession during their powerplay, regaining the puck after a save with a rebound and some missed shots. Ultimately Pietro Angellini fired a shot on goal from the top of the left circle. Jordan Tate deflected it in and gave Moscow their first lead since the opening minute.

17:01 of 1st period - Moscow Menace : 4 - Warsaw Predators : 3. Jordan Tate 4 (Pietro Angellini 10, Bob Tristan 9) (PP)

 

An unbelievably exciting first period comes to a close, but not before Moscow defenseman Bob Tristan commits a roughing penalty with 26 seconds left in the period. Warsaw wasn’t able to capitalize before the period ended. Goals for this period are 4 for Moscow Menace vs 3 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 16 for Moscow Menace vs 19 for Warsaw Predators.

 

2^nd Period

Yes, we’re over 1,000 words already. Still plenty of action to come! There’s a reason this was the most exciting game of the season to this point.

Warsaw starts the 2^nd period on the powerplay and capitalize on the clean ice. Victor Grachev starts the sequence by intercepting a Shaggy Tipton pass. Later, Grachev picks up a loose puck from a Uhtred shot and quickly fires it home to tie the game 25 seconds into the 2^nd period!

0:25 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 4 - Warsaw Predators : 4. Victor Grachev 7 (Uhtred 12, Dakota Lamb 20) (PP)

 

After watching Warsaw tie it while he was in the box, Bob Tristan smartened up and made sure to take someone else with him to the box. Tristan and Aloe Dear got into a stick swinging incident which saw both players off the ice with coincidental minors. Here’s a picture from the incident:

 

Since this didn’t lead to a powerplay, no goals were scored. As per the agreement reached near the end of the previous period. The next penalty went to Warsaw winger, Gregg Stallion. A minor for roughing. Moscow pounced on the opportunity. It took 5 shot attempts to get through, but finally Cole Newhook capitalized on their opportunity, scoring their second goal of the game to give Moscow the lead.

11:52 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 4. Cole Newhook 6 (Dolant Fertitta 4, Bob Tristan 10) (PP)

 

The next penalty goes to Moscow goalie Kevin Malone. A delay of game for firing the puck over the glass. Bob Tristan served the penalty and just like the last time he was in the box alone, Tristan watches Warsaw score a goal. After a face-off win by Dakota Lamb, Warsaw maintained control of the puck in the Moscow zone. Their continual pressure and excellent puck movement found an open Lexi Glass @AW13 on the doorstep. Lexi Glass made no mistake and buried it home to tie the game.

15:33 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 5. Lexi Glass 8 (Chris Hylands 17, Dakota Lamb 21) (PP)

 

Unexpectedly, Moscow successfully killed off a Shaggy Tipton holding penalty. They did a great job of keeping the puck out of Warsaw’s hands and only allowing one shot during the powerplay. Moscow wasn’t so fortunate with their next penalty. Bob Tristan found himself in the box alone again after a hooking penalty. Warsaw did the predictable thing and scored on this opportunity. A quick-fire breakout found Warsaw defenseman Victor Grachev streaking down the right side. Grachev fired a slapshot over the shoulder of Moscow goalie Kevin Malone, seconds before the period ends. The goal gives Warsaw the lead and Grachev a well-earned hat trick! The Warsaw fans go wild and spontaneously decide to donate hundreds of hats by throwing them on the ice.

19:54 of 2nd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 6. Victor Grachev 8 (Uhtred 13, Lexi Glass 9) (PP)

 

The period ends. Goals for this period are 1 for Moscow Menace vs 3 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 13 for Moscow Menace vs 20 for Warsaw Predators.

3^rd Period

I imagine that at some point during the intermission a Moscow coach went up to Bob Tristan and said something along the lines of “They score every time you’re in the box. Stop getting penalties.” Tristan probably agreed and said “You got it coach!” Imagine everyone’s surprise when, 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the 3^rd period, Bob Tristan commits another hooking penalty. Warsaw must have felt bad for the guy because they put him out of his misery by scoring 10 seconds into the powerplay. An Aloe Dear face-off win gets the puck to Gregg Stallion, who wins a battle with Moscow defenseman Shaggy Tipton to maintain possession of the puck. Stallion rips it home for his second goal of the game.

2:55 of 3rd period - Moscow Menace : 5 - Warsaw Predators : 7. Gregg Stallion 5 (Aloe Dear 24) (PP)

 

For the first time in the game, there is a 2 goal difference between the teams. Warsaw’s hero of the game, Victor Grachev, put their status in jeopardy as they committed back-to-back penalties. Add to that a Chris Hylands penalty, Warsaw had to kill three consecutive penalties to maintain their 2 goal lead. They did just that, thanks primarily to the outstanding performance by backup goalie β-WAR G, who made 9 saves during those penalty kills.

Back to even strength, it took a fantastic individual effort by Moscow’s rookie sensation Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter to break through. After an icing by Warsaw winger Chris Reynolds @Crstats23, Atreides won the draw in the Warsaw zone to teammate Philip Stein @IHateBobNutting. Stein quickly returned the puck to Atreides, who snaked their way through the Warsaw defense and made a nice deke to create an opening for them to steer the puck into the net.

16:28 of 3rd period - Moscow Menace : 6 - Warsaw Predators : 7. Paul Atreides 12 (Philip Stein 17)

 

For the remaining three and a half minutes, Warsaw put on a masterclass on how to close out a game. They controlled the puck and stifled Moscow, creating many turnovers. Moscow was only able to register one shot during this time, and that was during the final minute, with their goalie pulled.

Goals for this period are 1 for Moscow Menace vs 1 for Warsaw Predators. Shots for this period are 21 for Moscow Menace vs 7 for Warsaw Predators.

 

Warsaw hangs on for the win! The home fans applaud both team for such an amazing and exciting game! This will be a tough one to top, but we’ll see if there’s any better games this season. Comment if you think there was a better one.

Tagging the GMs: @Spartan @.sniffuM. I'm sorry if I missed any tags.

 

 

Advanced Metrics

 

Moscow Menace

 

PlayerName	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	S	H	SB	GA	TA	GA/TA	GA%	FO	MP	PP MP	PK MP	HitLP	PassINT	LPPickup	RPass	DumpIns	Icings	LPfromHit	LostPuck	Passes	PassPct	SDelfect	SMiss	SBlock	SHitPost	Shots	SOGPct
----------	-	-	-	---	---	-	-	--	--	--	-----	---	--	--	-----	-----	-----	-------	--------	-----	-------	------	---------	--------	------	-------	--------	-----	------	--------	-----	------
Bahram Kamkar	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
Bob Tristan	0	3	3	1	8	1	6	3	14	13	-1	23%	0/0	27:02	4:30	3:55	5	13	23	26	7	3	2	0	29/42	69%	0	6	1	0	1/8	12%
Cole Newhook	2	1	3	1	0	7	0	1	13	6	-7	21%	16/30	27:01	4:30	3:50	0	6	13	43	8	0	0	0	47/60	78%	3	6	0	0	7/13	54%
Dolant Fertitta	0	1	1	1	2	5	0	3	17	18	1	26%	0/0	28:29	4:30	4:19	0	18	22	26	7	0	1	1	33/48	69%	0	2	1	0	5/8	62%
Duncan Idaho	0	0	0	-1	2	6	5	0	10	6	-4	20%	1/1	19:53	2:38	0:00	2	6	8	36	3	0	4	2	22/30	73%	1	3	1	0	6/10	60%
Grapes	1	0	1	1	0	4	3	0	6	6	0	18%	0/1	18:41	0:00	0:00	2	6	3	25	1	0	3	2	19/23	83%	0	1	0	0	4/5	80%
Hard Markinson	0	1	1	0	2	6	4	12	21	21	0	33%	0/0	30:25	2:25	3:46	2	20	19	24	5	0	3	1	25/44	57%	0	1	0	0	6/7	86%
Jordan Tate	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	-2	13%	4/20	9:50	4:30	4:31	0	0	3	12	3	0	0	2	10/11	91%	1	2	1	0	1/4	25%
Kyle Glass	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	2	1	-1	12%	0/0	7:45	0:00	0:22	0	1	4	12	0	0	4	0	8/9	89%	0	2	0	0	2/4	50%
Owen Taylor	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	20%	0/1	7:23	0:00	0:00	1	1	1	3	0	1	1	0	1/2	50%	1	1	0	0	1/2	50%
Paul Atreides	1	0	1	-1	0	7	0	0	5	6	1	10%	23/36	19:54	2:38	0:00	0	6	11	31	4	0	1	0	49/54	91%	2	6	3	0	7/16	44%
Philip Stein	0	1	1	-1	0	1	0	0	12	5	-7	18%	0/2	18:44	2:38	0:00	0	5	13	49	5	1	1	3	37/49	76%	0	5	0	0	1/6	17%
Pietro Angellini	0	3	3	1	0	6	1	0	13	7	-6	21%	0/0	26:58	4:30	3:47	1	7	16	40	6	1	2	5	27/36	75%	0	4	2	0	6/12	50%
Shaggy Tipton	0	1	1	0	2	2	2	6	17	28	11	28%	0/0	30:29	2:25	4:01	2	27	12	22	4	4	0	0	30/47	64%	0	0	1	0	2/3	67%
The Seabasstard	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	2	10%	9/21	11:38	0:00	3:26	0	3	1	6	4	0	0	0	11/12	92%	0	2	0	0	1/3	33%
β-MOS D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	2:34	0:13	1:18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-MOS D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:54	0:13	0:06	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-MOS D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
Team Totals	6	11	17	5	16	50	22	25	134	121	-13	22%	53/112	N/A	N/A	N/A	15	119	149	355	57	10	22	16	348/467	75%	0	41	10	0	50/101	50%

 

GoalieName	Saves	ShotsAgainst	SavePCT	MP	SaveNoRebound	SaveWithRebound	PuckRetrieved
----------	-----	------------	-------	--	-------------	---------------	-------------
Kevin Malone	39	46	0.848	59:00:00	28	11	12

 

Moscow Menace Advance Metrics 

Corsi For: 101	Corsi Against: 113	Corsi: -12	Corsi For %: 47.2
Fenwick For: 91	Fenwick Against: 88	Fenwick: 3	Fenwick For %: 50.84
PDO: 96.783

 

Warsaw Predators

 

 

PlayerName	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	S	H	SB	GA	TA	GA/TA	GA%	FO	MP	PP MP	PK MP	HitLP	PassINT	LPPickup	RPass	DumpIns	Icings	LPfromHit	LostPuck	Passes	PassPct	SDelfect	SMiss	SBlock	SHitPost	Shots	SOGPct
----------	-	-	-	---	---	-	-	--	--	--	-----	---	--	--	-----	-----	-----	-------	--------	-----	-------	------	---------	--------	------	-------	--------	-----	------	--------	-----	------
Aloe Dear	0	1	1	-2	2	3	2	0	19	13	-6	27%	35/54	29:32	3:48	3:42	2	12	12	46	9	2	8	2	58/71	82%	0	5	2	0	3/10	30%
Chris Hylands	1	1	2	1	2	4	0	3	14	15	1	20%	0/0	28:30	4:55	2:29	0	15	16	39	7	3	1	0	39/52	75%	0	1	1	0	4/6	67%
Chris Reynolds	0	0	0	-2	0	6	2	0	17	11	-6	22%	0/0	25:51	3:48	0:00	1	11	16	49	8	1	1	2	31/48	65%	2	7	2	0	6/15	40%
Clinton Giftopoulos	0	0	0	-2	0	1	1	1	8	15	7	24%	0/0	22:58	3:48	0:00	1	15	8	10	3	1	0	0	17/25	68%	0	2	1	0	1/4	25%
Dakota Lamb	0	3	3	1	0	4	3	0	7	8	1	16%	21/49	30:09	4:55	3:26	3	8	15	20	7	0	0	1	40/46	87%	3	6	3	0	4/13	31%
Gregg Stallion	2	0	2	-2	2	4	2	0	10	5	-5	24%	0/3	22:57	3:48	0:00	2	5	10	26	3	0	3	1	15/25	60%	1	3	2	0	4/9	44%
Hadrian	0	0	0	-1	2	0	4	0	1	3	2	11%	0/0	10:35	0:00	3:34	3	2	2	5	3	0	0	0	4/5	80%	0	1	0	0	0/1	0%
Kaladin Kvothe	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	29%	0/0	2:53	0:00	0:00	0	2	4	1	0	0	0	0	1/3	33%	1	1	2	0	2/5	40%
Lexi Glass	1	1	2	1	0	1	1	2	10	9	-1	23%	2/2	29:28	4:55	3:26	0	9	14	21	4	1	1	0	20/29	69%	2	7	5	0	1/13	8%
Tim Waters	0	1	1	-2	0	4	2	3	14	22	8	25%	0/0	31:00	3:48	4:18	2	22	18	17	4	2	0	0	28/42	67%	0	1	2	0	4/7	57%
Uhtred	0	4	4	1	0	6	2	0	13	6	-7	19%	1/3	29:10	4:55	2:55	1	6	15	47	8	0	0	5	31/42	74%	2	4	3	1	6/14	43%
Victor Grachev	3	1	4	2	4	11	8	1	15	13	-2	23%	0/0	23:46	4:55	1:48	7	12	17	35	4	1	1	1	24/39	62%	0	3	2	0	11/16	69%
β-WAR D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	3:07	0:00	2:07	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-WAR D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-WAR D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-WAR D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-WAR LW1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/1	0:51	0:00	0:47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
β-WAR LW2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0%	0/0	0:00	0:00	0:00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%	0	0	0	0	0/0	0%
Team Totals	7	12	19	-5	12	46	27	10	130	122	-8	22%	59/112	N/A	N/A	N/A	22	119	147	316	60	11	15	12	308/427	72%	0	41	25	1	46/113	41%

 

GoalieName	Saves	ShotsAgainst	SavePCT	MP	SaveNoRebound	SaveWithRebound	PuckRetrieved
----------	-----	------------	-------	--	-------------	---------------	-------------
β-WAR G	44	50	0.88	60:00:00	29	14	17

 

 

Warsaw Predators Advance Metrics 

Corsi For: 113	Corsi Against: 101	Corsi: 12	Corsi For %: 52.8
Fenwick For: 88	Fenwick Against: 91	Fenwick: -3	Fenwick For %: 49.16
PDO: 103.217

 

 

2047 words before the stat dump, will claim for 4 weeks.

 

 

[N0HBDY 1,119]

Bob Tristan MVP

[KaleebtheMighty 1,509]

Probably the best game for Grachev!!

[Spartan 4,408]

1 hour ago, N0HBDY said:

Bob Tristan MVP

this is why I can't trade your goon ass smh

[samx 1,173]

Review: This article is really well written. It wasn't a boring read at all. It was written in a way then was really enjoyable to read. It's very clear you put a good amount of effort into this! I liked how you set it up with player names being put in bold. It makes it easier to read in my opinion. I really wouldn't change anything. 10/10

[OrbitingDeath 3,198]

We lost thanks to Duncan Idaho. Scrub

[DMaximus 1,046]

week 2 claim

[DMaximus 1,046]

week 3 claim

[DMaximus 1,046]

week 4 claim