Riga Reign's Season Ends in Heartbreak in Final Game

[Bojovnik 487]

The VHL's Riga Reign mounted a miraculous mid-season comeback to end S78 with a shot of making the playoffs, but a final game defeat to HC Davos Dynamo put paid to those plans and left the Latvian club on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

 

A rotten start to the season left the Reign at the bottom of the European Conference in the early part of S78. However, the team's fortunes changed around the trade deadline, and Riga went into the final game of the season knowing that a win against Davos would get them into the play-in, providing that the Moscow Menace could emerge victorious against the fifth-placed Malmo Nighthawks.

 

The Menace did their part, dominating the Nighthawks to take a 4-1 victory. Unfortunately for the Reign, Davos put in an accomplished performance to register a 3-1 win, leaving both Malmo and Riga tied on points, with the former winning the tiebreak on account of accruing a greater number of wins.

 

The Reign end up finishing the season 32-28-12 record, good enough for 76 points – an improvement on last season's total of 66. However, the team's players and management are now left to rue what might have been ahead of another long offseason.

 

"It's super disappointing that we didn't take the chance that was available to us. We were clearly one of the best teams in the league over the last two weeks or so. It's a shame that we were in a position where we needed to win our final game to get into the play-in, because we should have wrapped up qualification a long time ago. But, we will take these lessons and look to improve once again next season," the Reign's rookie defenseman Jan Hlozek said in a media scrum following the loss against Moscow.

 

Riga has been rebuilding over the last two seasons, and the team can take heart that a number of its younger players truly established themselves as topline players in the VHL.

 

Cabe McJacke @RedSus finished as the team's top scorer with 87 points, up from 57 last season. Star blueliner Linus Zetterstrom @Ledge and Dairy finished joint-second in defenseman scoring in the VHL with a remarkable 86 points from the backend, and forwards Justin Lose @youloser1337and Isau DaMoose @Eynhallow also posted new career-high point totals over a point-per-game.

 

As these players now enter their prime, other players are set to come to the fore. Defenseman Jan Hlozek, selected 8^th overall in the S77 Entry Draft, finished his rookie season with 50 points from 72 games – good for second in rookie scoring behind last year's top pick Hard Markinson, but the Czech blueliner said that he still has a long way to go to improve his game.

 

"I think it was nice to see that I managed to adapt throughout the season and started to improve, find my game. It was a real tough jump up from the VHLM to the VHL, but I feel that I found my game and had some success. I must be better in my own zone, but it was nice to see that the game started to come to me and I was able to become a relatively consistent producer for the team," Hlozek said.

 

The Czech blueliner said that he was delighted with the atmosphere in the Reign camp, and said that he couldn't imagine playing for another team in the VHL at the present time.

 

"After two years away in North America, it was so nice to be back in Europe and with a team that has such a strong connection to the city in which we play. Our fans were incredible this year, and the team does everything possible to maintain that connection with the fans. We play for them, and they give us motivation and drive. I don't think there are better fans in the league, so why would I want to play for anyone else?" Hlozek stated.

 

With the season now at a close, Hlozek said that he was looking forward to getting back to the Czech Republic, in particular his home village of Topolna, to spend time with his friends and family.

 

"It's been great being in Europe because my family have been able to watch all my games. My dad used to coach me back in juniors and he's still my harshest critic. He just wants me to continue to improve, so I always listen to him very carefully. It will be great to get back after a long, hard season, but I don't just go home to rest. I have everything set up there so I can continue to train, both on-ice and off-ice," Hlozek said.

 

When asked about his goals for next season, Hlozek said that he had only one thing on his mind.

 

"We have to make the playoffs next season. That's the only thing that is motivating me. It's my only goal. Of course, I need to play well to help the team be in with a chance of making the postseason, but I think we have a lot of good players who are entering their prime. The league should be on the lookout," Hlozek said.

 

It still remains to be seen who will be in the Riga Reign's net for the start of S79. Long-time starter Calvin Harvey announced earlier in the season that he would be retiring from the league, and there's no in-house candidate to take over the starter's spot at present.

 

Hlozek said that he had full faith in the team's management to find a new goaltender who could lead the team to glory.

 

"Look, there are guys in the front office who have the knowledge and the expertise to find the goalie that we need. Harvey was great this season, but these things happen in hockey. Guys come and go, but you have to keep the team intact, and we know as a defense unit that we have to be better for our new goalie once he comes in," the Czech blueliner concluded.

 

Spoiler

1007 words, claiming weeks ending 27.06, 04.07

 

[Bojovnik 487]

Week twoooooo