Heading into Game 6

[der meister 2,937]

Ryuji Sakamoto and the Istanbul Red Wolves are pushing hard to finish up their series against the Bratislava Watchmen. For the lithe Japanese defenseman, it means trying to do all the little things right, at the right times. For example, Sakamoto registered 281 hits in 72 regular season games, for an average of 3.9 hits per game. So far in the playoffs, Sakamoto is averaging 4.4 hits per game. Similarly, his shot blocks have increased from 2.76 a game to 4.4 blocks per game in the playoffs. In terms of keeping up with the simple and smart style, Sakamoto's shots per game have also increased, from 3.05 in the regular season to 4.2 in the playoffs. Sakamoto's performance thus far has led to him being tied for the playoff lead in Points, Assists, and Defensive Scoring. He leads the way in Blocked Shots and is third in Hits.

 

"Coach said to get as many pucks to the net as we can, and I gotta do everything I can to help us win," Sakamoto told me following a frustrating game 5 loss to the Watchmen. "The team has worked hard all year, and now's the chance for us to do something I wasn't able to do last year in Mexico City. We gotta get to the finals and take down the big bad Iron Eagles, man."

 

Vasteras, who dominated the Cologne Express in a sweep of the semifinal round, is waiting back home for the conclusion of the Istanbul versus Bratislava series. Vasteras's offensive duo of Phoebe Bridgers and Benjamin Franklin Chang gave opponents fits in the regular season, with the pair combining for 69 goals and 158 points. Goaltender Red Gaming led the league in Wins and Goals Against Average. Regardless of who advances between the Red Wolves and the Watchmen, their hands will be full against the powerhouse Iron Eagles, who finished the regular season with 10 more wins than the next team, which happens to be Sakamoto's Red Wolves.

 

Far be it for me to appear biased in these articles, but I think between the two teams, Istanbul has a much better chance of knocking off the Iron Eagles than the Watchmen do, despite Bratislava finishing a point above Istanbul in the regular season. The biggest difference between the two teams is their offensive chops. Vasteras, unsurprisingly, led the way with 230 goals for in the regular season, all while giving up the fewest number of goals with 160. Bratislava's offensive output was downright anemic compared to much of the league as they finished with 191 goals. Istanbul finished third with 223. Defensively, the Watchmen had the second best goals surrendered number with 162, while Istanbul was third with 178.

 

Istanbul cannot afford to overlook the Watchmen, however. Bratislava has now fought back to make the series 3-2, and while tonight's game in Turkey might be the end of the Watchmen's Season 83 Championship hopes, that is far from a guarantee. Regardless of the outcome of tonight's game, the rest of the series, and the Finals, I'm certain we're in for some entertaining hockey.

 

 

A feisty Conference Finals between Istanbul and Bratislava comes to a head