S83 Calgary Wranglers VS Toronto Legion Playoffs Recap

[Rhynex Entertainment 488]

S83 Calgary Wranglers  VS  Toronto Legion Playoffs

 

The young Calgary Wranglers team headed into the playoffs in S83 of the VHL with an overachieving record of 36 - 32 - 4 for 76 points. They faced the second seat of the North American Conference, the Toronto Legion, who held a record of 41 - 27 - 4, worth 86 points. A terrible match up for the young Wranglers, whom surprisingly won the Regular Season series 4 - 2. In terms of the wealth of experience, the Legion holds the edge with veteran leadership all across the roster, and without a single S82 or S83 player in the locker room. On the other hand, the Wranglers will ice two rookies, AirRig GoodBrandSun @Rhynex Entertainment and Ben Dahl @Ben, in core areas of their team and a retiring old man, Phil The Rock Johnson @Phil, looking for one more shot at a Cup with the young Wranglers as a seasoned franchised player. Calgary Wranglers have three rookie players and four players playing in their first ever VHL playoffs. Toronto Legion have two rookie players playing in their first ever VHL playoffs.

 

In terms of Forwards and Offense, the Toronto Legion holds what seems to be a small edge over the Calgary Wranglers. The Legion's Best Three Forwards match up well against Calgary's Big Three, with a small edge for Toronto for each player matched up; One vs One, Two vs Two, Three vs Three. The Legion holds the Best Forward in Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter, even through the Wranglers have the league leading point getter in Saku Kotkakoivu @DollarAndADream (barely with two more points (122 vs 120), but two fewer goals (59 vs 61), but Paul Atreides hold the goal scoring title. In addition, the Legion holds the advantage in depth, thus advantage goes to the Toronto Legion.

 

In terms of Defence, the Toronto Legion holds a major advantage over the Calgary Wranglers. The Legion have in their possession a Superstar Defenseman in Aurelien Moreau @Frank, who is also the Best Player on both teams. Aurelien Moreau gives the Legion a massive advantage on the back end in terms of Offensive attributably and Defensive attributably. On the other hand, the Calgary Wranglers is running with a Rookie Defensive Defenseman in AirRig GoodBrandSun, who while is a stud defensively, still holds the 4th best attributably as a defenseman between the two teams. In terms of defensive depth, the Toronto Legion holds a massive advantage as well. As previously explained, AirRig GoodBrandSun is the 4th best defenseman between the two teams, statistically, which means Toronto has statistically Three better defenseman than Calgary, who only holds two defenseman on their roster. Once again, advantage goes to the Toronto Legion.

 

Lastly, we have Goaltending, perhaps the most important aspect of a team as goalies were not nuked by the hybrid upgrade/downgrade. In terms of Goaltending, for a third time, the Toronto Legion holds the advantage over the Calgary Wranglers. And the advantage is not a small one at that, at least on paper. The Legion's Oskar Lindbergh @Doomsday gives Toronto a steady advantage in the cage as a veteran netminder when suited up against Rookie Goaltender Ben Dahl. As mentioned earlier, Oskar Lindbergh gives the Legion a substantial advantage attributably on paper, although it is to be determined as Oskar Lindbergh and Ben Dahl have similar statistical seasons in the regular season of S83 in the VHL. We can ignore Goaltending depth at this time as the Starting Goaltender will be expected to play for the whole series, but Calgary Wranglers do hold the depth advantage in Goaltending. All in all, goaltending advantage goes to the Toronto Legion.

 

Overall advantage goes to the Toronto Legion, with 3 - 0 on the advantage board.

 

 

Game One: Calgary Wranglers at Toronto Legion

 

Perhaps because of nerves, but Calgary's Ben Dahl had a shaky start to the playoffs in game one. Paul Atreides score the first goal of the series just 0:48 into the game. Shane Lazeski @Lazarus scores at 12:16 to tie up the game for the Wranglers. 1 - 1 after first period. Wranglers hold small shot advantage with 15 shots to the Legion's 13 shots.

 

Kyle Peace @Peace and Matty Fire @MattyFired scores back to back goals for the Toronto Legion at 12:29 and 16:39 of the second period, respectively, to give the Legion a 3 - 1 lead. Saku Kotkakoivu cuts the lead to 3 - 2 late in the second period at 19:17. Toronto leads 3 - 2 after two. Toronto out shot Calgary 15 to 14 in the second period.

 

Matty Fire seals the deal for the Legion with their second goal of the game at 15:28 in the third period, giving Toronto a 4 - 2 lead late in game one. The Calgary Wranglers pushed hard, including a late game power play from Paul Atreides' Roughing minor at 17:11, but Oskar Lindbergh shuts the door to take game one 4 - 2. Calgary out shot Toronto 18 to 10 in the third period and 47 to 38 in the game.

Toronto wins game one 4 - 2 and takes a 1 - 0 series lead in the Best of 7 series.

 

3 Stars (as presented by the announcers of game one):

1 - Matty Fire (TOR) - 2 goals, 6 shots, 3 hits, 1 shot block, +1
2 - Kyle Peace (TOR) - 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, 7 shots, +2
3 - Paul Atreides (TOR) - 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, 9 shots, 1 shot block, 25 of 47 faceoff wins, +2

 

Honourably Mentioned and Game Notes:

 

·         AirRig GoodBrandSun (CGY), Ben Dahl (CGY), Bob Beach @Big Bob (CGY) James glove dropper @Jamomayo (CGY), Sting Chameleon @Hybrid1486 (TOR), and Weenuk Warrior @KnightRiley (TOR) had their playoff debuts

·         Oskar Lindbergh (TOR) made 45 of 47 saves in the win (95.7% Save %)

·         Saku Kotkakoivu (CGY) leads all players with 16 shots

·         Both teams were perfect on the Penalty Kill; Calgary killed off 3 of 3, Toronto 4 of 4

 

 

Game Two: Calgary Wranglers at Toronto Legion

 

Paul Atreides starts off strong in game two, scoring two goals before 10 minutes into the game at 1:39 and 9:23 into the first period, respectively. Shane Lazeski scored their second of the series on the power play (first power play goal of the series for either teams) at 4:16. Toronto out shot Calgary 15 to 8, and leads game two 2 - 1 after first period.

 

Saku Kotkakoivu ties the game at 2 - 2 with their second goal of the series at 8:26 of the second period. Each team had 13 shots apiece, game tied 2 - 2 after two periods of play.

 

No goals were scored in the third period as Ben Dahl stopped 23 of 23 Toronto shots, while Oskar Lindbergh stopped the 11 Calgary shots they faced. Game remain tied 2 - 2 heading to sudden death overtime. The first Overtime game between the Calgary Wranglers and the Toronto Legion.

 

Toronto kills of a significant penalty, caused by Jannik Nylen @DreMin15, a roughing minor at 0:17 into Overtime. Weenuk Warrior ends it for the Legion moments after killing off the (Jannik) Nylen's penalty at 2:32 into Overtime. Calgary out shot Toronto 4 to 3 in the period, but Toronto wins it 3 - 2. Toronto leads the series 2 - 0 heading to Calgary for games 3 and 4.

 

3 Stars (as presented by the announcers of game two):

 

1 - Weenuk Warrior (TOR) - 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, 3 shots, +3
2 - Paul Atreides (TOR) - 2 goals, game high 14 shots, 2 hits, +2
3 - Cadmael Ixazaluoh @Vice (TOR) - 2 assists, 1 shot, 4 hits, 1 shot block, 4 PIM, +3

 

Honourably Mentioned and Game Notes:

 

·         Weenuk Warrior (TOR) with first career VHL Playoff Goal and Game Winner

·         Toronto Legion outshot Calgary Wranglers 54 to 36 in game two

·         Oskar Lindbergh (TOR) made 34 of 36 saves in the win (94.4% Save %)

·         Ben Dahl (CGY) made 51 of 54 saves in the loss (94.4% Save %)

·         Calgary Wranglers went 1 for 6 on the Power Play and 5 for 5 on the Penalty Kill

 

 

Game Three: Toronto Legion at Calgary Wranglers

 

Matty Fire scores their 3rd goal of the playoffs at 0:57 into game three to give Toronto the first goal of the game in three straight games! Daniel Janser @Daniel Janser scores their first of the playoffs to tie the game for the Wranglers, 1 - 1, at 2:14 in the first period on the Power Play. Calgary out shot Toronto 13 to 12 in the first period. Game tied 1 - 1 after one period of play.

 

No goals were scored in the second period. Toronto has a slight edge in shots, shooting 10 to Calgary's 7 shots. Game remained tied 1 - 1 after two periods.

 

Jannik Nylen scores Toronto Legion's first power play goal of the series at 0:56 of the third period to give Toronto a 2 - 1 lead. A very costly penalty by Wranglers Captain Saku Kotkakoivu at 0:40 of the third period, a hooking call. The young wranglers fought valiantly, but Oskar Lindbergh once again shuts the door in the third period to give Toronto a 2 - 1 victory. Toronto out shot Calgary 13 to 9 in the third period, and 35 to 29 in game three to win game three 2 - 1, and take a strangling hold of the best of 7 series against the Calgary Wranglers. Toronto Legion leads series 3 - 0.

 

3 Stars (as presented by the announcers of game three):

 

1 - Oskar Lindbergh (TOR) - 28 of 29 saves (96.6% Save %) in the win
2 - Ben Dahl (CGY) - 33 of 35 saves (94.3% Save %) in the loss
3 - Daniel Janser (CGY) - 1 goal, 8 shots, 2 hits, 1 shot block, -1

 

Honourably Mentioned and Game Notes:

 

·         Matty Fire (TOR) leads all players with game high 10 shots

·         Paul Atreides (TOR) won 30 of 45 face offs.

·         Calgary Wranglers went 1 for 2 on the Power Play

·         Toronto Legion went 1 for 4 on the Power Play

 

 

Game Four: Toronto Legion at Calgary Wranglers

 

For the fourth game straight, the Toronto Legion scores first in the game as Kyle Peace scores their second goal of the series just 0:39 into the first period of game four. Shots were 8 apiece after the first period, Toronto leads game four 1 - 0.

 

No goals were scored in the second period as Calgary take a slight shot edge, out shooting Toronto 9 to 7 in the second period. The Toronto Legion continue to lead game four 1 - 0.

 

Daniel Janser scores in back to back games, their 2nd of the playoffs, at 11:59 of the third period to tie the game 1 - 1. This is the first time Calgary has managed to sneak one by goaltender Oskar Lindbergh in the third period in the series. Armani Calamari @WildfireMicro reclaims the lead 2 - 1 for the Toronto Legion with their first of the playoffs at 13:00 into the third period. Oskar Lindbergh does not give up another goal in the third period, as Calgary out shot Toronto 10 to 9 in the third period, and 27 to 24 in game four.

 

Toronto Legion wins game 4 with a score of 2 - 1 and sweeps in Best of 7 Series against the Calgary Wranglers, winning the series 4 - 0 and moves on to the North American Conference Finals.

 

3 Stars (as presented by the announcers of game four):

 

1 - Oskar Lindbergh (TOR) - 26 of 27 saves, 96.3% Save % in the win
2 - Armani Calamari (TOR) - 1 goal, 5 shots, 2 hits, + 1
3 - Weenuk Warrior (TOR) - 1 assist, 1 shot, 3 hits, 1 shot block, +2

  

Honourably Mentioned and Game Notes:

 

·         Ben Dahl (CGY) made 22 of 24 saves in the loss (91.7% Save %)

·         Phil The Rock Johnson tried their hardest with a game high 8 shots

·         Toronto Legion were 3 for 3 on the Penalty Kill

·         Calgary Wranglers were 5 for 5 on the Penalty Kill

·         Toronto Legion Sweeps the Best of 7 Games Series, 4 - 0

 

 

Honourably Mentioned Notes on Playoff Series Between Toronto Legion and Calgary Wranglers:

 

·         Toronto Legion scored in the first period in every single game of the series

·         Calgary Wranglers never led in the series

·         Toronto Legion scored 4 goals in the first minute of a period, and 5 goals in the first 2 minutes of a period

·         Toronto Legion scored each of the four games opening goals within the first two minutes of the game

·         Calgary could not score more than two goals against Oskar Lindbergh and the Toronto Legion

·         Oskar Lindbergh has only allowed 1 goal against in the deciding third period or Overtime period

·         Oskar Lindbergh (TOR) made 133 of 139 saves (95.7% Save %)

·         Ben Dahl (CGY) made 140 of 151 saves (92.7% Save %)

·         Shane Lazeski (CGY) is the only non-negative +/- player on the Calgary Wranglers (finished even)

 

 

[Total Word Count 2,227]

[Claims for Weeks Ending 2022-06-05, 2022-06-12, 2022-06-19, 2022-06-26]

[Rhynex Entertainment 488]

Claim for Week ending 2022-06-12

[DreMin15 220]

Man, I got roasted for taking the penalty in OT in game 2 but you didnt give me credit for the assist on the game winning goal seconds after the kill. Feelsbadman. Great article though

 

[Rhynex Entertainment 488]

17 minutes ago, DreMin15 said:

Man, I got roasted for taking the penalty in OT in game 2 but you didnt give me credit for the assist on the game winning goal seconds after the kill. Feelsbadman. Great article though

 

Hahaha sorry bud, but I kept it consistent and did not give any assisters credit. I could probably add a few hundred+ more words but already got 4 weeks worth

[Rhynex Entertainment 488]

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[Rhynex Entertainment 488]

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