Founders Cup Finals: Games 3 & 4

[VHL Games 1,193]

Game 3:

Las Vegas Aces vs. Halifax 21st

 

Game 4:

Las Vegas Aces vs. Halifax 21st

 

Go to Playoff Tree

 

[diacope 1,696]

Damn GJ Vegas!

[AJW 2,190]

GGs Vegas, this was no surprise to anyone. Great effort for Halifax to get to the cup too!

[Ricer13 2,823]

Congrats @Shindigs and to all the Vegas players on winning the Founders Cup!

[JardyB10 4,868]

Shitballs, we couldn’t quite pull the games out. Congrats LAME-Os!

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

(Games 3 and 4) Founders Cup Final - Las Vegas Aces vs. Halifax 21st

 

Here's a quick spoiler, the Las Vegas Aces swept the Halifax 21st. The reason I decided to mention this early was because even though it was a sweep, it was a close series. Don't believe me? Well, how about this, 3 of the 4 games played in this Founders Cup Final were decided in overtime. Wow. Let's look at two of these overtime thrillers today.

 

To start off Game 3, Las Vegas got the first goal of the game with a power play marker from Robert Overmeyer. However, Halifax had a man advantage soon after and also scored on the power play to tie it up. Those exchanged power play goals were the only goals of the period, keeping the game tied 1-1 going into the first intermission. Despite being tied though, the Las Vegas Aces had 23 shots on goal compared to Halifax's 5 shots on goal. Geoff Bezos was doing everything possible to keep Halifax in this one and it seemed to pay off. The payoff would prove to come in the next period as Ethan Mann scored a goal for Halifax, giving them their first lead of the game. Knowing how tight this series had been, any lead was huge. Las Vegas still had the edge in shots, 12-6 but the lead that mattered was in favour of Halifax. Going into the third, Las Vegas was looking to tie it up while Halifax looked to shut it down and secure their first victory. Unfortunately for the latter, Fred Hampton tied it up for Las Vegas, getting the only goal of the third. This lead to overtime, where Jimmy MacElroy scored to bring Las Vegas within one win of the title.

 

Interestingly, like the game before, special teams proved to be a major factor in the first period. Halifax took the first lead of the game on the powerplay with a goal from Ethan Mann. Soon after, almost two minutes later, Halifax had the opportunity to extend their lead on the man advantage. However, the tides turned and Las Vegas tied it up with a shorthanded goal from Fred Hampton. Later, on a Las Vegas power play, they got their first lead of the game with a marker from Larry Abass Jr. The action wasn't over yet as The Mediocre One scored in the final minute of the period on the power play to tie it up for Halifax. Despite all of the action, the game was tied 2-2 going into the first intermission. The second period began with a quick goal from Brodie Landry III. It was scored 31 seconds into the frame and gave Halifax a 3-2 lead. However, just over a minute later, Larry Abass Jr scored a second goal to tie it up yet again. With no other goals being scored in the period, the game was still tied 3-3. In the third, both teams refused to give in, neither team letting in a goal. That meant we were going into overtime. For both teams, this overtime proved to be the most important overtime in this series. And just over 6 minutes into overtime, Al Land scored. Sticks, gloves, and helmets were flying and raining on the ice. Las Vegas had won.