VSN Presents: VHL Power Rankings S70'S part 5

[ROOKIE745 571]

Greetings readers!! And welcome to the actual finale of this series, we just have two teams left to look at and they are the best of the best, there is no denying the impact these teams had during the decade, these two teams each have multiple cup finals appearances, 390 plus regular season wins, and were top three in goal categories six different seasons. It may be only two teams but there's a lot to cover with them, without further delay, let's talk about these two teams! 

 

Moscow Menace

Record: 390-268-62

Rank: 2nd with 1092 points

                                                     Goals for: x3                    Conference finals: x3

                                                     Goals against: x4               Cup finals: x1

                                                    Goal differential: x4      Continental Cup: x1

                                                    Victory Cup: x3               Points: 842+250              

 Expansion ranking: 7th with 667 points

Our runner up is the Moscow Menace, and I have to be honest I thought they won more than one cup during the decade? I joined the VHL in S69 and the first few seasons of the S70's I swear I remember them winning more cups but perhaps it's the Victory Cups I remember and not the Continental Cup. Regardless this was a team to be feared for most of the decade, their the only team with multiple 50 win seasons and they brought home the Victory Cup a record three times during the ten year span. As has been a trend for the last few teams I've covered, the Moscow Menace started off the S70's strong going 50-17-5, finishing top three in goals for and differential, and capturing both the Victory Cup and Continental Cup. They swept the Phantoms in the first round, schooled Riga 4-1 and downed the Wranglers in six games. They are the only other team besides Malmo to secure 200 points in a season, and they didn't even earn all the bonus points as they weren't top three in goals against. That is how you start off a new decade though and it looked like Moscow would have more cup wins in them. They're record would take a large drop as they finished 37-27-8 but were still top three in the previously mentioned goal categories, and would go to the finals for a second year in a row, dropping the Nighthawks in four, beating Riga in six before the Bears stopped them 4-1. S72 they would take a smaller drop this time around, finishing 35-29-8, they were top three in goals against this time and beat the Titans in the first round 4-2 before Riga got revenge for the previous two seasons and swept them. Entering S73 saw a jump back up in their record, 40-23-9 and again finished top three in goals against but failed to win a round in the playoffs this season.

 

Entering S74 Moscow seemed to be on the downswing more than the up swing but that would change as they posted their second best record of 51-19-2, finishing top three in all goal categories and bringing home the Victory Cup a second time. The team failed to win a round in the post season however making that regular season performance seem moot. Again Moscow would see another big drop off in their record after a 50 plus win season, going 39-27-6 and beating the Titans in the first round in a close seven game series before the Nighthawks beat them in six in the next round. Regular season wise Moscow rebounded to have the best overall record of the S70's, posting a 53-13-6 record which narrowly beats out Malmo's 53-19 record in S79 mentioned a few parts back. Being top three in goals against and differential plus they made it out of the first round beating the Phantoms in a hard fought seven game series before the Predators did away with them in seven. After this it seemed like Moscow and used up all its luck and prospect pool as they dropped like a rock. They dropped to a record of 28-38-6 for just 62 points which was just one more point than the Dragons who were dead last. They had a small bounce back in S78 getting up to 34-35-3 before falling to a new low in the last season of the decade, 23-40-9 for 55 points. Moscow was no longer a menace in the league. Despite it being their lowest record of the ten year span they were only third last as Helsinki and Toronto finished with 48 and 47 points respectively. Much like Vancouver and Calgary, Moscow loses a lot points looking at the expansion ranking, they lose over 300 points which really stings, combine that with their last three seasons being rough and they drop five spots, it's still top ten though so nothing to be too ashamed of though.

 

 

Seattle Bears

Record: 426-248-56

Rank: 1st with 1283 points

                                                     Goals for: x5                    Conference finals: x1

                                                     Goals against: x2               Cup finals: x2

                                                    Goal differential: x6      Continental Cup: x3

                                                    Victory Cup: x1               Points: 908+375              

 Expansion ranking: 1st with 903 points

This really should be of no surprise to anyone that was around for most of the S70's, Seattle has been one of the most consistent teams for decades at this point and their dominance in the S70's is a perfect example of this. Before we even start looking through each season lets note some achievements, they have 1283 points which is 191 points ahead of second place, 375 bonus points which is 125 more than what Moscow earned, they were top three in goal categories 13 times, they are the only team to earn 400 plus wins in the regular season which beats out the second place regular season team the Calgary Wranglers by 29 wins, they made it to the finals five times in the S70's and won it three times, their 903 points in the expansion ranking is 87 more than the second place Predators who are already 53 points ahead of third place, they had seven 40+ win seasons and won at least half their games every season. That alone should speak volumes to how good Seattle was, most teams experienced a major dip at some point during the decade, needing to rebuild or re tool, even as impressive as Calgary was during the regular season with six 40 win seasons and never dropping below 31 wins, Seattle trumps that with seven 40 win seasons and never going below 36 wins meaning every season they won at least half their games. Now that I'm done gawking at Seattle's ridiculous numbers let's cover each season so we can end this series.

 

For a change of pace Seattle's first season of the decade was decent, not super strong like the last three teams I've talked about, going 37-28-7 and they would beat the Wolves in the first round 4-1 before being taken out by the Wranglers in six. Season 71 really is where Seattle began their march to conquer the league this decade, going 43-23-6, being top three in goals for and differential and taking home the Continental Cup. The Bears slayed the Dragon in seven games, dominated the Wolves 4-1 and showed now fear against the Menace winning in five. Season 72 would be a regular season improvement going 47-22-3 and finishing top three in all goal categories, post season wise it was a step back as they didn't even win a round. Seattle showed they still had it next season however as they had their best record of the S70's, posting a 49-18-5 record and winning their only Victory Cup of the decade. On their way to winning a second Cup they again slayed the Dragons 4-2, stopped the Wranglers in seven, and beat the Titans in six. Season 74 saw them drop by eight wins, going down to a record of 41-24-7 and finishing top three in goal differential, they had no luck in the postseason though. Season 75 and 76 was a time for the Bears to hibernate, to recharge. They still had very respectable records of 39-25-8 and 36-29-7, the latter being the lowest they ever got, that record still had them at eighth in the league.

 

S77 the Bears came out of hibernation and got back over 40 wins, earning a record of 41-28-3 and while they weren't top three in any goal category they went on to capture their third cup of the S70's, they started off by beating the Legion in six, sweeping the LA Stars, and handing the Titans another loss in the finals, this time in five. With only 155 points earned this season was the lowest amount of points a team finished with while still winning the cup, thought that was worth mentioning. With only two seasons left at this point Seattle only went up in the regular season standings, going 54-20-7, finishing top three in goals for and goal differential. In the postseason they dealt with the Wranglers in seven, steam rolled the Phoenix in a sweep, and couldn't quite beat the Predators, losing in six. S79 they had their second best record of 48-21-3, finished top three in all goal categories and for a third time in a row went to the finals. They once again battled the Dragons and beat them in five, barely beat the Stars in a seven game series before this time the Nighthawks got the better of them in six games. Take a breather we still need to mention their Expansion ranking, it's crazy good as you already know and anything I say here doesn't do it justice, it'd be one thing if they were first overall but third or fourth in the expansion ranking, outside of the Phantoms they are the only other team that shares the same ranking in both categories, it's remarkable for them to be first in both.

 

Oh my lord it's finished!! I got through it all! It feels really good to finish this series and my first power ranking style content. With how long it took to add up all the number and everything I will likely release all the number in a MS or something else just to talk about any final notes and let everyone see the numbers for themselves but I want to end it off here for now, it's been a great ride and I look forward to seeing you all next time!!

 

(word count 1723)

Edited September 19, 2022 by ROOKIE745

[ROOKIE745 571]

Claiming for second time Sept 25th

[Banackock 7,638]

Record: 426-248-56