The VHLM Playoffs and some GM Insight

[Tetricide 567]

The finals of the Philadelphia Reapers and Las Vegas Aces are upon us! The playoffs for season 85 have been nothing short of exciting, and heart dropping for some. I got a little insight from a few GMs about their playoffs experience and I'll fill in those who missed each series on a quick summary.

 

Miami Marauders

In the first round, we saw the Miami Marauders 4-0 sweep Halifax 21st, but were eliminated by the Philadelphia Reapers in game 5 of the second round. Miami's GM @nurxsummarized the elimination as, "@Pifferfishread my lines like an open book. We had the better team, depth-wise." Comparing the lines it's true that Miami has better depth, but it seems Philadelphia had some tricks up their sleeves to ensure they could secure the series in their favor. I'd love to see Miami get some good draft picks next season and hopefully their returning players will help pave the way to a top seed and be a top contender in the playoffs.

 

Halifax 21st

Falling 0-4 in their series against Miami, Halifax 21's GM @ShawnGladeshared some interesting insight about what affected his team being eliminated. "I think just losing a few key players before playoffs hurt. Two top scorers due to inactivity and one to a TPE ban really sucked. I also think the sim engine dicked us a bit but it happens. Next season, just try and get a bit more depth. We were weak in that area this season." I would have to agree that the sim engine does some interesting and not so favorable outcomes against teams, but I'm hoping Halifax will pick up the pieces for next season to be stronger next season and maybe wrangle up the knuckleheads a bit better.

 

Saskatoon Wild

In round one of the playoffs, the Mexico City Kings swept the Saskatoon Wild in a decisive 4-0 series win. The Wild's GM was not available for an interview, however I think it's safe to say that it wasn't really fair to be put up against a stacked 4th seed that used to be 9th overall in the league. This was certainly true considering the first 2 games the Kings shut out the Wild. I'm not sure if there are any inactives on the team, but they're only losing 3 capped players to the European league next season. I'm sure the leadership in Saskatoon are looking to bring in some promising draftees and perhaps get some trades in their favor to be a raid boss for the upcoming season.

 

San Diego Marlins

The San Diego and Las Vegas series was interesting seeing as San Diego won 2 of 3 of their away games and winning the 3rd would've tied up the series at game 6. Unfortunately, even if they did take game 6, their trend of losing home games would have sealed the deal of them still being out of the series in game 7. @jacobcarson877 the GM of the Marlins had this to say about it and how they plan on being the team to beat next season, "First off, I think it’s fair to say that Vegas came into the series the stronger team. Much higher top-end TPE players, and superior positional depth. I think it was their series to lose, but what brought us the success we had was some experimentation throughout the lineup and some dominant performances by our goaltender, Lachlan Summers. We knew we had to take advantage of some of their few weaknesses, and that is what got us a couple of wins in the series. Next season we should line up a much stronger team right out of the gate, with six top-15 picks and some returning players to form our offensive core. We also have four 4th round picks that I’m really hoping can provide some of that depth we were missing this season. Continuing to win battles on the waiver wire and encouraging growth will be huge for us to separate ourselves from the other potential powerhouses next season."

 

Ottawa Lynx

The Ottawa and Philadelphia series was the most awe-inspiring of round 1 where Ottawa took the first 3 games and it was looking like they were the team to join Miami and Mexico City in the full sweep. However, Philadelphia had other plans and made Ottawa fully aware in game 4 that they aren't here to just give a series away. Not only did Philadelphia put a boot in their ass with a commanding 7 goals over Ottawa's 3, but they completed a boot-in-the-ass field goal with a reverse series sweep to bring them to round 2. "We did start off pretty strong in that series. I think a lot of our issues were on the defensive side of things. Only having 2 defenders against a forward heavy team like Philly I got put into the GM spot with no chance to try and help the defense, so we just had to roll with it and unfortunately we didn't succeed," was what Ottawa's GM @Moonsaid about their series loss. When asked about how they plan on being the next Founder's Cup winner, "I think going into next season we need to make sure we are solid on the defensive side of things as I think we've all seen defense win championships in this league." 

 

Philadelphia Reapers

Round two was equally, if not more, exciting as the first. Philadelphia defeated Miami in their series 4-1 where one of the games Philly took was in overtime. Philly had an impressive 6 game win streak before Miami took their one game win. When asked about his experience so far in the playoffs and how he feels his odds are against either Mexico City or Las Vegas, GM @Lemorse7responded, "That first series was stressful, but when you have the momentum and come back from a 3-0 and win the series 4-3 we didn’t have the same break to relaxe and heal some injury. I think that’s why we won versus Miami. We still had the momentum and the energy from winning the Ottawa series while they had a huge break and something that can be a double edge sword. We beat each team in the regular season, but that doesn’t mean anything because playoff games and regular season games are two very different style of games. We are just ready for any opponent and ready to play!"

 

Mexico City Kings

I had a chance to ask the Kings about how important it is to win against the Aces. At the time of asking, the series was tied 3-3. "The Aces have really had our number in recent times. I think for us to win against the Aces would be absolutely massive for not just myself, but for the team as well. We’ve got an amazing group of players on our team this season and I don’t want to let them down," was Mexico City's GM @badcolethetitanresponse to the team's recent past against Vegas and how important it is to win this series. When asked about how he thinks the Kings will fare against the Reapers, "I think if we can beat our demons in the Aces, we should do fairly well against the Reapers, but they’re a tough team and no pushover either. I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen and I think we’ve got a great chance of winning it all!" Unfortunately, in the sims, the Aces took advantage of all the Kings penalties and were able to take both games 6 and 7. There will be several players moving to the European league next season, but Cole has shown that he can make a team work in his favor to get pretty far in both the regular season and playoffs. I wish him the best of luck next season and hope he brings that coveted Cup home!

 

Las Vegas Aces

Ladies and gentlemen, the Las Vegas frickin' Aces. The back-to-back Founder's Cup champions. Led by none other than @Shindigshimself, the Aces were the powerhouse team this season. Out of the 72 games played in the regular season, they won 54 of them with only 4 overtime losses. They're officially going to the finals against the Philadelphia Reapers, and looking at the record the Aces has against them (8-3-) I think it's a pretty safe bet on the Aces. I was practically playing phone tag with him, so I couldn't get an interview in time before publishing this article. I'll just say that should the Aces win the Founder's Cup a 3rd time, they'll be the first and somehow deserve it. Shindigs everlasting legacy of the VHLM before he steps down as the GM at the end of it. 

 

Either way, I wish both teams the best of luck! You're both there representing the best of both conferences and I'm predicting the Aces will win it in 6 games. Thanks to all the GMs I was able to reach out to for their time and responses. Thanks to all the GMs and players who have helped me as a new player get to where I am now, and I'll see y'all next season in Oslo!

 

1526 words, using for PT weeks ending on 10/23 and 10/30.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Tetricide

[Pifferfish 345]

Great article, love this shit... More please. 

[animal74 1,606]

Awesome stuff! The GM insight was very interesting.

 

Here's some more VHLM playoff goodness: 

 

[Tetricide 567]

Didn't realize I could claim for a 3rd week from it being a 1500+ article. Now I know.  Posting this so I can make the update.