Sophomore Slam - Season Summary

[Triller 1,669]

Off-Season Celebrations

After an extremely fun off-season filled with cup celebrations with family, friends and teammates, Leonard is ready to get back on the ice for his sophomore season.  While the off-season brought celebrations, it also came with a lot of on and off ice training where Triller focused on his hands and feet. (TPE 826 Start of season)  Though puck handling was a main focus, he has worked hard on his foot work and will continue to hit power skating sessions throughout the upcoming season.  After being named assistant captain for the second time, he again wants to prove he has what it takes to be a leader for his team alongside Captain Molly the Cat and fellow assistants in Yasilievich and Teno.

 

While most of the team was celebrating, GM Jacob Carson was hard at work filling gaps in the roster after Nalwa's retirement and Janser went off to Prague in Free Agency.  To add some grit on the backend, Jacob acquired Womp Jr in Free Agency along with an extra surprise.  Board Game Clue also agreed to join the team for the season and to switch positions to Defenseman.  Two great additions that bring a different look to the team.  On the front end, Retoslav's time with London came to an end with a trade to Malmo for 2 picks.  With young forwards in the pipeline, London will start the season with 5 forwards which puts the pressure on the Cup winning core to pick up the slack.  The locker room is once again buzzing and everyone is poised to take to the ice as the defending cup champions.  Bring on S89!  United!

 

First Half of Season

As the first half of the season comes to a close, London fights to maintain its position in the European Conference.  At 19-15-4 the United are battling with Prague and Riga for third in the standings and with losing records to both teams so far, it will be a challenge going forward.  The team is battling hard but having trouble stringing together consistent wins with goal scoring being an issue this season.  Luckily, London has been on the ball defensively.  With 6 of 7 overtime games going to a shootout the team brings it every game to the last possible minute and beyond, but unfortunately, those shootouts have resulted in 5 of 6 being losses.  The post Championship fatigue seems to be abundant and some of the new players to the team are still working to settle in.  Yasilievich and Molotov are leading the way in points for the team while Molly the Cat and Triller are right on their tails.  Igor Molotov appears on the leaderboard at 9th in hits and Womp Jr stands at 3rd in penalty minutes which was something the team anticipated with the new grit added to the team.  Molly the Cat leads London in goals and Yasilievich is a mad man with assists, a true playmaker that Triller is hoping to emulate.  Jesse Teno is holding it down as usual and really shows up for the tight games against the stronger opponents and is a huge contributor to the low goals against that the United carry.  The backup has slipped but with all backup games now played, Teno can fully take the reins for the second half.  The locker room has slowed down a bit from last season but with the seasonal change, players are much busier out in the community.  With the .500 hockey that is being played, the team is still optimistic about making the playoffs as last season started in a very familiar fashion.

 

Leonard Triller is certainly not feeling a sophomore slump yet this season and is earning his Assistant Captain designation.  (TPE 877)  With 8 more points than last season at this point, Triller stands at 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points which is just under the point per game mark that he hopes to hit by the end of the season.  Triller has improved his skating immensely since the off-season and will be looking to add some power as well.  He is already ahead of last season with 18 more hits at 75 total so the added strength he adds will come in handy for the rest of the season.  With London struggling to find the back of the net, Leonard hopes to create more chances and start contributing to the goal output of the team where possible.  Defensively, Triller has been making more sacrifices this season by throwing his body into more shots, but with less goal output from the team, his plus minus is half of what it was last season though it remains second overall on the team.  

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Vancouver Wolves	1	0	1	1	0	0	4	1	2
Calgary Wranglers	1	1	1	2	2	0	3	3	0
Los Angeles Stars	4	2	3	5	3	0	12	5	1
Chicago Phoenix	1	0	2	2	0	0	7	2	0
Seattle Bears	4	1	0	1	-1	8	14	15	7
New York Americans	3	1	1	2	0	4	15	3	0
DC Dragons	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	1
Toronto Legion				0
NAC Totals	15	5	8	13	4	12	59	29	11
TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
HC Davos Dynamo	2	0	2	2	1	0	5	7	2
Moscow Menace	2	1	1	2	0	0	5	5	2
Malmo Nighthawks	3	1	2	3	1	0	10	7	1
Riga Reign	3	1	3	4	-1	0	17	7	3
Warsaw Predators	4	0	1	1	0	2	17	8	4
Prague Phantoms	2	0	1	1	-2	0	3	6	3
Helsinki Titans	5	2	6	8	4	6	17	6	1
London United				0
EUC Totals	21	5	16	21	3	8	74	46	16
TOTAL	36	10	24	34	7	20	133	75	27

 

Second Half of Season

The trade deadline came and went with very little moves taking place around the league.  London looked to bring in another forward but teams were unwilling to make any adjustments without asking for far too much, leaving the roster that has been in place since the beginning of the season locked in for the push to make the playoffs.  The United end the season with a 34-27-7 record which almost perfectly matches their 39-25-8 record of the previous season.  London has fought hard to stay in a wildcard position this season and the struggle continued in the second half.  After winning the cup last season from a Wildcard position, being in the same place brings a bit of excitement knowing how it ended.  The team makeup has changed slightly but finding ways to win are what the United do.  Finishing 5th in the conference is certainly not an improvement on last season but making the playoffs is all that matters.  The United will be facing off against the Prague Phantoms who they battled against with a 1-4 record.  Again, slightly reminiscent of last season so the feelings in the locker room are only of anticipation of this wildcard stand-off.

 

Leonard has taken an encouraging step forward in his career this season by improving in every category. (TPE 933)  Most notably, he contributed 18 more points than last season with 10 more goals and 8 more assists for a total of 65 points.  With an increase of 113 shots for a total of 288.  His shot quality may be dipping and will need some work.  Another positive in Triller's game is his defensive capabilities.  They were on display this season as he increased his shot blocking by 19 for a combined 46 shot blocks.  Along with getting in front of pucks, he continued to get in the way of his opponents increasing his hit total to 164, 58 more than last season while playing more disciplined and lowering his penalty minutes by 16.  Triller also held the 3rd spot on the team for both points and assists and will look to step up even more next season to hopefully start showing up on the leaderboards, especially in assists but for now, it is time to load up for the wildcard series against Prague, a team that Leonard struggled against in the regular season.

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Vancouver Wolves	5	2	5	7	2	4	18	9	7
Calgary Wranglers	4	2	3	5	1	2	20	10	0
Los Angeles Stars	4	2	3	5	3	0	12	5	1
Chicago Phoenix	4	1	3	4	2	4	23	7	2
Seattle Bears	5	1	1	2	-1	8	17	17	7
New York Americans	4	1	2	3	0	4	19	7	0
DC Dragons	4	0	1	1	0	0	10	8	1
Toronto Legion	4	2	2	4	1	4	18	9	2
NAC Totals	34	11	20	31	8	26	137	72	20
TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
HC Davos Dynamo	6	3	2	5	-2	2	23	15	3
Moscow Menace	5	1	2	3	-5	6	18	15	3
Malmo Nighthawks	6	2	3	5	1	2	22	15	3
Riga Reign	5	1	4	5	-3	0	22	16	3
Warsaw Predators	5	0	4	4	2	2	27	12	4
Prague Phantoms	5	1	3	4	-6	4	21	13	8
Helsinki Titans	6	2	6	8	3	6	18	6	2
London United				0
EUC Totals	38	10	24	34	-10	22	151	92	26
TOTAL	72	21	44	65	-2	48	288	164	46
S88 TOTAL	72	11	36	47	17	64	175	106	27
DIFFERENCE		10	8	18	-19	-16	113	58	19

 

Wildcard vs Prague Phantoms

The London United entered the series ready for a battle.  Prague dominated the United in the regular season but the team is coming in confident after what they showed last season in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the season 88 playoff team did not show up in this wildcard series.  Prague took an early 2 game lead and though the games were close, the Phantoms overwhelmed in the shots department keeping London on the defensive in both games.  In game 3 London managed a single goal win but could not keep the momentum going losing game 4 to close out the series and the season.  Triller would go pointless in the series and end up with a -5.

 

TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	SHT	HIT	SB
Prague Phantoms	4	0	0	0	-5	2	14	6	2

 

With that, the end of S89 in London arrives.  Not a fun way to end the season but it is better than missing the playoffs entirely.  The vibes in London felt different this season from the start.  Waiting for that 6th forward that never came left the team short handed though they fought all season regardless.  Without another cup win the season was going to feel like a step back, but it was an expected step back.  The team will be undergoing some changes but how drastic those changes will be are left to GM Jacob Carson to figure out.  For now, Leonard Triller looks to be a fixture for the United and hopes to improve next season as much as he did during this one.  The offseason brings a lot of physical training to improve Triller’s strength and conditioning.  Being stronger on the puck should allow for a few more scoring opportunities which London needed very badly this season.  Ending the regular season 5th lowest in the goals for department painted a very obvious picture of what was lacking all season especially when London finished 3rd in goals against.  The defense was there all season but without scoring, winning games was difficult.  Leonard hopes his offseason training can help lift London up for next season as he continues to grow into one of the team's best players.  Whatever happens, Triller is determined to have London reach the top of the mountain again.

(2018 Words)
Claiming for Aug 20th, Aug 27th, Sept 3rd and Sept 10th

Edited August 20, 2023 by Triller

[Triller 1,669]

Claiming for Aug 27th

Edited August 20, 2023 by Triller

[Triller 1,669]

Claiming for Sept 3rd

[AJW 2,157]

Just saw this, keep that same energy against the Bears in S90 please

[Triller 1,669]

Claiming for Sept 10th