Pier 21: Leviathan

[LucyXpher 1,585]

Okay, so for... reasons... I just had to think of something demon related for my 666th forum post because I'm silly like that and numbers are fun.  I could've written about Simon being Satan again, but it's been done and I don't feel like beating the devil out of that joke since Satan Simon is kinda only fun in small doses.  Yes, that was a Bob Ross reference and no, Simon doesn't have any "happy little friends". Regardless of Satan's social life, I think this sea monster idea kinda makes sense too and it was fun to write anyway so please bear with me as I go off the deep end...

 

Leviathan concept art

 

For millennia, myths and legends the world over have described an unfathomably large creature that prowls the ocean’s depths– Leviathan. 

 

What some might call a sea monster, others have referred to as a demon of the underworld or the devil himself.  In a modern sense, the name Leviathan has come to signify any monster of the sea, from a great whale to a giant squid, but a deeper inquiry into the name reveals a much more fearsome and sinister association that ties the great beast to ancient beliefs across all continents of the world. 
 

One of the earliest possible references to Leviathan is the struggle of the Canaanite-Phoenician storm god, Hadad or Ba’al against the great serpent god, Lotan– a type of Leviathan– a seven-headed dragon-like creature of the sea.  In Babylonian and Greek mythologies, the creature Leviathan has been associated with descriptions of the great adversaries Tiamat and Typhon, respectively.  In Norse mythology, Leviathan is imagined as the Midgard Serpent that encircles the world.  In some sources that name it specifically, Leviathan is described as a great beast created to rule the sea while Behemoth prowls the land and Ziz patrols the skies.  Some accounts attribute to Leviathan the ability to breathe fire or radiate heat causing the waters around it to boil.  In terms of size, one account suggests Leviathan would measure over 300 miles long!  Across sources, there is very little consensus as to what the beast is exactly or what it is capable of.  What does remain consistent, however, is its immense size and dominion over the sea or the underworld.   

 

Leviathan is portrayed in some places as an agent of chaos, not necessarily evil, but lavishing in the destruction of the world.  In other more esoteric texts, Leviathan is described as a demon rising up from the underworld, perhaps a demon of envy, or an icon of Satan himself. The Hebrew letters assigned to the five points on the Sigil of Baphomet spell the name Leviathan לויתן and certain traditions describe Leviathan as one of the four crown princes of hell.  There’s even some association between the myth of Leviathan and the HellMouth, a beast that would rise up in the end times to devour the damned during the final judgment.  

Lodovico Burnacini - The Hellmouth

 

Okay, so you’re probably wondering, why? Why the hell am I on a sim hockey forum reading about a 300-mile-long oceanic demon-worm that may or may not come and swallow my delinquent soul at the end of the world?  Well, dear reader, I’m glad you asked-- because I was starting to wonder where this was going myself!

 

With the VHLM regular season in the rearview and playoffs on the near horizon, the Halifax 21st are poised to embark, once again, on a journey they have yet to complete.  For the past 32 seasons since the team’s inception in Season 62, the Founder’s Cup has been the elusive white whale, the great prize that has slipped through their grasp and remained out of reach.  Of the ten current teams in the M, Halifax is the only one that has yet to claim the league’s top prize.  Perhaps like a kind of inner demon for the franchise that has yet to be conquered, the Halifax 21st have historically found ways to lose when they really ought to have won. 

 

That the team has not yet won the Founder’s Cup is not a reflection on the organization’s quality over the years. Since the franchise was born, Halifax has produced a number of exceptional teams, and even one team that remains among the best in VHLM history.  The Season 74 Halifax 21st managed to win 64 out of 72 regular season games, with only 7 regulation losses and a single overtime loss, naturally claiming the Prime Minister’s Cup as the league’s best team that season.  The record of that S74 team is the 3rd best single season in VHLM history and yet, somehow, the 21st faltered in the first round against a Marauders squad with half as many wins (32).  That Miami team– the 8th seed in the playoffs– would go on to claim the Founder’s Cup for themselves after a miraculous run to the finals and a shocking sweep of the 53-win Mississauga Hounds. 

 

In their history, the Halifax 21st have claimed the Prime Minister’s Cup as the best regular season team on two occasions before Season 94, the first being in S62– the franchise’s inaugural season.  The team would win 55 games and record 112 points, but In the playoffs, however, despite a strong run to the finals, the 21st would be swept in four by the 3rd seed Ottawa Lynx.  Halifax would make it to the Founder’s Cup Finals again in the club’s third and fourth seasons, but would fall in 6 games both times-- to the Aces in S64 and the Minnesota Storm in S65.  After three finals appearances in their first four seasons, the 21st would not return to the finals again until Season 84. As a 6th seed underdog, Halifax would manage to knock off the number two seed Bulls in the first round and made short work of Ottawa in the second round, before being swept in the finals by the Las Vegas Aces who would win their second of back-to-back championships.  

 

Since that loss in the S84 Founder’s Cup Finals, Halifax has not been back, though there has likely never been a better opportunity than the present.  Season 94 saw the Halifax 21st record the 2nd best regular season in the franchise’s history, clinching the team’s third ever Prime Minister’s Cup with 9 games remaining in the season.  It’s been an exceptional run of form for the 21st, though their sights are locked on the elusive prize that has escaped their grasp since the team was first conceived.  Though the team finished the regular season with an impressive 58-9-5 record and 121 points, clinching the Prime Minister’s Cup will mean very little to this group if they are unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs in the first round like that incredible S74 team.  Losing in the finals for the 5th time in team history won’t provide much consolation either.  After 32 seasons, there is no better time or opportunity than the present for the Halifax 21st to finally claim the Founder’s Cup.  Doing so, however, will be no easy feat.  

 

And here is where we return to Leviathan.  For a team that affectionately calls itself the “BOAT GANG”, an insurmountably large sea-demon of chaos and envy seems the perfect foil.  Some have their inner demons, but Halifax has Leviathan.  Not once have the 21st completed that perilous journey that ends with the Founder’s Cup raised in triumph.  At each time of asking, the ship has been capsized and a familiar adversary rears its ugly head, relishing in another Halifax defeat.   

 

What makes this time any different?  How will this Season 94 team overcome the challenge that no previous Halifax team could?  Those questions will surely need answering as the playoff voyage begins and the team sets out to capture its white whale.  

 

“Walls were invented simply to frustrate scientists. All walls should be banned.” Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

 

(above) The BOAT GANG about to get sunk...

 

With 11 of the team’s 13 roster players at the VHLM’s 200 TPE cap, the Season 94 Halifax 21st certainly have the roster to slay the great beast once and for all.  In the regular season, Halifax had 4 of the league’s top 10 points scorers.  Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda and Meghan Dancalot @diacope led the way with 114 and 106 points respectively while Anthony Simmons II @Starchychaff and Ty Duke @TheDuke both finished just shy of the century mark with 97 each.  After that top four, however, the team boasted 3 other point-per-game players in Dorji Khan @Oddpurplefly (83), Dustin Moore @Maxx (81), and Aanarsi Reingaard @Laine (73), with Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL coming in just shy with 71 points in 72 games.  If you’re counting, that’s an incredible 8 players at or near a point per game!  And it’s not like the other three roster players were along for the ride.  Mathias Gunnarsson @ThatCanadian recorded 49 points, as did Blaze Thunderstrike @eaglesfan036 but in 66 games.  Finally, the team’s only waiver pickup, Bret Weier @Quanack, has been steadily growing all season and collected 23 points in 70 games. Weier has become a much more important player for the team down the stretch though with his much improved defensive and skating ability and figures to be a top pick in the next VHLM draft.

 

Between the pipes, Jon Webber III @Webberj has made his case to earn the league’s top goaltending honor this season, leading all regular starters with a 50-7-4 record, .914 SV%, 1.72 GAA, and 11 shutouts. In the process, Webber set new franchise goaltending records (to be covered in a future article) including a new franchise goalie win record of 91.  Recently reacquired Kendra Cavill @Firekiss has also been exceptional for Halifax down the stretch and has provided Webber III with some hard earned rest as he gears up for the postseason.  With 7 starts since her Halifax homecoming, Cavill owns a 4-2-1 record with a .911 SV%, a 1.66 GAA, and 1 shutout.  The goalies this season have played a huge factor in Halifax’s league-low 127 goals against, and the team has provided their share of goal support with a league high 277 goals for, combining for the league’s best goal differential of +150.

 

All of the stats in the world won’t mean anything, however, if the 21st can’t figure out how to win in the playoffs and there’s no reason to assume any postseason matchup will be an easy one.  In the first round, Halifax will take on the Philadelphia Reapers who have given the 21st some very close games down the stretch.  While Halifax should have the edge in this series, Philly should definitely not be counted out– nor should any team based on Halifax’s past playoff defeats.   

 

While the team has much to be proud of, entering the playoffs as the top seed with the league’s best record by some margin, they remain an underdog in this fight for postseason supremacy as the pressure to win this season affects no other team the same way.  With history against them, Halifax will have to write a new chapter that ends with the team finally slaying Leviathan and hoisting the league trophy for the first time ever.  It’s not an impossibility, perhaps not even an improbability, but it is far from a certainty and the most fearsome fight is still ahead.  Game 1 of the first round begins tonight and many eyes will be on the 21st to see how they turn up– eyes above, and below…        

Yes, I know, this one creeps me out too... Bob, help!

 

 

༻❁༺

Lauren Lambert for Halfaxa Press

1900+ words

1st claim - 07/14/2024

Edited July 5 by LucyXpher

[Starchychaff 51]

Slay the Beast

[Oddpurplefly 166]

2 hours ago, LucyXpher said:

 

 

 

Bob knows best great article!

[LucyXpher 1,585]

3 minutes ago, Oddpurplefly said:

Bob knows best great article!

Thank you! In Bob we trust!  I totally thought of you when I was writing that part lol

[diacope 1,696]

rawr  

 

Little bit of a stretch from my imagination of our team ️ but you put in the work, major respect! We do have an enormous amount of activity, fearless shooters and plenty of bright colour, ok, ok, maybe this is starting to sink in more  

 

Think I may have to start drinking straight from the bottle too  

 

 

Edited July 6 by diacope

[LucyXpher 1,585]

4 hours ago, diacope said:

ok, ok, maybe this is starting to sink in more  

 

Think I may have to start drinking straight from the bottle too  

 

 

Sink in… I see what you did there

 

lol I have no idea what you’re talking about…

 

[diacope 1,696]

1 hour ago, LucyXpher said:

Sink in… I see what you did there

 

lol I have no idea what you’re talking about…

 

 

Hahahahaha I don't actually drink; I haven't in years; sometimes my comments sound like I'm drunk though and don't make much; I'll be honest, this was totally an extension of that; got a little lucky in smoove waters everybody always said I was a functioning alcoholic  

[LucyXpher 1,585]

2nd claim - 07/21/2024

[LucyXpher 1,585]

3rd claim - 7/28/2024