VHL This Week (January 18, 2015)

[Ninetyfourgoalie 168]

VHL This Week

Season 41 Edition 7

 

Welcome to the seventh edition of Season 41's VHL This Week!  These past seven days have been turbulent, to say the least.  Victor has stepped down as commissioner, we did not have a sim for a total of four days, and Cologne and Helsinki have made GM changes.  Nonetheless, we're back to business with just six games before the playoffs.  Five teams have clinched playoff berths, the Americans clinching the North American Conference title, while the Legion are still alive as they fight to overcome a now eight point deficit to the Wranglers.  Unlikely but stranger things have happened and it will certainly make for an exciting storyline over the next few days.

Announcements

Although it's already been mentioned, the league has experienced significant turnover this week.  Victor has stepped down as well as STZ and RomanesEuntDomus, GMs of the Helsinki Titans and Cologne Express, respectively.  Taking over for the Titans will be Draper while Devise22 will grab the reigns for the Express.

The writing ranks competition has been whittled down to four competitors!  Round 3 will feature Noah!! vs. YEAH! and Doomsday vs. Green in what is sure to produce even more great writing!  Submissions should be revealed in the coming days.

 

Make sure to check out Edition 224 of the VHL Magazine!

 

The Super Cup will take place at the end of this season!  The competition will feature players from around the VHL and VHLM competing in a fantasy-style competition that will be sure to add some excitement to this off-season.

Game Discussion
 

With so much on the line right now for the five teams still fighting for the playoffs or better position, I will solely focus on them as we take a look at the best games of this past week.

 

First we have an exciting game between the Reign and Meute.  This one was destined to be a great one before the first drop of the puck as these are two of the best teams in the league.  The game started out very tightly with each team doing their best to make sure they would not be scored on first.  It took just over fifteen minutes after an interference call against Tony Stark.  The Reign made excellent use of their first powerplay of the game as they would cycle the puck around the offensive zone for just under a minute before Robin Gow found the back of the net to give Riga the early lead.  Appearing to grab momentum, the Reign started to control play in the second period before Robert Gow III gave them a commanding 2-0 lead midway through the game.  While it appeared to take the Meute some time to realize the urgency of the game, Dexter Morgan was able to rifle one past Mike Szatkowski Jr. to cut Riga's lead in half just a minute before the period ended.  Not willing to take their time, Quebec City came out hungry in the third as Jakob Linholm scored his 30th over the season to tie the game at 2-2, a score that would last through regulation.  But once overtime began, the Meute took no time to hand the Reign a loss as Rami Jakobssen scored the gamewinner off a juicy rebound.

 

This next matchup was between the two teams entrenched in the tightest battle in the league - the Titans and Express.  Both teams came out ready to go, fighting hard early, setting the tone for a great game.  But the Express fell victim to their backup goalie as Don Draper put Helsinki up by one halfway through the period.  Just a few minutes later, Chris Raymond extended their lead on a perfectly placed shot off the offensive zone faceoff, digging a hole for Cologne quickly.  The Express staved off the Helsinki attack for the rest of the period but were not feeling good about a two goal deficit after the first period.  Something the coach said in the locker room must have fired them up as the Express came out firing on all cylinders in the second, giving the Titans no room to make anything happen.  Although it took time, Cologne finally got on the board with a Logan Laich powerplay goal thirteen minutes into the second.  Just four minutes later, Andrey Zadorov blasted one home to tie the game up and help the Express head into the third all tied up.  Just a minute into the third period, the Express got their break and took the lead after Godavari Yumalatopinto retrieved a blocked shot and put it past Kimmo Salo.  Although the Titans managed to put up a strong fight, they couldn't muster up any more offense and the 3-2 score would hold up as the final, giving the Express a much needed regulation win over their conference rival.

 

TPE Earning

Head to the VHL Magazine, where all you have to do is select a series of numbers to win free player store cash or TPE! More details can be found in the magazine and make sure to check back each week to see if you've won!

Be sure to keep your eyes on the VHL Fantasy Zone, where you can earn uncapped points for correctly predicting the winners and score of selected games. Make your guesses for week five's Pickem and Predict the Score tasks!

[Frank 5,195]

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