Banack's Articles

Banackock · March 22, 2015

The title speaks for itself and so do the Brampton Blades when it comes to being impressive. Prior to the regular season, they had a successful draft which was followed by a top free agent signing when they picked up Blake Campbell. They've built a great team in Brampton and the guys they added to the roster have executed extremely. They've seen great success this season already and we're just shy of the 75% mark of the season (25% games left). Who are those most responsible for the success that Brampton has had this season? Who are the players who've truly stepped up their game? Both those questions and more will be answered NOW!

Brampton Blades Review

Team/Player Statistics

Team Statistics

W: 46

L: 6

OTL: 1

PTS: 93

GF: 303

GA: 118

L10: 9-1-0

Brampton's Top 5 offensive players

1. Sam Teibert - C - 53 GP, 55 G, 89 A, 144 PTS

2. Travis Willcox - RW - 53 GP, 62 G, 64 A, 126 PTS

3. E'Twaun Delicious - RW - 53 GP, 50 G, 49 A, 99 PTS

4. Danny Schneider - D - 53 GP, 18 G, 79 A, 97 PTS

5. Valentin Taneyev - LW - 53 GP, 33 G, 44 A, 77 PTS

Bramptons Goalie Statistics

1. Blake Campbell - G - 53 GP, 46 W - 6 L - 1 OTL - .904% - 2.23 GAA - 5 SO

They just ended a 23 game winning streak by falling 4-3 to the Storm, but they show no signs of slowing down or falling apart. Brampton has been one of the best teams this season at finding overall consistency and has largely been an offensive powerhouse. With Sam Teibert having a 3 pt lead on 2nd places Kyle Kingma for the scoring race so far, Brampton has also seen great play from the majority of the line up. Defensemen Danny Schneider is having a very strong season as he's carrying a huge offensive load for the Blades blue line which in return can make up for Blake Campbell's mediocre play.

Team Report Card

Forwards: A +

Not much of an explanation is needed here. What is one of Brampton's best, if not greatest, reasoning for their success? It's fairly simple really. They've scored the most goals in the VHLM by quite a large amount (303 GF - 33 more than the Storm's 270) and have the 2nd best powerplay in the league (30.67% - 1st place Storm - 31.16%). Not to mention they got Sam Teibert suiting up for them each and every night. He's their best player, or atleast forward, and is a huge reason as to why the Brampton Blades keep on rolling to the finish line. He leads the league with 144 points and is determined to win both titles this season.

Defense: B+

Brampton's defense has been good this season, but is nowhere near as impressive as their forwards were. Danny Schneider is one of the best players on the team along with Forward Sam Teibert, and is one of Brampton's hidden offensive weapons. He's managed 97 points so far this season throughout 53 games played and is the anchor to the blueline. He arguably is Brampton's blueline but that seems to be okay with him as there hasn't been too many problems this year and they've managed to keep the puck out of the net. We're not saying Brampton doesn't have other nice pieces on defense because they do. It's just that Schneider has really put on a show thus far for Brampton.

Goalie: B

He's playing all the games and getting the W's so that's all that matters... right? Sure, but Blake Campbell's play could be better. It's quite the accomplishment to go 46-6-1 during your first 53 games, but you have to look at the goalie and then also the team with the goalie. When we look at the team, it's a contender. They have strong pieces and are scoring goals because of some nice chemistry. When you look at Campbell as an individual player, he's been very mediocre. His wins compared to losses is a very attractive stat but we feel his other stats could have potentially been stronger and more consistent. Reasoning could be focusing in the wrong areas to train for juniors or poor luck. Whatever it may be, hopefully he sharpens his game some more prior to playoffs.

Team Overall Grade: A-

Although their goaltending has been just above average, it really doesn't matter right now. The team is strong enough to keep on rolling with the punches and make their way towards the playoffs. As they've gone on so far this season, they've continuously witnessed improvements in all areas and are finding success and efficiently during practice and games. Some may think that B+ may have been more fitting, but a record of 46-6-1 isn't much of a B+ record (nor is their league leading 303 GF).

Banackock · March 27, 2015

Title: Oslo Storm Review

Right now in the VHLM it's safe to say that there's arguably three teams that stand out this season. You got the Brampton Blades and Minot Gladiators from the North American Conference and the Oslo Storm from the European conference. Although by looking at the statistics (Goals For, Goals Against, overall Wins) you can see which conference is a little more difficult to play in (North America). We covered the Brampton Blades last week and this week we get to do the opponent in this classic "King of the Hill" type battle, the Oslo Storm. Each team has held first place in the VHLM for a respected amount of time and with 11 games left for both teams, things are going to get pretty interesting. With 108 points each in the standings and the finish line in sight, who will win the final dash? Let's see what the Oslo Storm got.

Oslo Storm Review

Team/Player Statistics

Team Statistics

W: 53

L: 6

OTL: 2

PTS: 108

GF: 324

GA: 137

PP%: 30.97%

PK%: 88.00%

L10: 10-0-0

Oslo's Top 5 offensive players

1. Kyle Kingma - RW - 61 GP, 97 G, 69 A, 166 PTS

2. Patrick Demko - D - 61 GP, 47 G, 107 A, 154 PTS

3. Maris Ziedins - LW - 61 GP, 65 G, 64 A, 128 PTS

4. Prince Gigga-Bijou - RW - 61 GP, 44 G, 76 A, 120 PTS

5. Theo Matsikas - D - 61 GP, 21 G, 78 A, 99 PTS

Oslo's Goalie Statistics

1. Coca Cola - G - 61 GP, 53 W - 6 L - 2 OTL - .923% - 2.23 GAA - 9 SO

The Oslo Storm and the Brampton Blades have been in a constant battle for first place for the entire season. At the start of the season, Oslo was the team on top and lately it's been the Blades but with the last 11 games to go, they're in a tie. Both have been playing strong, but Oslo has once again turned on the gas. They've won their last 11 games and their last 14 of 15 games and are extremely hot. They're putting the pressure on Brampton because with a limited amount of games left, each game is crucial and one little slip can cost you a whole lot. Oslo's been playing top notch hockey as of late and have seen great play from all areas of their roster. It's going to be an epic battle to the end to see who is crowned the regular season champions and we can promise you it's going to be a good one. .

Team Report Card

Forwards: A-

Their top 5 scorers average better than every single team except for the Brampton Blades. Last week, the Blades received an A+ with the Oslo Storm earning a score of A- but let's not take away from the fact that they're still good and there's nothing wrong with second. Not only did the Storm grab hold of the lead for the team standings, but Kyle Kingma (right wing) also stole the lead from Blades Sam Teibert for the scoring title. Their wingers have been superb for them, leading the way on the forward side of things. Centermen, although winning huge draws seeing C Baumann at 66.69%, they've struggled to help contribute when it comes to points. Nonetheless, they're still pitching in and getting the job done.

Defense: A-

Oslo's defense is better than the Brampton Blades by a bit. With Patrick Demko and Theo Matsikas leading the way from the back end, they come together to make a tricky duo to play against. Both have put up exceptional numbers this season when it comes to Points, Shots Blocked etc and are a huge contributor to the teams high level of play. Demko has 154 points through 61 games meaning he's only 12 points away from the lead. That damn good for someone who isn't a forward. The Storm need them to continue this level of play if they wish to do well come playoff time.

Goalie: A-

Just like Brampton Blades goalie Blake Campbell, Coca Cola gets all the starts in Oslo and we think it's safe to say that he is the reason the Storm have seen such great success this season. Say what you want, but you're wrong and here's why. Cola (Storm) and Campbell (Blades) have matching records of 53-6-2 to lead the entire league in what we like to call the most attractive record contests (they also are leading in wins, obviously). However, when it comes between the two goalies, you just have to give it to Cola right now. His save percentage is superb at .923%, his GAA is good enough for 2nd place at 2.23 and he's got a league leading 9 shutouts on the season. He's unstoppable and he's the biggest reason the Storm shut down their opponents 86.89% of the time so far this season.

Team Overall Grade: A-

Their forward have been good, their defense has been good and their goaltending has been phenomenal and that's probably being modest too. They've had multiple large winning streaks, have been near or in first place for the entire season and is the team that's in the best position in the European conference. If they keep playing like this (great goaltending, best PP/PK numbers etc), then they're likely the biggest contenders when it comes to a championship as well. Only time will tell, but I can honestly tell you they're up for the challenge, Brampton.

Banackock · April 5, 2015

Gladiators Vs Lynx Series Preview

Is there any better way to start these playoffs than with the current matchups we got right now? On one side of the table you got the Royals and Red Wolves fighting it out to see who gets the honor to battle the mighty European conference regular season champions, the Oslo Storm. As exciting as you think it may be, the Gladiators/Lynx will be the series to watch. All season, the Gladiators have been sitting in either first place or second place and have been in a constant fire fight with the Brampton Blades for first place. They finished the season with a 53-17-2 record which looks much stronger than Ottawa's 42-28-2. In almost every category the Gladiators have shut out and shut down their opponents chances of winning the series when you look at their seasonal stats and we expect them to do the same this series. Let's crack down the stats and see what we got for this first round matchup!

Series Analysis

Minot Gladiators Season Stats

W: 53

L: 17

OTL: 2

PTS: 108

GF/GA: 320/180

PP: 22.30%

PK: 80.43%

Minot's Top Players

1. Vogon Jeltz - 72 GP, 125 G, 45 A, 173 PTS

2. Jack Ryan - 72 GP, 15 G, 145 A, 160 PTS

3. Jacques Grande - 72 GP, 46 G, 41 A, 87 PTS

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G. Hans Winsgate - 72 GP, 53 W, 17 L, 2 OTL, .914sv% -- 2.47 GAA

Ottawa Lynx Season Stats

W: 42

L: 28

OTL: 2

PTS: 88

GF/GA: 276/257

PP: 24.23%

PK: 75.56%

Ottawa's Top Players

1. Pablo Escobar - 72 GP, 32 G, 87 A, 119 PTS

2. Thomas Duddy - 72 GP, 65 G, 52 A, 117 PTS

3. Hunter Backenbauer - 72 GP, 39 G, 69 A, 108 PTS

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G. Roland Rengel - 45 GP, 28 W, 15 L, 2 OTL, .873 sv% --3.30 GAA

Gladiators VS Lynx season series (GF/GA): 7-1-1 (44/25)

Lynx Vs Gladiators season series (GF/GA): 1-7-1 (25/44)

During the regular season, it was very evident who was the top team when it came to the first round matchups Ottawa Lynx and the Minot Gladiators. The Gladiators pretty much used their opponents as a punching bag to prepare themselves for the playoffs as they took the season series in excellent fashion (7-1-1) and out scoring them handsomely in the process (44 - 25). When you look at both teams rosters, there's one thing you notice and it's that the teams both aren't that far apart. The Lynx you could say are more deep up front while where the Gladiators lack, Hans Winsgate makes up for more than enough in between the pipes. Ottawa has the ability and talent to potentially spoil Minot's fun and chances at a second round matchup VS Brampton, but we feel this one won't go too far along in the series. Here's our 3 contributing factors to that reason.

Series BIG Factors

1. Hans Winsgate

If not for Hans Winsgate, the Minot Gladiators may not have had the season they did. He played incredibly strong while posting some very impressive numbers backed up by nice, consistent play throughout the entire season. He could be, should be and likely will be the reason this game doesn't go too far into the series. When he's on fire, he's one of the hottest goalies in the league. As for Ottawa's goalie, let's hope he just takes notes.

2. Vogon Jeltz

He led the entire league in goals scored and was 4th for points throughout the duration of the season. It's safe to say he's one of the leagues top talents, best snipers and biggest threats in this series. If you're Hans Winsgate looking up the ice, you got to feel pretty happy to know you have the league's goal scoring champion on your team. Ottawa, you need to control him - shut him down- or he'll shut you down.

3. If history repeats itself..

If history repeats itself we're going to see exactly what happened in the regular season and that was the Gladiators annihilating the Ottawa Lynx. They did it in the season and looked amazing doing it. 7-1-1 is no joke but the question is can they repeat their effort and drive come playoff time? We think so.

I think it's safe to say that this one is going to go quicker than the other ones. Although looking at the rosters on paper they look fairly even, the gap between goalie skill levels is just too large and is one of the biggest factors that Minot will out play Ottawa. Hans Winsgate has been strong all season long, especially against the Lynx, and we don't think he's about to let that pattern stop just right now. Minot also has regular season scoring champ Vogon Jeltz and we think he's going to heavily exploit the fact that the Lynx's goaltending is much more weak.

Series Prediction

4-1 :min:

Banackock · April 15, 2015

Brampton Blades/Oslo Storm Series Prediction

Firstly, I'd like to start off by saying congratulations to the Brampton Blades and the Oslo Storm for successfully advancing to the VHLM championship finals. After a long 72 game regular season and a great effort by both teams in the second round, you finally get to see the matchup we've all been waiting for. Well done by the players and General Managers of each team! Some may have had their doubts, but the majority had a feeling this is how it would end up and honestly, you couldn't ask for much more in a series. Although much of the season is behind them, their biggest games are left remaining and to make things betters, it's against two huge seasonal rivals. Who comes out victorious? Who gets the last laugh in what's to be an epic series and rivalry? Without further delay, let's take a stab and crown an early champion.

Brampton Blades Playoff Review/Team Analysis

Playoff Statistics

W: 4

L: 2

OTL: 0

GF/GA: 18/10

PP: 18.18%

PK: 81.48%

Bramptons Top Players

1. E'Twaun Delicious - RW - 6 GP - 7 G, 2 A, 9 PTS

2. Sam Teibert - C - 6 GP - 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS

3. Danny Schneider - D - 6 GP - 0 G, 7 A, 7 PTS

G. Blake Campbell - 6 GP - 4 W - 2 L --1.67 GAA - .899 SV%

We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. They've had their number for a large portion of the season and although only a small gap separated them for the majority of the regular season in points, we had a strong feeling that this one would go a certain way. The Brampton Blades left the ice the other night as the North American champions and are now off to face the Oslo Storm in what should be a great battle for the VHLM championship. During the round 2 action, Minot managed to put up a respectable effort against Brampton, taking 2 games but simply falling short to a strong team. Of course, one can say that Brampton was well rested as the Gladiators had faced off against the Lynx in round one, but they also executed a much more strong, consistent game. With exceptional efforts from their entire roster, along with a killer Penalty Kill of 90.48%, Brampton was the deserving team. Question is, can they do it again against the one team they haven't been the strongest against this year? The Oslo Storm.

Oslo Storm Playoff Review/Team Analysis

Playoff Statistics

W: 4

L: 0

OTL: 0

GF/GA: 19/10

PP: 29.63%

PK: 73.33%

Oslo's Top Players

1. Kyle Kingma (RW) - 4 GP - 6 G, 6 A, 12 PTS

2. Patrick Demko (D) - 4 GP - 3 G, 9 A, 12 PTS

3. Maris Ziedins (LW) - 4 GP - 3 G, 5 A, 8 PTS

G. Coca Cola (G) - 4 GP - 4 W - 0 L - 2.50 GAA -- .923 SV%

The Storm's series went much like the Gladiators/Blades series did and that's simply put as "one way" for the most part. Only difference in this series is that Coca Cola and the Oslo Storm managed to shut down, shut up and shut out their opponents 4 games straight to waltz their way onto the VHLM Finals while barely breaking a sweat. However, let's be honest. This is something we expected. We expected to see Oslo's top guns perform and control the series and they did. We expected Cola to stand on his head and give it his all and he did. The Storm pounded the Royals, outscoring them 19-10 (4.75 GFA/2.5 GAA) while seeing 4 of their players take off on an offensive rush. Kyle Kingma leads the rush and is currently sitting 2nd place in league scoring, 2 behind eliminated Gladiators forward Vogon Jeltz. Let's keep in mind his point per game average is sitting right at 3.0 ppg. This type of player is a perfect example of how a champion should perform. However, a champion also means being consistent and strong right til the end. Can the Oslo Storm out play and out last their opponents, the Brampton Blades?

VHLM Finals Preview and Prediction

My friends, you can finally exhale because the long wait is officially over. They fought the entire regular season for first place in the entire VHLM while recreating and igniting a strong, intense rivalry and now they meet in the finals for one last "hoorah". When you look at their rosters on paper, along with their postseason statistics thus far, you can say with confidence that these two teams are fairly equal. Of course, both teams respectably have certain advantages as opposed to the other when it comes to certain things and they look to capitalize on this but they also have disadvantages and their opponent looks to exploit them. At both ends, two strong goalies cast their shadows within the crease, plotting an end to their opponents season. On the benches, both sides have numerous weapons just waiting to jump on opportunities. So in other words, buckle up because it's going to be a good one.

What will determine the series?

1. Can each teams top guns continue their offensive success? Can they continue to receive good depth contributions?

Both these teams have had one thing on their mind since the beginning of the season. They knew they had it in them, they just needed to go out there and actually do it. So far in the playoffs, both teams have seen excellent scoring from their top players but have also seen great depth scoring and efforts from those with lesser roles. This series is all about out playing, obviously, but also about outlasting. Both teams have the fire power to dismantle their opponent but they also have the goaltending to prevent that from happening. Whoever finds a way to keep this success rolling, wins the series.

2. Coca Cola VS Blake Campbell

Both goalies have played amazing since the beginning of the season but we'd give Cola the edge when it comes to who is a little more sharper. All season long he has managed to out perform his opponents and has been the biggest factor as to why Oslo found such strong success up until now. Campbell on the other hand, has had a little more help from his teammates up front. Just because of this doesn't mean the "best" goalie is going to win the cup though. It's not even about who can outshine the other guy at the other end of the ice. Good goalies lose too but you are going to need the better guy on your side to have a better shot at the cup.

3. Special Teams

We got a feeling that special teams is going to be a big one this series. Oslo has been fairly strong on the PP while lacking such results when it comes to the PK. Brampton on the other hand is the opposite. Strong on the PK, weaker on the PP. Coaching staff will need to take this into consideration prior to gametime. Oslo needs to either take less penalties or get their Penalty Killers on their game and Brampton needs to find more consistency when it comes to being a man up.

Players to watch?

Kyle Kingma and E'Twaun Delicious

Kingma has been a beast this postseason for the Storm as he leads the way for his club with 12 points in 4 games. Why would he not try and continue his explosive play? Stupid question, he will. He's fully capable of lighting up Blake Campbell but will he? As for Delicious, 7 goals in 6 games played leads the Blades for goals scored and looks to pound shots left and right at Cola to find his weakness. Again, does he have one though? Best of luck to both players.

Series Prediction

It's likely the toughest series to predict out of all the ones we've seen. It literally could go either way and that's what makes it much more exciting for the fans, players and management personnel. At the end of the day, we all know both teams got the power to do it and we've seen both explode and run over their opponents multiple times. It's been a heated battle but let me tell you, the flames still only growing. When it comes to who actually wins though, we're giving it to the Brampton Blades. As always, we could be wrong and expect a hell of a series from both sides. Best of luck to those on Brampton and Oslo!

4-2 :brm:

Banackock · April 19, 2015

A Champion is Crowned

You could feel it in the locker room after the game, hear it in the stands and see it on their faces. The excitement, the sense of pride and accomplishment was real for one team and at the other end, not so much. There, the Oslo Storm congratulated their net minder on a good performance, hung their heads in disappointment and disbelief and waited for the traditional after series hand shaking between the winner and the loser. Afterwards, they skated off the ice as their season was officially over and out came the Founders Cup. After a long, hard fought and well deserved 72 game regular season and postseason, a champion had finally been crowned.

The fans stood on their feet, roaring loudly and chanting "Brampton, Brampton, Brampton". The excitement was almost too much and could be heard from blocks away as numerous 9-1-1 calls were made from a local old folks home with complaints of the noise. "Maybe they should have turned down their hearing aids" joked Blades goalie Blake Campbell "The feeling in the building was intense and just so mind blowing. It's one thing to win the championship but the atmosphere.. It seemed like an amazing dream". Then, just like that, someone pinched him and he woke up from the dream to witness his captain, Bronson Faux, hoisting the cup over his head.

As he skated around the ice lifting the cup up and down, giving it the odd romantic kiss, he then passed it on Golden Jedtsson who played a good role in the teams victory. With the biggest smile on his face, he speed skated all the way down to the other end of the ice, dropped to his knees and played the trophy as if it were an air guitar competition. If it were a competition for celebrations, he would have won but for his real celebration, he's taking the cup home to mom and dad. "I'm going to bring the cup back home to Gothenburg." He said happily while gleaming ear to ear, "I think my parents will be pleased to see me having success overseas and it's going to be fun to head home for the off-season until the draft date is set".

Whenever a usual winner is crowned in a majority of professional sports, you always hear them say they're celebrating by "going to Disneyland". For the Blades, Disneyland is far off the maps. "I'm going to Krispy Kreme" said E'twaun Delicious, who obviously has big plans for the teams after party. "We have a great group of talent on the team, a bunch of players worth fighting for, and that we could win the cup with so many players on the team going to the VHL next season is huge for us. It's time to let loose and enjoy it". Which is true. A lot of the Blades players are heading off into the sunset having this be their final season in the VHLM.

For some it was their first and last journey with the Brampton Blades. For others, like General Manager tfong, it's been a long, patient wait to get to this stage. After many seasons of carefully constructing a true contending team that would find success each season, it's safe to say his hard work has finally paid off for him. "Feels great, I've been constructing the team over a number of years and this was the culmination of patience and long term planning." He said, "The guys played well and deserved a great ending, for most of them this is the last game they play in the VHLM so this will be their graduation gift". What a gift it is, too!

Just like that, the season has come and gone but what an exciting one it was. You could not have asked for a better way to end out the postseason. Congratulations to the Brampton Blades on the Founders cup victory and the Oslo Storm on making it all the way here. Although a loss, your season is nothing short of great, full of many accomplishments, great players and people. To those who have followed the VHLM Magazine throughout the season, thank you for your support, interest and huge role in something we enjoy doing for you all. Now, onto the offseason. Until then, stay classy, VHLM!

Banackock · April 22, 2015

Title: This Day in History: April 27th

What's so special about today? It's a Monday. It's the most hated day of the week by every single person around the globe unless they just so happen to be on something. If that's the case, everyday's probably a good day. It's the first day of the week where your alarm clock greets you with that disastrous cry, reminding you that you have 15 minutes to sh*t, shower, shave and eat or else you're gonna be late for work. It's also the off season and you're starting to get fat. However, it's also April 27th. Exactly a year ago to this day we witnessed complete domination which led to a 4-0 series sweep, a quick ticket to the S37 VHLM finals and an eventual Founders Cup victory. 365 days ago, we witnessed history. Let's rewind and take a look back!

April 27th, 2014 - VHLM

It's the second round of the S37 VHLM postseason and the series is already favoring one team heavily. Coming into the series, the odds were looking good for the Yukon Rush as they dominated the regular season with a record of 64-8-0, compared to their opponents finding a much more tame result of 48-20-4 during the year. Their opponent? The Minot Gladiators. When you looked at the two teams rosters, there was one thing that was fairly evident and it was who the better team was. The Yukon Rush had likely the strongest goalie at the time in Kimmo Salo, had much more stronger depth within their core of forwards and defensemen and had explosive seasons from multiple of their players. Minot? They had a few good players but nothing compared to what was on the other bench. With an overtime loss in game one, followed by a complete slaughter in game two by a score of 7-4, the Minot Gladiators found themselves down and out against the powerhouse Yukon Rush. With everyone betting against them and the pressure on more than ever, April 27th seen a two game sim for Game 3 and Game 4 which decided the fate of one team. This, of course, ultimately leading to their S37 Founder Cup victory.

Game 3 - 2-0 Yukon Rush - Yukon Rush @ Minot Gladiators

The fans knew if there was one thing they could do to pump up their boys, give them the confidence and the momentum they need, what better way than reminding Yukon they're not on home soil. With a full house and one of the strongest, supportive fan bases in the VHLM, the roof practically came off the place. With the drop of the puck, the game began with both teams coming out of the gates equally strong. With great efforts from both sides, which included a goal each (Bruno Wolf for Minot, Queen Latifa for Yukon), they headed into the 2nd period of play. This period didn't go the way the fans or players for Minot had wished. The Rush came out of the first intermission on fire, throwing shot after shot at the young Minot goaltender. After another 20 minutes, the Rush doubled their first period amount for shots getting 18 in the period. Of those 18 goals, one found it's way into the back of the net giving Yukon a one goal lead heading into the 3rd period. Things returned to normal and the Rush cooled off quite a bit, as the Gladiators outshot them in the final frame 9-7. Although outshot, they were not outscored during the final 20 minutes. Queen Latifah passed to Konstantin Azhishchenkov to get an assist, notching her 3rd point of the game and contributing on each of the teams goals. As the time dwindled down, the fans did not. Right up until the very end, the fans cheered on their team in hopes of a late game comeback. The Gladiators fell in battle to the Rush for the 3rd straight game, putting them down 3-0 in the series with one life left to spare.

Game 4 - 3-0 Yukon Rush - Yukon Rush @ Minot Gladiators

With their backs against the wall, Minot felt the pressure heading into game 4. Once again on enemy territory, the Yukon Rush looked to sweep their opponents in the series and head onto the VHLM Finals. The atmosphere was a different one compared to the game prior in Minot. You could tell the fans were on edge and were hanging on for dear life, just like their team in the series. Oddly enough, the eery environment in the sold out arena caused the team to jump out on top, seeing Leskowsky find his 5th and 6th of the postseason and Barrett scoring his first. With a strong 3 goal period, Minot was showing life. They continued to show life until they stepped back out onto the ice for the 2nd period. During the next 40 minutes of play (2nd/3rd period), Minot managed just 2 shots on goal. As Gretzky said, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" and the Gladiators didn't take anything. With the game tied 3-3 in the third period, with under 4 minutes played in the 3rd, the Rush found themselves one man up and on a fast break. Hallstrom carried the puck over the Gladiator's blueline and down the wing, dishing it to Don Draper all alone in front. With a quick deke to the forehand, he sent the goalie sliding and quickly passed it to Frederik Ernst, who tapped it in. The Rush managed to out play Minot the rest of the game to win it 4-3.

With a huge comeback in the final game against the Minot Gladiators, the Rush won the series in four straight and went on the play the Bern Royals in the Finals. Concluding the playoffs, this domination against the Gladiators last April 27th was a huge stepping stone towards eventually defeating the Royals in 6 games to win the cup.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Banackock

Banackock · May 4, 2015

Could we see a potential repeat?

I'm sure they still remember the moment the clock reached the final minute of the game and the count down had finally begun. The building was erupting with emotion as the time slowly dwindled down to zero. With three seconds left the fans shouted "3, 2, 1" and the roof literally almost came as the fans let out a huge roar as their team had officially conquered the long journey and were crowned the Season 42 Founders Cup Champions. The Brampton Blades look a lot different than they do last team, but one thing is still the same. They're tough, they got loads of talent, have a confident - great goalie in net and are once again contenders for this seasons championship. Also along for the ride are a few familiar faces from last season in Sam Teibert, Valentin Taneyev, Travis Willcox, Larry Esposito and Golden Jedtsson. Another face, who although new to the Brampton Blades locker room but was one of their opponents in the finals, Coca Cola, has now taken the reigns for Blake Campbell in net and looks to once again drive the team towards the holy land. With everyones eyes on the defending Founders Cup Champions, will they be able to live up to the pressure and make another rush for the final prize? Here's our reasons as to why we think it's more than possible.

Upfront Roster

Firstly, the team lost a fair amount of fire power up front, as well as one of their strongest defensemen in Danny Schneider. The Locker Room this season in Brampton is surely different than the one we saw last year, and although it may be not as strong, they have the weapons to still get the job down. The Brampton Blades are lucky enough to have 5 of their players returning for Season 43 and one of those guys are last seasons leading scorer Sam Teibert. This guy was one of the biggest reasons the team made the push it did last season and it's safe to say he's also one of the biggest pieces to this years team. With 15 goals, 23 assists for 38 points in 12 games, he's once again leading the entire league for points early on in the season and looks to continue his junior career success. Behind him on the Blades scoring board, Taneyev, Willcox and Jedtsson follow with 34, 23 and 19 points respectively and are showing that they can stick together, overcome the pressure and go for it once again!

Goaltending

The Brampton Blades lose runner up goalie of the year Blake Campbell which surely is disappointing. Campbell was a strong contributor to the teams success and although at times he struggled, his overall wins begged to differ and when they really needed him to play big in the finals, he did more than show up. However, their goaltending situation is more than okay because although they lost a great goalie, they managed to pick on up 6 games into the season from their opponents in last seasons final. Coca Cola, the winner of goalie of the year and likely the biggest reason the Storm managed to make the impressive push they did last season, is now in between the pipes for the Brampton Blades. His numbers were more than amazing last year, going 60-10-2 with a GAA of 2.33 and a save percentage of .921. For this years play, he had struggled off the start due to a very weak Oslo Storm's roster (0-6-0), but has once again bounced back going 5-1-0 for the Blades so far and is managing to rock a GAA of 1.50. It seems as though he was the piece the Blades were missing this season and GM tfong managed to go out and get it. Cola can easily handle the job and pressure but time will tell if each piece the GM brought in will find the greatest success possible in another Founders Cup championship.

Management

With that being said, you should not miss giving credit where credit is largely due. I hate to go off into first person while writing these articles, but this guy deserves every word that's about to be said. I managed to spend a full season with tfong while playing for him during last season and there's a few things I've noticed. Firstly, he's a great guy to be around in the LR (even with how dead the chats make the LR's sometimes). Secondly, he knows what he's doing and I don't mean for just finding chemistry in lines. He doesn't hop into something just to find success for one season. He builds a team, a core system or plan if you will, and sticks to it. He's a smart man who knows what he's doing and he's proved it multiple times throughout his career as Blades GM. Obviously by winning the Founders Cup, but also by bringing in goalie Coca Cola (and those are just 2 of the things he's done). Call it biased or disagree, but if you do, we call you wrong. Tfong is one of the best GM's, if not best GM, currently in the VHLM today and a lot of the success is because of how he runs things.

Conclusion

It's honestly tough to call a champion right out of the gate for numerous reasons. There's always a few teams who could spoil the fun and there's usually two teams battling for the top spot. Last year it was Brampton and Oslo with the Gladiators hot on their tails, and this year so far has a little more involvement from the other teams. Brampton and Bratislava are in a dead heat battle for first with 21 points (Watchmen) and 20 points (Blades), with the Lynx (18) and Royals (19) right behind them. Another reason it;s a little foolish to make early predictions is because it makes you seem like a fool yourself, but that's the fun in it. From North America, we predict Brampton will be the victors. From the European division, it's a tough one to call but we'll give it to the Royals at this point in the season as star players such as Kyle Kingma have been MIA so far this season it seems. As for our Season 43 champ? Brampton.

Banackock · May 12, 2015

Happily Never After

It's honestly quite astonishing how things are able to change so quickly when it comes to Junior hockey teams rosters within the VHLM and other leagues throughout the globe. A very effective comparison is last season's Oslo Storm to this season's Oslo Storm and how they went from a contending finalist to a team that couldn't buy a win no matter the cost. As they rushed out of last season's playoffs, losing to the Brampton Blades in the Founders Cup Finals, off fell their glass slipper onto the ground, shattered and broken. As the clock struck midnight, there was no pumpkin carriage awaiting to take them home in time. No prince came to their rescue and no one ever noticed the broken glass slipper. If anything, it's causing the fans a lot of pain. The best way to put it? Their incredible fairytale season ended up having a "Happily Never After" ending, rather than a "happily ever after".

Bippity-Boppity-Boo, What will Oslo do? Now they suck, they can't keep the puck and the fans are the ones who lose. That's how we believe the song would go if there were one to be written about the Oslo Storm and their poor efforts displayed this season after last years magnificent run. The question is, what's up? Why have the Oslo Storm fallen to such depths that it will likely take quite sometime before we see Oslo jump back into things and eventually contend again? Clearly they've lost some talent which graduated to the VHLM and their roster is hands down the worst in the VHLM right now, but why? Dare we say mismanagement? It could be a whole bunch of things combined and if you give us a little of your time, we'll show you why the the storm clouds rolled away and the sun is now shining in Oslo.

"Where have all the good men gone?"

That title fits this perfectly and it's put in there for two reasons. One, I want to ruin your day in hopes that Bonnie Tyler's song, "I need a hero" gets stuck in your head. Secondly, where have all Oslo's good men gone? (Song in there again? Good.). Well, for starters, Prince Gigga-Bijou and Patrick Demko are now up in the big leagues which was a huge hit to the Storm's organization and roster. Both were key players in the run and contributed huge at both ends of the ice. Edwin Reencarnacion and Kyle Kingma were both dealt to the Bratislav Watchmen, Theo Matsikas, who is now a top defender in the league, got sent to the Ottawa Lynx and goalie of the year winner Coca Cola is now playing for last seasons cup winner and Oslo opponent, the Brampton Blades. So maybe, just maybe the glass slipper didn't fall off by mistake. Looks like Oslo may have thrown their own slipper to the ground, shattering S43 for them in the process. So I guess the question is, why?

Two steps back, Take 5 more back?

They took a few steps back when they lost Demko and Bijou to the VHL. The loss was literally a nuke to their roster and it blew it the F*CK up. However, it's 2 key pieces. Management had a choice to make. Do they go out and find a match that will see them find other pieces to once again try and contend and complete the fairytale, or do they blow it all up in pursuit of a better ending potentially in the future? It's fairly evident and where they are in the standings alone provide me with efficient evidence to say that they were the Hiroshima of the VHLM. I suppose time will tell where the Oslo Storm end up in the next season or two but we know for certain this one is a lost cause. Could it be a Happily Never After, or just a very poor chapter in what's to be a promising finish? I say they have one season left and if nothing changes, this is not a fairytale that you shall read to your children at night. It's the type that will haunt them, make the afraid of the dark and will instill the thought that true success does not exist. Yes, we replaced love for success... because... what is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me.. no more (which song is more stuck in your mind now? *Evil laugh*). Until next time my friends, keep on keepin on. - Banackock

Banackock · May 19, 2015

Battle for First Place: Blades Vs Royals

We just passed the midway point of the season 6 games ago and are now officially onto the final stretch of Season 43. So far this season, I think the fans have a lot to cheer about, especially in one conference. The North American Conference is a lot more tame this season compared to last years Minot Vs Brampton race for first place, as we've seen the battle now move on over to the European side of the game. It could honestly be a toss up between Bratislava and Bern, however, as we speak, there's one clear winner right now and we feel it's the Bern Royals. So with each Conference giving us a fairly good idea of the Finals we may see this year, let's take a look at why they're there and the heated finale we should see for first place this season in the VHLM.

Brampton Blades

Team Statistics

W: 36

L: 4

OTL: 2

PTS: 74

GF/GA: 191/74 (+117)

PP%: 25.47%

PK%: 86.78%

Top 3 Players + Goalie

1. Sam Teibert - 42 GP, 53 G, 48 A, 101 PTS, +56

2. Valentin Taneyev - 42 GP, 39 G, 38 A, 77 PTS, +55

3. Golden Jedtsson - 42 GP, 9 G, 59 A, 68 PTS, +55

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G. Coca Cola - 42 GP, 31 W, 9 L, 2 OTL, .919SV%, 1.84 GAA, 6 SO

Team Review

The Blades are the defending Founder Cup Champions, so they already have a lot of pressure potentially on themselves to give it all they got a find a way to repeat and defend. Thus far, they've done an amazing job in shutting down their opponents and proving to the league that they're more than capable of doing so. They've seen decent depth scoring, even though they've lost and moved some key players to either trade or the big leagues. They're also once again seen great leadership from their management as he's pulled all the right moves to make his team successful now and in the future. Let's take a look at some of their biggest strengths which could see them be crowned the regular season champs.

1. Coca Cola - Goaltending once again strong

This was a no brainer, was it not? Clearly, in our opinion, it should also be first on the list for the Blades simply because he's likely the biggest reason they're kicking some major ass! Yes, they have decent players on the team and yes, their depth scoring has been okay (could be better, way better in my opinion), but it's their goalie that's truly running away with the show right now. If he can continue this, they're going back to back with cup wins!

2. tfong - Management is at it again!

He's made some moves which may have made him a little weaker this year, but stronger in the future. However, he's maintained stability and consistency and is once again at the top of the standings in both his conference and the VHLM. Likely his biggest move this season was bringing in goalie Coca Cola which was needed if he were to be a contending/defending team this season. GM of the year if he repeats, hands down.

3. Sam Teibert - Will he ever die?

He's been on fire since the moment his skates hit the ice in this league and has consistently been Brampton's top point scorer and usually goal scorer. But, he's in active. Regardless, he's a huge piece to the success.

Bern Royals

Team StatistW: 33

L: 6

OTL: 3

PTS: 69

GF/GA: 198/76 (+122)

PP%: 37.18%

PK%: 91.85%

Top 3 Players + Goalies

1. Tim TebowGow - 42 GP, 43 G, 70 A, 113 PTS, +68

2. Josh Merica - 42 GP, 48 G, 45 A, 93 PTS, +67

3. MC Hammer - 42, 18 G, 61 A, 79 PTS, +68

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G. Bernie Gow - 42 GP, 33 W, 6 L, 3 OTL, .900SV%, 1.72 GAA, 9 SO

Team Review

The Bern Royals are this years team to beat within the European conference. Between them and Bratislava, they may not be the top team when it comes to roster depth, but they sure as hell are playing like it. Their depth scoring is stronger than the Blades and they've seen just as much success from the offensive lines and goaltending as the Blades too. As we stated earlier, the European conference will likely see a battle to the end for first place, but we're fairly confident that the Royals will be getting that first round Bye and will meet with Bratislava in Round 2.

1. Depth scoring, check!

The Royals have seen a lot of production from a majority of their players. Every player is playing their role so far this year and have executed to a tee. The big guns are rolling, the secondary are firing and the others are pitching in also. They currently have the best plus/minus gap in the league with a massive +122 more than they've allowed in. DAAAYYUM!

2. Special Teams kicking some ass!

They are hands down the best special teams team this year. With a powerplay % of 37.18 and a PK% of 91.85%, they're leaving the other teams in the dust. We all know that you have to do well in more than one area of the game to succeed, but this is one of the biggest factors to success arguably in the game. You're going to take penalties, so you're going to need to kill them off and you're going to get opportunities, which you'll then need to capitalize - which they've done both amazingly.

3. Bernie Gow - Taking care of business!

Bernie Gow may not be putting up quite the same numbers as Brampton Blades Coca Cola, but he's definitely the guy chasing him for goalie of the year! He's had an incredible season and has already put up 9 shutouts through 42 games. This means he's averaging one every 4.66 games which ultimately means he's on par for roughly 15 shutouts to end the year off. If he can continue his play, the judges will have a tough time handing out the goalie awards this year!

Conclusion

This one's gonna go down to the last drop, but considering the Blades are quite a ways ahead of the Lynx and the Watchmen are pushing on the Royals tails, we'll say the regular season champions will be the Blades. This does not mean that the Blades are better or have played better because in our opinion, they're pretty damn equal. I thought I was excited about last season and how it would end (and I was in the Finals and won), but this year, you all best be watching because it's likely going to be one hell of a show!

Banackock · May 24, 2015

Top 10 Players of S43 So Far!

Season 43 has been an exciting one to say the least and has seen quite the change when it comes to teams, their rosters and individual presence in the league. Throughout the duration of the season, I've spent most of my time focused on team analysis and covering the top teams of the league, as well as the bottom feeders. However, that's officially about to change. I got to looking at the individual statistics for this season and noticed there's quite a few players who are having really strong, successful seasons for their teams and are large factors to their teams running so smoothly. As an after result, I've gathered your statistics and information and have put together a personal "Top 10" list on who I believe are your top 10 players so far during the VHLM's 43rd season. I would love to hear your feedback - so feel free to comment and discuss. Now, for the rankings.

1. Tim TebowGow - Bern Royals - Center
51 GP - 48 G - 84 A - 132 PTS - +83 - 38 PIM - 90 HIT - 5 SB

For 1st and 2nd, it was honestly a close one and I still believe it's a toss up, however, we decided to give the #1 honour to Tim TebowGow as of right now. Although he has less hits and fewer shot blocks, his offensive production is quite an amount above Willcox's and the other players who trail behind him. With a 18 point lead on 2nd place and 21 games remaining, he's in a fairly good spot to win the point scoring title for S43. On top of this, he leads the league for game winning goals with 11 so far this season. 

2. Travis Willcox - Bratislava Watchmen - Right Wing
51 GP - 52 G - 62 A - 114 PTS - +71 - 79 PIM - 208 HIT - 27 SB

As stated in the 1st place ranking section, it was honestly a toss up between TebowGow and Willcox. Coming in at 2nd place though, we have the Watchmen's leading scorer, Travis Willcox. So far on the season, Willcox has managed a goal per game average, with 52 in 51 games played, which is good enough for 3rd overall on the VHLM. On top of that, he's 2nd in the league for game winners with 10 and has been a hitting machine this season as he comes in at 3rd for that (not bad for a right winger!). If he continues this strong play, there's a good chance he steals the crown from TebowGow.

3. Coca Cola - Brampton Blades - Goalie
51 GP - 39 W - 10 L - 2 OTL - .922 SV% - 1.69 GAA - 9 SO - 1,117 SA

Coming in at 3rd place, we have our first of two goalies for our Top 10. Coca Cola has a lot of things to be grateful for these days. Firstly, his mother for buying him his first pair of pads. Secondly, his natural ability to stop the puck and lastly, GM tfong of the Brampton Blades for trading for him. We understand Bernie Gow's wins may be more attractive and he does have 3 more shut outs, but Cola also started out on a rough team for 6 games. If he hadn't, his stats would be even more attractive than they are now. He's hands down the #1 guy right now in the league between the pipes. Gow does however comes in 2nd and isn't too far behind.

4. Valentin Taneyev - Brampton Blades - Left Wing

51 GP - 51 G - 48 A - 99 PTS - +65 - 11 PIM - 241 HIT - 8 SB

Our first left winger of the bunch, Taneyev may be one of the first players who some people disagree that he's above some, but we honestly believe he deserves to be here - and maybe even higher. He's only 15 points behind Willcox, yet he has 33 more hits, which is quite a considerable amount. He, alike Willcox, is a fairly physical player on the ice who largely controls the tempo of the game while on the ice. The plus side to both these guys? They can score. Taneyev sits one spot back of Willcox in the scoring race, in 4th place, with 51 on the season so far!

5. Bernie Gow - Bern Royals - Goalie

51 GP - 42 W - 6 L - 3 OTL - .909 SV% - 1.62 GAA - 12 SO - 910 SA

Bernie Gow is one of the biggest factors to the Royal's success this season. Although his save percentage isn't anything amazing, he has been superb for his team. He's earned 12 shutouts on the season, which by the way leads the league, and is currently leading the league in wins also. As stated for Cola's ranking, him and Gow are fairly close when it comes to these rankings and Gow does have the ability to become this season's #1 goalie. If this were to be the case, he'd need to raise his save % though and find a little more consistency. Regardless, he's had one hell of a season so far!

6. Josh Merica - Bern Royals - Left Wing
51 GP - 48 G - 56 A - 104 PTS - +83 - 38 PIM - 139 HIT - 12 SB

Josh Merica is another player who like to bring a little physicality to his game. Although he's nowhere near the top of the leader boards for that category, there's nothing to be ashamed about 139 hits in 51 games played. For such a decent amount, he's not in the box much either! Along with that, he has the 6th best shooting %, 6th best points per 20 mins, 3rd best plus/minus and has 7 game winners and 3 game tiers. Merica is one of the skilled players in today's VHLM and is a critical piece to the Royals rosters.

7. Kyle Kingma - Bratislava Watchmen - Right Wing
51 GP - 56 G - 48 A - 104 PTS - +59 - 12 PIM - 73 HIT - 1 SB

Kingma has always been a fairly decent player when it comes to offensive production, and although I'm fairly certain he's inactive, it still shouldn't surprise you that he's included on this list. I mean, it would be fairly hypocritical to leave one of the leagues leading goal scorers of the list. I know, he's the leading the league in goals but he's 7th in the rankings? Well, he's inactive, he has 1 SB (you almost need luck to block that low of an amount - it's like he purposely avoids it). If Kingma were active, chances his ranking may have rose a tiny bit.

8. Chuck Goody - Bern Royals - Defense
51 GP - 22 G - 69 A - 91 PTS - +86 - 50 PIM - 88 HIT - 53 SB

This was the toughest one so far because it's almost impossible to compare a forward to a defensemen as their jobs are basically different. Yes, a Dman can job in on the play but their primary job is to protect the net and stop the other team from getting to it - to control the play in the defensive zone. Our first dman on the list at 8th overall is Chuck Goody. For a dman, 88 hits is nothing that'll make the girls in the stands wet, but his shots blocked is not too bad and his offensive production has been super important for the Royals this year. He also has 5 game winner and 28 points on the power play this season - which is a very good stat.

9. MC Hammer - Bern Royals - Defense
51 GP - 30 G - 66 A - 96 PTS - +82 - 39 PIM - 53 HIT - 49 SB

Coming in at #9, Goody's partner in crime, the other half to the blueline for the Royal's - MC Hammer. He's less physical, slightly more offensive with a little bit more of a goal scoring touch. Hammer has 2 less Game Winner's, but 8 more goals than Goody. However, with less shots blocked and a significant amount of hits below Goody, we found it suiting to place him one less ranking below him. He's had one hell of a season and both these players are key components to the Royals future Founders Cup run this season.

10. Sam Teibert - Brampton Blades - Center
51 GP - 56 G - 54 A - 110 PTS - +61 - 16 PIM - 47 HIT - 5 SB

And last but definitely not least, we got one of the leagues best offensive players over the last numerous seasons, Sam Teibert. Again, if he were to be active, his ranking for sure would of been higher. Also, a sstated with Kingma, you can't keep the leading goal scorer off of the list. With 110 points and 56 goals in 51 games played, Teibert is once again having one hell of a season for the Brampton Blades. Along with offensive production, Teibert also brings with him consistency - as he's been Brampton's top goal and point scorer for the last couple seasons now!

Edited May 24, 2015 by Banackock

Banackock · June 3, 2015

IF VHLM Teams Were Online Dating Profiles

We know that the VHLM is the most important thing and highest priority in your life. Joking aside, unless it's true which it probably is, your personal life always comes first. One of those things is obviously personal relationships you have in life - specifically with significant others. We decided to open the eyes of the VHLM magazine and community and bring a little personal life to our readers. This week, we're taking a look at each VHLM team in the North American Conference and making a dating profile for them because without love, what would this world be? So give us your love and enjoy! Stay Tuned next week for the European Conference!

Information: The profiles are based of how they're doing and where they're at in the standings. We decided to split the profiles between men and women profiles, as we do have both genders within our VHLM community. The higher you are and better your team has performed, the better dating candidate you are. The lower, obviously the less attractive you and your profile potentially could be. Enjoy!

North American Conference Dating Section

1. Brampton Blades - Meet Jessica Johnson!

Age: 23

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 128 pounds

Occupation: Model

Drugs and Alcohol: N/A

Bio:

Meet Jessica Johnson, a 23 year old model from Los Angeles, California. She enjoys surfing, walking her dogs, rollerblading with her girlfriends and is a healthy-smoothie enthusiast. Jessica spends about as much time at the gym as she does at home and prides herself in staying shape and having a flawless body. She has her life together and although her preferences may be high/strict - it because she doesn't want to waste her time. She desires someone who like her, as a passion for life and finding the positivity and success. If you're all about health, positivity and enjoying life - she in turn can make you that much happier.

2. Ottawa Lynx - Meet Ryan Cooper!

Age: 26

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 190 Pounds

Occupation: Welder

Drugs and Alcohol: Odd Weekend Drinking

Bio:

Meet Ryan Cooper, the 26 year old Welder from Leduc, Alberta (Canada). Due to his job, Ryan swims in the money, however, has a habit of spending it freely. Thus, princesses are more than welcome as he'll likely treat you as his queen. Ryan has toys galore with a variety that ranges from Boats, Dirt Bikes, loaded trucks and a 2014 Corvette. Ryan wishes to have a family one day, however, stresses that they need to be accepting of him working away from work. He's family oriented, enjoys camping with friends and family and is a fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Even though his teams not a winner, we feel as though he is.

3. Saskatoon Wild - Meet Amber Hurley!

Age: 33

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 165

Occupation: Nurse

Drugs and Alcohol: Weed and Booze

Bio:

Meet Amber Hurley, a 33 year old single mother from Denver, Colorado. Amber is currently employed at her local hospital as a registered nurse and is constantly working hard to help people in psychological and physical pain or illness. She enjoys a nice toke and hit from the bong after her day to lay back and munch away the stress. She's a rare breed that is able to kick back and play video games with her kids, attends and helps out at the homeless shelter and secretly has a minor grow up in her bathroom closet downstairs. If you want a girl that makes you feel high, Amber can do that in more ways than one!

4. Yukon Rush - Meet Wanda Tucker!

Age: 51

Height: 5'2"

Weight: 210

Occupation: Unemployed/On Disability

Drugs and Alcohol: Drugs and Alcohol

Bio:

Meet Wanda Tucker, the 51 year old grandmother from Dallas, Texas. When Wanda was 15 years old, she tried out for cheerleading but lacked the flexibility and body to do so. After being disqualified from the team, she joined the men's football team where she seemed to have natural talent. Since then, she's been between jobs but has always had a passion for football. Each Sunday, she attends rural intramurals in her community and plays flag football. No one stands in the way of Wanda and that includes a man! If you think you can handle Wanda, love handles and all, she may be the girl for you. Be warned though, she does not go easy. If you decide to stay the night, bring protection. No we don't mean condoms - Helmet, Knee pads and potentially a neck guard.

We hope you enjoyed Part One, stayed tuned for next week when Part Two will be released! Until then, happy fishing VHLM! - Banack

Edited June 3, 2015 by Banackock

Banackock · June 4, 2015

If VHLM Teams Were Online Dating Profiles P.2

Hey VHLM, do you smell that? Love is in the air and it's spreading like a wildfire throughout the VHLM. On last week's edition, we delivered to the VHLM something the league has hopefully never seen before and honestly had a lot of fun doing so. This week, we head on over to the European Conference as we've made it our mission to give each team in the VHLM their very own, personal dating profile. We know, we know - can this get any better? I honestly hope I turned it up a notch for you this week because not only is it my mission to entertain and bring interest to the VHLM mag, but I also want to see a couple of our teams find a match because after all, there's always someone out there for everyone. Ladies and gents, without any further delay, I give you the European Conference's profiles. Oh, and don't be afraid to hit them up.

Information: The profiles are based off how they're doing and where they're at in the standings. We decided to split the profiles between men and women profiles, as we do have both genders within our VHLM community. The higher you are and better your team has performed, the better dating candidate you are. The lower, obviously the less attractive you and your profile potentially could be. Enjoy!

1. Bern Royals - Meet Lindsay Walker!

Quote

Age: 21

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 132

Occupation: Secretary

Drugs and Alcohol: Likes to live it up on the weekend

Bio:

Say Hello to Mrs. Lindsay Walker, a 21 year old secretary from Miami, Florida. Behind those glasses, fixed hair and ohhh so tight skirt, is a girl who can actually let loose on the weekend and have a good time without fully whoring herself out. She can name more types of shots and alcohol beverages than American presidents or any band besides pop music, and she drives a 2009 Chevy Cobalt. She's a girly girl by heart and deserves that every girl deserves to be a princess IF they actually earn it. Honestly, who cares if she has a stick up her you know what, she wears tight clothes and has a job as one of the highest rated foreplays situations. If you get a chance with this secretary for heaven, make sure she knows who's boss.

2. Bratislava Watchmen - Meet Bradley James

Age: 28

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 208 Pounds

Occupation: Lawyer

Drugs and Alcohol: Bourbon and Whiskey regular

Bio:

He worked his entire youth away and quickly matured into a responsible, classy and successful young man. Ladies, meet Bradley Cooper, the 28 year old full blown lawyer who currently represents numerous large companies and clients such as Dan Bilzerian, Hugh Hefner and Mcdonalds. They may not be the most successful and reputable clients, but they sure do make him a whole lot of money! As he whips around in his new Skyline, he is usually caught going out for supper with clients, golfing or catching a Yankees game. He is the definition of success and if he keeps it up, he'll be retired by the time he's 45. If you wish to sail off into the sun and never slow down til you die, maybe hit Bradley up!

3. Moscow Red Wolves - Meet Emily Steinberg!

Age: 29

Height: 5'4"

Weight: 158

Occupation: Day care Nanny

Drugs and Alcohol: Drinks because of her job.

Bio:

Emily oh Emily, such a hard life you've had. She's the furthest thing from consistent, is addicted to nachos and pounds back the beers each and every night to escape the constant thought of her horrible job. Emily Steinberg, day care attendant/nurse, or those children's second mother. Everyday she deal with kicking, crying, screaming, shitting and eating and this has caused her to find her one true love in Pilsner. Honestly, she's a great woman, she just can't seem to keep herself in a straight line and is always seen falling off the tracks. Again though, she's a sweetheart, means well and likely with how much she hates kids, you won't have to worry about her ever wanting any. So if you're looking for a quick lay, bag her, tag her and you're good to go. So, if you're a man and know how to handle yourself, as opposed to a little boy, you may be the one for Emily.

4. Oslo Storm - Meet Cletus Perkins!

Age: 49

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 159

Occupation: Moonshiner

Drugs and Alcohol: Whatever he can get, hell do!

Bio:

Meet Cletus Perkins, a simple life, moonshiner from Hickory, Mississippi. At just the age of 6 years old, Cletus' father began teaching him all about the family busy, "Perkins' Moonshining". At the age of 11, his father was killed one night in the backyard, intoxicated and trying to wrestle an alligator. Drank himself to death! It had literally nothing to do with the gator. Since then, Cletus made it his mission to carry on the business and make it bigger and better! He enjoys smoking, drinking, mudding, shooting and drinking. We mentioned it twice because you'll never catch him without some moonshine in his hand. On a warm sunny day, you'll catch Cletus sitting outside on his assorted color lawnchair, his AC/DC shirt, and jean shorts with cowboy rubber. In front of him, his kidding pool and his loyal side kick, his mother. If this easy livin' lifestyle turns you on, it won't be nothing compared to Cletus!

Edited June 10, 2015 by Banackock

Banackock · June 17, 2015

Brampton Blades Vs Bern Royals Finals Review

This is the second time I've written an article for the VHLM Finals while being apart of the VHLM magazine. Firstly, boy does time fly in this league. It seems like just yesterday I was writing about last years finalists, the Oslo Storm and the Brampton Blades. Do you see something familiar in that previous sentence? If you're thinking Brampton, I'm saying you're right. The Brampton Blades have once again triumphed through the regular season, marched their way through the 2nd round action against the Ottawa lynx and find themselves chasing the Founders Cup for a second season straight. At the other end, you have the Bern Royals. Bern managed to beat the Red Wolves last season to advance to the second round, where they eventually were blanked in rather horrific fashion by the Oslo Storm. So I suppose a few questions are likely surrounding both teams this year. Will the Brampton Blades be able to fight their way through what in our opinion my opinion is a much stronger roster to complete the two-peat, or do the Bern Royals find redemption, win the cup and send the Blades back to Brampton more dull than ever? Let's take a look at the teams statistics and what we feel will come from the series.

Brampton Blades Team Statistics

W: 4

L: 2

GF/GA: 21/18

PP: 27.7%

PK: 84.8%

Bern Royals Team Statistics

W: 4

L: 2

GF/GA: 19/20

PP: 28.5%

PK: 84.6%

Statistically speaking, the teams are very spot on with one another as we head into the final round of the S43 VHLM playoffs. Both sides special teams games are on point, with each powerplay rocking out efficient, high numbers which is evidently leading to their team's success. Their Goals For and Goals Against is a strong indicator that both teams have played fairly close previous series, and although this could be an indication that the series between these two could be similar, we're going to say otherwise. With that said, we won't keep you waiting any longer. Let's get onto our series analysis, followed by our predictions.

S43 Finals Analysis

To me, this series is huge for multiple reasons. As always, you have players coming and going in this leagues. It's juniors, it's life and it's simply how it goes. For guys like Coca Cola, the seasons are critical (especially for Cola) as it's their last season. Cola was a member of the Oslo Storm last season, the team who fell short to his now current team, the Brampton Blades, in the S42 VHLM Finals. Wouldn't it be something if he were once again on the outside looking in, watching the team across the ice celebrate as he wonders if there was something more he could have given the team to help their chances? Maybe it's the Cola curse. Sounds real and it sure as hell sounds dark, spooky and full of sugar. Then you have the Brampton Blades repeat. Will it happen? Won't it? Are they strong enough to overpower a team that is on paper much stronger than them? I have a winner in mind and I'm about to show you who I believe it is. First, let's take a look at why.

Coca Cola Vs Bernie Gow

Very, very, very similar goalies right here in our opinion. It's honestly hard to toss and dog a bone to see who wins when each one is very similar in all aspects. They each are great netminder, however, we'll give this one to Cola. In our minds, his team is much weaker. They may have similar amount of stars, but the depth is much less than on the Blades roster than that compared to the Royals. This in my opinion, makes Cola much more of an asset to his team. Maybe not an asset, but he's definitely more in the spotlight when it comes to being accountable for team losses and W's.

Brampton, unlike last year, lacks DEPTH

Should we take a look at the rosters. Go to the roster pages right now and look. Brampton and Bern each have similar amounts of stars both upfront and on the blueline. However, Bern has something Brampton doesn't and that's significant depth. Although each team has seen quite the fair amount of contribution from their secondary and lower players, we think that this series will separate the heard and show us who the deserving victors will actually be. Sometimes, teams can win by fluke. Great teams lose, but I honestly don't believe the "wrong" team is going to win this season.

Chuck Goody

That's all that's needed to be said. Guys a blueline beast who is leading his team currently with 8 goals, 6 assists for 14 points on the season. AGAIN, he's a dman. There's a lot of stars playing for both these teams and of course, a lot of caliber players who could potentially have the elite junior talent to pick up the playoff MVP award. However, I know it's a safe bet to say Chuck Goody is this season's playoff MVP if the Bern Royals do in fact win this season's Founder's Cups.

Final Prediction

With that said, the series could literally go either way. We do however feel like there's a team that likely will win, and then a very successful seasonal underdog. Brampton made it through the second round of playoffs against the Lynx, but we don't believe the Lynx were as strong as the Royals are. The Royals have elite, junior goaltending - followed up by great upfront talent on forward and the blueline. Along with that, they got great depth to back up their top guys if they aren't having a 100% night. With that said, our predictions.

4-1 Royals

Banackock · June 27, 2015

We are the champions, my friends. We'll keep on fighting, until the end. We are the champions, we are the champions. Brampton's the losers and we are the champions... Is all you could hear when listening into the Bern Royals locker room following Game 6 of this season's VHLM Championships. When you walked into the dressing room, you saw beer. A lot of beer. Along with that, the entire team locked shoulder to shoulder as they sang this classic song of champions at the top of their lungs with coaching staff and the Founders Cup right in the middle. With smiles on their faces, redness on their cheeks from the quick drinking of cool, crisp beer, we finally got the image of what "royalty" looks like.

So, the Bern Royals have officially claimed their crown and sit where no other team sits in the ultimate throne of all thrones. They managed to hustle and outwork the Brampton Blades, something quite a few of us may have thought was unlikely to do at the start of Season 43. However, the Royal's depth prevailed and here they are now. We'd like to credit a lot of the team's success to their nice depth they have on their roster, but a couple other factors were in the mix too for their victory. As another season has come and gone, let's take a look at how this one finished and why it went that way.

Special Teams VS 5 on 5

We can safely say that Bern did not win because of their special teams game. Brampton managed to sport better numbers in each category, with a Power Play of 20% and a Penalty Kill of 86.96% against the Bern Royals. This is compared to Berns 13.04% PP and 80% PK against Brampton. Our conclusion to this? Bern struggled on the powerplay, yet managed to outscore Brampton 20-14 in the series. Long story short, 5 on 5 hockey was dominated by the Royal's 17-10. So if Brampton was going to win, they need more opportunity on the Powerplay or a much greater result when it came to playing even hockey.

Depth, depth and look.. more depth!

The title makes it seem like Bern's roster goes on for days. Obviously for a junior team, this isn't the case, but when you compare the two teams, we'd love to give this one to Bern. Statistically speaking, the Royals seen a lot more contribution from their lower lined players as opposed to Brampton. Bern seen 6 players reach double digits in the postseason, where Brampton had only seen 4. With that stat, Brampton players tallied up managed 98 points, where Bern managed 110. A slight difference, but a difference none the less.

Cola Vs. Gow

Goaltenders are likely the most crucial piece to a team. If you have a good goalie but bad team, I'd like to think your chances are a lot better than a good team with a poor goalie. In this series, both teams had elite junior goalies, however, one stood out more than the other. Bernie Gow managed to get his team a 2 game lead, being up 2-0 to the Brampton Blades. The next game fell to Brampton, but he managed to steal game 4 to a score of 5-1. Game 5 went to the Blades in a 5-3 matchup and the pressure may have finally been on Gow again. While the pressure may have been on, it didn't make him crumble as he shut out the Blades in Game 6 to claim victory in the series.

The Royal's played a hell of a season and a hell of a playoffs. As did the Brampton Blades. I feel as though the true champion was crowned this season, although my roots lead me back to tfong and the Blades. I want to congratulate both teams on an excellent season and every member on the Royal's team for their Founder's Cup championship. To the fans of the VHLM, thank you for continuing to read my mediocre articles that surely make your eyes bleed. My wish is to only continue to make you go blind from my many, many years of service with the magazine to come. Thank you to all and seeee you during the offseason. - Banack

Banackock · July 4, 2015

Get to know a GM: Bratislava Watchmen

This job is not one for the faint heart. It takes skill, experience, knowledge and a hell of a lot of time in order to create, mold and put together a championship caliber team. Constantly, the rosters in the VHLM are changing as players are not eligible to play in the league for as long as they as in the VHL. The constant rollercoaster ride can really affect the team's success and the manager's credibility. To become a General Manager of any team is a long road which requires much effort and time being placed into the league. You need to show a level of determination, confidence and respect in order to reach these lengths. Eight people have done this currently. Eight people reign supreme over 8 junior teams within our VHLM. Over the next while, we're going to get to know these guys. Their style. Their history. Their path to get here. What's made them. What's broke them and what they think it takes to be a true, successful General Manager in the VHLM.

For the first edition of "Get to know a GM", we're featuring the newest GM to gain control of a junior team. Roughly a week and some ago, Bratislava's previous GM has stepped down due to personal reasons. This move left a gap in the Watchmen. A gap that wasn't needed as their were already many holes already in the team's organization. With a team lacking a true, #1 goalie, not a single blue line defender and now without a GM, things were looking pretty dark for the Watchmen organization and the Locker Room. Then, early last week, things may have potentially changed for the better. The league had announced the hiring of a new GM, someone who has climbed the ranks within the league quickly to earn his new title as Bratislava's new bench boss. His hard work and time placed into building his credibility had brought him this far, but only time will tell if he's able to successfully bring Bratislava back up the rank and back as a contender. Without further delay, let's get to know Bratislava's newest face. Ladies and gents, Mr. Blake Campbell (Banackock).

G2KAGM: Firstly, welcome and thank you for being apart of this. I guess the first thing we'd like to know is your story. What's your story? How did you get to where you are now?

BC: I guess you could say I started from the bottom now I'm here. Horrible lyric references aside, It took a lot of work. I started in December, 2014 as a new member to the VHL. A came in with a fire under my ass and huge determination to build a very strong player. I joined much later than a majority of my fellow draft year members (roughly 2 weeks-ish), however, that didn't prevent me from pushing hard and lighting a fire under their asses. I had taken me a week or so to get claimed off waivers and I was picked up by Minot. I remained on the bench most of the season as I played behind an elite netminder. I was okay with this, just sucked busting my balls and reaping no reward. The next season, I was a free agent and signed with Brampton. I had an excellent season and we went on to win the Founders Cup. I then backed up elite talent Brick Wahl for a season and now am the starter for Stockholm. Afterwards, my journey had brought me to Oslo, where I had approached d_a about becoming his Co-GM. Quickly, he accepted and so began my short career with Oslo. During my time there, I was also approached by World Cup of Hockey Commissioners to lead USA. Sadly, we did not claim gold but I'm fairly content with our second place, silver medal placing. Now, here we are. You and I sitting in this room talking about myself.

G2KAGM: Wow, sounds like a lot of hard work. Congrats on your silver medal and your starting role with Stockholm. If you could offer advice, or a look into the GM's world, how would you describe it?

BC: I honestly think it's a different experience for everyone. There's so many factors that go into it. Personal life things, league things etc. For me, I'm a huge hockey fan and these stimulation sites are a great, different experience as opposed to your normal GM simulation leagues. The role is a lot of work and more responsibility than alot of people think. Sure it's not hard, but it shouldn't necessarily be easy if you're doing your job correctly and 110% - especially in juniors. You always need to be on your game.

G2KAGM: Absolutely. What type of style would you say you bring to the league? Whether it be for lines or the atmosphere you wish you create in your locker room and for your players?

BC: I'm not sure anyone can stress this enough. The VHLM is vital to the VHL. We could do without it and go straight to the VHL, but seeing as we have it, it's absolutely huge for the survival of the league now. We get new members, new players to the league and it;s our job to get them established and interested while helping them maintain the roles and activity. For me, I want to create a great atmosphere for anyone. I want to create a fun LR where the guys are able to let loose and fuck around. This site isn't supposed to be tough or stressful or like a second job. It's a hobby. Somewhere you should be able to escape and come talk to some pretty great people. I want to create a family like atmosphere in my LR. A tight group of guys. As for lines, I won't go too much in depth, but I do have a set way of doing things. Physicality is something I have never used much in my 8 years of simulation leagues unless I build a goon minor league team. I don't see much purpose in it and would rather have our team focus else where. This does not mean I won't experiment with it in the future, it's just no my forte.

G2KAGM: We got time for one quick last Q for you. What is your goal for this season?

BC: To win. It's always to win. I came in with a weaker roster than some, but it's never ever my goal to lay down and quit - especially this early on in the year. We have some major pieces. I would much rather try and die for them than suicide the season early and pull the plug. Right now, we have a long ways to go, however, things are coming together slowly but surely. Our goalie just became active again (Lenny Face), so that's good news. As a lot of guys know, Plan B is always good, especially for the morning after and you didn't pull the goalie. We got a Plan B now too. We just signed and picked up Fillip Lundqvist off waivers the other day. I have a plan, it's all about whether or not I can execute it. I control a huge portion of if I can, but so do the other GM's. Depends on the price of assets and what's on the market. I think we will have a great season though and I'm very excited to see where we end up. I wouldn't count us out. Anything can happen!

G2KAGM: Thank you, Mr. Campbell, for your time. Stay tuned for next weeks edition where we will get to know the do's and dont's of next week's victim. Until then, stay classy.

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