scoop 3,382 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) Vikings emphatically evens season series with Cologne In their final 12 games of the season, the Vikings were scheduled to face the Express five times. Stockholm won the first of those games 3-2, and the teams would have to play a few more games before they saw each other again. Cologne won five games after that loss before meeting up against with Stockholm, while the Vikings dropped a game to Davos. With four consecutive games to play against each other, either team was in a position to send themselves straight to the Conference Finals. The Express won the first game in a shootout after neither team could add to their two first-period goals as the goalies performed well after lackluster starts for both Blake Campbell and Brock Waldron. The second game was another close one, this time ending in regulation. It was still the Express who came out ahead on the strength of two goals by former Viking Tyrone Williams. For Cologne, one more Victory over Stockholm would clinch a first-round playoff bye. Tyrone Williams scored a pair of goals to beat his former team. Their next meeting saw an explosion of offense. The Vikings came out strong, scoring three times in the opening ten minutes. Although the Express did score four goals, they were never able to even up the score as Stockholm continuously answered. In total, the Vikings scored eight goals, with six different players putting at least one past Waldron. Severin von Karma was the only multi-goal scorer, netting the first hat trick of his career, earning him the first star. This game was a demonstration of the Vikings depth beyond their big name stars; Shadhu Rathod Jr. and Prince Gigga-Bijou each had four points in the game. Meanwhile for Cologne, no one outside of their trio of star forwards (Thomas O'Malley, Bismarck Koenig, and Christoph Klose) had any points. In their final matchup before a potential playoff series, the Vikings got going quickly once again; the first goal of the game was recorded six seconds in. This time, it was more of the usual suspects who led the charge, with Lord Karnage scoring twice in the first period while Jody 3 Moons added a pair later on. The Vikings were up 5-0 by the time the Express managed to put one past Campbell, and that would be all they got as the Vikings net-minder finished with 26 saves on 27 shots. With this win, the Vikings evened up the season series with the Express at four games each and kept their hopes of a first round bye alive, although Cologne does still have the inside track. Severin von Karma scored his first career hat trick in the Vikings 8-4 victory. The Express are up in the standings by three points at the moment. The Vikings do have a game in hand, but Cologne can secure first place in Europe just by winning their final two games. They play a pair against New York, which would suggest that they have a good shot. However, the Americans have had some success against the Express this season. So far they have each won three games against each other. The Americans are capable of taking a game from the Express, and if they can win just one, then that allows for Stockholm to be in control of their fate. The Vikings will also take on the Americans in one of their final three games. They've been more successful in past matchups, however, winning six of seven. They also play a trade deadline-weakened Seattle and the Riga Reign; both of these are very winnable games. One factor to consider in all of this is that neither Campbell for the Vikings nor Waldron for the Express will be starting any of these games. STO G and COL G will be in net for the final games. Additionally, NYA G must start in two of New York's final games. It is likely that the Americans would give Jax Barnstormer his final start against the Express, because they hold Cologne's Season 45 first round pick. Edited August 9, 2015 by Streetlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,831 Posted August 9, 2015 Admin Share Posted August 9, 2015 "former Viking Tyrone Williams" - way to focus on his less important achievements scoop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boubabi 4,725 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Yes yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoop 3,382 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 "former Viking Tyrone Williams" - way to focus on his less important achievements I originally didn't have that in there but I rewrote the sentence to make it fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tylar 219 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Content: 3/3 - Should be an interesting play-off assuming STO-COL meet! Always nice to have a late season battle for that first round bye. Grammar: 2/2 - GreatAppearance: 1/1 - YupOverall: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.ed69a7260a477fcf4feead7a0e4b7506.png)
Recommended Posts