Schmeckeldorf and Rush Ahead 3-1

[Corco 1,124]

Rudolph Schmeckeldorf battles for a puck in front of Brampton goaltender Markus King

YUKON, Canada - After finishing the last ten games of the regular season with eight wins and two losses, Rudolph Schmeckeldorf and the Yukon Rush appeared primed for a deep playoff run. The Rush would finish the regular season with a 55-12-5 record, good enough for 115 points and a stout second place finish. Before a deadline deal that sent Saskatoon players Rudolph Schmeckeldorf, Torstein Ironside, Shawn Gretzky, Austin Hickey V, and Aeschylus Jigglejawns CXXXVII to the Rush, Yukon were led by over-agers Fredinamijs Krigars (Riga) and Apollo Aho (Calgary), who each would go on to tally 119 points. Despite the team already being in second place before the arrival of the aforementioned Wild players, Yukon GM Sam Helberg believed that Schmeckeldorf, Gretzky, Hickey V, Jigglejawns, and Ironside would be the final pieces that could propel the Rush past their capital-based rival, the Ottawa Lynx. Along with those additions, the Rush also managed to pick up new players Lyle Smallwood, Fuk D. World, and Luca Volkov off of waivers to further pursue their Founders Cup aspirations. 

 

               Some of the players in the trade benefited less than others, such as Austin Hickey V, whose Points per Game numbers went down from 1.39 with the Wild to 0.64 with the Rush, although this is rumored to be due to Hickey's refusal to practice with the team, thus affecting his chemistry as well as playing time. Rudolph Schmeckeldorf and Shawn Gretzky appeared to benefit the most on paper from the trade, as Schmeckeldorf's Points per game went from 0.73 with the Wild to 1.36 with the Rush, whilst Gretzky's Points per game went from 0.94 with the Wild up to 1.68 with the Rush. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to anyone who knows the play styles of both players; Schmeckeldorf and Gretzky work well together, which explains why their status as linemates was kept after the trade; one could also argue that the addition of Apollo Aho's sniper mentality and skillset to the pass-first mentality of Schmeckeldorf and strong two-way skill of Gretzky allowed all three to flourish on the scoresheet.

 

               Despite sitting out the first round of the VHLM playoffs due to receiving a bye, the Rush have shown no signs of rust or slowing down. In their first game of the playoffs, the Rush clamped down defensively on the Brampton Blades, only allowing nine shots on goal in a 2-0 victory. Game two was more or less the same as game one, as Torstein Ironside held the fort down against all 11 shots that the Blades threw at him. Game three was more fortunate for the Blades though, as they were able to break through for 3 tallies in a 3-1 win. The Rush would return to the victory table after game four, with a Jigglejawns PP goal being the only offense the Rush would need, as Ironside would back the team to another shutout victory, 1-0.