Claimed: European Conference checkup (1/2)

[Tyler 885]

Euro Trip

 

 

The Riga Reign seemed to be well ahead of the pack in the European Conference a few sims ago, but have since had a rough stretch while their closest competitor, the Davos Dynamo have been unbeatable of late. Riga are still a very good 7-3 in their last ten while Davos have been on fire, 10-0 in their last 10 with wins over their key competitors in that stretch. The Dynamo are now taking up the mantle as the favorites in the European Conference and it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure. Led by future hall of fame talent Diana Maxwell who has 69 (nice) points on the year, the Dynamo are looking like a championship team as the season reaches the halfway mark.

 

Riga on the other hand have had a bit of a rough stretch. Their 7-3 record seems fine but seeing as they have played many poor teams in that period, it may be hiding their flaws. Their leading point scorer is veteran Essian Ravenwing who is among the MVP candidates with 72 points in 38 games while they are being carried as well by two understated and maybe a little over their heads players in Alexander Thrower and Fredinamijs Krigars, both of whom seem to be favorites for the most improved player award. It is odd how the team is shaking up so far with someone like Phil Shankly disappointing a bit while Luigi De Rossi, Thrower and Krigars look to be having career seasons. Riga is going to need to figure something out after a 4-3 loss to a team well below them in the standings. However with young goalie Markus King in the net, they should fix things sooner rater then later. 

 

The last team of note in Europe is Helsinki who are looking to be the odd man out in the three way race. It's still early, but the Titans only have 51 points 10 behind the other two teams. They are 5-5 in their last ten games and are finding it difficult to take advantage of the Reign's struggles to make up some ground on the Latvian team. There is still a lot of positivity in the Titans camp after having won back to back championships, there is a strong belief that all it takes is getting in to the post season and their experience can and will lead them past the other teams. 

 

The European Conference was slated to be one of the tougher and more competitive this season among the top three teams and it has not disappointing. At the midway point the teams are all within 10 points of one another and we could theoretically see any number of combinations of the standings. The next 30 games should be as competitive as the last 40 so we should be expecting a close race down to the wire.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

REVIEW:

 

A nice article detailing the European Conference race so far. I know Davos and Riga both improved this off-season, but it's still somewhat surprising to me to see Helsinki so far behind. Either way, this is shaping up to be a great playoff race, as that 1st round bye will be pivotal in what will be a tough road to the Continental Cup from the European side.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

fucking lold at 69 (nice)