This Day In VHL History: Season 29 - Game 286: Seattle Bears vs Toronto Legion

[Devise 4,475]

The series continues for a second week in a row. Another great long title too. This week we are going to go back 6 calendar years, to September 15th 2012. Season 29 was an interesting one, and this one takes us all the way near the end to the 3rd last game of an interesting and competitive season in the VHL. 

 

Game Summary

 

What was most interesting about the wrap up of Season 29 that I recall was that a majority of the higher scoring forwards in the league actually came from a rebuilding club that did not make the playoffs, in the Calgary Wranglers. The irony of that was of course that the Wranglers would go on to win the Continental Cup in Season 30. Then again, this was an era where only 4 of the 8 teams made the playoffs, so you would often see rebuilding clubs with some names. But season 29 was Toronto's year, led by hall of fame  goaltender Alexander Labatte the Legion would have a strong season. Here in game 286, we saw a confident Toronto handle Seattle all over the ice. Labatte turned in a great performance outdueling CAL G to a 5-1 win. Note that CAL G is not a CPU playing from the wrong team on Seattle, but instead CAL G was the name of former simmer @JardyB10 player.  The Legion got good balanced scoring from names like Dougie Daniels, Jason White and Jarppi Leppala during the season.

 

While this may seem like a simple defeat of another good team, the Bears actually were the second best team in the VHL in Season 29. They were coming hot off a very impressive Continental Cup win in Season 28, and were just ousted in the first round the playoffs in a pivotal Game 7 against the Davos Dynamo. The Legion very much seemed like underdogs heading into the season, but it was wins like this that ultimately cemented them, as they beat Davos for the Cup in Season 29. 

 

Unfortunately for Toronto fans, they would have to wait a bit longer to really pull in a Dynasty run. For some reason the Legion fell off the map after this season, and GM @Sandro was only able to get one cup out of it. I vividly recall what happened to them in Season 30, because I helped be a part of what was one of the weirdest seasons in history. A season in which a Continental Cup team that was mostly kept together ended up missing the playoffs because they were the worst team in the NA conference. Seriously. Only one team from Europe made the playoffs, as we either first introduced crossover this season or had just done so a season or so before. I can't recall. But with New York only selling a few pieces, and Calgary with top scorers on the rise Toronto found themselves 5 points behind Calgary for the final playoff spot. The dominating Seattle six from this very game, as well as New York and Calgary would bully Toronto out of the playoffs despite a 91 point and winning season from the Legion. STHS is a cruel mistress.

 

Then again....tough to feel sorry for the Legion and their fans when after some patient waiting the franchise wound up being the first and only team to pull off the Threepeat as Cup champs. But hey, the more you know, amirite? 

 

[Victor 11,043]

Do you reckon Jardy died on April 17th?