VHLM Season 63 Week 5 Review

[Thranduil 293]

Standings:

Though it's a very close race, the Yukon Rush continue to hold on to the top spot in the VHLM. They played very well this week, with a record of 7-2-2, making sure Saskatoon doesn't overtake them in the standings. Meanwhile, the second placed Wild continue their hot streak going undefeated in regulation in their last eight and finishing the week with a spectacular record of 9-1-1 and pulling within 3 points of the Rush. The chemistry seems to be getting better everyday in Saskatoon and they are now considered by most, the favourites for the Founder's Cup this season.

A separate, even closer battle is taking place for third in the standings between the Halifax 21st and the Las Vegas Aces. Currently tied in points, the two teams have been in very close competition for the last two to three weeks. Halifax hasn't played as well the last few weeks and Las Vegas seems to have been doing nothing but winning since acquiring Kevin Weekes from Saskatoon. Rumor has it that there is an ongoing competition between Las Vegas Winger, Diljodh and Halifax Winger, John Madden. Both are attempting to prove to each other that they are the superior VHL prospect winger. Madden has a large edge in points, but Diljodh's defensive play is far superior to Madden's. Both players reportedly want to be chosen higher in the draft than the other. It doesn't help their respect for each other that their teams are so close in the standings but it certainly makes things a lot more interesting for everyone else. Now a long ways behind the both the Aces and the 21st are the Ottawa Lynx and the Oslo Storm. Both teams have accepted the fact that they will be rebuilding this season to build for next season. At this point, Oslo has a dreadful point percentage of .507 and have only won 13 of their 65 games this season.

 

Stats:

After 5 straight weeks of maintaining the league lead in points, Halifax Center Nathan MacKinnon has finally been knocked off his high horse. Elias Dahlberg of the Ottawa Lynx is the new top-scorer after being hot on MacKinnon's trail for over 3 weeks. Dahlberg is currently ranked first in points (108) as well as goals (53) and sixth in assists (55). Amazing for a player who is still in his first VHLM season and is playing on a losing team. MacKinnon remains in a close second with 104 points. The top three is rounded out by Dahlberg's teammate, Chance Matthews (93) who currently, along with Jesse Wilson, leads all players in assists (69). Halifax's Wilson continues to lead all defensemen with 90 points this season. MacKinnon and his dominant line in Halifax still hold three of the top four spots in league plus / minus, along with Joel Ylonen, who recently took hold of the third spot. Things got a little more interesting in the goaltending categories this week, when Halifax goalie Tyler Smith finally got a chance to step into the crease for two more games. Both of them resulted in wins and he now leads the league in both save percentage (.933) and goals against average (1.98). Yukon netminder, Rhett Stoffiday follows him up in both of these categories, posting very solid numbers in each. His save percentage sits at .904 and his goals against average at 2.12. Still very good stats. Stoffiday also leads the league in shutouts with seven, followed by Kevin Weekes (5), who is just behind Stoffiday in all three major goalie categories. Cole Mertz is third in shutouts with 4.

 

Trades:

Only one trade happened in the week of the deadline, but it was a very important one. Saskatoon made a big trade, yet again, sending three picks to Ottawa, in return for Mark Gebauer. This move confirmed their assertion as the top team depth-wise in the VHLM. Gebauer has been fitting in well in Saskatoon and the Wild have not yet lost with him on the roster.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Thranduil