S66 Playoffs - Davos Advances, Faces Helsinki

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S66 Playoffs - Davos Advances, Faces Helsinki

 

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - After a tumultuous regular season, HC Davos Dynamo made the playoffs as the third seed in the European Conference. In the eyes of the fans, it was seen as no more than "meeting expectations."  The team made multiple moves both before and during the season that saw improvements to the team, but also a mid-season trade that saw fan favorite defenseman Shawn Glade moved to Quebec. Extra eyes appear to be on General Manager Shawn Glade, as that was not a move that sat well with the fans. While the pieces received in the trade aren't bad, it saw the removal of one of the few stars on the team for an increase in depth and futures, something Davos already has. In a league that has shown time and time again that star talent trumps depth, it remains to be seen if this move will be a positive one in the end. While Davos would still be outsiders to win the cup with Glade, it would sting for the fans in Davos to see Glade lift the Continental Cup in another jersey.

 

In the first round of the playoffs, the Dynamo faced off against the Riga Reign, the second seed in the European Conference. On paper, the roster of the Riga Reign was stronger, and the regular season results backed that up. These two teams played 8 not very competitive games against each other. Davos was a pitiful 1-5-2 against the Reign, but they don't appear to have been severely outplayed. Goals were 18-25 in favor of Riga, and shots were in favor of Riga 275-227. However, the playoffs couldn't have been more different.

 

Game 1: HC Davos Dynamo vs. Riga Reign: 3-1 Dynamo (1-0 Davos)

This game saw the Dynamo jump out to an early lead and never look back. Elias Dahlberg opened the scoring on the power play roughly 6 minutes into the game and was followed by a goal by Rylan Peace with 3 minutes left in the first. The Reign started a comeback in the 3rd period, scoring their first goal of the game 1 minute in while on the man advantage, but Davos was able to hold the lead and solidify their win with an empty net goal.

 

Game 2: HC Davos Dynamo vs. Riga Reign: 4-1 Dynamo (2-0 Davos)

The home fans in Riga were worried about a repeat performance of game 1 when Davos took the lead off of a Elias Dahlberg goal 8 minutes into the first period, but Edwin Preencarnacion was able to tie the game 5 minutes later. The score remained 1-1 going into the 2nd period, and it seemed like it was going to be a close affair. However, an onslaught by the Dynamo saw 3 goals scored this period (1 by John Madden and 2 by Rylan Peace), which resulted in the Reign goaltender, Kallis Kriketers, being pulled after the third goal. The Dynamo were able to close this one out and take the 2-0 series lead.

 

Game 3: Riga Reign vs. HC Davos Dynamo: 3-2 Dynamo (3-0 Davos)

Game 3 would end up as the closest game of the series. The Dynamo once again opened the scoring in the game, this time with a first period goal by Veran Dragomir. The Reign equalized in the second period off of a goal by Podrick Cast. In the 3rd, The Reign were able to take their first lead in the series off of Podrick Cast's second goal of the game. However, with only 3 minutes remaining, Dynamo winger Pat Svoboda was able to net the trying goal and send this game to overtime. With time winding down, fans of both teams thought this game would be heading to a second overtime, but Dynamo depth forward Katie Warren was able to beat Kriketers for the OT winner.

 

Game 4: Riga Reign vs. HC Davos Dynamo: 2-0 Dynamo (4-0 Davos wins)

Game 4 just wasn't even close. The Dynamo were able to shut on the Reign 2-0 and outshoot them 45-14. Goals were scored by Elias Dahlberg and Ryuu Crimson. It appears that the Reign were just deflated. After the second goal was scored, reality started to creep in on the Riga bench, and the rest of the game was played at a low level of intensity.

 

With the sweep of the Riga Reign, HC Davos Dynamo continued their dominance in the overall playoff series, now with 14 series wins to 3 series losses. Next up is the Helsinki Titans, who not only are the first seed in the European Conference, but were also the 1st ranked team in the league. On paper, their roster has much more star power than the Dynamo, but the regular season stats are pretty close. In 8 games, the teams battled to a 4-4 record in 8 very close games. Goals scored were in favor of the Dynamo 27-26 and shots were in favor of Davos as well, 270-248. This should be a close, hard fought series, but I think almost everyone would be surprised if the Dynamo were able to squeak out a series win.

 

Extra - North American Conference

In the North American Conference, the New York Americans faced off against the Vancouver Wolves. This was expected to be a very close series, as the teams were only separated by 1 point in the regular season standings. After 6 hard fought games, the Vancouver Wolves outlasted the New York Americans, 4-2. Most of the games were very close, but game 6 saw the Wolves win 1-0 by a goal scored by noted New York American hater Gritty. What a way to end the series!

 

In the Conference Finals, the Vancouver Wolves will be facing the Calgary Wranglers. Similar to the quarter-finals, the Wranglers finished only 1 point higher than Vancouver. This will be a very close series that will go 7 games. My prediction is Wolves in 7 with the game winning goal scored by Gritty and assisted by Shawn Glade.

 

 

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