The S11 Game 7 between the Reign and the Dynamo needs a deep rewind

[Matt_O 896]

 

It's Game seven in Davos, and the Reign are up 4-1. These two teams are in the middle of a bitter rivalry, and the crowd is roaring after a huge fight between the teams. Nobody could have guessed what would happen next, and how the next 14 seconds would change VHL history. This game needs a deep rewind.

 

 

 

Shortly after the Dynamo had relocated from Avangard, they found themselves in a serious rivalry with the Riga Reign. Both being in the European Conference, the two teams were very similar in style and were always very close in the standings. Their goaltender Benoit Deveroux ( @Cowboy ) is one of the greatest goaltenders ever, with an ungodly .940 save percentage in S11. They also had Zach Arce, who hadn't become a superstar yet, but was in the early stages of his career. That can also be said about Tomas Jenskovic ( @scotty )who would eventually become a Hall of Famer but wasn't a star yet.What really pushed these two teams into their rivalry was the acquisition of Jonathan Matthias, who would score 61 goals and 76 assists for Davos in S11, alongside winning the MVP. This trade from the offseason gave Davos the edge on Riga, and they finished with the number one seed in the conference. 

 

While the Dynamo were a great team, we can't forget to talk about Riga. They had the talents of Torstein Schwartz, Kyle McLeod and Vladimir Klement. Despite having no hall of famers (Davos had three) They finished just behind Davos in the standings, but in their head to head matchups, they were practically dead even. Davos had four wins, Riga had six, with three of those coming in a shootout. And in their series, it looked like these two were very evenly matched.

 

In the third period of game one, this intense rivalry and the hatred boiled over, and there was a huge fight between the two teams. Game one was perhaps a wake up call for Davos, since Riga dominated them in the shot category, and beat them 3-1 to steal home ice from an elite Davos squad. Game two was led by their fourth line and Benoit Deveroux, which they stole from Riga and they tied up the series.  

 

Game three saw yet another line brawl, this time involving Jonathan Matthias, Zach Arce, and Vladimir Klement, three stars from either team. Despite Matthias two goals in just four seconds, Riga held on to win game three, and bounced back after a disappointed game two. In game four, Tomas Ziegler put a loose puck in the back of the net late in the third, which put Davos ahead by one. The Dynamo held on to win that game, and tie the series at two.

 

Two massive fights in only four games between teams isn't normal for a playoff series, but this wasn't any normal series. These two teams hated each other.

 

"Things definitely culminated in S11 and formed arguably the best rivalry in league history."

-Tomas Jenskovic

 

Game five featured more beatdowns, with Jartavius O'Neal pounding an unknown Riga player. More goals from the fourth line led to this game heading Davos' way, and Riga would play for their lives in game six. In game six, it was the Reign that finished on top, and they had forced what seemed to be inevitable; Game 7.

 

Game 7 in Davos

 

The game the VHL had been waiting for had begun, and it started with a bang. With seven minutes remaining in the first, another big fight broke out, with three players from each team heading to the box. More back and forth action between the teams led to a Riga goal, and they silenced the fans and took the lead. They continued to pile on, scoring another before the end of the first. While the game was young, it didn't look so great for Davos.

 

The second period started and the crowd got even quieter; Riga scored again to make their lead 3-0. It was a pitiful effort from Davos at their home arena. Late in the second, Davos finally broke through, as Tuvia Bielski scored to make it 3-1. It wasn't totally over yet, until Ace Lightning immediately responded and gave Riga their three goal lead back. Heading into the third period, the Zurich Center was quiet. The game seemed out of reach. The Dynamo had twenty minutes to save their season.

 

The first ten minutes of the third came and went, before another huge fight broke out. Jartavius O'Neal sent the crowd into a frenzy, and the building was electric. Despite being down 4-1, the fans were going crazy. 

 

Before I get to this next part, we need to take a break and talk about Tomas Ziegler. He was a big peice of Davos' success, as he had decided to sign their in free agency during the S10 offseason. He originally played on Riga, and was heckled by his former teammates. He was a traitor by joining his old teams biggest rival. He finished with 96 points in S11, and was the anchor of the second line for Davos.

 

After the massive fight with O'Neal, only twenty four ticks of the clock went by before the crowd erupted once again. Tomas Ziegler, a former Riga player, put the puck into the back of the net to make the score 4-2, with 9:17 left in the third. The building was alive, the crowd was deafening. Right off the face off, Sebastian Perrin won it forward and it was picked up by Matthias. He skated past the defender on the blue line and snapped a wicked wrist shot from the hashmarks. The red light flashed. It was 4-3. Four seconds had passed. Zurich Center had never been louder. Davos was back in it.

 

Sebastian Perrin won the faceoff back to Tomas Jenskovic, who ripped a pass to Jonathan Matthias. Matthias was streaking into the offensive zone, and found himself on a partial break. He turned, took a quik shot, and scored. It was 4-4. Fourteen seconds had passed. The only word to describe this was miraculous. The final nine minutes played out, and we headed to overtime.

 

 

Davos scores three goals in 14 seconds to tie the game

 

The first overtime began, and it belonged to Riga. They dominated the entire period, putting 22 shots on Deveroux, who stopped all 22. Davos did nothing, and barely made it out alive. We had double overtime. The madness would continue. But in double overtime, it wouldn't take long. Tomas Ziegler would make a mark of Dynamo history that no one could have ever guessed would of happened. He sniped one over the shoulder of Reign goaltender Marek van Urho, and the Dynamo capped one of the most epic comebacks the VHL has ever seen.

 

 

A comeback for the ages marked the beginning of HC Davos hockey. They would go on to win the S13 Continental Cup, but failed to win again until S20. The Reign continued their dominance, with a finals berth in S12 and a Continental Cup in S16. This moment in VHL history will stand as perhaps the single greatest moment in VHL history.

[Victor 10,526]

Best Game 7 until S47.

[hedgehog337 3,480]

12 minutes ago, Victor said:

Best Game 7 until S47.

 

[Victor 10,526]

3 hours ago, hedgehog337 said:

 

You got some threepeat action to balance it out.  At least @jRuutu got something to be happy about.

 

Actually did Calgary even win another playoff series after S47? As in the real Calgary not the Stockholm rip off. Cursed. @eaglesfan036

[eaglesfan036 4,583]

1 hour ago, Victor said:

You got some threepeat action to balance it out.  At least @jRuutu got something to be happy about.

 

Actually did Calgary even win another playoff series after S47? As in the real Calgary not the Stockholm rip off. Cursed. @eaglesfan036

I’m pretty sure we won a first round series or two, but never advanced past the 2nd

[Walter Fizz 84]

Why use the will smith meme when you’re blantantly copying SB Nation

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

On 8/15/2019 at 4:54 PM, Victor said:

You got some threepeat action to balance it out.  At least @jRuutu got something to be happy about.

 

Actually did Calgary even win another playoff series after S47? As in the real Calgary not the Stockholm rip off. Cursed. @eaglesfan036

i think the FA super team won a round if im not mistaken

[Victor 10,526]

5 minutes ago, TheLastOlympian07 said:

i think the FA super team won a round if im not mistaken

Definitely not in the season they won the Victory Cup as they got Greg Clegane'd in the conference finals but then I wiped S52 from my memory so entirely plausible.

[Matt_O 896]

1 hour ago, Walter Fizz said:

Why use the will smith meme when you’re blantantly copying SB Nation

I took the idea from SB Nation. I wrote about VHL stuff instead of NFL and NHL stuff. So I took the idea but made my own spin off of it which is fair. I even said it was based off of the series from SB Nation

[Walter Fizz 84]

16 minutes ago, Matt_O said:

I took the idea from SB Nation. I wrote about VHL stuff instead of NFL and NHL stuff. So I took the idea but made my own spin off of it which is fair. I even said it was based off of the series from SB Nation

Wow this is why I love you 

[Seabass 593]

Too bad I wasnt active at the time to witness this performance first hand...