VHLM First Round Review

[Matt_O 897]

Well, that was fast.

 

The VHLM playoffs started on Tuesday, which was highlighted by four dominating performances. The longest a series went was five games. Lets take a look at each series, starting with the first seed Ottawa Lynx beating the Las Vegas Aces

 

Ottawa Lynx vs Las Vegas Aces

Ottawa wins 4-1

 

As the GM of Las Vegas, I had some hope heading into the series. The Aces had been playing well heading into the postseason, despite trading most of the good players at the trade deadline. The stunning game one win for Vegas acted as the wake up call for Ottawa, who demolished them in four straight games to win the series. Vegas even winning a single game in this series is enough for them to be happy about. Goaltender Solomon Crawford struggled through the series (with exception to game one), and Vegas simply could not keep up with the high powered Lynx.  Nine players on the Lynx finished with five or more points in the series, including three players with over 10 points in this series. 

 

Philadelphia Reapers vs San Diego Marlins 

Philadelphia wins 4-0

 

The Marlins had no draft picks heading into this season, and still put together a solid squad that kept this series competitive. While you can look at the series and say "How was it competitive, they got swept?" Well, just take a look at the scores of each game. Every game was within two goals, and considering the Marlins were taking on an unfairly stacked Reapers Squad, that is a good thing to take out of this. Brock Louth and Fang Flashback stole the show, as Louth finished with eight points, and Flashback had an incredible .931 save percentage and a 1.75 GAA. 

 

 Minnesota Storm vs Houston Bulls 

Minnesota wins 4-0

 

Well, count me as surprised. The Bulls have arguably the best defense core in the VHLM, with Charles Drumm, Banko Mulleto, Jeff Downey, Frederick Elmebeck, and Khalabib Stiopic. In this series, that clearly wasn't the issue. While they allowed 13 goals through the series, they only scored two goals in the four games. How is that even possible. Storm netminder Virgil Ligriv had a 0.68 GAA and a .972 save percentage. A season that had promise for the Bulls ended in bitter disappointment. Defenseman Kefka Palazzo and Hugh Chan were the top performers for Minnesota, with seven points each. The series between them and the Reapers will be a great one.

 

 Yukon Rush vs Halifax 21st 

Halifax wins 4-1

 

Yukon came into the series as the favorite to win, but their offense fell apart against the 21st. A dependable offense, with star talents like Frans Eller and Brendan Plunkett, failed to produce anything in this series, only scoring six goals in five games. The Halifax beat the Rush off of their all around attack, as all but four players scored at least a point, and nine players had at least three points. Yukon goaltender A Red Guy didn't face many shots, but didn't save many either. He only had to face an average of 18 shots per game, but still had a 2.67 GAA, considerably worse than Throvald Gunnarsson, the Halifax netminder. It was a rough series for Yukon, who headed into the playoffs as possible contenders. 

 

 

With the first round complete, we can look towards the semi finals. We have the Storm facing the Reapers, which is easily the best series so far. We also have the Lynx taking on the 21st, which should be interesting. The Ottawa offense is on fire, so we will see if Halifax can contain them. 

 

Predictions:

 

Storm vs Reapers: Storm in 7

Lynx vs 21st: Lynx in 5

 

 

 

[Elmebeck 378]

I don't know what happened with Minnesota, but their goalie @MMFLEX had 97.2% saves and two shutouts. I think he robbed us. GG

[fonziGG 1,071]

[Higgins 3,618]

LYNX IN 5???

 

i hear a nor’easters a brewin in the Atlantic 

[Jubo 1,839]

1 hour ago, Matt_O said:

an unfairly stacked Reapers Squad

[STZ 5,389]

That Houston logo