Claimed:Turku Advances to 2nd Round, Boychuk Still Frustrated

[DollarAndADream 3,357]

Travis Boychuk's Scoring Woes

 

The VHLM Playoffs have gone underway and the Turku Outlaws have looked strong so far. The 1st Round is over and done with, and we are currently in the beginning of the 2nd Round. In the 1st Round, Turku faced off against the Bratislava Watchmen. As strong as the defending champs were, the Outlaws got by them easily in just 5 games.  Scoring 31 goals in just 5 games, one of have to believe they the Outlaws had scoring from everywhere. This is not the case, as the star centerman Travis Boychuk has been struggling. 

 

Throughout the 1st Round, the 2nd line of the Outlaws came through the fold in a big way. Kinkaid, Valentini and Svensson are up top in points for Turku with their star defencemen. Boychuk on the other hand, is in the middle of the pack and all of which have come in the form of assists. Travis Boychuk has 6 points in 7 games, and is a -1 thus far. This is not what analysts were expecting of the 1st line center in the post-season. Lucky for him, the Turku Outlaws are as deep of a team as any would want to be. 

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In the 2nd Round, the Turku Outlaws are faced up against the Bern Royals, and the series is tied 1-1 at this point. One would think, that if the Outlaws want to get far in these playoffs they will need Boychuk's help to get there. He needs to find a way to hit the net in this series. With 21 shots on goal in 7 games, he should find the net if he continues to work hard. Against the Royals, Boychuk has 1 assist in each of the games so he is still producing regardless. 

 

There are some positives in these playoffs to Boychuk's game, and that is in the face off circle. All of Travis' previous work has paid off as he is boasting a 62.92% currently. In recent articles about the player, it was mentioned in interviews that Boychuk was working extremely hard on getting better on the dot. His face off skill has noticeably improved and it seems he will only get even better. During the season, his face off percentage was in the mid-to-high 50's range and he has now hit above 60. The proof is in the numbers.

 

On such an offensive minded team, you would expect a 1st liner to find the net eventually. As the games go on, we will be looking for Travis Boychuk to regain his form from the regular season. We have caught up with Travis with a few questions:

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Interviewer: How have the playoffs felt for you so far? Last season in Ottawa your year ended after the regular season, and now you are in the 2nd round. 

 

TB: It has been a thrilling ride so far with a lot hanging in the balance. It's a different feeling in the post-season and there is much more riding on your shoulders. With such a loud building in Turku it has been very fun. 

 

Interviewer: Any changes to your game since the season ended? There have been many eyes on you and you have not scored a goal yet. 

 

TB: Trust me, I am working on it. All I can do is keep shooting like I have all year and we will see what happens. I have played a little more defensively but that is not an excuse. I am lucky to be on such a talented squad so the spotlight is not so much on me. It seems like the bounces just are not going my way. 

 

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The 2nd Round of the VHLM Playoffs has been as exciting as ever, and we expect it to get better as time goes on. It will be interesting to see which juggernaut comes out on top, as many teams have looked just as tough as the next. 

 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Content: 3/3 - Hopefully Boychuk's puck luck turns around soon, as the Outlaws are currently down three games to two. Even if you're not putting up as many points as you would like, at least you're solid on face offs.

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Pretty good.

 

1st Round = 1st round

2nd Round. = 2nd round.

Scoring 31 goals in just 5 games, one of have to believe they the Outlaws had scoring from everywhere. = Scoring 31 goals in just 5 games, one would believe the Outlaws have scoring from everywhere.

 

Editing: 1/1 - Always very nicely done.

 

Overall: 6/6

[Kesler 1,514]

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