VSN Weekly Review - S71 Week 1

[Erik Summers 451]

Welcome to the first edition of VSN’s S71 Weekly Review (Games 1-48).  We’ll cover a host of things in this recap each week including highlights of important VSN happenings, three stars of the week, power rankings, rookie profiles, and anything else of importance.
 
Changes

There will be a couple of changes coming to the Weekly Report this season. The first is that it will now be called Weekly Review. Second, I will no longer be recapping every single fight, it was just too repetitive to be worth the amount of work it took. Instead, I will cover fights that I find especially notable, line brawls, momentum shifts, repeat offenders, and stuff like that. Finally, I will be adding a poll each week where the readers will pick their power rankings each week and I will compare those to my own. Hopefully, these changes will keep Weekly Report fresh and exciting this season. 
 
Recap

We’re back and better than ever! S71 has begun and we are starting to get a feel for each team around the league. The Helsinki Titans and Toronto Legion are both punching well above where they were expected to be this season. Granted, it is still early, but this could throw a huge wrench in some pre-season predictions. On the flip side, D.C. and Malmo seem to be the contenders they have been hyped up to be.
 
We saw a number of notable performances this week, but to highlight a few of the best, here is my shortlist. First, we have Michael Johnson who has recorded three shutouts in eight games. Surely, this pace can’t continue, but this has been a fantastic start. Next, I want to mention the break-out season Oskar Lagesson seems to be having. Somehow, he is second in points among defensemen while also leading the league in penalty minutes. Finally, there is the entire New York Americans penalty kill. Fredrik Elmebeck, Owen Nolan, and David OQuinn each have a short-handed goal already.
 
So far, the European Conference leads the North American Conference, winning seven of the ten cross-conference games. The biggest stat out of these games is the +16 goal differential the European teams currently hold. It will be interesting to see if these stats hold as the season progresses.
 

 
3-Stars
 
First Star
Michael Johnson (MAL) - 0.953 SSV%, 1.36 GAA, 3 SO
Second Star
Hulk Hogan (SEA) - 10 A, 17 SB
Third Star
Julius Freeman (VAN) - 7 G, 3 A
 
Power Rankings

 
European Conference

 

1. Moscow Menace - The champs are back and it doesn’t look like they’ve regressed at all.
2. Prague Phantoms - Two wins over Malmo and a win over Moscow. This is a team to fear.
3. Malmo Nighthawks - Honestly, I want to rank them higher than this, but I want to see them beat some tougher competition first. 
4. Helsinki Titans - They are certainly a team in a retool, but it looks like they may have avoided a total rebuild.
5. Riga Reign - I would have thought they had at least one more season before their window closed, but perhaps I was wrong.
6. HC Davos Dynamo - They have three first-round picks next season and they will likely all be in the top five or six picks. Focus on that Dynamo fans.

 
North American Conference

 

 

1. Calgary Wranglers - Calgary was a bit of an underdog to represent the conference in last seasons cup. That won't be the case if they make it back in S71.
2. D.C. Dragons - D.C. is continuing to build on the success of last season. They turned some heads this week.
3. Vancouver Wolves -  They could have gotten a better start, but they still look like a tough team to beat when they are clicking.
4. New York Americans - New York is only here because they should be better than Toronto and we only had eight games this week. They should improve as the season progresses.
5. Toronto Legion - This team has a lot of talented players, but they are still young and need improvement.
6. Seattle Bears - Maybe it is just a slow start like last season, but this week was rough.

 
Notable Games

Game 10 - D.C. Dragons vs. Vancouver Wolves
The three notable games this week were easy to pick. First, we had an exciting shootout finish in a game between two of the top three teams in the North American Conference. The Wolves dominated the shot total in the first period, but each team went into the intermission with a single goal. After that, they each had a period where the momentum seemed to be in their favour but JB Rift and Jimmy Spyro were magnificent through the stretch, keeping the game even throughout three periods and overtime. Finally, in the fourth round of the shootout, Benny Graves blasted one past Spyro and a final stop from Rift secured the game for the Dragons.
 
Game 27 - Helsinki Titans vs. Prague Phantoms
I promise I don’t just like shootouts, but this battle between second and third in the European Conference was too good to pass up. Erik Summers and Alex Pearson each scored on the powerplay in the first period to send it to intermission tied 1-1. It looked as though we would enter the third with the same score, but in the closing seconds of the second period, Brian Strong put it in the back of the net to give the Titans the lead. Both teams took their time in the final period, looking for the right time to strike, but it was the Phantoms who were finally able to sustain pressure and get the tying goal. After an exciting overtime was unable to give a winner, it took to the fourth round of the shootout for Ben Hafkey to beat the keeper with a five-hole shot. After one more save by Virgil Ligriv, it was over.
 
Game 30 - Calgary Wranglers vs.Moscow Menace
 Finally, we have a rematch of the S70 Continental Cup finals, and boy did we get a good one. This game is already on the shortlist for the best games of the season. Raymond Bernard and Jacques Lafontaine each had an SSV% over .950, stopping a combined seventy shots. You had to wonder going into this match whether or not Bernard was in the head of the Wranglers a bit after the cup finals, but Calgary put those thoughts to rest with a quick goal less than four minutes into the game. Unfortunately for them, that would be their last as Moscow dominated possession for the rest of the game. The Menace roster combined for forty-six shots and did not afford the Wranglers another solid opportunity until late in the third. However, the reigning champions managed to hold on through the desperate push in the final minutes to secure the win.
 

Events of the Week

 
Fights
 
Game 6 - Pat Svoboda beats up Ben McGirr
A lot of times when we talk about fights that changed the momentum of games, we will be taking about fights that are closely followed by a goal or put an end to a team’s streak of scoring. However, this fight didn’t stem the unending tide of shots from the Phantoms. Instead, it changed the momentum for one player only, Pat Svoboda. After returning to the ice from his five for fighting Ben McGirr, Pat was a force of nature and the only one able to break open the scoring in this 0-0 match. His goal would end as the only one of the night.
Game 18 - BRAWL!
It didn’t take long this season for the Titan’s newest player, Blake Laughton, to show us exactly what we expected, starting a line brawl. His timing, however, could have been better. At the time of the fight, Moscow had just tied the game at 3-3, a game that they would go on to win 4-3. But you’re not here for the logic of fighting, you want the results. All ten skaters were involved in the brawl and they were paired as such, Laughton beat up Mat Tocco, Jet Jaguar beat up Jim Bob, and Ben Hafkey and Nate Telker fought to a draw.  Cody Smith, Tony Bolonee,  Oskar Lagesson, and Vladimir Pavlov were also involved in the scuffle without dropping gloves.
Game 29 - BRAWL!
I don’t know what the coaches said during the first intermission, but it got these players angry. Just thirty-six seconds into the period a line brawl broke out resulting in ten penalties to nine players. After an Elasmobranch Fish hooking penalty drew a crowd, Luciano Valentino jumped in and started swinging. Eventually, he paired off with Derek Eriksson, my child, and took him to the ice with some big blows. George Washington and John Madden fought to a draw as well as Mikko Aaltonen and Milos Slavik. John Frostbeard and Pierre Persson also drew penalties for their involvement in the kerfuffle.
Game 30 - Oskar Lagesson beats up a ref?
Now, I grant that I am still fairly new to this league, but I didn’t know this was actually something that could happen. Oskar Lagesson was ejected from a game against the Calgary Wranglers for Abuse of an Official. I know we don’t do suspensions, but perhaps we should consider it.
 
Hat-Tricks
 
Game 11 - Acyd Burn
Somehow, at the time of writing this, Malmo is in fourth in the European Conference. However, that seems unlikely to remain the case as they have seen excellent performances already from all of their stars. Acyd Burn, their big off-season acquisition, showed us all just what he is capable of as he notches the first hat-trick of the season. Scored entirely in the span of nine minutes in the second period, the game was already firmly in the Nighthawks’ grasp, but this turned it into a rout. It is also worth mentioning that Burn had two assists as well to make it a five-point game.
Game 46 - Erik Draven
The Helsinki Titans exploded into this game with the first goal, but it looked like Vancouver may have recovered the momentum with the quick response. However, that is when Erik Draven cranked it to eleven and took over the game. Over the course of a little less than a period, Draven racked up all three goals for his first hatty of the season. Fellow Erik, Erik Summers, got assists on all three goals, so the Erik to Erik connection was strong this game.
 
Shutouts
 
Game 3 - Seattle vs. Malmo
A strong start for the Nighthawks, it looked like they were the only team who came to this game prepared to play. Malmo capitalized repeatedly on the man advantage, scoring all three goals while on the power play. However, Michael Johnson really stole the show with twenty-nine saves in the first shutout of the season. Johnson even came out of this game with a point just to put the gravy on the cake.
Game 6 - Prague vs. Riga
This game had it all, but we have already talked about the fight and goal by Svoboda. Outside of that, this game was a goalie duel between two of the best in the league. After stopping fifteen shots in a harrowing second period, Finn Davison fully deserved the shutout in this one and finished with twenty-six saves on the night. The Reign’s defence deserves credit as well for only allowing five shots in the third, even as the Phantoms pulled their goalie to try to tie it up.
Game 25 - Toronto vs. Vancouver
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but Toronto has a goalie and he just shut out the Vancouver Wolves. Jaxx Hextall had a crazy game and didn’t receive a ton of help from his blue line. He stopped twenty-five shots as the rookie took down the veteran Greg Eagles in this 1-0 finish.
Game 34 - Moscow vs. HC Davos
The reigning champs have started out hot this season with no sign of a cup hangover insight. With possibly the best defensive pairing in the league and a goaltender who entered the season as a favourite for the Aiden Shaw, expect to see more of the Menace on the shutout list. However, the first is always special and Raymond Bernard recorded his first shutout of the season in style with a comfortable seventeen saves.
Game 38 -  New York vs. D.C.
D.C. got off to a brilliant start with three goals in the first period. But it was JB Rift who stole the show and demoralized the competition. Despite sustained pressure in the second period, the Americans were unable to solve him. The Dragons’ defence got things back under control in the third to help Rift finished the shutout.
Game 42 - Helsinki vs. Malmo
Oh, how the Titans wish they could have the first minute of this game back. A minute was all it took for Phil Marleau to score the only goal of the game. From there, Michael Johnson and Virgil Ligriv shut down both offences in the second-best goalie duel we saw this week (Just wait.. You’ll see why this one is second). They each stopped twenty-seven shots, but Johnson walked away with his second shutout of the week.
Game 44 - Prague vs HC Davos
This is the best Davos has looked so far this season and this was Prague’s worst performance by far. Spending twice as much time on the man advantage helped the Dynamo greatly, as they scored the only goal of the game on the power play. Samuel Ross only faced fifteen shots, but it doesn’t matter how hard it was, a shutout is always a big accomplishment.
Game 48 - Riga vs Malmo
Michael Johnson had a near-identical performance to his game against Helsinki with twenty-six saves in his third shutout of the week, an amazing accomplishment. However,  Malmo didn’t score in the first minute of this game the way they had in the last. Instead, we had the craziest finish to a game I have ever seen. Finn Davison played an equally amazing game, stopping thirty shots in fifty-nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. But, with one second left on the clock, the unthinkable happened. A last-second effort by Aleksander Rodriguez just managed to squeak by Davison to end a game that looked destined for overtime.

Rookie Spotlight
Kristopher McDagg

After four seasons in the VHLM, Kristopher McDagg has finally arrived and he is off to a great start. Originally signing with the Houston Bulls, McDagg was eventually drafted by the Saskatoon Wild and stayed there for their impressive cup victory in S69. It looked like he would finally get his major league start in S70 when he was called up by HC Davos, but after being traded to Toronto he was sent back to the VHLM. There, he once again found himself playing for the Bulls.
 
Last season in Houston he finally had his breakout year with over a hundred points and a +55. He also improved physically as well, jumping up to a personal best two-hundred and sixty-five hits while only increasing his penalty minutes slightly.
 
This season, he has rejoined the Toronto Legion roster and has put up good numbers for a rookie. In his first eight games, he has already scored seven points, which is an excellent pace for a rookie, but I would like to see his defensive stats improve over the course of the season. If McDagg can balance out his game reasonably, I think he is a real contender for rookie of the year.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

Players mentioned: @fonziGG, @fever95, @Elmebeck, @David O'Quinn, @studentized, @Devise, @Spyro, @gorlab, @Matmenzinger, @Telkster, @Victor, @Mr_Hatter, @rjfryman, @Greg_Di, @STZ, @Sharkstrong, @Enorama, @FrostBeard, @Kekzkrieg, @GRZ, @StamkosFan, @Poptart, @Jayrad28, @cartoes, @Brrbisbrr, @DirtyDerek,  @Thranduil, @Frank, @Dominus89, @Phil, @Acydburn, @Viperxhawks19, @ROOKIE745, @HulkHogan, @McLovin, @Grape, @Wheaties, @Jbeezy76, @Erik Summers, @jRuutu, @Tbeez99, @MMFLEX

 

I'm sorry if I missed your tag. Player lookup is down and I did my best.

 

[Victor 11,021]

@fever95 is just a goon tbh

[Enorama 2,039]

27 minutes ago, Erik Summers said:

Derek Eriksson, my child,

 

@DirtyDerek I finally understand why he calls you his child.

 

Erik Summers -> Derek Eriksson

[Erik Summers 451]

25 minutes ago, Enorama said:

 

@DirtyDerek I finally understand why he calls you his child.

 

Erik Summers -> Derek Eriksson

 

I wondered how many times I could make that joke before someone pointed it out.

[Big Mac 310]

54 minutes ago, Erik Summers said:

Rookie Spotlight
Kristopher McDagg

After four seasons in the VHLM, Kristopher McDagg has finally arrived and he is off to a great start. Originally signing with the Houston Bulls, McDagg was eventually drafted by the Saskatoon Wild and stayed there for their impressive cup victory in S69. It looked like he would finally get his major league start in S70 when he was called up by HC Davos, but after being traded to Toronto he was sent back to the VHLM. There, he once again found himself playing for the Bulls.
 
Last season in Houston he finally had his breakout year with over a hundred points and a +55. He also improved physically as well, jumping up to a personal best two-hundred and sixty-five hits while only increasing his penalty minutes slightly.
 
This season, he has rejoined the Toronto Legion roster and has put up good numbers for a rookie. In his first eight games, he has already scored seven points, which is an excellent pace for a rookie, but I would like to see his defensive stats improve over the course of the season. If McDagg can balance out his game reasonably, I think he is a real contender for rookie of the year.

Jacques LaFontaine no?

[Viper 530]

i like what i see

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

20 hours ago, Erik Summers said:

Shutouts
 
Game 3 - Seattle vs. Malmo
A strong start for the Nighthawks, it looked like they were the only team who came to this game prepared to play. Malmo capitalized repeatedly on the man advantage, scoring all three goals while on the power play. However, Michael Johnson really stole the show with twenty-nine saves in the first shutout of the season. Johnson even came out of this game with a point just to put the gravy on the cake.
Game 6 - Prague vs. Riga
This game had it all, but we have already talked about the fight and goal by Svoboda. Outside of that, this game was a goalie duel between two of the best in the league. After stopping fifteen shots in a harrowing second period, Finn Davison fully deserved the shutout in this one and finished with twenty-six saves on the night. The Reign’s defence deserves credit as well for only allowing five shots in the third, even as the Phantoms pulled their goalie to try to tie it up.
Game 25 - Toronto vs. Vancouver
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but Toronto has a goalie and he just shut out the Vancouver Wolves. Jaxx Hextall had a crazy game and didn’t receive a ton of help from his blue line. He stopped twenty-five shots as the rookie took down the veteran Greg Eagles in this 1-0 finish.
Game 34 - Moscow vs. HC Davos
The reigning champs have started out hot this season with no sign of a cup hangover insight. With possibly the best defensive pairing in the league and a goaltender who entered the season as a favourite for the Aiden Shaw, expect to see more of the Menace on the shutout list. However, the first is always special and Raymond Bernard recorded his first shutout of the season in style with a comfortable seventeen saves.
Game 38 -  New York vs. D.C.
D.C. got off to a brilliant start with three goals in the first period. But it was JB Rift who stole the show and demoralized the competition. Despite sustained pressure in the second period, the Americans were unable to solve him. The Dragons’ defence got things back under control in the third to help Rift finished the shutout.
Game 42 - Helsinki vs. Malmo
Oh, how the Titans wish they could have the first minute of this game back. A minute was all it took for Phil Marleau to score the only goal of the game. From there, Michael Johnson and Virgil Ligriv shut down both offences in the second-best goalie duel we saw this week (Just wait.. You’ll see why this one is second). They each stopped twenty-seven shots, but Johnson walked away with his second shutout of the week.
Game 44 - Prague vs HC Davos
This is the best Davos has looked so far this season and this was Prague’s worst performance by far. Spending twice as much time on the man advantage helped the Dynamo greatly, as they scored the only goal of the game on the power play. Samuel Ross only faced fifteen shots, but it doesn’t matter how hard it was, a shutout is always a big accomplishment.
Game 48 - Riga vs Malmo
Michael Johnson had a near-identical performance to his game against Helsinki with twenty-six saves in his third shutout of the week, an amazing accomplishment. However,  Malmo didn’t score in the first minute of this game the way they had in the last. Instead, we had the craziest finish to a game I have ever seen. Finn Davison played an equally amazing game, stopping thirty shots in fifty-nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. But, with one second left on the clock, the unthinkable happened. A last-second effort by Aleksander Rodriguez just managed to squeak by Davison to end a game that looked destined for overtime.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

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Players mentioned: @fonziGG, @fever95, @Elmebeck, @David O'Quinn, @studentized, @Devise, @Spyro, @gorlab, @Matmenzinger, @Telkster, @Victor, @Mr_Hatter, @rjfryman, @Greg_Di, @STZ, @Sharkstrong, @Enorama, @FrostBeard, @Kekzkrieg, @GRZ, @StamkosFan, @Poptart, @Jayrad28, @cartoes, @Brrbisbrr, @DirtyDerek,  @Thranduil, @Frank, @Dominus89, @Phil, @Acydburn, @Viperxhawks19, @ROOKIE745, @HulkHogan, @McLovin, @Grape, @Wheaties, @Jbeezy76, @Erik Summers, @jRuutu, @Tbeez99, @MMFLEX

 

I'm sorry if I missed your tag. Player lookup is down and I did my best.

 

Ouch, no mention of Calgary's shutout? Or am I just blind.

[Erik Summers 451]

2 minutes ago, SlapshotDragon said:

Ouch, no mention of Calgary's shutout? Or am I just blind.

 
Hm.. I'm going to blame that on bouncing between two computers while writing this, but I'm not sure how I missed that.