Under 250: The VHLM Review (S71 #2)

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

 

 

Hello, and welcome to another edition of Under 250: The VHLM Report. In these series, we will be taking a look at the trends and topics from the past week in the VHLM. What twists and turns will our minor league hold? Stay tuned to find out!

 

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The Review

 

Another quarter of the season has gone by and we are at the halfway point of Season 71! The standings have shaken out a bit, with one team settling into the lead and a pack trailing. In this edition, we will take a look at games 60-198. Without further ado, let's hop into the standings! 

 

 

Standing alone at the top, the Ottawa Lynx have increased their lead from four points to eight, at a 30-4-1 record for a total of 61 points. Following up in second place is the Yukon Rush with 53 points, who have made a significant jump in the standings from fifth place the last time we polled. Trailing the Rush by one point we have two teams tied for third place; the Philadelphia Reapers stand together with the Minnesota Storm at 52 points apiece. With that being said, the Reapers do hold a game in hand, and are poised to grab second place. 

 

After the initial clump of teams currently vying for the second place, we drop another eight points to fifth-placed Las Vegas Aces. The Aces have had a somewhat disappointing run of form considering their activity in this season’s draft, having dropped from their position in second place the last time we polled. Trailing them is the San Diego Marlins with 42 points, marking the last of the teams with a positive goal differential.  In seventh place is the Saskatoon Wild, the team that has lost the most ground since our last report. Previously they were in third place, but have dropped significantly. This is an interesting fact considering last time around their performance was middling at best by our ELO charts, and this does seem like a regression to the mean. 

 

Taking the eighth and final playoff spot is Halifax 21st with 27 points, who are looking like they will get the misfortune of going up against the number one seed come playoff time. In ninth place, the Mississauga Hounds are on the bubble of the playoffs with 23 points. The Houston Bulls come next; their goals for is higher than the Hounds but their defence is an issue, having conceded 205 goals over 36 games played. Finally, we have the Mexico City Kings just a point behind in last place. 

 

Now let’s take a look at the ELO charts to see if we can paint a clearer picture: 

 

 

The Lynx have maintained their lead in ELO, but haven’t gained much on the Rush and Reapers, somewhat surprising given their increase in lead in the standings. The Rush have maintained their good form since the jump around Game 11, and are about neck and neck with the Reapers at this point. The major loser in ELO changes since last time is the Aces, which is consistent with their decline in the standings. Minnesota has experienced a recent surge to fourth in the ELO charts, matched by their fourth position. The Marlins have maintained consistent results, while the Wild’s drop off in standing is matched with their slight decline in ELO. Other than this, the bottom four teams of the standings are in the same order in ELO, though since the last time we polled Mexico and Houston have switched, as well as Halifax rebounding off their early season form to level off above the Mississauga Hounds. 

 

Looking over the last 26 games or so played for each team, we can see that although Ottawa has in fact increased their lead over second place, that mostly comes from both Saskatoon and Las Vegas dropping off so heavily. The Lynx have taken 41 points from their last 24 matches, while the Storm have taken 40 out of 26, the Rush 40 out of 25, and the Reapers 39 out of 26; relatively similar, albeit with a game or two fewer played. 

 

The Highlights

 

Despite those generally similar records (albeit with a slight lead over the past 25 games or so), the Ottawa Lynx really are continuing their run of good form with strong offensive showings from their top guys. Richard Penisson continues his fantastic rate of scoring, with 69 points over 24 games played, bridging the gap slightly on teammate Adam Syreck whose 66 points puts him in second over the same span of games, but still leads the league overall by a single point.  

 

For the Houston Bulls, Roadkill Steve has been a prolific scorer, with 28 goals, leading the league over this span of games (though he does have an extra game played compared to the Ottawa crew). In terms of defensemen, Zyrok12 has stepped up his game for the Yukon Rush, earning 47 points over 25 games, 43 of them coming as assists. For the San Diego Marlins, both Alex Bridges and Jungkok have been on a scoring tear, with a combined 96 points between the two of them. Another great performer over his last 26 games is Philadelphia’s right-winger Bud Knight whose 48 points ranks sixth between games 60-198. 

 

A special mention goes out to Andrew Su of the Mississauga Hounds. Despite his place on a Hounds team that is struggling to reach the playoffs, his 54 points total puts him at 21st overall in the points leaderboard. Additionally, in that same vein, Riley Walker and Gregg Stallion of the Houston Bulls have done their best to keep the Bulls alive, combining for 70 points over their last 25 games. 

 

From the goalies perspective, Isak Sjostrom has been really on top of his game for the Reapers. In overall SV% he comes in just under Ottawa’s Joakim Bruden, but over the last 26 games, his top of the league .912% and three shutouts prove his worth to this Reapers squad. With him playing the way he has been, they are looking like a dangerous team to face come playoffs. With a couple of tough losses in their last few games, including a 2-1 upset against the Kings, their record is maybe a little shakier than you might expect, but that just makes a dark horse performance all the more likely. 

 

That’s all for this edition of Under 250: The VHLM Review. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned next week for the inside scoop on all that’s going on in the league. Until next time!

 

GMs:  @Poptart, @Berocka, @Acydburn, @Dil, @Rayzor_7, @Motzaburger,

@MexicanCow123, @McWolf, @DMaximus, @iRockstar, @Sonnet

 

Players Mentioned: @bluesfan55, @Spade18, @PadStack, @stevo, @GlowyGoat, @SweatyBeaver,

@Zyrok, @Alex Bridges, @tfong, @Dilly Dilly, @Da_Berr, @Austin2997

 

VSN Writer Mr_Hatter
 

[bluesfan55 103]

i literally can’t stop scoring sorry

[Hogan 1,423]

Just now, bluesfan55 said:

i literally can’t stop scoring sorry

Decent 3rd round pick

[Oatex 235]

On 4/11/2020 at 6:16 PM, Hulk Hogan said:

Decent 3rd round pick

if I was on a line with two insanely good scorers, i’d be good too, but I suck lmao