VSN Weekly Review - S72 Week 4

[hylands 838]

Welcome to the fourth edition of VSN’s S72 Weekly recap (Games 288-370).  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.

 

Speaking of other VSN content, make sure to check out the other great work from the greater VSN family! Here are a few handy links to check out, from our weekly podcasts to in-depth history articles, scouting reports, and more!

Under 250: Week 4 | Deep Rewind: WJC | Ringless: S21 Seattle Bears | S72 Future Watch: EU

Recap

The trade deadline came and went this season without so much as a whimper. With so many blockbuster deals made in the week leading up to the deadline, it’s not hard to see why we didn’t have any trades made on deadline day. This week we had both the Calgary Wranglers and Seattle Bears clinch playoff spots, becoming the first teams to do so. Elsewhere in the playoff race, things are still very much up for grabs. The offensive surge we saw last week came to a halt, as goalies and defences were able to find their feet again. With playoffs right around the corner, they would have been working hard in practice to correct any flaws in their game to ensure success. 

 

As the regular season winds down, and we approach the final 10 games, we are really in for a heated battle. Having only two playoff spots accounted for out of 8, teams on the outside looking in will be doing their utmost to make sure they are in that top 8 come to the end of the season. With the European conference as tight as it is right now, there will undoubtedly be some disappointed players when it all comes to an end. 

 

 

3-Stars

 

First Star

RJ Jubis (CGY) - 7 G, 9 A, +7

Second Star

Berocka Sundqvist (SEA) - 7 G, 16 A, 19 Hits

Third Star

Michael Johnson (HSK) - 2.84 GAA, .914 SV%, 6 W

 

Power Rankings

@Pengu again with the amazing power rankings graphic

European Conference

 

It was a big shake-up in the European Conference this week. The Riga Reign have finally pulled away from the pack far enough that it is hard to see them losing the top spot. But elsewhere in the conference, things have gotten very interesting. The Helsinki Titans had a down week, winning just half of their games and allowing the HC Davos Dynamo to catch back up with them. The really interesting change, however, is the Moscow Menace. At times this season, it looked questionable whether the Menace would even make the playoffs, and they are now within a couple of points of the second seed. There is still enough hockey to be played that we could end up with a surprising playoff picture. The final piece of that picture is the Prague Phantoms. While Moscow surged, the Phantoms quietly kept pace. They are still a few points back, but the next three teams are close enough that any one of them could drop below Prague with a bad enough slide. I will mention the Malmo Nighthawks just to say that they are only holding onto last in the league by a point and need to tank harder to maximize their chances of first overall.

 

North American Conference

 

In contrast, the North American Conference was fairly stable this week. The Calgary Wranglers still hold their fate in their own hands with a relatively comfortable lead of the conference. The only team that can realistically challenge them for the top spot are the Seattle Bears. While they are six points back in the standings, most of those points are from Calgary’s overtime losses, and Seattle only trails them by two in goal differential. These two are so closely matched it is impossible to say there is a clear favourite to win the conference championship. Behind that, the New York Americans have the third seed almost locked in; they are twelve points back from second and six points ahead of fourth, putting them in the unenviable position of having to face Calgary or Seattle in the first round. The last playoff spot is held by the Toronto Legion. They have a five-point lead on the Vancouver Wolves, but it is important to remember that the Wolves have been on a steady decline since selling off assets earlier in the season. I don’t foresee a close racing for the last playoff spot in this conference. The D.C. Dragons are just battling Malmo for the bottom spot in the league, hoping for the best possible draft odds.

 

Notable Games

 

Game 305 - Riga Reign vs. Helsinki Titans

In this battle between the top two teams in the European conference, we saw tempers flare and maybe even a glimpse at a potential Conference Finals matchup. There were 19 penalties handed out between both teams, with Riga picking up an absurd 12 minors. Helsinki took full advantage of their power plays and scored 3 of their goals while having a man advantage, with the eventual game-winner being one of them. Erik Summers led the way for Helsinki with 2 goals and an assist, while it must be noted that Greg Eagles had a magnificent performance in net for Riga, making 43 saves in a tough loss. This win for Helsinki has allowed them to remain within striking distance of that coveted top spot in the conference, which Riga currently holds.

 

Game 314 - Moscow Menace vs. New York Americans

This was a great hockey game between the 3rd placed teams in each conference. A very even battle that came down to goaltending at the end of the day. This game started out with a fight just 2 minutes in between Acyd Burn and Jacob Perry which set the tone for an intensely fought game. Both teams were pretty even on shots taken and if not for an empty-net goal by Oskar Lagesson, this was close right down to the wire. Raymond Bernard stole the show for Moscow, putting up 37 saves to secure the win, and it was Aleelee Kiak who scored the winning goal midway through the 3rd period. Owen Nolan was the lone source of offence for the Americans, as their top guys couldn’t solve Bernard’s stellar goaltending.

 

Game 320 - Calgary Wranglers vs. Seattle Bears

These juggernauts of the North American conference were at it once again this week, this time in a low scoring affair which had Seattle once again coming out on top. Shots were dead even for both teams and just like the other games, an amazing goalie performance, this time from Rayz Funk, was what propelled Seattle to the victory. Calgary’s power play struggled in this game, going 0 for 6 and that definitely contributed to their demise. Ray Sheilds potted two goals for Seattle and earned the first star, while RJ Jubis scored the only goal for Calgary. Seattle will have been happy to have won this game, but their inconsistent play throughout the week sees them now 8 points behind Calgary for the top spot.

 

Events of the Week

 

Fights

 

• Game 323 - Jet Jaguar beats up Tyler Barabash Jr
  • This 3rd-period rally call by Jet Jaguar was awesome to see. He first scored to bring his team within one, and then in an effort to get some momentum on his side, he dispatched Tyler Barabash Jr in a fight just a few minutes later.
• Game 330 - BRAWL!
  • Wow! Two huge fights within seconds in this game between Calgary and Moscow. Tempers boiled over as Vin Calia and Tyler Barabash Jr scrapped, which then spawned three more fights! Those two weren’t done with each other and got into another scrap while Jacob Perry fought Willie Dredge and got himself ejected. That wasn’t all as Aleelee Kiak and Kris Rice threw fisticuffs in this all-out brawl.
• Game 335 - Mikko Lahtinen ejected
  • It’s hard to say what caused Mikko Lahtinen to instigate this fight with Owen Nolan, but I don’t think he can say he came out the victor in this one. Both guys landed a couple blows, but were broken up by the refs, and on top of that Lahtinen was tossed from the game after instigating the fight.
• Game 348 - Helmsley and Laughton fight twice
  • After fighting in the 1st period, and nobody coming out on top. These two tough guys went at it for a 2nd time at the end of the game to prove who was the toughest. It was Hunter Hearst Helmsley who came out on top over Blake Laughton. I don’t think these are the last fights we will be seeing between these two.

 

 

Hat-Tricks

 

• Game 289 - Henrik Zoiderberg
  • Henrik Zoiderberg put Moscow on his back in this game, as he scored the final 3 goals for the team and was able to secure the win against Helsinki. He’s gotta be proud of this as these two teams battle it out for home-ice advantage come playoff time.
• Game 304 - Bjorn Scoringsonn
  • What a first period in this game between Toronto and Vancouver! There were 6 goals scored between the two teams and Bjorn Scoringsson picked up an amazing hat trick that propelled his team to victory.
• Game 327 - Ben Hafkey
  • In this game against the last-placed Nighthawks, Ben Hafkey picked up a nice hat trick while his teammates were able to chip in with a couple more of their own in order to secure the victory.
• Game 344 - Benny Graves
  • Benny Graves sure is heating up as the season comes to a close. His first hat trick of the week came against Toronto, where he helped the Dragons win a very close game by the score of 5-4.
• Game 356 - Benny Graves
  • With his 2nd hat trick of the week, this time Graves went to work against the New York Americans in one of the shock results of the season. An amazing performance by Graves and D.C. had them come out on top 5-0.

 

 

Shutouts

 

• Game 299 - Davos vs. D.C.
  • This may go down as the fewest shots faced in a shutout performance. Samuel Ross only had to make 7 saves in this game, as HC Davos dominated D.C. en route to a 1-0 victory.
• Game 310 - Vancouver vs. Malmo
  • It was a battle of the goaltenders in this low scoring game between Vancouver and Malmo. Solomon Crawford ended up on top in this one, as he put aside 26 shots and claimed the victory for Malmo.
• Game 325 - D.C. vs. Riga
  • Not the toughest of shutouts for Greg Eagles as he put aside 15 shots, but one that you have to be happy within the leadup to the playoffs. Riga will be hoping to ride this momentum into a strong playoff run.
• Game 329 - Davos vs. Vancouver
  • Jimmy Spyro made 22 saves in this solid performance against Davos. This marked his 2nd shutout of the season and he’s got to be proud of that on a Vancouver team that is 3rd worst in the league.
• Game 355 - Toronto vs. Moscow
  • Raymond Bernard picks up his league-leading 4th shutout of the season and leads his team to victory against Toronto. If it wasn’t for the remarkable play of Bernard that we’ve seen all season, there’s no telling where Moscow would be in the standings.
• Game 356 - D.C. vs. New York
  • Perhaps the shock of the season, the lowly Dragons shutout the Americans on the back of a fine 28 save performance by Stone Wolski. 3 shutouts for him, in an otherwise terrible season for D.C., is nothing to laugh at.
• Game 359 - Moscow vs. Vancouver
  • With his 2nd shutout of the week, we have Jimmy Spyro stealing the show again. This time making 22 stops to deny Moscow, he was on top form in this game. His 2nd shutout of the week and 3rd of the season is very impressive to see.

 

Rookie Spotlight

Pengu

Amazing graphic for himself done by @Pengu

 

Pengu spent his first season in the VHLM as a mid-season signing by the Halifax 21st and was an instant success. Putting up sixty-two points in fifty-four games, Pengu’s performance wasn’t enough to lift the 21st into the postseason. In the offseason that followed, he was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces in the VHLM and the Riga Reign in the VHL. The Reign decided Pengu wasn’t quite ready to be called up, so he spent his second season in the minors. On the Aces, Pengu continued to be a major factor in every game with one hundred and seventeen points.

 

This season, Pengu joined the Reign as a rookie and got right to work. He currently sits in the top three among rookies in points with thirty-five. Riga currently leads the European conference and looks like a solid contender for the cup as they have nearly clinched the top seed. Pengu has some great veterans on the roster to learn from with Codrick Past and Phil Marleau bringing a depth of knowledge for the younger players. And, as those players age out of the team soon, it looks like Pengu could have the spot of top-line centre on the Reign in the next couple years if he decides to stick around.

 

Pengu has always been an offensively minded player, but this season has really highlighted that. He has shown that he can compete in the offensive zone with players who have been in the league much longer than he has. However, he has struggled to keep up in his own end. With only fifty-six hits and eight shots blocked, I would like to see a level of physicality added to Pengu’s game as he matures. With the amount of raw talent this player has when it comes to scoring, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him leading the league in points just a couple seasons from now.

 

Spoiler

Players Mentioned: @Jubis@Berocka@fonziGG@Erik Summers@Greg_Di@Acydburn@Liberty_Cabbage@fever95@Mr_Hatter@Grant@studentized@Rayzor_7@Zetterberg@gorlab@Bushito@VinCal@Speed@Ricer13@Beketov@Beaviss@Grape@HenrikZoiderberg@11 Eleven@McLovin@STZ@Brrbisbrr@AW13@DarkSpyro@DollarAndADream@Pengu

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Hylands33

[Beketov 8,642]

15 minutes ago, Hylands33 said:

It’s hard to say what caused Mikko Lahtinen to instigate this fight with Owen Nolan, but I don’t think he can say he came out the victor in this one.

He’s still the heavyweight champ isn’t he? I wanted that belt.

 

Also Lahtinen is a fucking goon.

[Speed 126]

Willie fighting? It cant be....

[fonziGG 1,065]

Did not expect to be 3rd star. Thanks VSN!

[Beaviss 4,949]

51 minutes ago, Beketov said:

He’s still the heavyweight champ isn’t he? I wanted that belt.

 

Also Lahtinen is a fucking goon.

 

No he's not he is the former champ though! 

[Beketov 8,642]

31 minutes ago, Beaviss said:

 

No he's not he is the former champ though! 

Lahtinen trying to become #1 contender I guess.

[Jubis 1,282]

1st ☆

[Berocka 2,191]

6 hours ago, Hylands33 said:

First Star

RJ Jubis (CGY) - 7 G, 9 A, +7

Second Star

Berocka Sundqvist (SEA) - 7 G, 16 A, 19 Hits

Same amount of goals and 7 more assists and I'm 2nd star ouch...

[Jubis 1,282]

29 minutes ago, Berocka said:

Same amount of goals and 7 more assists and I'm 2nd star ouch...

I know.  I think you being D wouldve had you locked in at 1st even without more points. 

[Berocka 2,191]

46 minutes ago, Jubis said:

I know.  I think you being D wouldve had you locked in at 1st even without more points. 

Oh well congratulations on first star