Under 250: The VHLM Review (S72 Mid-Playoff Edition)

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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!

 

Also, make sure to check out the wide variety of content here at VSN. There are in-depth weekly updates and an award tracker for the VHL, a great podcast, and daily WJC coverage when it starts up, among other informative articles. Check out our latest instalments here: 

 

VSN Weekly Review | Talents Behind The Trophies | Ringless | Deep Rewind

 

First Round Review

 

This year’s first-round had some results that were a bit unexpected based on the final standings. The Minnesota Storm ended up leading the league by a mile in the regular season, and once the playoffs arrived, they struggled. The Saskatoon Wild and Philadelphia Reapers pulled away from the chasing pack as well in the regular season, carrying that momentum forward into the playoffs, and what looked to be the hardest-fought series between the Mexico City Kings and Las Vegas Aces was fairly close, but not the closest. 

 

1. Minnesota Storm vs (8) Miami Marauders

 

This series put the 122 point Minnesota Storm up against the expansion Miami Marauders, who with 62 points, had only slightly more than half of what Minnesota did. Most would have expected this series to be a sweep, or at best 5 games. That’s why they don’t play these games on paper. Minnesota ultimately did advance past this series, but it took the full complement of games to do it. Miami taking the top seed to 7 is a fantastic accomplishment for the expansion franchise in its first season, and they should be proud to have done it. However, having that taste of victory in their mouths only to have it ripped away cruelly, in the end, will just leave these guys hungry for more heading into next season.

 

2. Saskatoon Wild vs (7) Ottawa Lynx

 

Ottawa, the other playoff team besides Miami without really that strong a performance in the regular season, performed a bit more closely to what might have been expected. This series was never close, with Saskatoon taking the win in 5 games, and most of the actual games weren’t that close either. In the three worst losses they were outscored a total of 20-5, and those aren’t the type of scores you’d write home about, even as an underdog. The 4-2 loss in game 2 wasn’t bad though, and they did win a game, although 4-3 in overtime is not the most convincing of wins.

 

3. Philadelphia Reapers vs (6) Mississauga Hounds

 

This is a series that perhaps should have been closer than it was. There was only a 17 point gap between these two teams in the regular season, so Mississauga certainly competed well enough to look like a threat. Ultimately, Philadelphia had been favoured for a reason and made that perfectly clear in the series, but this is one that should easily have gone to 6 or 7 games. Instead, the Reapers finished their business in 5, and the Hounds were unceremoniously removed from the playoffs in the same number of games as the Lynx who were a significantly worse team. Unlike the Lynx though, the Hounds made some of their losses competitive, with games 4 and 5 in the series only going Philly’s way by a goal each. 

 

4. Mexico City Kings vs (5) Las Vegas Aces

 

This series was easily the headliner of the round going in, based on expectations. These teams finished only a single point apart, and they both spent the season among the more competitive teams. Both would have harboured dreams of a playoff run as well, so it was especially harsh on one of them that they ended up facing each other. That team ended up being the Aces, a team with a lot of late regular-season drama over a sudden influx of players. These players obviously didn’t end up helping them quite enough as the Kings dumped them out in 6. Interestingly, thanks to a single 8-2 drubbing in game 2, Las Vegas actually outscored Mexico City over the course of the series, but it’s only the wins that count and the Aces couldn’t find enough of them in total. 

 

Second Round, As It Stands

 

This leaves us with only four remaining teams, and it’s the top teams in the standings who advanced. There haven’t been any upsets yet, at least in terms of series wins (there have been in terms of individual games and competitiveness of series) so we find our semifinalists all with a real chance to win the cup. Can Minnesota, the regular season favourites, shake off the playoff jitters that nearly removed them unexpectedly in the first round? Can Saskatoon and Philadelphia, two teams with not much between them in the regular season, produce a close and exciting series? 

 

1. Minnesota Storm vs (4) Mexico City Kings

 

This series was expected to be a rather wild one, and so far it has not disappointed. Minnesota would have assumed they were the better team coming in, but after their performance in the first round, Mexico City will have liked their chances as well. As it stands, it’s been a fairly close one, 3-2 in favour of Mexico City. Most of the individual games have been close as well, with the exception of a 7-0 Kings win. The series could still go either way, but since the Storm can’t afford another loss, it’s just about favouring the Kings right now. 

 

2. Saskatoon Wild vs (3) Philadelphia Reapers

 

One seed apart. Separated by 3 points. Both took their opening series in 5 games. If there’s one series that would be expected to come down to the wire, this is that series. So far, it has lived up to that billing in terms of the total games (3-2 in favour of the Reapers) but not so much in terms of the scores. There has only been a single game that has been close, a 3-2 overtime win that went Saskatoon’s way, whereas the other Wild win and all of the Reaper wins have been blowouts. 5-2, 6-2, 5-1, 6-1. As with the other series, it favours Philadelphia slightly because they only need to win a single game, whereas Saskatoon can’t afford a loss, but it’s still up for grabs.

 

Playoff Performers

 

Each of the remaining teams, should they win the cup, will have a few players to look at as the reason they’ve reached their goals. Potential playoff MVP candidates, should things go their way. Some teams will be more of a team effort than others, but every team has its standouts. 

 

If Minnesota wins

 

If Minnesota wins, it will likely be due to the lead from the back style of defender Liam Flaten. 16 points leads a team with fairly spread out offensive contributions and the fact that he’s done it while also defending and preventing opposing goals makes it all the more impressive. Squirrely Dan has been the best of the forwards, with 14, followed by three players on 11.

 

If Mexico City wins

 

Mexico City’s case is harder to make, but Jeffrey Pines just about edges it out for right now. 14 points leads the team, but there’s also a 13 from Jay Jones, a 12 from Arthur Dayne, an 11 from Chris Hylands, and two 9s. They’ve been the definition of a team effort. Of note is the fact that Zamboni Driver has played the most minutes and faced the most shots, but the actual goaltending stats don’t stand out enough really.

 

If Philadelphia wins

 

Here’s the team where the goalie has the best case. John Poremba is the best among both SV% and GAA among goalies remaining in the competition. He’s also tied for the most wins. Adam Syreck has put up 16 points so far, carrying on right where he left off from the regular season, and arguments could be made for Jer Lefebvre and Spencer Elsby depending on how they perform going forward. 

 

If Saskatoon wins

 

Looking at the way the stats have broken down for Saskatoon so far, their best case is probably Kazimir Komarov at the moment, with his 16 points leading the team. King Kruul and Tyler Walker aren’t too far back, and as they’re on defence, that would likely be taken into consideration. Four other guys in double figures for the Wild, most notably Adam Frence, but any of these would need a final round push to breakthrough. 

 

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: @McWolf @Spartan @DMaximus @Motzaburger @Rayzor_7 @rjfryman @iRockstar @DoktorFunk @Ricer13 @Dil @MexicanCow123 @ColeMrtz

 

Players mentioned: @Gooningitup @Kachur @LefLop @Advantage @Spade18 @Spence King @CrlineDijohn14 @Jer_Lefebvre @Tape-to-Tape @rory @Infernal @Hylands33 @TTtheT @jacobaa19 @flatl99

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second week of this is week ending 7/12