VSN Weekly Review - S72 Playoffs

[hylands 850]

Welcome to an extra edition of this season’s VHL Weekly Review series. This will be a playoffs review where we will break down each series along with some key talking points throughout. 

     

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Under 250 | Talents Behind the Trophies | Ringless | Deep Rewind | VSN Australia | Diamonds in the Rough | S73 Draft: Top 48

 

This season’s playoffs were truly awesome. The North American conference provided some extremely exciting action, with two game sevens needed to determine who would represent the conference in the Continental Cup Finals. On the other hand, in the European Conference we had one dominant team that steamrolled their way to the Finals, and eventually the Championship in one of the most dominant playoff performances by a VHL team ever.

 

North American Conference

 

Calgary Wranglers (1) vs. Toronto Legion (4)

Starting off with the best team in the regular season, the Calgary Wranglers, who were up against a team that somewhat limped to the playoffs in the Toronto Legion, many expected a huge blowout without much competition at all. When Calgary took the first two games, it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that they were going to take the series. Toronto used the next two games at home to even out the series and turn it into a best of 3. A quick change of fortune for the Legion and all of a sudden there are doubts over Calgary’s ability. The final games of the series had both teams trading wins with the eventual winners being the Calgary Wranglers. After games 1 & 2 went in Calgary’s favour, it was great to see Toronto keep fighting and extend the series to the maximum number of games.

 

Game of the series: Game 4, Calgary Wranglers  (4) @ Toronto Legion (5)

This 4th game of the series did a great job of showing off the talents of both of these teams. Calgary jumped out of the gates, scoring just 1:15 into the game with a goal from Kris Rice. Toronto responded extremely well, with 3 goals of their own in the same period. Opening the scoring for Toronto was one of their upcoming prospects, Vladimir Shaposhnikov. To end the period on a strong note with just 50 seconds to go, Anthony Matthews scored to push Toronto’s lead to two. Calgary then stood strong after their lacklustre 1st period and began to chip away at Toronto’s lead. First, it was Sigard Gunnar, who scored his first of the playoffs near the end of the 2nd, and then he struck again early in the 3rd to tie the game up. The drama was not done here, because Calgary then took the lead off of another quick goal from Tyler Barabash Jr. and they looked poised to take a 3-1 series lead back to Calgary. Toronto’s never say die attitude was on full display after going behind though, and while Calgary enjoyed the bulk of the play for the period, it was Toronto who managed to tie the game up through Chad Magnum and force overtime. Not much time was needed in Overtime as the Legion were sent to the power play early on, and it was none other than the trade deadline day acquisition of Fredrik Elmebeck who sent home a wicked point shot to tie the series up. This was a phenomenal back and forth game in what turned out to be an incredible playoff series as well. 

Series MVP: Kris Rice (CAL) - 6 G, 4 A, 10 P

 

Seattle Bears (2) vs. New York Americans (3)

This series turned out to be the opposite of the Calgary vs Toronto series, where one team seemed to completely dominate right from the start. Only needing 5 games, the New York Americans easily dispatched the Seattle Bears by a series score of 4-1. They took the first 3 games of the series before Seattle was able to stave off the sweep, but that’s all the Bears managed to muster up in this one. On paper, this series was poised to be an even contest but the star power of the Americans was simply too much to handle. Although all the games in this series were pretty close contests, the playoff performance of Seattle left much to be desired after such a strong regular season where they fought for the top spot in the conference the entire way.

 

Game of the series: Game 1, Seattle Bears (3) @ New York Americans (4)

Both teams were eager to get the playoffs underway in this matchup. A great game that looked like it could be a blowout at one point in favour of the Americans. Richard Penisson opened the scoring in this one near the end of the 1st, it was one of 4 goals scored on the power play in this game. Then in the 2nd, we had Kevin Foreskin and Julius Freeman pick up markers of their own to open up the Americans’ lead to 3 goals. It wasn’t until shortly after Foreskin added a second tally that Seattle would wake up and take the game into their own hands. Going on a magnificent rally, the Bears scored 3 goals in 3 minutes from Berocka Sundqvist, Ambrose Stark, and Uhtred and would have New York on their heels for the rest of the game. Some outstanding goaltending by A Red Guy was on display though, and he managed to hold off the offensive barrage and help New York get off to a 1-0 series lead. He was not named in the 3 stars of the game, but he performed excellently when called upon and almost single-handedly carried New York to the win in this one.

Series MVP: Kevin Foreskin (NYA) - 4 G, 5 A, 20 Hits

 

Calgary Wranglers (1) vs. New York Americans (3)

This series was arguably the best of the playoffs. Two extremely talented teams that were hungry for a cup. This series went the full 7 games and there was only 1 game that was determined by more than a 2 goal margin. To say these teams were evenly matched, would be an understatement. These two teams spent the entire series trading wins and eventually it was Calgary who would come out on top. We had it all on display throughout the entire series and it was a shame both teams could not make it to the final. Calgary had the last laugh, and won it in dramatic fashion to boot, in the pivotal game 7.

 

Game of the series: Game 7, New York Americans (2) @ Calgary Wranglers (3)

The final and deciding game between these teams was the perfect summary of how the entire series went. Calgary was off to a hot start, eager to close the series out in front of home fans and jumped to a 2-0 lead after the first period. We had Sigard Gunnar scoring just 1:37 into the game and RJ Jubis added some insurance with a nice goal just 3 minutes later. New York did not let the early setback get them down, because they came back in the 2nd with 2 goals of their own. Owen Nolan and Soren Jensen scored only 10 seconds apart and turned this game on its head in the blink of an eye. New York was all over Calgary at this point, but star netminder Jacques Lafontaine stood tall throughout the rest of the period and all the way through the 3rd before the man with the hot stick, Sigard Gunnar, hit New York with a dagger shot with only 30 seconds left in the game. A heartbreaking end to the game for New York, but what a series this was, and somebody had to lose in the end. 

Series MVP: Sigard Gunnar (CAL) - 7 G, 3 A, 44 Shots

 

European Conference

 

Riga Reign (1) vs. HC Davos (4)

The number one seeded Riga Reign started their playoff campaign against 4th placed HC Davos. There wasn’t much of a fight put up by Davos here, and Riga easily swept the series. Many people expected more from Davos in this series, especially after acquiring two great players leading up to the playoffs. Perhaps the team was shaken up just a bit much and the chemistry wasn’t able to develop in time. Either way, you have to applaud Riga for such a dominant performance and being able to stifle such a talented offence. Meanwhile, it’s back to the drawing board for HC Davos. 

 

Game of the series: Game 3, Riga Reign (2) @ HC Davos (1)

In this game we had a battle of the goaltenders, the shots were 44-40 in favour of Davos, and it took up until the 3rd period before anybody could solve either goalie. The first period we actually had a fight break out between Fernando Jokinen and Pengu with Jokinen coming up the victor in that one. A power play each as well for the teams, but nobody could put one past Greg Eagles or Samuel Ross. The 2nd period was more of the same, penalties for both teams but nobody was able to find any answers to solve the goalies. Finally, after 41 minutes without a goal, Riga were able to capitalize on one of their power plays and found a goal through Lincoln Tate, his first of the playoffs. Davos was also finally able to put one past Eagles shortly thereafter with a goal from ACL TEAR. However, with 10 minutes left in the game, maybe fuelled by his earlier fight loss, Pengu played the role of hero and potted the game-winner, helping Riga to gain a 3-0 chokehold on the series.

Series MVP: Apollo Hackett (RIG) - 0 G, 7 A, 7 SB

 

Helsinki Titans (2) vs. Moscow Menace (3)

The other quarter-final provided a little more competition compared to the other series. It was Moscow who managed to pull off somewhat of an upset and knock off the higher-seeded Helsinki Titans. The teams traded wins in Helsinki, but Moscow used their turn on home ice to full effect and held a 3-1 lead heading back to Helsinki. The Titans were able to extend the series one more game but fell to the Menace eventually in the 6th game. This series was actually very close, and the first 4 games all ended by the score of 3-2, which is crazy on its own. Helsinki will feel hard done by, but they put up an incredible fight and should be proud of their performance.

 

Game of the series: Game 2, Moscow Menace (3) @ Helsinki Titans (2)

This back and forth contest had Helsinki take the lead twice, but Moscow was able to tie it up each time and eventually find a winner in the Overtime period. Kyle Andersen started things off for Helsinki midway through the 1st period and they looked to be taking a lead into the 2nd before Derek Eriksson tied it up with only 14 seconds left on the clock. You could almost see the team breathe a collective sigh of relief when they lit the lamp. The 2nd period had Erik Draven score a lone goal for Helsinki on the power play and they were able to hold on to this lead heading into the final frame. The Titans looked poised to take this game before we had deja vu from Eriksson, who scored this time with 42 seconds to play in the game and forced overtime. There wasn’t much to talk about in this overtime as Moscow managed to score just 1:08 in and tie the series at 1-1. Jacob Perry was the saviour for the Menace, but we can’t forget about the performance of Raymond Bernard who was stellar, just as he was all season.

Series MVP: Raymond Bernard (MOS) - .939 SV%, 2.17 GAA

 

Riga Reign (1) vs. Moscow Menace (3)

Our conference final on the European side saw complete domination by Riga over Moscow. Once again managing to sweep their series, Riga was on a complete tear and quickly became the favourites to win the Cup. The games themselves were pretty close mostly, but Riga was simply just too strong to handle. They seemed to have the answers to everything Moscow threw at them and they actually never trailed in a game the entire series. Truly a complete performance by Riga here and much deserving of a berth in the finals.

 

Game of the series: Game 1, Moscow Menace (2) @ Riga Reign (3)

The opening game of the Conference Final was a great game that was close right to the end. Too bad it wasn’t a sign of things to come in regards to the entire series. It took until about halfway through the 1st period before Will Clarke opened up the scoring for Riga, and shortly after that, Kyl Oferson added on to the lead with a goal of his own. The second period had a few penalties given out, but both goalies and penalty kills stood strong and the score stayed the same heading to the 3rd. Riga then looked to be cruising to victory after Guy Sasakamoose scored on the power play, taking the lead to 3. There was late drama to be had here as Moscow came in for a 3rd-period rally and scored a power-play goal of their own through Henrik Zoiderberg and followed that up with a shorthanded goal from Nate Telker which set the game up for a frantic ending. Moscow pulled their goalie for the final moments of the game but they weren’t able to tie the game up and the Reign took the series opener at home. 

Series MVP: Pengu (RIG) - 3 G, 5 A, +4

 

Continental Cup Finals

 

Calgary Wranglers (1) vs. Riga Reign (1)

What a matchup this was poised to be. We had the two top teams from their respective conferences ready to battle it out on the biggest stage to prove who was the best. What we expected, and what we got, however, were two totally different things. Riga continued on their path of destruction and dispatched Calgary by a series score of 4-1. Nothing on this planet seemed to be able to stop Riga and they were firing on all cylinders at just the right time. These teams were separated by 19 points at the end of the regular season, with Calgary on top having earned the best record in the league over the regular season. Calgary actually handed Riga their first loss of the playoffs in game 1, but Riga took that energy from the loss and won the next 4 games en route to winning the Continental Cup.

 

Game of the series: Game 5, Riga Reign (4) @ Calgary Wranglers (3)

The final game of the playoffs was the best contest of this series. Not just because Riga won the Continental Cup, but because it was actually a great game. Calgary jumped out to a quick lead after a power-play goal from Edwin THE Encarnacion and things were looking good. However, Riga had something to say about that and scored three 1st period goals, two from Ryan Busser and one from Pengu. Calgary didn’t let those goals phase them and it was just 3:00 into the 2nd period before Calgary would start chipping away at the Riga lead, Sigard Gunnar popped up once again with a goal at just the right time. The 3rd period looked to be going exactly to Riga’s plan before Gunnar once again came up with a clutch goal, this time with 1:02 to play and sent the game to Overtime. Shots were nearly even heading into the Overtime period and it was back and forth the entire time before Kyl Oferson scored the cup clinching goal with assists from Apollo Hackett and Will Clarke. What an exciting end to the playoffs, and Season 72 as a whole.

Series MVP: Greg Eagles (RIG) -  .941 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 1 SO 

 

With that, we wrap up VSN’s VHL Weekly Review for Season 72. Please join us next season where we will continue coverage of all the latest happenings in the league.

 

Spoiler

Players Mentioned: @Ricer13@ng1291@Anthony Matthews@Big Mac@Bushito@Corco@bluesfan55@Esso2264@rjfryman@Berocka@Banackock@leafsman@.sniffuM@Jubis@studentized@Velevra@SlapshotDragon@Ahma@Pengu@Brrbisbrr@Greg_Di@Tate@Quik@Cusemode@DirtyDerek@Jbeezy76@Liberty_Cabbage@Mr_Hatter@Will@Nykonax@Cxsquared@HenrikZoiderberg@Telkster@Tagger@Z16

 

 

[mediocrepony 1,216]

DANG! How many words was that?

[Infernal 166]

great read, but i'll have to say i did not like seeing all those capital letters.

[Motzaburger 1,590]

where is the part about rigged sims?

[hylands 850]

6 hours ago, GrittyIsKing09 said:

DANG! How many words was that?

 

I think this ended up just over 2600

[Pengu 87]

Thanks for all the love!