Under 250: The VHLM Review (S72 Final Review)

[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!
 
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 | Draft Rankings | Diamonds in the Rough | VSN Australia
 

The Review
 
The S72 VHLM season has come to an end, and we have a winner to be crowned. Congratulations @McWolf and the rest of the Saskatoon Wild for their Founder’s Cup victory! The last time we checked in, the second round was still in progress, so let’s take a look now to see just how the rest of the playoffs panned out.
 
First things first, the end of the second round. At the time of our last article, we were still locked in a bitter playoff battle, with the Mexico City Kings leading the Minnesota Storm by three games to two, and the Philadelphia Reapers leading the eventual champions also by three games to two. Obviously, the Wild were able to battle back and forced the series to a seventh game, where they won in fantastic fashion in overtime. 
 
On the other end of the bracket, the Mexico City Kings closed out their semifinal series against the Storm in emphatic fashion, winning Game 6 by a score of 5-1. Thus, our stage is set for the Founder’s Cup Finals, in which the Saskatoon Wild took on the Mexico City Kings. Both teams were highly regarded going into the playoffs, with the Wild being favoured as second overall. However, after dispatching the regular-season champions of Minnesota, the Kings had good reason to believe they weren’t the underdogs here. Let’s take a look now at each game of the Finals, and learn how the Saskatoon Wild went all the way. 
 
Game One: Mexico City Kings Victory (4-3 OT)
 
The series kicked off with a fantastic game, with both sides scoring in each of the three regulation periods. Chris Hylands started off the series with the first goal late in the first period, but the Wild quickly tied it up. Throughout the game, no team held a lead for longer than five minutes, as each time one went ahead, the other came back quickly. Hylands was vital in this game in general, earning a well-deserved first star as his goal and two assists were instrumental in securing the Game One victory. For Saskatoon, Keith Krestanovich showed his talent, scoring the game-tying goal in the third period just 20 seconds after Mexico’s Jeffery Pines took the lead. The overtime was something of a spectacle, however, after such a close game. With all thoughts looking towards a gritty finish, the Kings managed to put the game to bed just four seconds into the overtime period, with Victor Mjers finding the back of the net off a pass from Hylands. 
 
 
Game Two: Saskatoon Wild Victory (5-3)
 
Despite losing Game One, Saskatoon responded well, but Game Two was also a close affair. The Wild took the lead three different times, once in each period, with the Kings tying it up in each of the first two. They struck early each time, with Dan Baillie Jr. scoring three minutes into the first, Kazimir Komarov scoring six minutes into the second, and Timothy Brown scoring just one minute into the third. Baillie Jr. followed this up with his second of the night, almost four minutes into the third period with what would become the game-winning goal to tie the series up at one apiece. Despite Chris Hyland’s best efforts, including a two-goal game, the Kings were unable to tie it up this game. 
 
 
Game Three: Saskatoon Wild Victory (7-3)
 
Somebody must have pissed the Wild off in Game Two, however, because they came out swinging in the first period of Game Three With four back to back goals all in the first 12 minutes of the first period, they took a commanding lead straight away, ending the game essentially before it began. Kazimir Komarov was vital in moving the puck around, finishing the game with four assists including three of those four first period goals. Lucas Brandt, however, was the star of the show, earning a hat-trick with a goal in each period, and topping it all off with two assists just to rub it in. A truly fantastic performance from the young centre that stole the show, and stole Game Three in Mexico City. What’s even more impressive is his percentage, having scored on three of his five total shots. Clinical!
 
 
Game Four: Saskatoon Wild Victory (2-1)
 
What’s a playoff series without a good old-fashioned goalie battle? In perhaps the closest game of all these series, despite the Game One overtime, the Wild narrowly defeated the Kings of the back of Grekkark Gyrfalcon’s .958 SV% performance, in which they outscored the Kings 2-1. Mexico’s Zamboni Driver also played phenomenally, with 29 saves, good for a .935 SV%. In fact, despite Driver not showing up on the three stars, I would argue that holding the Wild to just one power-play goal on ten attempts is worthy of recognition. Without such gritty play, this scoreline could have been a lot worse. Timothy Brown opened up the scoring in the second period for the Wild, just two minutes into play. It wasn’t until the final minutes of the third that Mexico’s John Merrick was able to tie up the match, but the relief was short-lived. Just 20 seconds later, the Kings conceded one of their ten penalties, but this one stung. With star player Chris Hylands in the penalty box, the Wild struck quickly, as Gino Alkamino scored the game-winning goal to put the Wild up three games to one, and just within reach of their second Founder’s Cup in four seasons. 
 
 
Game Five: Mexico City Kings Victory (5-2)
 
Down in the series, the Kings needed to win in Saskatoon to keep their cup hopes alive; and win they did. Blitzing the Wild with three goals within three minutes, the Viktor’s of Mexico City were on fire this game. A player named Viktor scored or assisted in all but one of the King’s five goals, with Viktor Mjers ending the game with two goals and one assist for the first star, while Viktor Alexei Kamenov earned the second star for his one goal and three assists. A brace from Adam Frence attempted to keep the Wild in the game, but it was too little too late, with his second coming with just 20 seconds left in the game when they were already down 5-1. The Kings were particularly lethal on the power play, scoring 3 of their 7 attempts including the game-winning goal in the first period. Krestanovich will be kicking himself, as that first period saw two power-play goals go in based off two penalties for holding. And so, the Kings stayed in the series for another game. 
 
 
Game Six: Saskatoon Wild Victory (5-2)
 
Unfortunately for Mexico, they weren’t able to stay in the series for another game. The Saskatoon Wild pulled the same stunt on the Kings, with three first period goals setting the tone for the match. In fact, much of this game was identical to Game Five, just flipped around. Three first period goals, 3 of 7 from the power play, and a strong goalie performance to seal the deal. Despite a strong Mexico City showing in the second period that saw them bring it to within one thanks to a goal from Jay Jones and Viktor Mjers, the Wild finished strong with two power-play goals early in the third to put the game to bed. The trio of Brandt, Brown, and Komarov was on fire, and each player earned at least 3 points. Brandt and Komarov had two goals and one assist apiece, while Brown scored once and assisted three times, to seal the series, and the season, for the Saskatoon Wild. 
 
 
Playoff Performers
 
Now that the games have all been played, it comes down to the end of season awards voting. So, who will be crowned playoff MVP? Logic says it will be the Wild’s star performer in this playoffs, left-winger Kazimir Komarov. The Russian ended the campaign with the most goals in the playoffs with 14, tied for the second-most assists with 17, leaving him top of the points leaderboards with 31, five higher than teammate Adam Frence’s 26. Along with a higher +/- rating than his teammates at the top, Komarov is the likely bet for playoff MVP.
 
Assuming, however, Komarov doesn’t win, who has the next best chance?  King Kruul, also of the Saskatoon Wild, had the most assists in the entire playoffs with 18, in addition to having the most hits in the playoffs, and beats Komarov in +/- by a single point. The defenceman was a strong performer and has the highest points for a d-man. Following him is another Wild defenceman, Tyler Walker, who despite earning six fewer assists managed five more goals, making him a much more balanced offensive defenseman. 
 
A valuable mention goes out to Kosmo Kramerev of the Miami Marauders. Despite exiting the playoffs in the first round, he managed to land on 11th overall for points, playing just 7 games, earning an astounding 18 points in those matches. If he played the full 18 like the Wild, he would have had an incredible 46 points, assuming he maintained his scoring pace. Well done!
 

That’s all for this season of Under 250: The VHLM Review. Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned next week for the VHLM Awards Ceremony! Congratulations once more to the Saskatoon Wild for their Founder’s Cup Victory! Until next time!

 
GMs: @McWolf @Spartan @DMaximus @Motzaburger @Rayzor_7 @rjfryman , @InstantRockstar, @DoktorFunk, @Ricer13 @Dil @MexicanCow123 @ColeMrtz

 

Players Mentioned: @wcats, @ChaceT, @Boragina, @TTtheT, @Hylands, @rory, @InstantRockstar, @Gooningitup, @a_Ferk, @twists, @Sharkstrong, @Tape-to-Tape, @Steve, @BigTittySmitty, @Kachur, @LefLop, @Advantage, @Mongoose87