Wiggles, Wobbles, and Jiggles: EP 4

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

Two’s a company, three’s a crowd.

 

Hello hello! Welcome to the latest edition of Wiggles,Wobbles, and Jiggles! I’m Jiggly Gumballs and today, I’m doing something very similar to what I did in the very first edition of WWJ. Which is to take a look back at a certain amount of games, and look at the stats to determine why did the team (In the first edition, it was the Houston Bulls) lose or win. In this edition, it’s the same premise. I looked back at the first 10 games of the season and recorded stats. Though I decided to kick it up a notch. I not only recorded stats of the first ten of the season from my team, the Ottawa Lynx, but also those from the Houston Bulls again, and the Halifax 21st’s. So in total 30 games worth of data was collected over the week. I chose Houston because last season, they were at the bottom of the standings. A basement dweller. Now they’ve become one of the top teams in the VHLM and is a team that I personally think has the most potential in winning it all. Of course Miami, Minnesota, and even Saskatoon would be good examples to show, but since I had better access to Houston and their game data, and the fact that I wanted to show how much has changed since then, ultimately made my decision to stick with Houston. I may do another one of these past 10 game look backs with those teams mentioned plus Houston if y’all want. Halifax on the other side of the spectrum, is pretty much a basement team. The very bottom of the standings. I chose them because: 1) It was a team I barely knew and I wanted to dive more into why they’re losing, and 2) It acts as a good comparison towards a top team like Houston and my team Ottawa. So with that all in mind, the goal here is to make comparisons based on the data collected and what makes the teams where they are now.

 

Note: This isn’t some prediction for who’s going to have the best season. This is merely a fun look back at a select amount of games to find out why a team lost and won the games as well as to draw comparisons toward each other using the statistics from the sims (Thank god for VHL bot). The stats I’ve chosen are the same as last time. Shots, Special Teams (powerplay, penalty kill), Penalty Minutes, and Goalie save percentage. These stats are what I think are basic deciding factors on what might cause a team to win or lose. Of course, there are so many factors that may determine who wins or loses. One example would be a key hit, or maybe a player’s individual effort, and the opponents these teams face can also be a factor. Yet these stats are more focusing on the team as a whole rather than a player or goalie. I will also put the google doc link to the full stats of each individual game since I’m only posting the averages in the article. With that in mind, let's get on with the show.

 

THE OTTAWA LYNX:

Record: 7-2-1

 

OTT Averages:

Shots: 35.2

Shot Differential: +21.6 (Shot about 21 more shots on average against opponent)

Powerplay: 19.41%

Penalty Kill: 93.57%

Penalty Minutes: 6.8

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 13.6

Shot Differential: -21.6 (Was outshot about 21 more times on average)

Powerplay: 6.43%

Penalty Kill: 80.58%

Penalty Minutes: 10.4

 

Ottawa had a pretty good record in the first ten games of the season. The Lynx shot an average of about 35 shots a night and was consistently outshooting their opponents a majority of the time. The  penalty killing is probably one of the best or if not the best in the league. Compared to the opponents they faced, Ottawa outshot their opponents by nearly 22 more than their opponents on average. Along with a good amount of discipline, Ottawa is a team to be reckoned with. The large amount of shots is mostly attributed to Ottawa's offense consisting of key players like Arthur Dayne and Alex Volchenkov with Lexi Glass also doing well this season. Past the first ten of the season, Arthur Dayne is currently tied for third in points with Aloe Dear of the Bulls with 35. Currently a goal per game pace. Though what Ottawa excels in is in defense and goaltending. Their top pair of Micheal Keef and me, Jiggly Gumballs has been not only supporting the offense, but bringing security to the back end along with Jackson Philliefan and Zachariah Kisslinger. Limiting shots to the single digits. An example being game 49 of the VHLM season against Halifax in which Halifax was limited to 8 shots on goal. Overall, a great top 4 with Gumballs reaching the 200 TPE mark. Ajay Krishna is also arguably one of the best goalies of the league. He currently tied for lead the VHLM in shutouts with 5 and is second in the league in goals against with 1.98 GAA. With that stability in the back end, it's no wonder why Ottawa has an amazing penalty kill albeit a bit lacking on the powerplay. Though the biggest weakness of the team is the offense. Sure Ottawa outshoots their opponents by a lot, but against a team like Miami, their offense stands no chance. Apart from Dayne and Volchenkov, there is a lack of scoring depth. Something that will likely change as players like Lee Xin and S Kuchar grow over time. Ottawa also can't seem to compete with higher scoring teams. Sure the defense is good but when you can't score, you'll only let the opponent get chances and thus the two loses against the aforementioned Miami Marauders early on. Ottawa also only has 4 players with 200+ TPE with Gumballs on the way.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that despite the many shutouts and high GAA, Ajay Krishna has a low save percentage. Though that's because of the team's success. Because of the stability in the back end, the offense has less worry about defending and can focus on getting pucks to the net. Leaving the opponent with less opportunities to score. Krishna has yet to be truly placed under pressure against a strong team, and when Ottawa does face a team stronger then them, they are more inclined to lose. Ultimately, if Ottawa  could get players that score more, or if the current forwards step up, then they can hopefully compete closely against teams like Houston and Miami.

 

THE HOUSTON BULLS:

Record: 9-1-0

Houston Averages:

Shots: 44.3

Shot Differential: +19.5 (Houston shot about 19 more shots against opponent)

Powerplay: 33.54%

Penalty Kill: 84.17%

Penalty Minutes: 7.9

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 24.7

Shot Differential: -19.5 (Opponents were outshot by about 19 more shots against Houston)

Powerplay: 15.83%

Penalty Kill: 66.46%

Penalty Minutes: 16.6

 

Houston is an offensive powerhouse. Not only did they restock using the draft, they also signed key players in waivers to make themselves an offensive beast that scores through every team in it's path. An absolutely lethal powerplay average with 33.5% compared to their opponents measly 15.8% average. They've also held their own in the penalty kill and stayed disciplined. What's interesting is that despite Houston averaging a whopping 44.3 shots a game during the first 10, their shot differential is less compared to Ottawa's. Sure they are outshooting opponents by nearly 20 shots more but Ottawa had a differential of +21.6 with an average of about 35 shots per game during the period of data collected. Houston on average shot nearly 10 more shots a game than Ottawa yet had less of a shot differential. Aside from that, Houston's offense can be attributed to the infamous Ladies Line consisting of Aloe Dear, Isabella Campbell, and Venus Thightrap. They also have great scoring from Christian Mingle, Julian Nousiainen and Jeffrenomitsu the 3rd. Houston's offense and powerplay has been so lethal, that during the first 10 games of the season, not a single team has fully killed of their powerplays. Each game there was at least 1 powerplay goal. Defense wise, Riley Knight Gee has been the leagues best defenseman this season putting up 46 points as he's currently leading the league in points. Along with Markus Schauer, they make a lethal offensive defensive pairing so to say. Shawty Nananana has also been pretty solid as well. The goalie, Drew Minott has finally had the opportunity to show himself as a great goalie now that the team in front of him is much much better than season prior. I also love the amount of depth Houston has on it's roster with players like The Blob, Leo Strauss, Jonas Stormsson, and Daddy Derek. These players only compliment to what's been a great Houston team.

 

Like Ottawa, because of how many shots are taken against the opponent, very few chances reach Drew Minott and he often finds himself below .900 in save percentage in some games. The other big issue is Houston's defense. Sure they're dominating points wise, but they're letting teams take more shots on goal than compared to Ottawa. Which brings the question of when the Houston offense finally gets shut down or is lacking (even though I personally don't think that's possible because holy shit Houston loves to score), would the defense be able to hold themselves in their own end? Sure the high scoring can easily cover for the D, but what if the offense can't do that? Then my guess it would be likely for Houston to lose. I'm sure Drew Minott would be able to handle some of the pressure, but again, no goalie can stop everything. A good example is game 47 of this season when Houston faced the Las Vegas Aces. Their offense didn't click like usual and the difference in shots between Las Vegas and Houston was only one with Houston having 30 shots and Las Vegas having 29 shots on that game. Sure it was a close game, but it showed that Houston can lose but only when the charging bull slows.

 

THE HALIFAX 21ST'S:

Record: 0-10-0

Halifax Averages:

Shots: 13.8

Shot Differential: -26.7 (HAL was outshot by about 27 shots against opponents)

Powerplay: 10.83%

Penalty Kill: 87.67%

Penalty Minutes: 11.3

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 40.5

Shot Differential: +26.7 (Opponents were outshooting HAL by about 27 more shots)

Powerplay: 12.33%

Penalty Kill: 89.17%

Penalty Minutes: 9.2

 

Halifax safe to say isn't going to win a cup this season. They probably had the worst start of the season with an 0-10-0 record. Ouch. Despite their opponents powerplay during the span wasn't too good. Theirs was worse. Halifax also lacked in the penalty kill and along with that had an average of 11 penalty minutes. Meaning they'd have half a period worth of penalties each game during the first 10 of the season. Halifax also can't seem to get pucks to the net with an average of 13 shots a game. Some games were limited to single digits like the aforementioned game 49 against Ottawa where Halifax only had 8 shots. Another example was in game 29 of the season in a 3-1 loss against Miami where they were limited to 6 shots. Their only goal coming from the powerplay in that game. Halifax's best player has to be their goalie, Hex Valentine, who is one of the leagues better goalies if it wasn't for the team in front of him. Along with the backup, Kevin Malone, they would probably be a really good tandem if their team didn't suck. Their best forward is Empty and their best defenseman is Rick Osman. Apart from those two, there are a few more players but that's it.

 

Halifax doesn't have the defensive stability like Ottawa and the offensive power of Houston. Hex Valentine is out here getting pummeled in net while his team in front of him are just pylons. A lack of depth, a lack of scoring, no support at all for the goalie. Funnily enough, because of the amount of shots Valentine has taken, he has better save percentages than Minott and Krishna. Valentine is also the sole reason why some games don't have the opponent's goals against Halifax in the double digits. which only makes me feel more bad for him. Halifax was also the only team I am covering that has subbed goalies. That coming in game 45 of the season against Minnesota. Malone had let in 6 goals in 16 shots and was consequentially subbed by Valentine who let in 2 goals in 36 shots in the 8-1 loss. The good thing is, Halifax has a butt ton of picks for the upcoming draft. Allowing them to rebuild their roster from the ground up. Hopefully allowing them to contend in the near future.

 

 

And thus comes an end to the long article. This was honestly pretty fun. Looking back at stats and figuring out why teams suck or are really good. Though that's all for this week. I'm Jiggly Gumballs and stay tuned for the next edition of Wiggles, Wobbles, and Jiggles!!

 

 

(2184 words)

(Sorry for the mass mentions lol)

Spoiler

@Infernal @SirRupertBarnes @RStar @Philliefan @Kisslinger @Hooperorama @Blazzer @S. Kuchar @AW13 @Renomitsu @Quik @Banackock @BladeMaiden @okochastar @Jeffie43 @KnightRiley @Plate @Grape @DreMin15 @JorgTheGoat03 @gregreg @Kyle @DirtyDerek @DrHexDex @eaglesfan036 @StamkosFan @dylanjj37

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by JigglyGumballs

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

Just now, JigglyGumballs said:

Two’s a company, three’s a crowd.

 

Hello hello! Welcome to the latest edition of Wiggles,Wobbles, and Jiggles! I’m Jiggly Gumballs and today, I’m doing something very similar to what I did in the very first edition of WWJ. Which is to take a look back at a certain amount of games, and look at the stats to determine why did the team (In the first edition, it was the Houston Bulls) lose or win. In this edition, it’s the same premise. I looked back at the first 10 games of the season and recorded stats. Though I decided to kick it up a notch. I not only recorded stats of the first ten of the season from my team, the Ottawa Lynx, but also those from the Houston Bulls again, and the Halifax 21st’s. So in total 30 games worth of data was collected over the week. I chose Houston because last season, they were at the bottom of the standings. A basement dweller. Now they’ve become one of the top teams in the VHLM and is a team that I personally think has the most potential in winning it all. Of course Miami, Minnesota, and even Saskatoon would be good examples to show, but since I had better access to Houston and their game data, and the fact that I wanted to show how much has changed since then, ultimately made my decision to stick with Houston. I may do another one of these past 10 game look backs with those teams mentioned plus Houston if y’all want. Halifax on the other side of the spectrum, is pretty much a basement team. The very bottom of the standings. I chose them because: 1) It was a team I barely knew and I wanted to dive more into why they’re losing, and 2) It acts as a good comparison towards a top team like Houston and my team Ottawa. So with that all in mind, the goal here is to make comparisons based on the data collected and what makes the teams where they are now.

 

Note: This isn’t some prediction for who’s going to have the best season. This is merely a fun look back at a select amount of games to find out why a team lost and won the games as well as to draw comparisons toward each other using the statistics from the sims (Thank god for VHL bot). The stats I’ve chosen are the same as last time. Shots, Special Teams (powerplay, penalty kill), Penalty Minutes, and Goalie save percentage. These stats are what I think are basic deciding factors on what might cause a team to win or lose. Of course, there are so many factors that may determine who wins or loses. One example would be a key hit, or maybe a player’s individual effort, and the opponents these teams face can also be a factor. Yet these stats are more focusing on the team as a whole rather than a player or goalie. I will also put the google doc link to the full stats of each individual game since I’m only posting the averages in the article. With that in mind, let's get on with the show.

 

THE OTTAWA LYNX:

Record: 7-2-1

 

OTT Averages:

Shots: 35.2

Shot Differential: +21.6 (Shot about 21 more shots on average against opponent)

Powerplay: 19.41%

Penalty Kill: 93.57%

Penalty Minutes: 6.8

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 13.6

Shot Differential: -21.6 (Was outshot about 21 more times on average)

Powerplay: 6.43%

Penalty Kill: 80.58%

Penalty Minutes: 10.4

 

Ottawa had a pretty good record in the first ten games of the season. The Lynx shot an average of about 35 shots a night and was consistently outshooting their opponents a majority of the time. The  penalty killing is probably one of the best or if not the best in the league. Compared to the opponents they faced, Ottawa outshot their opponents by nearly 22 more than their opponents on average. Along with a good amount of discipline, Ottawa is a team to be reckoned with. The large amount of shots is mostly attributed to Ottawa's offense consisting of key players like Arthur Dayne and Alex Volchenkov with Lexi Glass also doing well this season. Past the first ten of the season, Arthur Dayne is currently tied for third in points with Aloe Dear of the Bulls with 35. Currently a goal per game pace. Though what Ottawa excels in is in defense and goaltending. Their top pair of Micheal Keef and me, Jiggly Gumballs has been not only supporting the offense, but bringing security to the back end along with Jackson Philliefan and Zachariah Kisslinger. Limiting shots to the single digits. An example being game 49 of the VHLM season against Halifax in which Halifax was limited to 8 shots on goal. Overall, a great top 4 with Gumballs reaching the 200 TPE mark. Ajay Krishna is also arguably one of the best goalies of the league. He currently tied for lead the VHLM in shutouts with 5 and is second in the league in goals against with 1.98 GAA. With that stability in the back end, it's no wonder why Ottawa has an amazing penalty kill albeit a bit lacking on the powerplay. Though the biggest weakness of the team is the offense. Sure Ottawa outshoots their opponents by a lot, but against a team like Miami, their offense stands no chance. Apart from Dayne and Volchenkov, there is a lack of scoring depth. Something that will likely change as players like Lee Xin and S Kuchar grow over time. Ottawa also can't seem to compete with higher scoring teams. Sure the defense is good but when you can't score, you'll only let the opponent get chances and thus the two loses against the aforementioned Miami Marauders early on. Ottawa also only has 4 players with 200+ TPE with Gumballs on the way.

 

Another thing I've noticed is that despite the many shutouts and high GAA, Ajay Krishna has a low save percentage. Though that's because of the team's success. Because of the stability in the back end, the offense has less worry about defending and can focus on getting pucks to the net. Leaving the opponent with less opportunities to score. Krishna has yet to be truly placed under pressure against a strong team, and when Ottawa does face a team stronger then them, they are more inclined to lose. Ultimately, if Ottawa  could get players that score more, or if the current forwards step up, then they can hopefully compete closely against teams like Houston and Miami.

 

THE HOUSTON BULLS:

Record: 9-1-0

Houston Averages:

Shots: 44.3

Shot Differential: +19.5 (Houston shot about 19 more shots against opponent)

Powerplay: 33.54%

Penalty Kill: 84.17%

Penalty Minutes: 7.9

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 24.7

Shot Differential: -19.5 (Opponents were outshot by about 19 more shots against Houston)

Powerplay: 15.83%

Penalty Kill: 66.46%

Penalty Minutes: 16.6

 

Houston is an offensive powerhouse. Not only did they restock using the draft, they also signed key players in waivers to make themselves an offensive beast that scores through every team in it's path. An absolutely lethal powerplay average with 33.5% compared to their opponents measly 15.8% average. They've also held their own in the penalty kill and stayed disciplined. What's interesting is that despite Houston averaging a whopping 44.3 shots a game during the first 10, their shot differential is less compared to Ottawa's. Sure they are outshooting opponents by nearly 20 shots more but Ottawa had a differential of +21.6 with an average of about 35 shots per game during the period of data collected. Houston on average shot nearly 10 more shots a game than Ottawa yet had less of a shot differential. Aside from that, Houston's offense can be attributed to the infamous Ladies Line consisting of Aloe Dear, Isabella Campbell, and Venus Thightrap. They also have great scoring from Christian Mingle, Julian Nousiainen and Jeffrenomitsu the 3rd. Houston's offense and powerplay has been so lethal, that during the first 10 games of the season, not a single team has fully killed of their powerplays. Each game there was at least 1 powerplay goal. Defense wise, Riley Knight Gee has been the leagues best defenseman this season putting up 46 points as he's currently leading the league in points. Along with Markus Schauer, they make a lethal offensive defensive pairing so to say. Shawty Nananana has also been pretty solid as well. The goalie, Drew Minott has finally had the opportunity to show himself as a great goalie now that the team in front of him is much much better than season prior. I also love the amount of depth Houston has on it's roster with players like The Blob, Leo Strauss, Jonas Stormsson, and Daddy Derek. These players only compliment to what's been a great Houston team.

 

Like Ottawa, because of how many shots are taken against the opponent, very few chances reach Drew Minott and he often finds himself below .900 in save percentage in some games. The other big issue is Houston's defense. Sure they're dominating points wise, but they're letting teams take more shots on goal than compared to Ottawa. Which brings the question of when the Houston offense finally gets shut down or is lacking (even though I personally don't think that's possible because holy shit Houston loves to score), would the defense be able to hold themselves in their own end? Sure the high scoring can easily cover for the D, but what if the offense can't do that? Then my guess it would be likely for Houston to lose. I'm sure Drew Minott would be able to handle some of the pressure, but again, no goalie can stop everything. A good example is game 47 of this season when Houston faced the Las Vegas Aces. Their offense didn't click like usual and the difference in shots between Las Vegas and Houston was only one with Houston having 30 shots and Las Vegas having 29 shots on that game. Sure it was a close game, but it showed that Houston can lose but only when the charging bull slows.

 

THE HALIFAX 21ST'S:

Record: 0-10-0

Halifax Averages:

Shots: 13.8

Shot Differential: -26.7 (HAL was outshot by about 27 shots against opponents)

Powerplay: 10.83%

Penalty Kill: 87.67%

Penalty Minutes: 11.3

 

Opponent Averages:

Shots: 40.5

Shot Differential: +26.7 (Opponents were outshooting HAL by about 27 more shots)

Powerplay: 12.33%

Penalty Kill: 89.17%

Penalty Minutes: 9.2

 

Halifax safe to say isn't going to win a cup this season. They probably had the worst start of the season with an 0-10-0 record. Ouch. Despite their opponents powerplay during the span wasn't too good. Theirs was worse. Halifax also lacked in the penalty kill and along with that had an average of 11 penalty minutes. Meaning they'd have half a period worth of penalties each game during the first 10 of the season. Halifax also can't seem to get pucks to the net with an average of 13 shots a game. Some games were limited to single digits like the aforementioned game 49 against Ottawa where Halifax only had 8 shots. Another example was in game 29 of the season in a 3-1 loss against Miami where they were limited to 6 shots. Their only goal coming from the powerplay in that game. Halifax's best player has to be their goalie, Hex Valentine, who is one of the leagues better goalies if it wasn't for the team in front of him. Along with the backup, Kevin Malone, they would probably be a really good tandem if their team didn't suck. Their best forward is Empty and their best defenseman is Rick Osman. Apart from those two, there are a few more players but that's it.

 

Halifax doesn't have the defensive stability like Ottawa and the offensive power of Houston. Hex Valentine is out here getting pummeled in net while his team in front of him are just pylons. A lack of depth, a lack of scoring, no support at all for the goalie. Funnily enough, because of the amount of shots Valentine has taken, he has better save percentages than Minott and Krishna. Valentine is also the sole reason why some games don't have the opponent's goals against Halifax in the double digits. which only makes me feel more bad for him. Halifax was also the only team I am covering that has subbed goalies. That coming in game 45 of the season against Minnesota. Malone had let in 6 goals in 16 shots and was consequentially subbed by Valentine who let in 2 goals in 36 shots in the 8-1 loss. The good thing is, Halifax has a butt ton of picks for the upcoming draft. Allowing them to rebuild their roster from the ground up. Hopefully allowing them to contend in the near future.

 

 

And thus comes an end to the long article. This was honestly pretty fun. Looking back at stats and figuring out why teams suck or are really good. Though that's all for this week. I'm Jiggly Gumballs and stay tuned for the next edition of Wiggles, Wobbles, and Jiggles!!

 

 

(2184 words)

(Sorry for the mass mentions lol)

  Reveal hidden contents

@Infernal @SirRupertBarnes @RStar @Philliefan @Kisslinger @Hooperorama @Blazzer @S. Kuchar @AW13 @Renomitsu @Quik @Banackock @BladeMaiden @okochastar @Jeffie43 @KnightRiley @Plate @Grape @DreMin15 @JorgTheGoat03 @gregreg @Kyle @DirtyDerek @DrHexDex @eaglesfan036 @StamkosFan @dylanjj37

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QIkPzZ4kZfGVslW-nhd6xo-v3oeFn0TI3Ad3i4hV9oM/edit?usp=sharing

[Jeffie43 47]

ily jiggly

[Blazzer 759]

Very detailed article jiggly! Great analysis with a lot of info about the teams u have chosen to write about. Great choice to write about Houston and Halifax and draw a comparison too. 10/10