Pesky Marauders A Tough Out For 21st

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The Miami Marauders had an excellent second half to the VHLM season, ultimately grabbing the league's final playoff spot and earning themselves a series against the powerhouse Halifax 21st. The 21st finished the regular season with a stellar 64-7-1 record, a daunting opponent for a team that barely snuck into the playoffs regardless of how well they played in the second half, and the Marauders were written off by many before the series even started. However, they have looked up to the task and not just an easy out for the Halifax squad that has been referred to as a VHLM dream team.

 

The Marauders set the tone by jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first period of game 1 and ultimately winning 5-4 in OT on a goal by Peter Louis II. Halifax struck back with a 6-2 blowout win in game 2, and again outside observers figured the Marauders for dead, assuming game 1 was an anomaly.

 

But this team hasn't gone away all year, and they continued to fight, rallying from multiple deficits in game 3 to take a 4-3 lead late in the second period. A Halifax goal with eight seconds left in the period swung the momentum, though, and Michael Hall scored the winner in the third period in a tight 5-4 game.

 

Miami put forth their strongest effort of the playoff series in tying it at 2 games a piece, racing out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Addison McLaren, Cabe McJake, Vivek Weiner, and The Great. They would cruise to a 5-2 win and put the VHLM world on notice.

 

Halifax turned the tables and flexed their offensive muscles in game 5, winning by the same 5-2 score. Joe Kelly broke a 2-2 tie in the second and the 21st never looked back, adding two more goals in the third.

 

"Nobody expects us to win, and it's understandable when you're playing a team that won 64 games and lost 8, in the regular season," Miami forward Addison McLaren said to the media after the game-5 loss. "But we believe in ourselves and we're here to win. We aren't thinking about the run that got us into the playoffs right now, there's time to reflect on that in the off-season. Right now we're focused on putting forth our best effort in this series and surprising some people. This series isn't over until it's over and we're looking forward to getting out there in game 6. There's nobody on this team that's ready to have our season end just yet."