Reapers Advance to Second Round of VHLM Playoffs

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After finishing second in the Eastern Conference with a 51-17-4 record during the regular season, the Philadelphia Reapers have quickly dispatched of the Yukon Rush in their first-round playoff series, sweeping the series and outscoring the Rush by a combined score of 20-5.

 

The Reapers' depth was front and centre during the series, as top regular season scorers Robert Bouchard, Addison McLaren, and Darius Marimoto were held to 5, 4, and 3 points respectively during the series. On the other hand, Jivere Zolnek stepped up with 7 points in the series, already more than halfway to his regular season total. Pekko Viitanen, who had 24 points in the regular season, had 5 points in the series.

 

While the team did a good job keeping the crease clear and the workload down for netminder Jacob Carson, he also made all the saves when he needed to and posted a 0.946 SV% in round one.

 

Things are likely about to get a lot tougher for the Reapers, though, who will presumably face the San Diego Marlins in the next round of the playoffs unless the Halifax 21st are able to upset the #1 seed Mexico City Kings.

The Marlins ranked third in the VHLM in the regular season, with a record of 51-19-2 - just two points behind the Reapers - but it's a bit misleading based on how well the Marlins played down the stretch. The Marlins were a different team in the second half of the season as Red Lite and defenseman Scotty Kaberle caught fire (Kaberle finished with a whopping 103 points as a defenseman), and are probably the real team to beat in the S75 post-season.

 

Mexico currently leads Halifax 3-1 and Las Vegas leads Saskatoon 3-1 in the two VHLM playoff series still to be completed. The next round of the VHLM playoffs is slated to begin early next week.