Login

ec06aaj · 03-07-2024, 07:26 PM

In my defence, three of my four series winners were right and the only one I dropped was the one I said would go to seven games, which it did. That’s kinda like a victory, right? Right?

Maine rolled over St. Louis in four, the one prediction I got right in both winner and games played and the easiest prediction to make. The Scarecrows had nothing in three of the series and even in the game they came the closest were still down 4-1 by the end of the second period. Shotty McStopper looked great and backup Timo Lappanen pitched a shutout in the eventual final series, but naturally they’ll be facing sterner opposition in the next round so Timber fans shouldn’t wet themselves in excitement just yet.

I nearly nailed another series - sorry Regina, but I was right to feel the magic. Just Perfection was excellent throughout the series but critically, Nevada’s top line showed up where it counted. Their lack of skill in depth is going to cost them - players going -8 in a series where you won four out of six games is something the team should be worried about - but we get at least one true upset this season and sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

Detroit, though…yeesh. I’m still not sure how the Falcons got out of jail here - they failed to reliably keep Lily Jin Morrow down, their superstar goaltender Anastasia Soderstrom looked every inch the rookie she still is and with a bump here or a missed check there, we could be talking about the first champions in a long time to be bounced in the first round. The games just looked a lot more wild than we’ve come to expect from Detroit this season and if they allow the Whalers to impose their game, how bad is it going to be in the next series?

As for Carolina, I did say the series was going to be jammed full of goals. The wild game 2 was one of the most fun games I’ve seen as a neutral and I think the first time I remember seeing both teams pulling their goalie and putting their backups in. It was fun, and now they get to go up against Colorado. I’m sure that will be a lot more sensible.

---

NEVADA BATTLEBORN vs. QUEBEC CITY CITADELLES

Regular Season Records
Nevada: 24-42-0, 48 points - 3rd Net Man Division, 4th Atlantic Conference
Quebec City: 51-12-3, 105 points - 1st Net Man Division, 1st Atlantic Conference

Season Series
Quebec City 8 - 3 Nevada
Nevada 2 - 10 Quebec City
Nevada 5 - 7 Quebec City
Nevada 4 - 10 Quebec City
Quebec City 6 - 1 Nevada
Quebec City 9 - 2 Nevada
Quebec City wins season series 6-0

Overview
Yeah…I think the magic has gone out of this relationship, Nevada. It was fun while it lasted, but now you’ve drawn the short straw and get to play a bonafide superteam who are going to be out to prove a point, after losing back-to-back postseasons to Detroit.

There’s not much to be said about the Citadelles that hasn’t already been said. They are a team with no holes and no weak spots - haters have pointed to their defensive play getting worse between seasons, but that still translates to being firmly above average in shots against per game and still the best team in the league in goals against per game, thanks to the Korean superstar Song Ju-gong between the pipes. You can’t even try to bully their one good line because Quebec has offensive talent by the skipload - most obviously the person who just broke the SMJHL record for points in a season, Froya Solberg.

Prediction
If Maine Quebec City lose a game in this series they should be very worried. Timber Citadelles in four.

---

NEWFOUNDLAND BERSERKERS vs. DETROIT FALCONS Falcons

Regular Season Records
Newfoundland: 37-27-2, 76 points - 1st Addition Subtraction Division, 3rd Atlantic Conference
Detroit: 40-22-5, 84 points - 2nd 510 Division, 2nd Pacific Conference

Season Series
Newfoundland 5 - 2 Detroit
Newfoundland 3 - 6 Detroit
Detroit 8 - 0 Newfoundland
Detroit 4 - 2 Newfoundland
Detroit 3 - 2 Newfoundland (OT)
Newfoundland 3 - 6 Detroit
Detroit win season series, 5-1

Overview
Fresh off escaping from the Whalers, Detroit gets to go against another player with MVP buzz on their side - in this case, Eric Vanderberg Jr is the man getting the speculation, with good money being laid on him picking up hardware for his superlative defence.

Even though the season series suggests otherwise, what should concern Detroit is that their big advantage on most teams - goaltending skill and depth - is somewhat nullified by the Berserkers, who have a pair of fine goalies themselves. Launchpad McQuack is slightly under the numbers Ana Soderstrom recorded, but by one or two points rather than a margin you could call significant, and has likewise thrown up 5 shutouts this year. And that's not acknowledging that Soderstrom was, to be nice about it, stinking garbage for most of the Vancouver series. If she can't pick things up and Luke Fromm doesn't step up, the exit door is going to loom wide.

Offensively, Newfoundland has a clear advantage - you just have to look at the point totals to see that, going through four Berserkers before you reach the point Detroit’s top scorer, Marek Carda, would sit on the list. Always a goalscoring threat, Sabage Cabage has cranked his game up significantly this year and finished second in the league with 49, only back of Froya Solberg, and there are plenty of good passers to help feed him opportunities.

There are some bright spots for Detroit, however. 5 players are currently better than point-per-game, even with Kenny Omega being unable to find the back of the net, and the player of the series was undoubtedly rookie Conner Ray, who broke his record of 7 points from last year’s cup run within four games this season. It’s one thing to do that against a bad team, though, and Newfoundland are going to be a much harder nut to crack.

Prediction
Detroit have their eyes set on a future matchup with Quebec City, but that rivalry has to wait for next year - Newfoundland win in six.

---

YUKON MALAMUTES vs. MAINE TIMBER Timber

Regular Season Records
Yukon: 36-26-4, 76 points - 1st EOTTIRD Division, 4th Pacific Conference
Maine: 45-16-4, 94 points - 2nd Net Man Division, 2nd Atlantic Conference

Season Series
Maine 3 - 6 Yukon
Yukon 0 - 4 Maine
Maine 3 - 2 Yukon (OT)
Yukon 0 - 3 Maine
Maine wins season series, 3-1

Overview
The Timber looked absolutely dominant in their sweep of the Scarecrows, as well you might expect, and now move on to face some sterner opposition.

It has to be said that Yukon have had an up-and-down season. I thought, and I suspect we all thought, that after Langston Hardison-Laurent’s All-Everything season that the ‘Mutes would be able to build on that and around him but it’s not exactly panned out the way they would have hoped. Improvements from some of the team’s supporting forwards - Vyacheslav Shevchenko and Florian Soderberg-Motyla - have unfortunately been balanced out by dropoffs in performance from elsewhere - Squidwardo Tentacles and Bobby Tkachuky - leaving the team stuck somewhat in limbo. Karter Mendenhall looked a little worse as well, which is not the way a second-year player’s career is meant to be going.

I’ve said the same thing elsewhere and will here with a caveat - it’s not obvious what Yukon’s path to victory is, besides the obvious “score more goals”. Maine have them beat in every metric except powerplay conversion, which itself can be mitigated through disciplined play or a penalty killing unit among the league’s better half. Unlike the other scenarios I’ve made a similar comment about, this is going to be a lot closer than that analysis would suggest. Yukon aren’t a bad team in any sense - there’s just no clear area where they’re better than the Timber.

Prediction
Yukon are too talented to get swept aside like the Scarecrows did, but they’re not going to fare that much better. Maine take this in five.

---

Kraken

CAROLINA KRAKEN vs. COLORADO RAPTORS Raptors

Regular Season Records
Carolina: 29-31-6, 64 points - 3rd EOTTIRD Division, 7th Pacific Conference
Colorado: 44-21-1, 89 points - 1st 510 Division, 1st Pacific Conference

Season Series
Carolina 1 - 8 Colorado
Carolina 1 - 6 Colorado
Colorado 5 - 4 Carolina (OT)
Colorado 9 - 6 Carolina
Colorado wins season series, 4-0

Overview
To quote the great Jim Ross, that slate of matches looks bowling shoe ugly. Two absolute blowouts, the OT finish where the Kraken did not hold the lead once in 60 minutes, and the 15-goal frenzy where both sides slugged it out for two periods only for the Raptors to drag the Kraken into deep water and beat them there, which makes very little sense given their respective nicknames but work with me.

It’d be silly to put all of Colorado’s success on the shoulders of one player, not least because their overall record is slightly worse than last year, but the offseason acquisition of Brooklyn Physt from Kelowna could be the heist of the century. Oranj Konhe was bad enough but Physt adds a constant goalscoring threat from the blueline on top of Konhe’s constant offense - shipping out a forward and two lower draft picks was a no-brainer, plain and simple.

With that said, Carolina were not favoured in the last series but managed to beat the Armada through a bunch of classic chaos of the playoff games, it’s not completely out of the question they do it again. The Rence Sykut / Betzee Nickelback / Cob O’Corn top line were on fire throughout that series and will come into game 1 feeling good about themselves, and morale could prove crucial. Carolina are here without people expecting them to be; Colorado are here in the knowledge their season is a bust without a Cup at the end of it. Quebec City buckled under the weight of expectations last season…

Prediction
…but Colorado aren’t going to lose here. The Kraken are going to make it awkward and will sneak a win, but the Raptors advance in five.

[1820 words, skreeeeee]

Serpe x 13 · 03-08-2024, 10:06 PM

Let's go Raptors!

ibuprofenaddict · 03-11-2024, 08:20 AM

going for the old reverse jinx eh?

*Fluw* · 03-12-2024, 09:29 AM

You got G1 of MET/YUM right at least!

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us