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dankoa · 10-03-2023, 10:07 AM

The SHL has been in existence for a long time, and during it's undisputed reign as the premier fake hockey league on the internet, it's certainly seen its fair share of dominant teams. One of the most notable for me in recent memory was the Buffalo Stampede of S60, who coupled a dominant regular season that saw them stack up wins as if it were light work with a successful run in the playoffs that ultimately ended with them hoisting the Challenge Cup after a bitterly tough finals series against the Chicago Syndicate. For those of you who were there to witness it, hopefully this is a pleasant trip down memory lane, and for those of you who weren't, hopefully it's a fun season to read about!

S59 had been one that ended in a fairly difficult way for Stampede fans to process. After finishing with the second best record in the league and cantering through the playoffs on their way to the Challenge Cup finals, it looked as if nothing could stop them until they ran into a determined Renegades team that pulled off the upset and beat them 4-1 to take home the cup. The Stampede immediately shifted focus to the next season and tried to put the bitter disappointment of the previous year out of their mind. Crucially, they managed to retain most of their highly impressive roster, including their terrifying trio of forwards in Aron Hernadivic, Matt Kholin and Steve Harrington, who were easily among the league's most talented. The Stampede came out of the blocks with vicious intent, winning their opening game and going on to rack up a highly impressive regular season record that saw them win 51 of their games and lose only 10 times in regulation.

This would mean little to the players however after last season's tough ending, if it wasn't coupled with a run that ended with them hoisting the Challenge Cup when it was all said and done. Winning the President's Trophy was a nice conclusion to the regular season, but it wasn't the piece of silverware that the team cared about in any meaningful way, and they made this very evident with their play in the postseason. Their first series of the playoffs saw them dispatch the New England Wolfpack with a comfortable 4-1 series win, which led them to a showdown with their bitter rivals, the Hamilton Steelhawks. The two teams had contested several bitterly tough series over recent years, and Hamilton's own success around this time in terms of Challenge Cup wins speaks for itself. The fact that the Stampede were able to end the series victorious in 6 games, in Hamilton's own arena really gave belief that there was a serious chance of them righting the wrongs of last year. The Conference final would see the Stampede take on the Atlanta Inferno in a series that was a little bit of a mismatch on paper, and Buffalo happily capitalised on this as they swept them in 4 games and punched their ticket to their second trip to the finals in as many seasons.

The most important series of all would see them match up against another old rival, the Chicago Syndicate. The Syndicate had been one of the toughest competitors during the S50s and would prove to be a difficult opponent for the Stampede to get the measure of in the finals. Chicago proved this by winning Game 1 of the series in Buffalo, leaving the Stampede having to fight back to level the series at 1-1. However, winning both of the next two games in their building gave the Syndicate a 3-1 stranglehold on the series, and it looked as if they were fated to taste disappointment on the biggest stage once more. However, their determination hadn't died just yet, and a tough 4-3 victory in Game 5 took the deficit back to only one game. It would take another Herculean effort to win in Game 6, with the Stampede fighting through to win it 2-1 in overtime, setting up a Game 7 showdown to win it all. Perhaps blowing a 3-1 lead was present in the Syndicate's collective thinking, but somehow the Stampede were able to buck the trend of the close series and win Game 7 in strong fashion, as shown by the 6-3 scoreline. And with that, they had righted the wrong of the previou season and managed to get their hands on the trophy they had worked so hard for all season. It was Aron Hernadivic who took home the playoff MVP trophy, to round off a truly spectacular season both for him and the city of Buffalo, who once more got to enjoy the sweet taste of success.

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*CptSquall* · 10-07-2023, 10:20 AM

Approved.

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