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Twitchy · 08-16-2014, 02:08 PM

Letâ€™s get this one out of the way â€“ the Steelhawks were the best team in the regular season. With a 35-10-5 record, only the Rage were within 12 points of the Hawks. Simply incredible stuff. This is a squad that ranks first in goals scored (3.02) and goals against (2.28). They are an exceptional team that does exactly what you want from a hockey club. They have a 20% PP that ranks second in the league, and the top ranking penalty kill at 86%.

And despite all that dominance, the Hawks arenâ€™t heavily favoured to beat the Stars. Favoured, certainly, but not by as much as one would think, given all of the AMAZING stats I just showed you. During the regular season, the Hawks were 4-6 vs the Stars, so maybe itâ€™s time we took a look at just why Toronto might have a shot in this series.

Toronto boasts a dominant first line, with Sawyer and Kylrad amongst the league leaders in points. Kylrad has a â€œpedestrianâ€ 60 points in 50 games, potting 26 goals and showing brilliant vision and leadership on the ice with 34 assists. Meanwhile, Sawyer scored an excellent 21 goals and added in 32 helpers. These two are a matchup nightmare for any team, as theyâ€™re amongst the fastest skaters in the league, possess dynamic shots, and are extremely aware on the ice and are always thinking 3 steps ahead, which allows them to tally up such high assist totals. If these two have a big series, then Hamilton might not make it to the second round. And what a disappointment that would be.
The Stars may not be considered as â€œtalentedâ€ by some executives, but they might have something even more important â€“ heart. As a wise coach once said, the Stars believe in the principles of â€œClear Eyes, Full Heart, Canâ€™t Loseâ€. Yes, the Stars work effectively as a team, and the sum of their parts might make them a better team than the Steelhawks. After all, how could a team that is considered â€œlessâ€ talented than the mighty Hamilton Steelhawks consistently play them as if they were their equals?

Simply put, this is the matchup that everybody should have their eyes on. While the Steelhawks should be the favourites, the Stars boast a dynamic offence, that ranks fifth in the league. This could be important, as the Steelhawks are known to be a dirty team, averaging nearly 9 minutes on the penalty kill every game. If the Stars can bait the Hawks into taking a penalty, Toronto might be able to keep Hamilton on the defensive side of the game, unable to take advantage of their #1 offence.

Could that be the secret to beating the Steelhawks? In the eyes of one executive, thatâ€™s exactly what the Stars have been doing. Theyâ€™ve been forcing the Steelhawks to average nearly 4 penalty kills per game, making sure that the majority of the time is spent in Hamiltonâ€™s zone. And when that happens, itâ€™s very difficult for the Hawks to score on Toronto. And that might be why youâ€™ll see some very surprised people, if Toronto manages to have a breakout series and win against the Hamilton Steelhawks.

(534 words)

ORIGINSZ · 08-16-2014, 02:18 PM

Eh most of the year an time we played u guys we were testing lines heck up untill about the 35-40 game mark we were still testing lines. I think we dont gotta worry but best of luck anyways Wink

PS King Tuts always been a beast in the playoffs Tongue

***HabsFanFromOntario*** · 08-16-2014, 02:20 PM

That's a long way to say "The Play-offs"

Twitchy · 08-16-2014, 02:30 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Winteriscoming@Aug 16 2014, 01:18 PM
Eh most of the year an time we played u guys we were testing lines heck up untill about the 35-40 game mark we were still testing lines. I think we dont gotta worry but best of luck anyways PS King Tuts always been a beast in the playoffs

That sounds a lot like an excuse to me.

Also we test our lines every sim so, real legit excuse lol.

ORIGINSZ · 08-16-2014, 02:36 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Twitchy@Aug 16 2014, 01:30 PM

That sounds a lot like an excuse to me.

Also we test our lines every sim so, real legit excuse lol.

Eh we shut down two players ur guys are fked lol u got 6-7 on our team

JNH · 08-16-2014, 02:41 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Winteriscoming@Aug 16 2014, 01:36 PM

Eh we shut down two players ur guys are fked lol u got 6-7 on our team

We had 5 players over 40 points (2 over 50, 1 of which had 60 points). 2 defensemen over 25 points. I'd say we have more than 2 players to shut down.

It's going to be a close series for sure. Great read Twitchy! Love the media you've been pumping out!

LVShark · 08-16-2014, 03:00 PM

Good luck North Stars! Cheers

Also great read :D I'm really looking forward to this series

Twitchy · 08-16-2014, 04:10 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Winteriscoming@Aug 16 2014, 01:36 PM

Eh we shut down two players ur guys are fked lol u got 6-7 on our team

Those are the quotes that go on the locker room and get posted when the other team wins Smile

.

Schultzy · 08-16-2014, 10:11 PM

Hamilton was not 4-6 against the Stars. Hamilton played Toronto 10 times this season, during those ten games Hamilton had 3 regulation wins, 3 regulation losses, 3 overtime wins, and 1 shootout loss. That's 6-3-1 not 4-6

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3471471...eamStatsVS.html

Nice try though. Keep telling yourself whatever you have to. :lol:

JNH · 08-16-2014, 10:15 PM

He probably meant to type that the Stars were 4-6 against the Hawks cause... you know... the Stars were 4-6 against the Hawks.

Not everyone can be perfect all the time Schultz, not hard to see that's what he was actuallys aying Wink

Schultzy · 08-16-2014, 10:18 PM

Quote:Originally posted by JNH@Aug 16 2014, 09:15 PM
He probably meant to type that the Stars were 4-6 against the Hawks cause... you know... the Stars were 4-6 against the Hawks.

Not everyone can be perfect all the time Schultz, not hard to see that's what he was actuallys aying

<_< quit trying to be so nice all the damn time Starwars

:ph34r:

JNH · 08-16-2014, 10:22 PM

Quote:Originally posted by malcontentcapsfan@Aug 16 2014, 09:18 PM

<_< quit trying to be so nice all the damn time 

:ph34r:

fukk the steelhawks

rawr

Underoath10 · 08-16-2014, 10:40 PM

Quote:Originally posted by JNH@Aug 16 2014, 09:22 PM

fukk the steelhawks

rawr

***Hallsy*** · 08-16-2014, 10:46 PM

fack u jnh u peice of poo

Twitchy · 08-17-2014, 09:00 AM

Quote:Originally posted by malcontentcapsfan@Aug 16 2014, 09:11 PM
Hamilton was not 4-6 against the Stars. Hamilton played Toronto 10 times this season, during those ten games Hamilton had 3 regulation wins, 3 regulation losses, 3 overtime wins, and 1 shootout loss. That's 6-3-1 not 4-6

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3471471...eamStatsVS.html

Nice try though. Keep telling yourself whatever you have to. :lol:

So they won 6 games, and they lost 4 games. 4-6.

One of the things I genuinely hate about score keeping is how people make themselves feel better by the OTW or OTL or shootout win/loss. A team who is 5-5-1 can call themselves 500, even though we all know they're below 500. The OTL is important for the sake of keeping track of points, but if you want to be realistic the team I described is 5-6. But people see the 5-5 part, and think the team is better than they really are. You hear about it all the time on TV/radio, and that's why I purposely don't display records like you do.

So what I do is call it like it is, like they do in pretty much every other sport that has overtime/extra innings. They call a win a win, they call a loss a loss, and they don't add that third part in the column.

That's my rant on the hockey record system. I think it's hilariously outdated and provides people with a false sense of security.

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