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FuzzSHL · 04-08-2019, 05:19 PM

(8555 words, ready to be graded, 2x media for draft related article)

New Orleans Specters Inaugural

Season a Work of Voodoo

Expansion teams have never really fared well in their inaugural seasons. Not including the original six teams, the two added in the SHL's second season, or the two added this previous season, expansion teams have only ever posted a positive record once - the Texas Renegades in S10 went 21-20-9, hardly anything to brag about. In all, expansion teams have combined for a record of 83-174-31 in their first season. The two expansion teams from this past season fared better than any expansion team before. Chicago posted a record of 24-22-4, finishing 7th in the Eastern Conference. New Orleans, however, blew everyone's expectations away, posting a record of 27-19-4, good for a second place finish in the Western Conference. So what made New Orlean's season so much better than their expansion counterparts?

The Announcement
To answer this question, we have go all the way back to the beginning. Back in January it was announced that JKortesi, GM of the SMJHL team St Louis Scarecrows, would be given the reigns of one of the newest expansion teams. @JKortesi81 took over as GM of St Louis back in S34, taking over the spot left by CRUTCHFIELD. With @TML99 and JKortesi at the helm, St Louis went on to win three 4-Star Cups in their 11 seasons together as GM's, including most recently back-to-back Cup victories in seasons 44 and 45. With the roster JKortesi helped build, the team looks primed to make their third straight finals appearance, hoping to make it three Cup victories in a row. New Orleans, however, was a new venture for JKortesi. There was some chatter that New Orleans might not be as successful as his tenure in St Louis was, that maybe TML's continued stay in St Louis was what truly helped that team succeed, but doubters couldn't be more wrong. No one truly knows what goes on behind the curtains, but those who know JKortesi from dealing with him will never hesitate to admit that the man knows what he's doing. He sees locker room chemistry and player happiness as the first goal. Sure, winning is nice, but it isn't as sweet of a victory if the team doesn't like each other. While a mastermind in developing prospects and getting line combinations right, JKortesi's true skill is building and maintaining one of the most positive locker room atmospheres in the league.

Now that it was known JKortesi was going to take the reigns of this unknown expansion team, he needed a co-gm. That's where @thedangazone comes in. TDZ is no stranger to management in the SHL, having been the GM of the SMJHL team Halifax Raiders from seasons 41 to 44. He did not carry a positive record in those years, but did not have much time to build a roster of his own. His last season in Halifax saw the team finally finish above .500, but it has yet to be seen just how the roster he helped build will manage in his absence. TDZ does carry some success with him, as he has been the GM of the IIHF nation Team Ireland since S36, a team that is currently riding a streak of 4 consecutive Gold Medal finishes. A former member of Head Office, TDZ has more experience than most in terms of upper management and was undoubtedly an amazing hire for New Orleans. Both of these guys came from Western Conference powerhouse Calgary, and it needs to be said that @Steelhead77 should be given a lot of credit here. While it was a hard decision for JKortesi to leave his longtime SHL team to take on new ventures and the same can be said for TDZ, it had to be hard to watch two of your best players go. Esa handled it extremely well, and was said to have been "incredibly supportive" throughout the whole process.

Now that the GM and Co-GM had been announced, all that was left was the location and branding. While Kansas City almost landed the expansion team, JKortesi and TDZ ultimately picked New Orleans. For those who want to see how the name, logo, and uniforms came to be, you can check it out in JKortesi's announcement of the franchise.

From there, there was one pressing thing that the new GM's had to prepare for...

The Expansion Draft
Now that the franchise was accepted and announced, there was an empty roster that somehow needed to be filled. That's where the expansion draft comes in. For those who don't know how the expansion draft works, here is a small explanation:

Each existing team in the SHL provides a list of players they "protect" from being selected. In essence, the two new expansion franchises will take turns picking one player from each team that was left "unprotected" in a snake-style draft. There will be 14 rounds, each team will end up with 14 players on their roster at the end of the expansion draft.

New Orleans had the luxury of picking first. From the available players, who would they select? Would they select one of the best forwards available to help jumpstart their offense? What about a defenseman to solidify the blue line? You know what they say about the best offense being a good defense. How about a goaltender? This last option was ultimately the one JKortesi and TDZ thought would be best, as they went with Edmonton prospect Aleister Cain. Cain was an integral part of the St Louis Scarecrows during their previous two Cup victories, and he was long overdue for a move up to the SHL. He, much like Marc Andre-Fleury in Vegas, was seen as a netminder who could be a brick wall for many seasons to come. He proved to be the right pick, but more on that later.

New Orleans next pick was 4th, and with that pick they selected Osin Fletcher, a Left Winger from Winnipeg. Sure, Fletcher is on the back end of her career, but this was still a winger capable of putting up a good number of points throughout the season. This was proven during S45, as Fletcher managed 41 points in 50 games while on eventual Challenge Cup champions Edmonton. New Orleans ended up slotting her at center, a move that proved to be, yet again, a very good move.

The third round saw both teams take their Co-GM players. For New Orleans, Defenseman Roman Augustus was taken from West Kendall. Also heading into the latter stages of his career, Augustus was and is not seen as a long term solution on the blue line. However, he is still a very formidable presence both on and off the ice, and proved that he still has a lot left in him for the next few seasons with his play on the ice this past season.

As the rest of the expansion draft started to fall into place, New Orleans was still left with questions regarding their opening night roster. At the time though, those questions would have to be answered at a later time, as there was a more pressing issue that needed attention..

The S46 SHL Entry Draft
The Entry Draft. Every young hockey player dreams of this night, hearing their named called by a franchise who thinks they have what it takes. For New Orleans, this was the first real opportunity they had at building their prospect pool for the future. Who would be the new face of the franchise once the aging core found its way out of the league? New Orleans lost the draft lottery and ended up with the sixth overall pick in the draft. Not a bad place to be, this season's draft was uncharacteristically deep, with loads of talent in first gen players and players with previous history in the family. New Orleans had their eyes set on a few players, and even debated a move up in the draft, but ultimately they felt happy with their position and new that, no matter what happened, they would end up with a player they were high on. Before everyone knew it, draft night was here and picks were already being sent in. New Orleans was on the clock, and all eyes were on them, eager to see who the first ever draft pick of the franchise would be.

"......With the first pick in the history of the New Orleans Specters organization, we are proud to select, from the Halifax Raiders, right winger, Jimmy Slothface!"

And there it was. Jimmy Slothface was the first pick by the New Orleans Specters franchise. I could go on all day about Jimmy Slothface's current prowess in the SMJHL, the drive that he has personally to be the best that he can be, or about how his demeanor is off the ice and how this was a true JKortesi pick if I had ever seen one. Instead, I'll let JKortesi's words speak for himself, as described in JKortesi's New Orleans Specters Draft Diary:

"Slothface is bonafide franchise player. He’s already showing significant development in the junior leagues. He already possesses a quick scoring touch, and he uses his above average skating abilities to help him get in the right positions to put the puck in the net. While he currently needs to work a bit on getting stronger, he’s very well rounded. I’d also like to see a bit of improvement with his hands, but he’s shown enough flashes that some seasoning in the SMJHL should really do wonders for him. He’s going to score big goals in bunches in the SHL."

New Orleans next picked at 20. In terms of organizational need, New Orleans knew they had some future holes to fill on defense. Since when has JKortesi drafted based on need though? "Best player available" has been the mantra since he first started as GM. However, as the first round filled out and the second round started, New Orleans found themselves in the same position that St Louis was in the previous year's SMJHL Entry Draft: one of the players they had highest on their draft board found himself falling in the draft for no apparent reason. When pick 20 came around, they wasted no time in sending in their pick.

"......with the 20th overall pick in the Season 46 SHL Entry Draft, New Orleans is proud to select, right winger from the St Louis Scarecrows, Michael Fox!"

Not long after being given a shot in the SMJHL by JKortesi, Fox was rewarded with one of the hardest work ethics seen in the league by being selected yet again by JKortesi. It has yet to be known why other GMs passed up on Fox not once, but twice so far in his short career, but Fox seems dedicated to proving JKortesi right for being given the chance, and every other GM wrong for passing on him. This type of work ethic though isn't geared into goal scoring like Slothface is. Fox is exactly the type of player that Slothface needs to be successful in his own way, Fox carries a pass-first mentality that isn't often seen in today's climate. Combine excellent skating with even more stellar stickwork and puck control, Fox is lining up to start a deadly 1-2 punch with Jimmy Slothface when they both hit the SHL in a short time.

New Orleans had a few more picks up before the draft concluded. In short, they traded pick 37 for picks 47 and 48, and pick 69 for a S47 5th and pick 71. In all, they used three more picks before their first Entry Draft completed. Rounding out these picks were goalie Mike Hunt, and defensemen Osbert Whacker and Basil Magnicotta. All fantastic picks in their own right, these players will surely be seen as steals when they all hit the big league in a few seasons.

Now that the Entry Draft had concluded, there was one more key part of the offseason to get to before the Specters saw the ice for the first time as a team.

Free Agency
Here was a chance for New Orleans to truly make a splash. They still had some holes in the lineup, and none of the selected prospects were SHL ready. JKortesi has quite a number of connections built up over the years, and used all of them to his advantage during the free agency period. New Orleans dipped into their abundance of cap space and signed 9 free agents, 4 of which were considered marquee names heading into the free agency period.

The first signing that New Orleans announced that wasn't an Expansion Draft or Entry Draft pick was winger Nicholas @Nictox Williams to a three year deal. Still relatively young in his SHL career, New Orleans saw something in Williams that they didn't want to fall into the hands of other teams. Luckily for them, the desire for Williams to come to New Orleans was a sentiment shared by Williams. Williams managed 19 points (13 G, 6 A) and only 4 PIM in his first season with New Orleans on the team's second line. Despite only managing those 19 points over the 50 game season, there was obviously enough in his game to give New Orleans the confidence to keep him on the second line. Either way, his presence off the ice is one that New Orleans will love to have around for years.

The next signing was winger Xavier Paquette to a two year deal, with a player option in the second year. New Orleans seemed to be starting a trend with their free agent signings with this one as Paquette is also a relatively young forward who New Orleans hopes will be an integral part of their core in the upcoming seasons. Paquette immediately had some responsibility on his shoulders as management put him on both the third and fourth forward lines. Paquatte managed 32 points (14 G, 18 A) and only 14 PIM this past season. In the first two signings alone, there was a grand total of 18 PIM over the course of the season, something JKortesi and TDZ both should be extremely happy with.

The biggest free agent signing of the offseason though came in New Orleans' next signing: former SMJHL MVP DeMaricus Smyth. JKortesi also drafted Smyth back in St Louis, so just like with Williams another reunion was in order with this signing. Smyth was handed a 6 year contract by New Orleans, and immediately lived up to the expectations as he posted 44 points (16 G, 28 A) over the 50 game season. Keeping with their trend so far, Smyth also hasn't quite reached his prime and seems to play in to New Orleans' long term plans for the future roster.

The last marquee signing that New Orleans made was with winger Piotr Czerkawski to a two year deal. The first signing with a No Trade Clause, this seems to have been made by Piotr as a term of his signing, one New Orleans didn't hesitate to make. This deal also carrier a player option for year two. Piotr scored the game winning goal in last year's Challenge Cup Final for Edmonton, and thought that New Orleans had the pieces in place to make a Cup run themselves this season. Piotr managed 38 points (15 G, 23 A) and an astounding 0 PIM this season, reminding New Orleans just why he is such a special player to have grabbed up in free agency, and possibly worth investing in long term.

New Orleans also managed to grab five IFA signings this past offseason, rounding out the bottom set of their roster. These signings included Kristers Zommers, Chuck Bernstein, Patrick Brumm Jr., Nathan Cosco, and Karl Hefeweizen. With these signings out of the way, all eyes were set on the preseason to see how this team would hold up heading into the season.

Preseason
Before Free Agency, there were concerns about the Specters depth. Even after Free Agency, there were concerns about their defensive depth and how their older forwards would hold up over the course of a season. The preseason was and will continue to be a test to how players hold up over an extended period of time. New Orleans as a whole stepped up to the challenge though, finishing first in the West and second overall over the course of the preseason. Aleister Cain posted a .903 save percentage in the preseason, not as good as he would like individually but there was no question that both management and the team as a whole were very much appreciative of how he played in net. Joe Kurczewski led the team in points in the preseason, silencing doubters about how he personally would be holding up throughout regression. There was a stretch during the back half of the preseason where New Orleans lost 12 of 17, leading to questions about how streaky would this roster be in the regular season. Would they ride a hot start and keep things going throughout? Would they start to slide and be unable to turn things around? Within the team and within management, however, this preseason was a clear indicator that they were in the place they wanted to be in and were undeniably confident in their ability to repeat their preseason performance throughout the regular season.

Regular Season
The day had finally arrived. New Orleans was set to play their first game as a franchise against the Texas Renegades. The Renegades were heading into the season on the back of a disappointing finish to S45, falling to eventual Challenge Cup champions Edmonton in the Western Conference Finals. Texas had high expectations heading into their home-and-home opener with New Orleans. The opening game proved to be worth the wait as New Orleans tied the game with just over a minute remaining with the extra attacker by a goal from Patrick Brumm Jr. Three and a half minutes into overtime, Texas saw themselves lose a bit of focus as New Orleans took advantage of a line change by the Renegades. Richard Physt saw an opportunity from behind his own net and managed to get off a long pass to Oisin Fletcher in the neutral zone, who then carried it into the offensive zone. Joe Kurczewski came into the zone as well, making it a 2-on-1 for the Specters. Oisin passed it over to Kurczewski who made no hesitation in putting the puck into the back of the net. Final Score: 4-3, Specters. New Orleans had managed to upset the heavily-favored Texas Renegades in the season opener, and it was time to head back to New Orleans for the Specters' home opener. All eyes were on this matchup and everyone was expecting yet another close game between these two teams. New Orleans, however, had other plans, routing Texas 7-1 in their first ever home game. Fans left that game with high hopes for the rest of the season, eager to come back for more. New Orleans stayed hot, posting a record of 11-4-1 in their first 16 games, outscoring opponents 52-36 in that time. New Orleans finally got their first taste of adversity as they dropped 5 in a row and 6 of their next 7. This would prove to be their worst stretch of the season, only losing more than 3 in a row one more time during the rest of the season. Heading into the final eight games of the season, New Orleans held a record of 23-16-3, one game behind the Western Conference leading Minnesota Chiefs, who were 24-15-3. New Orleans dropped 4 straight, falling to 23-19-4 and risking losing out on seeding that seemed more crucial for them than for others. New Orleans ended the season 12-12-1 away from home and 15-7-3 at home, meaning that the higher seeding they got, the better it was for their chances. Despite ending the season on a four game win streak, Minnesota's win over Manhattan in their second to last game meant that Minnesota won the conference and that New Orleans would finish in second. Not a bad end to the inaugural season for New Orleans.

The Brick Wall of Cain
Remember New Orlean's first pick in the expansion draft, Aleister Cain? Cain had spend the past few seasons in the SMJHL with the St Louis Scarecrows, awaiting his opportunity with Edmonton. That opportunity never came, and New Orleans pounced on his availability. How did Aleister Cain reward New Orleans management for their faith in the unproven SHL netminder? By putting himself in the conversation for best goaltender in the SHL. Cain finished tied for second in save percentage, first in goals-against-average, first in shutouts, second in wins, and tied for the least amount of losses for any goalie that played more than 40 games. Cain was a consistent locker room presence in St Louis and throughout this past season made himself available to the younger players for any help they may have had. He also is quite the presence in the New Orleans locker room, further proving that the choice to pick him was one New Orleans would not regret, not now, and not ever. The one thing that should be worrying other SHL franchises is that this was Aleister Cain's rookie campaign, and the only way he has to go now is up. He got off to a hot start to his career and shows zero sign of cooling down heading into the playoffs.

Playoffs
Playoffs. The time of year where tensions grow, games get gritty, and legends are made. New Orleans found themselves in a very good spot, taking second overall in the Western Conference. Out of the two teams that made the Western Conference Finals the season prior, Edmonton and Texas, only Edmonton managed to sneak into the playoffs, earning a play-in series against Calgary. This play-in series saw the defending champions get swept by Calgary. New Orleans then knew their playoff matchup: The Los Angeles Panthers. The regular season series between these two teams went to New Orleans, who won four of the six meetings. Confidence was high as they went into the first ever home playoff game for New Orleans. The opening game of the series saw New Orleans fall behind early in the second and could not recover, dropping the first game by a score of 2-1. Cain did everything he could to keep them in the game, having stopped 28 of the 30 shots that he faced. Cain gave the rest of the team confidence heading into Game 2. New Orleans left Evgueni Marmeladov of Los Angeles no room to breathe in net, peppering him with 51 total shots throughout the game. This seemed to be enough for New Orleans, as they took game 2 by the same score as game 1: 2-1. The series then shifted to Los Angeles, where Los Angeles actually had a losing record (10-11-4) during the regular season. New Orleans saw this as an opportunity to get a few games ahead and took both games in Los Angeles by a combined score of 11-5. After dropping the next two games, the series found itself in a winner-take-all Game 7 in New Orleans. New Orleans opened the scoring not even a minute into the game, and it looked like they weren't going to let this opportunity slip. Los Angeles responded before the period was two minutes old, and the momentum New Orleans had built vanished. The Specters managed to sneak one in with just over 7 minutes left in the first, and then scoring as quiet until the 11 minute mark of the third period where Los Angeles tied the game up. After jumping ahead in the series 3-1, New Orleans found themselves with no momentum heading into overtime of Game 7 in front of a sold out home crowd. No word got out of what was said in that locker room during the intermission, but New Orleans came out firing, and their hard work paid off as DeMaricus Smyth found the back of the net a little over three minutes into overtime. With the weight of a potential collapse off their shoulders, New Orleans took little time to celebrate before shifting focus to the next matchup: a date in the Western Conference Finals with top-seed Minnesota. As hot as Aleister Cain had been throughout the season and throughout the playoffs, Minnesota netminder Sebastian Primeau was hotter in the playoffs. Minnesota took their series against Calgary in 6 games, but the two losses they had were both in overtime. Through the first two games of the Conference Finals, Primeau has a .946 save percentage through Minnesota's 8 playoff games, posting a record of 5-0-3. With the New Orleans-Minnesota series tied at 1-1, New Orleans would have to find a way to win in regulation if they were to take the series. Minnesota's top forward line of Terrance Nova, Dick Skillstedt, and Bobby Watson were being thrown more ice time than any other forward group in the playoffs up to that point, coming off of a Game 2 where they each had more than half an hour of ice time. Despite this, they came into Game 3 firing on all cylinders as Terrance Nova recorded a hat trick and each of Nova, Skillstedt, and Watson were a +3 on the night. This was not enough though, and New Orleans managed a 5-4 win for Primeau’s first regulation loss of the playoffs. Game 4 proved to be much more of a defensive game than Game 3 was, but on the back of a pair of goals by Joe Kurczewski in the 3rd period and Aleister Cain stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced, the two teams were heading back to Minnesota with New Orleans in the driver’s seat of the series, up 3-1. Minnesota new that they were down but not out, and looked back to New Orleans’ previous series against Los Angeles hoping to do what Los Angeles did and bring this game back to a winner-take-all Game 7. Minnesota came into Game 6 and put everything they had onto the ice and into every opportunity to shoot, peppering Aleister Cain with 39 shots throughout the game. On the day that a league source brought up dirt on Cain’s past, it seemed it got into his head as he had one of, if not his worst playoff performances up until that point. Needing to regroup and refocus, the Specters flew back to New Orleans with a chip on their shoulder. Both teams came out firing in Game 6 but it was the goalies who stole the show. With Minnesota’s top line finally showing signs of fatigue, New Orleans slipped a goal past Primeau just over a minute and a half into the second period. This proved to be the decider as Aleister Cain posted yet another shutout.

Challenge Cup Finals
They did it. The New Orleans Specters made it through the gauntlet that was the fifty game regular season. They managed to find a way to defeat the Los Angeles Panthers and Minnesota Chiefs. Here we are, at the end of the season, and the New Orleans Specters have become the first expansion team to make the Challenge Cup Finals in their inaugural season. They aren’t done though, every single person in that locker room knows that they’re not done yet. Playoffs wasn’t their goal, winning a series wasn’t their goal. Winning the Challenge Cup is their goal, and they’ve got a tough opponent ahead of them. The team that finished at the top of the season standings during the regular season. The team that only lost two games in the playoffs prior to this series.

The Buffalo Stampede.

The good news heading into this series was that New Orleans won both prior meetings against Buffalo: 3-2 in New Orleans and 2-0 in Buffalo. The goalie matchup in this series was also one to watch out for as Cain and Robinson had met in the playoffs twice in the SMJHL with Cain prevailing in both. This was a new monster for both of them. Robinson posted a rookie campaign that doesn’t seem to have a true rival. On the other hand, if the SHL had their heads screwed on correctly, we would now be having the conversation of whether Robinson or Cain was the better rookie. Cain, while technically not a rookie, had not started more than the league-minimum 6 backup games prior to the start of this season. Either way, both netminders were having seasons that other SHL goalies have had wet dreams about. Combine their seasons together with Buffalo’s stacked defense and New Orleans’ unparalleled chemistry and potent offense and the story couldn’t be set for a more perfect ending to the season.

Game One
Game 1. Hockey night in Buffalo. Stampede. Specters. Cain. Robinson. The entire SHL had their eyes glued to this finals series and every player knew it. Fletcher (NOLA) won the opening draw and off started what was set to be one of the most iconic Challenge Cup Finals in league history. Both teams came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, but it would be Buffalo that struck first. Cain made two incredible saves on Viktor Marius before letting a rebound fall to Oliver Konig, who buried the rebound just over two minutes into Game 1. The arena erupted, neither the fans nor Buffalo could have dreamt of a better opening: get to Cain early and get New Orleans frustrated.

But New Orleans had been in this position before. They weren’t about to allow an early goal to get to them mentally. Cain had his block of swiss cheese in preparation of this game, the team as a whole feasting on crawfish they brought with them from back home as upbeat jazz bounced off the walls in the locker room during pregame. They were prepared. Sure, they had a mental lapse, but they knew what they had to do. After winning the ensuing draw, New Orleans stormed the Buffalo zone and littered Robinson with shots, who finally managed to snag one in his glove to freeze play. Off the next draw, New Orleans managed to pick the puck up, and after Metzler bodied Czerkawski, Williams picked up the loose puck and slid it past Robinson to tie the game at one a little over five minutes in. And with that, New Orleans was right back in it. It was only sixteen seconds later than New Orleans found the back of the new again, this time by Roman Augustus. New Orleans managed to hold off a short-lived Buffalo attack before DeMaricus Smyth put the puck past Robinson nine minutes in to give New Orleans a 3-1 lead. Buffalo was starting to feel the pressure, and New Orleans wasn’t letting their foot off of the gas. That score would hold until the end of the first, shots near even at 14-13 to the Specters, but where it mattered it was New Orleans up by a pair.

New Orleans committed two avoidable penalties within the first four minutes of the second period, but managed to hold off Buffalo’s advances throughout both man-advantages. Then after what could only be described as a retaliation penalty by Buffalo, New Orleans had their shot on the power play. Unfortunately, they were also unable to get anything done on the man advantage. By this time, the halfway mark of the game had passed and the score remained 3-1 in favor of New Orleans. All of a sudden on the counter attack, Joe Kurczewski broke Xavier Paquette on a breakaway, who buried home his first of the game to put New Orleans up 4-1. Robinson, visibly frustrated, did his best not to impersonate Martin Brodeur during the ‘06 playoffs as he skated off the ice in favor of Davis. It has not been confirmed but it is our understanding that Robinson’s stick did not make it down the tunnel. New Orleans, still in awe of the noted cult-like ritual performed by Buffalo prior to the start of the series, seemed to have gotten jump started by Robinson being pulled. The Specters did not let off the gas pedal for a second and, despite Buffalo finding the back of the net in garbage time, ran away with Game 1 by a score of 7-2. With still one more game in Buffalo before heading back south, New Orleans had every last bit of momentum heading into Game 2. Buffalo, forced to regroup and rethink their pregame ritual, were left scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. But momentum isn’t everything, as Game 2 would soon tell.

Game 2
Game 1 was one that Buffalo would absolutely love to put behind them, they did not want to head into New Orleans down 2-0 in the series. New Orleans, still riding the high from Game 1, had seen their confidence hit a season-high heading into the game. The best team in the league in the regular season, at home, and you won 7-2? How could they not be confident? The same starting lineups for both side took the ice and Game 2 was underway after a thunderstorm ultimately delayed the game for a few hours. Buffalo came out firing on all cylinders, but lucky for New Orleans Aleister Cain did as well, making save after save in the opening minutes. Unfortunately, Aleister “Slash” Cain lived up to his nickname and took a bad slashing penalty roughly 7 minutes into the first. Buffalo continued the stampede on Cain but couldn’t find a hole as Cain single-handedly held off the Stampede power play. Other than a delay of game penalty to New Orleans late in the first, the first period ended rather quietly with Buffalo doubling up shots on New Orleans, 15-7. It was New Orleans who came out of the gate on fire in the second period, and Robinson continued to sem dazed from Game 1, as Nicholas Williams put home the game’s opening goal just over a minute into the second. The silence from the crowd was deafening and everyone could hear just how Buffalo coach felt about his team’s play to open the period. New Orleans had this game right where they wanted it, but Buffalo remembered Game 1. Buffalo remembered who scored the first goal and who ultimately won. They had been in this position before and knew they had what it took to come back. The second period, however, was not kind to Buffalo. No more goals were scored, but a flurry of penalties and a continuous barrage of shots seemingly drained Buffalo throughout the period. New Orleans, after a dreadful first period in terms of possession, channeled their inner hurricane and outshot Buffalo 18-2 in the period.

Then the third period happened.

Just over 6 minutes into the third and Vasily Horvat gets called for hooking. Twelve seconds later, Buffalo ties it thanks to an incredible screen in front of Cain. The crowd was alive again and Buffalo found their footing after an atrocious showing in the second period. Continuing their attack, they found the back of the net again with just under eight minutes to play. This lead would be the one to hold, and adding in an insurance goal by Leafer Reilly, Buffalo found themselves tied in the series 1-1 heading to New Orleans.

Game 3
New Orleans still felt confident despite how Game 2 went. In reality, it was one bad period that got to them, and they knew they didn’t have much they needed to fix to get things back on track. In a season of first, this was the first Challenge Cup Finals game played in New Orleans, and the crowd was sure to make it known that they were to be among the best fans in the league. A sellout, blackout crowd for New Orleans’ home opener in the series. Not even the PA could be heard over the fans. This was looking to be the best game of the series so far, and with the series now seemingly a Best-of-Five instead of seven, both teams knew what was at stake. Only one team seemed to be ready off the opening faceoff though, as Viktor Marius scored one of, if not the fastest goal in Challenge Cup history, scoring only four seconds into the first period. It did not look like Cain would have a good night with how this game started, but he wasn’t the only goalie to have a rough game. At the conclusion, it was a third period tally that gave Buffalo the win, despite both goalies’ poor play. Cain stopped 18 of the 23 shots he faced, and Robinson stopped 22 of the 26 he faced. It was a disappointing marker for New Orleans for sure, but they had battled through all season and had no plan of stopping now.

Game 4
New Orleans desperately needed to rebound from Game 3. Just like Buffalo after Game 1, New Orleans could not afford to go back to Buffalo down two games in the series, especially with that deficit being one where the next Buffalo win would give them the series. Buffalo yet again came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and took a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. New Orleans fans were left speechless wondering what happened to the team that won 7-2 in the opener. The whole demeanor of New Orleans heading back onto the ice for the second period was one we hadn’t seen from them all season. There wasn’t a single smile on anyone from New Orleans, and Buffalo had every right to be scared of their lead. New Orleans started playing a type of physical game that they hadn’t let anyone see before and stormed back, taking a 3-2 lead where they saw their 3 goals come within a 6:37 timespan. Buffalo managed to tie the game with a powerplay marker with just under 5 minutes left in the second, and even though they came back, New Orleans didn’t look one bit happier going into the locker room. Coming back out for the third, deja vu was felt across the stadium as anyone watching New Orleans come out of the locker room would think they were still down 2. New Orleans came out with the same style of play that started the second period and it worked to their benefit as they scored twice in the first 5 minutes, the goals separated by less than one minute. Another insurance marker with just over eight minutes to play both gave New Orleans the 6-3 victory, but also gave Joe Kurczewski a hat trick and a four point night. Finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, the teams went back up to Buffalo tied in the series 2-2.

Game 5
The ever so crucial Game 5. Series tied 2-2, the winner of this game would take one step closer to the Cup, the loser being put on their back foot heading to New Orleans. The puck dropped and both teams traded offensive chances, both Cain and Robinson doing their best to not let in the crucial first goal. Clint Eastwood got the gate for hooking just over eight minutes in and Buffalo’s dangerous powerplay took the ice yet again. Buffalo was able to strike with this one, Lavelle burying a shot from the slot to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. New Orleans was able to strike back fast though, Paquette finding his shot with just over five minutes to play in the period. DeMaricus Smyth also found his touch later in the period, giving New Orleans a 2-1 lead. The period ended with Buffalo leading in shots but New Orleans leading where it mattered. Just over five minutes into the second though, Buffalo finally got another break and tied the game up. This was another war, and both teams would fight hard to the finish to get the win in by far the most critical game yet. Buffalo was the harder working team in the second period though, and took the lead with just under eight to play in the period. The period would end that way, and shots still heaving favored Buffalo 22-14. New Orleans knew everything that was at stake and came out for the third period the better team. Yet again, it paid off, as they got the tying tally a little under six minutes in. Less than two minutes later, New Orleans takes a 4-3 lead off of yet another Kurczewski tally. This score would hold, and New Orleans took a 3-2 series lead heading back home.

Game 6
Could this be it? Could this be the game that finally gave the Challenge Cup to an expansion team in their first season? Could New Orleans keep composure and defend their home ice? Not even a minute into the game and DeMaricus Smyth wanted to send Buffalo home, putting New Orleans up by one. Just over 4 minutes in and Smyth looked to single handedly win this game for New Orleans, scoring again on the powerplay. Buffalo was now on their back foot and New Orleans wanted desperately to put the nail in the coffin. Buffalo wasn’t about to give up though. With a little under eight to play in the period, Viktor Marius finally put Buffalo on the board. 93 seconds later and Konig put the tying tally past Aleister Cain, and we were back to square one with both teams tied heading into the second period. The start of the second period saw a lot of shots but no goals, until the 10:28 mark of the period where Joe Kurczewski put New Orleans back up on top 3-2. Buffalo had other plans however, where only twelve seconds later the game found itself tied up again. New Orleans could feel the pressure, it felt like Buffalo had an answer at every turn, was there any way they could find a way to finish the game? Finish the series? Buffalo took their first lead of the game with just under eight to play, and unfortunately for New Orleans, this lead would hold until the final buzzer, and we were heaing to Buffalo for the deciding Game 7.

Game 7
Game. 7. It all came down to this. One final matchup to decide who wins the Challenge Cup. Would it be the expansion cinderella? Would it be the team that finished second to last in the league the previous season and missed out on the playoffs? Either way, the story was set to where we would have an incredible finish, and everyone was expecting this final game to live up to the hype. Buffalo opened the scoring just over ten minutes into the game after peppering the swiss cheese man himself with a seemingly endless amount of shots. Not even a minute later and DeMaricus Smyth put home his eleventh goal of the playoffs to tie the game at one. This game was definitely living up to the pregame hype. It didn’t take that long for Buffalo to retake the lead, however, as TJ Bayley found the net a little over two minutes after New Orleans’ tying tally. The first period would end with Buffalo holding a 2-1 lead. The crowd could almost feel the Cup as they erupted in cheers when Buffalo took the ice for the second period. Pressure was mounting on New Orleans to find their offensive footing again. The second period, however, was much more quiet compared to the first. No goals and only two penalties, despite New Orleans’ relentless attack on Robinson, who was arguably having his best game of the playoffs at just the right time.New Orleans had twenty more minutes to come back in this game, and they needed to play much better than just desperate hockey. Unfortunately for New Orleans, Buffalo opened the scoring in the third just over two minutes in, taking a 3-1 lead. New Orleans was watching their Cup chances slowly drop as each second passed without another goal. Two minutes later and Buffalo added yet another tally, their lead now 4-1. New Orleans finally found a break with under nine minutes to play, but it all seemed to come too late. Buffalo put the dagger in New Orleans’ coffin with 3:10 to play, taking a 5-2 lead. This would hold, and Buffalo would take home the Challenge Cup a season after only putting up 44 points in the standings.

Heartbreak in the French Quarter
New Orleans was utterly defeated. They were drained, running all four lines every single game. They had two chances at the cup and let a two goal lead in Game 6 slip away. However, this finish wasn’t as disappointing as it may have felt to the players and management involved. This was a team of misfits, a team comprised of players that were acquired in free agency and through picking through the rest of the league’s unwanted. Their starting goalie is in his first full season in the SHL. Even though they didn’t hoist the cup at the end of the season, they still put up the most successful inaugural season for any expansion franchise in SHL history. While they may soon be in the shadow of Los Angeles’ Cup in year two, New Orleans for the moment is head and shoulders above the expansion franchises before them. As for the future, they are showing zero signs of slowing down. They have some young talent in the middle-six and some highly touted prospects in the pipeline, and with the drafting minds of JKortesi and TDZ, that prospect pool will soon become one of the most highly regarded prospect pools in the league.

S47 SHL Entry Draft: Wants, Needs, Good Fits
Speaking of building the prospect pool, the S47 SHL Entry Draft will soon be upon us. New Orleans spent last Entry Draft addressing forward depth, acquiring both Jimmy Slothface and Michael Fox in the first two rounds. They also grabbed up embattled prospect Osbert Whacker, who has had a rough go of things off the ice with Team USA and his own personal issues. Whacker has kept to himself this past season and has seemingly been working on these off the ice issues, and has silenced any doubters as to how seriously he is taking things. This upcoming draft though should see New Orleans add some early defensive prospects and possibly a few forwards in the mid and late rounds. Below we have compiled a list of 10 possible fits for New Orleans, in order of TPE earned.

1. Filip Zadina, Forward, St Louis Scarecrows

Zadina heads the top of this upcoming draft class in terms of TPE, currently sitting at 305. While New Orleans doesn’t necessarily need more forward depth, with how young the franchise is and how little the prospect pool is, they definitely wouldn’t pass on him given the chance. JKortesi has been known to take the best player available regardless of his team’s positional needs, but the next person on this list would make a decision difficult if both were available to New Orleans in the first round.

2. Charlie Serpe, Defense, St Louis Scarecrows

The top earning defenseman also resides with St Louis, JKortesi’s alma mater. Still holding strong ties to St Louis, both Charlie Serpe and Filip Zadina look to be high on their draft board. With New Orleans’ need for defensemen in the pipeline, Serpe would be a perfect fit for the Specters.

3. Austin Roenick, Forward, Lethbridge Lions

Another forward on this list, Roenick is coming off of a great rookie campaign that saw a disappointing end for Lethbridge. Like with Zadina, it is unlikely that Roenick would go early to New Orleans, and ultimately may not fall to where they would be comfortable taking him. If New Orleans did manage to get ahold of Roenick, however, it would sure be a match made in heaven for his development.

4. Cullen Gray, Forward, Vancouver Whalers

The fact that Gray is also a forward in the top four of this list is a testament to how strong the upcoming draft class is in terms of forward depth. Any team looking for a forward will find one at any point in the draft, and if Gray were to go to New Orleans as well, it would certainly be a strong addition to their forward prospect pool.

5. Corey Kennedy, Defense, Anaheim Outlaws

The second defenseman on this list is none other than Corey Kennedy of Anaheim. The one and only Outlaw on this list, Kennedy had a very strong defensive campaign for Anaheim, finishing fourth on the team in terms of scoring by defensemen. Teammate Osbert Whacker is a current New Orleans prospect, so it is quite possible that GM JKortesi sees the chemistry that is there and grabs Kennedy to be a future blue liner for the Specters alongside Whacker.

6. Jax Duggan, Defense, Vancouver Whalers

Duggan is another defenseman on this list that had a relatively strong rookie campaign despite his team’s place in the final standings. He does pose a little bit of a discipline issue on the ice, but with the proper development this issue should be one that solves itself.

7. Tony Ford, Defense, Anchorage Armada

The first and only Armada player on this list is defenseman Tony Ford. Despite a weak season individually, Ford has put in a considerable amount of work off the ice, and with the help of New Orleans management and veteran players, should be able to play a key role for Anchorage soon and New Orleans in the future if that is where he ultimately lands.

8. Joseph Laraque, Forward, Forward, Halifax Raiders

Forwards find themselves back on the list with Team USA and Halifax Raider winger Joseph Laraque. JKortesi, current member of Team USA’s IIHF roster and former Team USA GM, has strong ties to Team USA. Laraque was recently announced as part of Team USA’s World Junior Championship roster and was slotted in the second line beside Bobby Sharp and Troy Reynolds. If Laraque falls, expect New Orleans to be tapping his line.

9. Noah Gallagher, Forward, St Louis Scarecrows

Last, but certainly not least, is Scarecrow forward Noah Gallagher. Gallagher found it hard to find any offensive production throughout the regular season, but had a strong showing in the Four Star Cup Finals and was a key part of the reason why St Louis won their third straight cup. Gallagher is another player that works extremely hard off the ice, and in no time should be reaping the results of his hard work.

10. Isaac Yamada, Defense, St Louis Scarecrows

Another Scarecrow on this list, Yamada has had a quiet season on the Scarecrow’s third pairing. A dark horse for any team looking for defense, Yamada could surprise come draft night.

Any of the players above, and any number of the players in this season’s deep rookie class, could find themselves donning the black and purple this Wednesday night. No matter who ultimately ends up being drafted by New Orleans this Wednesday, the management in New Orleans should be one of the best for prospect development in either the SHL or SMJHL.