09-03-2021, 12:11 AM
In my first deep dive, I discovered that the Anchorage Armada had bested my team, the Quebec City Citadelles, not only in the S59 Four Star Cup Semifinals, but also in the S60 Semifinals. The purpose of this deep dive is to take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of Anchorage - how they beat Quebec and why they failed to win the cup. I’ll finish this deep dive by taking a look at Anchorage this season.
Before starting, I want to mention vulfgravy's deep dive overview of Anchorage's past 4 cup runs for a non-critical lens. And with that, let's begin!
G1: 4-2 W
G2: 5-2 W
G3: 4-2 W
G4: 2-3 L
G5: 0-3 L
G6: 4-3 W
Finals (vs KEL)
G1: 4-5 L
G2: 3-6 L
G3: 1-0 W
G4: 1-2 L
G5: 0-7 L
Anchorage came into the semifinals swinging, then flagged before finishing Quebec off. When we look at the stars of the games, it is Pablo Salvatici C, Gregory Goode RD, Tokkulu Lakkamaa RW. During the regular season, Anchorage was ranked 2nd in the league in points (69), and Salvatici was their leader in points. Lakkamaa ranked 3rd on the team (65), with Goode in 4th (55). During the playoffs in points they ranked: Salvatici in 2nd (19), Lakkamaa in 3rd (13), and Goode tied for 4th (11).
In the finals, Anchorage struggled and failed to beat Kelowna’s excellent offense. It was Jay Sink RD who made the star list during these games, and despite Guy Fieri’s excellent performance as Goalie, Kelowna’s offense was too great for Anchorage.
Anchorage does an excellent job at offense - their forwards perform well and, maybe more importantly, so does defense. Goode is such a great offensive defensemen, and I think it was due to his performance that Quebec fell. And yet, Quebec managed to score at least twice each game. I think Anchorage’s emphasis on high-scoring defensemen left them with a poor overall defense, and this is what Kelowna exploited during the finals.
G1: 8-3 W
G2: 4-2 W
G3: 3-0 W
G4: 5-3 W
Finals (vs NL)
G1: 3-2 W
G2: 2-5 L
G3: 3-2 W
G4: 0-1 L
G5: 1-4 L
G6: 0-3 L
Anchorage blew it out of the park and swept QCC easily, by more than a point in each game. Interestingly, when looking at Anchorage’s stars of each game, there are no repeats. Their center Mikhail Novikov who wowed during the regular season, did not perform as well during the semifinals. Anchorage’s successes despite this point to a very well-rounded team.
In the finals, Anchorage won 2 games by only 1 point, and struggled heavily in their losses. I think they had a hard time defending against Newfoundland’s strong offense, ranked 1st in the league in points that season. Anchorage ranked 3rd, below Vancouver. Their goalie worked hard, but ultimately couldn’t block every shot the Zerks threw his way.
Once again, I think we saw Anchorage favoring the offensive defenseman. Gregory Goode RD ranked 2nd on the team in points, racking up 62. However, we didn’t see him as much during the playoffs. Looking at the team during the playoffs, I don’t see any “star player” - Cole Carter scored 7G 8A, ranking 1st in terms of points, and behind him a three-way tie for 2nd with 13 points. Two of those players were defensemen. In comparison, Newfoundland had a star center in Ric Charlesworth with 19 points earned, and all players behind him save 1 are forwards. I think Anchorage was struggling to produce a strong defense, and at the same time did not have a reliable high-scoring forward.
Anchorage spent their 2OA pick on Paul Koivu LW, who currently has 3 points with 1G 2A. I think there’s a lot of room for growth with this player, especially considering the 71 TPE in updates that were only recently processed. It’s unfair to judge this player at the moment. At 13OA, Spack Jarrow LW shows a very promising start. With 4G 1A, there’s a strong possibility of a high-scoring winger, there. Anchorage also picked up FA Cup Noodle LW, who has matched Jarrow for points with 5A.
Their returning RD Josh Jennings has earned 6 points with 6A, and shows all signs of continuing Anchorage’s offensive defensemen which, hey, it got Anchorage to the cup in the past, there’s certainly nothing wrong with having someone who can rack up points from the blue line.
I am very interested to see how these LW the Amada have acquired change the makeup and strengths of the team. If Anchorage can find reliable scorers in these rookies, they may be able to patch a hole that they seem to have had for their last two cup runs.
794 words
Before starting, I want to mention vulfgravy's deep dive overview of Anchorage's past 4 cup runs for a non-critical lens. And with that, let's begin!
Playoffs S59
Semifinals (vs QCC)G1: 4-2 W
G2: 5-2 W
G3: 4-2 W
G4: 2-3 L
G5: 0-3 L
G6: 4-3 W
Finals (vs KEL)
G1: 4-5 L
G2: 3-6 L
G3: 1-0 W
G4: 1-2 L
G5: 0-7 L
Anchorage came into the semifinals swinging, then flagged before finishing Quebec off. When we look at the stars of the games, it is Pablo Salvatici C, Gregory Goode RD, Tokkulu Lakkamaa RW. During the regular season, Anchorage was ranked 2nd in the league in points (69), and Salvatici was their leader in points. Lakkamaa ranked 3rd on the team (65), with Goode in 4th (55). During the playoffs in points they ranked: Salvatici in 2nd (19), Lakkamaa in 3rd (13), and Goode tied for 4th (11).
In the finals, Anchorage struggled and failed to beat Kelowna’s excellent offense. It was Jay Sink RD who made the star list during these games, and despite Guy Fieri’s excellent performance as Goalie, Kelowna’s offense was too great for Anchorage.
Anchorage does an excellent job at offense - their forwards perform well and, maybe more importantly, so does defense. Goode is such a great offensive defensemen, and I think it was due to his performance that Quebec fell. And yet, Quebec managed to score at least twice each game. I think Anchorage’s emphasis on high-scoring defensemen left them with a poor overall defense, and this is what Kelowna exploited during the finals.
Playoffs S60
Semifinals (vs QCC)G1: 8-3 W
G2: 4-2 W
G3: 3-0 W
G4: 5-3 W
Finals (vs NL)
G1: 3-2 W
G2: 2-5 L
G3: 3-2 W
G4: 0-1 L
G5: 1-4 L
G6: 0-3 L
Anchorage blew it out of the park and swept QCC easily, by more than a point in each game. Interestingly, when looking at Anchorage’s stars of each game, there are no repeats. Their center Mikhail Novikov who wowed during the regular season, did not perform as well during the semifinals. Anchorage’s successes despite this point to a very well-rounded team.
In the finals, Anchorage won 2 games by only 1 point, and struggled heavily in their losses. I think they had a hard time defending against Newfoundland’s strong offense, ranked 1st in the league in points that season. Anchorage ranked 3rd, below Vancouver. Their goalie worked hard, but ultimately couldn’t block every shot the Zerks threw his way.
Once again, I think we saw Anchorage favoring the offensive defenseman. Gregory Goode RD ranked 2nd on the team in points, racking up 62. However, we didn’t see him as much during the playoffs. Looking at the team during the playoffs, I don’t see any “star player” - Cole Carter scored 7G 8A, ranking 1st in terms of points, and behind him a three-way tie for 2nd with 13 points. Two of those players were defensemen. In comparison, Newfoundland had a star center in Ric Charlesworth with 19 points earned, and all players behind him save 1 are forwards. I think Anchorage was struggling to produce a strong defense, and at the same time did not have a reliable high-scoring forward.
S61 Impressions
Anchorage currently has 4W 3L 2OTL, with 10 points. The season’s barely begun, but let’s take a peek at their player’s performance in the 9 games played.Anchorage spent their 2OA pick on Paul Koivu LW, who currently has 3 points with 1G 2A. I think there’s a lot of room for growth with this player, especially considering the 71 TPE in updates that were only recently processed. It’s unfair to judge this player at the moment. At 13OA, Spack Jarrow LW shows a very promising start. With 4G 1A, there’s a strong possibility of a high-scoring winger, there. Anchorage also picked up FA Cup Noodle LW, who has matched Jarrow for points with 5A.
Their returning RD Josh Jennings has earned 6 points with 6A, and shows all signs of continuing Anchorage’s offensive defensemen which, hey, it got Anchorage to the cup in the past, there’s certainly nothing wrong with having someone who can rack up points from the blue line.
I am very interested to see how these LW the Amada have acquired change the makeup and strengths of the team. If Anchorage can find reliable scorers in these rookies, they may be able to patch a hole that they seem to have had for their last two cup runs.
794 words