Login

MrPrime · 04-04-2019, 12:53 AM

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of Chiefs 24/7!

This show has not been on for a while so it is a pleasure to bring it back to you for the retrospective of the Minnesota Chiefs with Season 46 now a thing of the past. The loss against New Orleans in the Western Conference Finals is not the results the team was hoping for, however considering no one was predicting the Minnesota squad would even make it to the dance and not only that ended up first in the Conference then needless to say the results were absolutely unexpected.

New Administration

Ahead of Season 46, there was a change in terms of General Manager duties within the Minnesota squad as Baelor Swift stepped down. In his stead came Shmurph who had the challenge ahead of him to put a competitive team on the ice ahead of the next season.

Pre-Season - The Ins and Outs

Every season we have players leaving and players coming in be them call-ups, free agent signings or traded players.
This happens with every team and the Minnesota Chiefs are no different. Here is the list of those that were for Season 46 and those that were out.

Player coming In

Derek Bohne - Called up from Anaheim Outlaws
Nickolas Klaus - Called up from Kelowna Knights
Sanyi Kocsis - Called up from Kelowna Knights
Eero Niemi - Called up from Anchorage Armada
Tony Snow - Free Agency
Mark McFleury - Free Agency

Players heading Out

Xavier Paquette - Signed with New Orleans Specters
Nathan Cosco - Signed with New Orleans Specters
Derrick Glover - Signed with Edmonton Blizzard
Muhammad McLovin - Signed with Chicago Syndicate

Pre-Season - A sign of what was to come

The fifty game pre-season went surprising well for the Minnesota Chiefs who landed second in the newly rebranded Western Conference in a season where we saw a team fold and three new ones joined the league! Out goes the Seattle Riot, in comes the New Orleans Specters, the Chicago Syndicate and the Tampa Bay Barracuda. Both Conferences are also changed to Western and Eastern which caused quite a shuffle for all of the teams in the league.

Despite all this, as said before, the Chiefs ended up second behind the newly created Specters with 28 wins, 15 losses and 7 more in overtime for a total of 63 points just one short of New Orleans. Eric Pelletier led the charge for the Chiefs standing in second place in the scoring standing raking in 65 points ( 24 goals and 41 assists ) followed 7 points behind at fifth place by Dick Skillstedt ( 27 goals and 31 assists ) and Terrance Nova in eighteenth place with a total production of 48 points ( 25 goals, 23 assists ). Noro Wozy ended pre-season at position 25 with 47 points ( 19 goals and 28 assists ), rookie Eero Niemi was five positions behind in thirty with a production of 45 points ( 15 goals and 30 assists ) and Bobby Watson would be the last Chief within the top 75 with a total production of 40 points ( 17 goals and 23 assists ) putting him up position fifty.

In net, Sebastien Primeau had good numbers having played all the games for Minnesota collecting 28 wins and lose 15 games with 7 more in overtime for a 0.910 save percentage and a goal against average of 2.87 putting him in position 11 right behind mentor and friend Evgueri Marmeladov of the Los Angeles Panthers.

Regular Season

In Season 45 the Chiefs finished the season in second place within Conference two at 58 points with 27 wins, 19 losses, and 4 overtime losses, 6 points behind the West Kendal Platoon who finished at 64 points. In Season 46 the team scored only one more point, 59, compared to the previous season however the win-loss record has improved with 28 wins, 19 losses and 3 more in overtime. The Minnesota squad this time finished first of it's conference now renamed Western ahead of expansion team New Orleans Specters who finished just one point behind at 58.

In the points production department, the Chiefs' best scorers in season 45 were Terrance Nova at 56 points fifth in the standings, Noro Wozy was seventh at 53 and Bobby Watson with 51 points was 9th. Derrick Glover was in fifty-ninth place with 36 points followed by Eric Pelletier in sixth fifth with 35. Season 46 was all Minnesota in terms of points scoring as Nova, Watson, and Skillstedt dominated the standings with even 11 points ahead of the fourth place! Nova is this season's points scoring champion with 75 points ( 39 goals and 45 assists ) followed closely by Bobby Watson at 74 ( 32 goals and 42 assists ) then Dick Skillstedt at 71 ( 27 goals and 44 assists ). Noro Wozy slipped a bit production-wise this season with 42 points standing at position ... 42 in the standings! Eric Pelletier went up however in forth ninth place with 9 goals, 32 assists for 41 points.

In the defense department up until the trade deadline, it was clear simply based on the goal against average of Sebastien Primeau that the team was lacking in the defense department but what helped the Chiefs as just mentioned was the incredible offensive capability the team had provided by Nova, Watson, and Skillstedt. Primeau might have allowed over 3 goals a game on average but that trio along with the contribution of the rest of the team allowed for more goals to be scored.

Trade Deadline

Needless to say, the Minnesota Chiefs were lacking at the blue line up until the trade deadline, Poppity Scoop and Geoff Moore were in dire need of help to support the team and help to have fewer shots fired on Sebastien Primeau. Said help came at the deadline when Schmurf did two rapid-fire trades back to back! First Ti-Guy Emond was brought in from Tampa Bay in exchange for Gilmore Tuttle. Shortly after, we're talking minutes here, Spitfire packed his bags from Season 45 Winnipeg Jets and made his way to Minnesota in return for Cara Hohenberg and the impact of those two men were quickly felt at the Chiefs' blue line! The two new additions didn't only contribute defensively but had their say on the score sheets as well! In 12 regular season games Spitfire got 1 goal and 10 assists for 11 points with no time in the penalty box, meanwhile Ti-Guy Emond had only 4 points ( 1 goal and 3 assists ) in a dozen games with 18 penalty minutes.

Playoffs - Round One

Not much to say for this round as the Chiefs got a Bye for being the Conference Champions this season.

Playoffs - Round Two against the Calgary Dragons

The Chiefs were looking strong and rested ahead of this matchup against the Calgary squad who emerged victorious in round one with a sweep over the Edmonton Blizzard! Things would not be so easy for the Dragons however this round as the Chiefs were looking to slay the beasts and they started strong but came out short with a three to two overtime loss. Esa Anrikkanen assisted by Maksimov and Creller under powerplay fired the winner past Primeau to get the 1-0 series lead. Game two was all Minnesota who dominated the Dragons and won in imposing fashion five zip who bombarded Calgary's Kata Vile who is Primeau's colleague in team Sweden on the International level with a total of 43 shots compared to 24 sent Primeau's way. Game three was promising to be interesting and it ended up being advantage Chiefs who once more netted five against 2 from Calgary to take the series lead two games to one. Game four felt like deja vu with Primeau's second shutout of the series again in a five nothing gain! He faced 21 shots all blocked while Vilde allowed five past her from the 39 in total that was fired her way. In game five the Chiefs were looking to nail Calgary's coffin and move onto the next round but they were met with stiff competition from the Dragons who emerged on top in overtime again due to a penalty. Otis B. Driftwood kept his team alive at 12:22 of the first overtime period assisted by Creller's sixth assist of the playoffs. This time it was Primeau's turn to be machine-gunned with shots as he stopped forthy three out of the forty-eight that came his way. Kata on her end faced 26 shots and missed four out of the lot. Game five was set to be a slobber knocker of a match as Calgary was looking to force game seven but the Chiefs had different plans. Eric Pelletier got a game misconduct at the end of the first being the instigator against Mike Izzy, in the end, Minnesota slew the Dragons and their playoff dream with a four to two win. It was quite an even match-up goalie wise as Primeau received 32 shots letting two past him while Vilde got shot at 35 times and allowed 4 goals. Once more the Chiefs made it to the Conference Finals! This time against a team they never faced in the playoffs: The New Orleans Specters.

Playoffs - Conference Finals against the New Orleans Specters

Minnesota was heading into their second Conference Finals in a row wanting to do more than last season when they suffered a game seven loss against the West Kendal Platoon. Their opponent this time was the newly formed New Orleans Specters!

Game one was all Minnesota who made a statement with a 4-0 win despite Primeau receiving 39 shots on goals! Aleister Cain was not at his best letting four goals in out of only 19 shots. This was Sebastien's third shutout of the playoffs a personal best! Game two was a doozy of a match with both teams shooting over 40 pucks against the opposing net minded! In the end, New Orleans prevailed in overtime with Nicholas Williams' third of the playoffs assisted by Oisin Fletcher. During game three it was evident that discipline was not the Chiefs' best friend as it helped the Specters to take the lead and win 5 to 4 in regulation. Three of New Orleans four nets were due to powerplay and when you remember the fact that the Chiefs lost most of their OT matches due to penalties that tells a lot. The Specters headed to game four with a two to one series lead and discipline would once again plague the Minnesota squad! Joe Kurczewski's game-winning goal in the third period assisted by Kaiser's fourth assist happened during a Ti-Guy Emond penalty for slashing. Despite this, the Chiefs still looked strong though which was promising for the next game despite the team being on the brink of elimination. Minnesota had no intention of admitting defeat in game five and they rolled in with strength heading to a five to one win to keep hopes alive!

And then came game six

It was an absolute nail biter of a game, a true battle of goalies both goalies almost receiving the same amount of shots ( Primeau 29 and Cain 28 ) but like in everything somethings got to give and the one to let one in was, unfortunately, Sebastien Primeau allowing Oisin Fletcher early in the second to score assisted by Piotr Czerkawski. Minnesota did everything they could in order to tie things up including having no penalties in the third but it was not to be. The newly formed New Orleans Specters eliminated the Minnesota Chiefs three games to two in what was a wonderful but painful series.

A word about the Specters

I have to give it to thier administration they managed to form a great team who are the equivalent of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and this is both commendable and praiseworthy. Unfortunately, it had to happen at the expense of the Chiefs but hey shit happens right? Oops, sorry, ladies and gentlemen. Actually, I will go ahead and say that this writer's money is on New Orleans ahead of the Finals. If the Specters manages to play as well as they did against the Chiefs then they will have the best chance to claim the Challenge Cup at their inaugural season. Good luck to the Specters. Who Dat?

A word to those retiring

No less than three Chiefs are hanging up their skates now that the season is over. Blabar Bananerstrom, Dick Skillstedt, and Spitfire are now able to enjoy well-earned vacations. On behalf of the entire Chiefs 24/7 crew, so myself, I thank you for the time you spent as a member of the Chiefs. Using the words of Sebastien Primeau It was an absolute pleasure to be part of the same squad with the three of you. Rest well friends and good luck in your future endeavors.

Season 47

Ahead of the next season, the Minnesota Chiefs will be facing a unique situation: Only six of thier main roster players are under contract for the upcoming season with everyone else being either retired or unrestricted free agents. This begs the question: Who will remain on the team? Who will leave for perhaps greener pastures? Who from the free agency list of other teams will want to sign and become a Chief? I believe Minnesota's GM will have a lot to think about and even more work BUT if he manages to retain key elements of the current squad, keeps an eye on his prospects, call a few who are SHL ready and successfully land one of two free agents off the market I am convinced the Chiefs will once more be a team to content for the Challenge Cup or close as soon as Season 47.

Yours truly have a wish-list of players he would love to see become Chiefs but I will keep it to myself. Only the Chiefs' GM will be privy of it. Wink

With that in mind, this concludes Season 46's retrospective of the Minnesota Chiefs! The end of the playoffs might have been disappointing but the future is bright for the team with the right cards played and a bit of luck.

Thank you for reading!

Total Word Count: 2,357 words

Mayuu · 04-04-2019, 03:20 AM

Quote:In Season 45 the Chiefs finished the season in second place within Conference two at 58 points with 27 wins, 19 losses, and 4 overtime losses, 6 points behind the West Kendal Platoon who finished at 64 points

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE