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Thelastheraclid · 06-12-2020, 07:48 PM

Ross Rickenbaum – Baltimore Sun

To celebrate the mid-season mark in their first season in Baltimore the Platoon put together a special weekend event for their fans. The weekend consisted of a huge food and beer festival, skills competition, and 3 on 3 tournament among the Platoon players.

Saturday was quite the sight to behold. The Platoon along with National Bohemian beer organized an absolutely gigantic food and beer festival. Food trucks from all around Baltimore lined the streets with restaurants of all cuisines set up stalls. Attendees were also encouraged to set up their own tailgates at the event.

John Langford, a Baltimore local, was one of the many in attendance with a makeshift food stall set up in the back of his pick up. “This is really great. Baltimore has a strong history with football and baseball but not so much with hockey. It has been a great experience getting together with all the people in our community and share some grub and get something positive going in the fanbase.”

Platoon players were all over the place signing autographs and taking pictures when they weren’t stuffing their faces and having a couple cold ones. Luca Del Vecchio even made the effort of walking around in full goalie get up and challenging fans to try and score on him. Kids and adults alike were over the moon trying to get one by the sophomore goaltender.

The night ended with a bang, with a beautiful fireworks festival. Officials said that an estimated 1 ton of crabs was consumed throughout the day.

Saturday was the day of the skills competition and 3 on 3 tournament. The arena was at full capacity for the both events. First in the afternoon was the skills competition in which all skaters took part in. The competition consisted of the following events: fastest skater, hardest shot, most accurate shot, most accurate passer, and an elimination shootout.

First was the fastest skater event. Each skater took a shot at skating their fastest once around the rink.

(A nuts and bolts of how I simmed this - I did it Dungeons and Dragons style with pen, paper, and dice. FHM and Dungeons and Dragons work off a system based on scores that go up to 20. Using that I based bonuses to rolls from each player’s ability score and applied it to the roll of a 20 sided die. For the fastest skater competition I used the acceleration and speed ability scores together. To get a rough idea of the times I looked at the records for fastest skater in the NHL competitions to set some standards. The highest possible score one could get for the skating portion was a 30 so I made that the record of 13.1 seconds and the slowest time at the most recent All Star game, 14.5, a 20 with some approximations of time after that.)

The first event really brought the crowd to life with each player really showing their wheels. The skaters placed right around where you would imagine with a couple of surprises thrown in at the top. The times from slowest to fastest:

Kristaps Ball - 16.3 s
Dayymo Ralchankinov + Nickolas Klaus - 16.2 s
Henrik Lundqvist Jr. - 16.1 s
Yoshimitsu McCloud - 15.6 s
Karl Krashwagen - 15.4 s
Delver Fudgeson - 15.3 s
Geoff Moore - 15.25 s
Jack Wilson - 15 s
Nat Emerson - 14.7 s
Ethan Ross + Petr Mikulak - 14.6 s
Sabo Tage + Indigo Trevino 14.4 s
Brock Nuck - 13.8 s

Next up was the fan favorite hardest shot competition. Each player would start from the blue line and be able to skate to around the dots before unleashing their best shot. The crowd grew silent before each and every shot. Everyone was on the edge of their seats with each successive shooter.

(I did the same thing here as with the skating but swapping out accelaration and speed for strength and balance. Once again the record of 108.8 would be set at 30 with some approximations after that.)

The hardest shots from fastest to slowest:

Sabo Tage - 92.9 mph
Karl Krashwagen + Jack Wilson - 94.2 mph
Indigo Trevino - 94.8 mph
Brock Nuck - 95.3 mph
Kristaps Ball - 96 mph
Petr Mikulak + Ethan Ross - 97.1 mph
Yoshimitsu McCloud + Nickolas Klaus + Dayymo Ralchankinov - 98.7 mph
Delver Fudgeson - 99.3 mph
Henrik Lundqvist Jr. - 101.1 mph
Nat Emerson - 102.3 mph
Geoff Moore - 102.7 mph

After the bombs were done flying it was time for a little breather and a focus on the more precise elements of hockey - the most accurate shot and pass.

(For the most accurate shot and pass I used just one stat shooting accuracy and passing to modify the scores. For both rather than tie them to real life records I set a number that needed to be set or exceeded to count as a hit. I set the number at 18 for both events with whoever hit the most targets or connected the most passes in ten attempts being the winner.)

The most accurate shooter event was a little anticlimactic with the majority of skaters hitting three or fewer targets. That could be a little telling for the Platoon’s struggles this year. Maybe they’ll make the targets a little bigger next year. (18 may have been too high of a difficulty rating or maybe my d20 stinks)

The winner of the event with 5 targets hit in ten shots was Karl Krashwagen who celebrated in typical German fashion with a giant mug of beer.

After the beer had been zambonied off the ice the most accurate pass event was set up. It was akin to a mini golf course with players needing to navigate the obstacles to a teammate waiting on the other side.

At the end of the event Nickolas Klaus walked away with the most accurate passer belt with four successful passes.

The final event for the afternoon skills competition was the elimination shootout. The rules were simple: if you could not score on Luca Del Vecchio you got your butt off the ice.

(This was done the same as the most accurate shooter. LDV’s save percentage is a little better than an 18 but I kept it the same. The only difference here was just one shot per player.)

After the first round only three Platoon players remained on the ice: Ethan Ross, Yoshimitsu McCloud, and Brock Nock.

Yoshimitsu McCloud was eliminated in the next round of shots after an absolutely filthy glove save from Luca Del Vecchio.

Finally, Brock Nuck emerged victorious after a dangle so sick it had to be quarantined for a mandatory two weeks.

With that the afternoon event came to a close and the players prepared for their 3 on 3 tournament in the evening.

The 5 teams were chosen at random with one lucky team receiving a bye into the final round of the tournament.

The Fighting Mongooses
Karl Krashwagen
Nat Emerson
Petr Mikulak

Team Chocolate Rain
Nickolas Klaus
Delver Fudgeson
Jack Wilson

Team Bort
Dayymo Ralchankinov
Geoff Moore
Ethan Ross

Team Omar
Indigo Trevino
Kristaps Ball
Yoshimitsu McCloud

The Bent Wookies
Sabo Tage
Henrik Lundqvist Jr.
Brock Nuck

Team Chocolate Rain was the lucky team to win the bye into the final round.

(To sim this quickly with a couple of d20s I made a rule that to score a goal a team needed to have 3 consecutive rolls higher than the opposing team. A single roll was used to determine who won the faceoff. If the defending team had a higher roll than the offensive team they took back possession and needed three more winning rolls to score on the opposition.)

Game 1
The Fighting Mongooses (orange d20) vs Team Bort (white d20)

Right off the opening face off The Fighting Mongooses kept possession and went in to score off a Nat Emerson slapper from a beautiful pass from Petr Mikulak. Team Bort won the faceoff after the goal but quickly lost possession off a Petr Mikulak stick check. Ethan Ross won it back not long after with beautiful body positioning on Nat Emerson. But as quick as he had it he lost it to a streaking Karl Krashwagen. Krash bounded into the zone. Raised his stick to scratch the sky and….. Missed by a mile. His quick feet got him into the corner before anyone on team Bort could even get close. Krash held it waiting for support but Geoff Moore was able to push him off the puck and take it for Team Bort. But possession is fleeting with Krash taking it right back. Dayymo Ralchankinov swoops in the scuffle and grabs it back for his side. He breaks with Ethan Ross. A 2 on none with only LDV standing between the win and the tie. HE STONES THEM. The buzzer rings and The Fighting Mongooses go on to the next round.

Game 2
Team Omar (orange d20) vs The Bent Wookies (white d20)

Team Omar wins the faceoff and it is a fierce battle back and forth for possession. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen such a defensive minded 3 on 3 exhibition. Finally, Brock Nuck grabs meaningful possession for The Bent Wookies. He moves in with Lundqvist Jr. on his left and Sabo Tage trailing. He drops it to Tage who moves it to HLJ...GOAL! Top shelf right where mommy keeps the cookies. With the next puck drop Team Omar wins it again and once again it is back and forth for possession. Only this time Team Omar comes out with some steam. Yoshimitsu McCloud runs it into the zone, gives a quick shoulder fake and SNIPES it five hole. We have a tied game! Team Omar takes it from the faceoff again. Ball moves it to Trevino for the shot… blocked by Tage. What a stud giving up the body in a meaningless exhibition game! The puck bounces over to HLJ who moves it up to a breaking Nuck. Luca Del Vecchio stops the initial shot but Nuck follows up on the rebound and buries it! The Bent Wookies move on to the next round.

Game 3
The Fighting Mongooses (orange d20) vs The Bent Wookies (white d20)

The Bent Wookies take possession off the puck drop. But Mikulak pressures and strips the puck from Brock Nuck. Mikulak streaks in for chance but it denied by Del Vecchio. Two pad stack just like the old timers used to. After the amazing old school Krashwagen recovers the rebound and slows things down to set up and attempt. He pass is tipped out of the zone by Lundqvist Jr. ending any chance the Fighting Mongooses had. Emerson recovers the puck however and looks for re-entry. The puck jumps off his stick and Brock Nuck jumps on the chance. He breaks with Tage. A 2 on none and what’s this. Del Vecchio storms out of the net like Hasek and poke checks the puck away and also send the poor young Sabo Tage flying. After that poke check it is a wild battle of possession and missed shots. As time runs out there was on last attempt. A saucer pass from the D man down into the corner. A deke from the man down low who moves toward the net. A shot fake and a wide open team mate ready to bury it. GOAL Mikulak! Right at the buzzer.

Game 4
The Fighting Mongooses (orange d20) vs Team Chocolate Rain (white d20)

The final game of the night. The twice victorious Fighting Mongooses facing off against the lucky and well rested Chocolate Rain. The long awaited puck drops! Klaus wins it back to Jack Wilson. He moves it up to Fudgeson but Krashwagen intercepts the pass. He stopped the pass but overskated it after that. Fudgeson takes it right back. Krash gets back and he and Fudgeson battle along the boards for an eternity trying to retain possession. Fudgeson manages to get the puck over to Klaus. He walks in. Shoots high. A GLOVE SAVE from Del Vecchio. Klaus wins the ensuing faceoff straight back to Wilson who winds up and buries it home! GOAL! Klaus wins the faceoff again and it is a back and forth of possession. Neither team can get clean entry for a solid amount of time. Until! Emerson hits a streaking Mikulak. He is all alone with Krashwagen right behind. Mikulak winds up and fakes the shot. Krash grabs it and buries high blocker side. It’s over time baby!

Klaus wins yet another faceoff and gets it to Wilson. He moves up to the blue line and dumps it in. Fudgeson recovers the dump in and moves it to Klaus. HE FLUBS THE SHOT! The pass bounces off the boards and out of the zone. Mikulak sets his sights on the free puck.He battles with Wilson to get free. He overpowers Wilson and takes it to the net. A 360 spin to a back hand roofer and the Fighting Mongooses win.

The fans left the arena delighted with the extra effort the Platoon put forth to create a strong community for the newly relocated team. Leaving the arena when asked if he would be a die hard Platoon fan from here on out Omar Little responded with a succinct, “Oh, indeed.” Fans and players a like are looking forward to next years event with even more events and fine tuned skills competition.

(2257 words and a lot of hand simming)

*CementHands* · 06-12-2020, 09:31 PM

Elite German Precision

Thunfish · 06-13-2020, 03:41 PM

Didn't embarrass the house, I'm happy!

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