[526 words, ready for grading]

It's been a pretty wild run for the defending champions of the SMJHL. After a triumphant Four Star Cup victory in S56, the Vancouver Whalers were stripped to the bone, losing MVP Daniil Nikiforov, two capped defenders in Ryosuke Sato and Slimey Snail, their starting goalie Name Redacted, a cadre of wingers in Bryce McMahon, Luffy Richard, Rotticus Scott, Simon Takshak and Jason Desrouleaux, and architect of the team dmills3, the expectation was that this would be a retooling season. For the first half of the season, this was what happened. The team stumbled out the gates to a 9-17-2 record, new starting goalie Jon St. Ark was struggling to recapture the magic of last year, and the team was struggling under the weight of a very difficult schedule with a lot of back-to-backs. The rock bottom moment was when the team scored only one goal in a four-game losing streak and had to use load management for a couple games to get energy back. However, after a dramatic come-from-behind win against Newfoundland in overtime capped off by a Wile Coyote goal to win 5-4 and give Vancouver their tenth win of the season, there's been a shift in the team's fortunes. It's not pretty, but the Vancouver Whalers just find ways to win games. Against Quebec on the road, Vancouver pulled out another overtime winner, this time by Rikki Petrov. 

Returning home for a short homestand, Vancouver faced off against West Coast rival Anaheim and destroyed them 7-2. In particular, this was a coming-out party for Vancouver's top line, which had struggled a little before the winning streak. Wingers Valtterri Kauppinen and KnockedOutByOvechkin each had 2 goals and 3 assists in the blowout win, and centre Rikki Petrov added two assists. The next two games against Newfoundland and Colorado really showed what this Whalers team was made of. In both games, Vancouver trailed in the third period; in both games, they came back, tied the game, then won on a power-play goal in the final minute. Continuing on to face Carolina at home, Jon St. Ark and the defense slammed the door, massively outshooting the Kraken in a 3-1 win. Next up, and their most recent game to date, was another road game in Quebec. Once again in the streak, the Whalers trailed in the third period, tied the game late, and then won in a shootout. The team in green is now just one game back of .500, has won seven straight games, and has shown that they can hang with any team.

This streak hasn't been the prettiest gameplay, but it's been so much fun to watch. The Whalers are 8-2 this season in games that are tied after regulation, and it's like the team just has what it takes to get wins however they come. No lead is safe against this team. The defense is turning it up, St. Ark has been lights-out, and we're getting contributions from the offense. Watch out to whoever we face in the playoffs.