The Carolina Kraken entered the fifty fifth season of the Simulation Major Junior Hockey League thirsty for more. Having just taken the crown jewel of the league, the Four Star cup, in season 54, they were top contenders to go to the promised land once more. 

This was a team that had a strong lineup of veterans that were returning, including centre Linus Grimstad. Grimstad, who notched an impressive 32 points in season 54, improved significantly with his season 55 campaign, as the Kraken would go on to notch a massive 54 points in 50 games, potting home 22 goals. There was often deliberation that Grimstad could be a viable winner for the league’s most valuable player award.

Meanwhile, right winger Jimmy Wagner, the team’s leading scorer in season 54, did regress a bit, only putting up 43 points this season. Granted, that is still a very commendable result, but it is a far cry from Wagner’s 53 point campaign in Season 54, where he potted 24 goals on the season.

Left winger Vitek Vitecek remained consistent in point production, putting up 42 points this season after putting up 44 last season. In the blue line, Adam Friedland gave the team some much needed offensive support with 30 points, although it is a far cry from the blue liner’s prior season where he put up a massive 16 goals and 42 points.

Behind the pipes, the Kraken no longer had starter Frans Eller in net, as he would graduate to the SHL, being called up by the New England Wolfpack. They would turn to their backup, Blunt Man, instead. Blunt Man was a shaky backup for the Kraken in season 54,  putting up a 3.19 goals against average in 8 games. However, he rose to the occasion for the Kraken this season, putting up 26 wins with a 1.99 goals against average in 37 games, with a .920 saves percentage. They also found success with their backup goaltender, Ragnarss, who had similar numbers to Blunt Man, albeit in 13 games.

This team also found secondary scoring from rookies Grape Fruit and Aleksander Kozlov. Fruit put up 19 points on the left wing, while Kozlov put up 18 points as a centre while playing just over 10 minutes each game.

This blessed the Kraken with a terrific campaign. The cup hangover was nowhere to be found in Carolina, as they had a 37-12-1 record in the season, just getting beaten out by the Newfoundland Berserkers for the regular season title.

There’s no need to go into depth on the history between these two teams. In season 54, the Kraken edged out the Berserkers in game 7 to advance to the cup final. This season, both teams wanted it, as can be found when they clashed in the semifinals finals once again.

As history would have it, the Kraken and Berserkers would play to a seventh game. After the Kraken took the first two games, the Berserkers responded back with three straight wins of their own. Facing elimination in game 6, the Kraken responded heavily with a massive third period to force a game 7. Unfortunately, that was where their season would come to an end, as the Berserkers would shut out the Kraken in game 7 to advance to the finals, where they would beat out the Maine Timber to clinch the Four Star Cup.

Ultimately, the Carolina Kraken did not show any hangover after winning the cup. However, they were ultimately bested by a red hot Berserkers team. They’ll look to get revenge next season though.

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