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SMJHL S56 Finals - NLB vs VAN [Game 1 Recap]
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ImYoloRegistered Member
This is my first article (2x payout).
The time is finally upon us to spectate the highly anticipated matchup of the Newfoundland Berserkers vs the Vancouver Whalers in the finals of the fifty-sixth season of the SMJHL. Throughout the entire season, these teams have battled and fought hard to reach their end goal and they now stand in each other's way of the coveted Four Star Cup. With the Berserkers holding the title from the most recent season, the Whalers are after their first title since S48. We expect nothing less than a matchup to be remembered and it's time that we get on with the series. Starting Goalies  Cale Amundsen #0 (@Wally) - Amundsen has had an incredible year thus far and it's no surprise that he's got the start tonight. He's won 8 out of the 11 games he's faced in this year's playoffs and he's looking to grab his second consecutive Four Star Cup title. He's, without doubt, at the top of his game right now and he's going into tonight's matchup with a stunning .936 save percentage. He's an incredible goaltender to watch and we're expecting a supreme performance out of him tonight. Name Redacted #19 (@Skeleton Party) - As with his opposing goaltender, Redacted has performed very well this year. He's started 10/11 playoff games for the Whalers this year and he's won 7 of them. He knows the daunting task of defeating the returning champions and he's certainly the man for the job. Going into tonight's matchup, he has a fair .896 save percentage and is hoping to increase it as this best of 7 match continues. His team knows what he's capable of, and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're excited to see what he'll be able to do tonight.1st Period 0:00 The SMJHL S56 Finals kick off with the captain Lassi Suhonen (@teztify) winning the first faceoff against Daniil Nikiforov (@DELIRIVM) for the Berserkers to set the tone of the game early in front of an attendance of 10,127. 1:18 The Whalers strike early as Lonnie O'Donoghue (@Good_Ole_Kimmy) passes to Wile Coyote (@Brucehum) who connects with Luffy Richard (@Moreorless89) for an outstanding goal. 4:25 It's not long before the Berserkers strike back with Jonas Kahnwald (@Festinator) sending one into the back of the goal assisted by Elias Kierkegaard (@Count Chocula) and Bas O'Bigbers (@Sopath). 9:34 Almost half of the period has elapsed when Mattias Birdstrom (@BlackLabelBird) picks up the rebound shot from Renji Atake (@Justice) and buries it alongside help from PBJ Souppan (@thevoicelesscreator). 13:38 To keep the intensity of the period alive, Johnny Shuffleboard (@mee) ties the game at 2 apiece and is assisted by Slimey Snail (@FleshBagSoup) and Daniil Nikiforov.20:00 The first period comes to a close and there's a lot to analyze with a full 20 minutes of gameplay. With the expectations of Cale Amundsen so high at the beginning of the game, we can't help but think that he's underperformed within the first period. He's faced only 6 shots and 1/3 of those have made it behind him into the back of the net. It could possibly be the jitters of the finals, however, I'd assume that he'll be coming into the 2nd period hungry for the win and hopefully won't let in too many more. Name Redacted has had a better game than his opposing goaltender as of the first period saving 11 out of the 13 shots he faced in the period. It's always exciting to see him play and I'm sure he's coming into the 2nd period with the same mentality as Amundsen. The Berserkers, so far, have outshot, outchanged, and outskated the Whalers and it's no shock to see the defending champions dominating early on in the match. The way that the Whalers come out of the locker room and step onto the ice for the 2nd period is going to determine the results of the game, for sure. 2nd Period 1:52 The mitts are dropped! 2 penalties are given out to Zebulon Leavitt (@Kraagenskul) and Niccolo Livius (@bbp) for fighting. The passion is definitely there on both benches and the crowd is certainly hyped for the period after this brawl. 5:54 Jonas Kahnwald finds the back of the net for his second time tonight and gives the Berserkers a 1 goal lead. He buries it right from the pass from Liam Slate (@Tylar) and Elias Kierkegaard is in on the set up as well.20:00 This was certainly not the period that the Whalers were looking for. To say it bluntly, it was a horrible period for them. They didn't put a single shot on Amundsen until halfway through the period when they found themselves with a 5 on 3 opportunity due to penalties from Elias Kierkegaard (Holding) and PBJ Souppan (Boarding). Amundsen did well as he stopped all 7 of the shots he faced in the period. Not only were the shots lacking from the offense, however, the Berserkers broke down the Whalers defense. Redacted faced 15 shots against him this period, twice the amount the Whalers put up, and he's the one that held them together as he only let in one of them. It is quite apparent that the Whalers will really need to step it up in the 3rd period, or they might as well kiss Game 1 goodbye. 3rd Period 16:10 With no scoring in the 3rd period, Elias Kierkegaard puts an end to the suspense as he races in on a breakaway for his first goal of the game. He celebrates his goal with Jonas Kahnwald and Matthew Forrester (@Matty7478) who set him up for the beautiful play. 20:00 And the game comes to an end with a 4-2 victory for the Newfoundland Berserkers over the Vancouver Whalers. It's shown on the scoreboard and on the faces of the Whalers that it simply was not their best game. The Whalers did manage to come out strong in the first 5-10 minutes of the 3rd period and they needed a goal to boost their morale just enough to give them the motivation that was so desperately needed, however, Cale Amundsen shut down all of the Whalers attempts in the 3rd period and finished with 27 saves tonight. With a rough start in the first period for Amundsen, he certainly bounced back and proved to his team his vital role in their victory today. Name Redacted left everything out there on the ice tonight. Regardless of the outcome, he made 33 saves and he was there for his team when they needed him most. The Berserkers offense and defense continuously stuck to the Whalers and administrated their full effort onto them for a well-deserved Game 1 victory. Final Score Newfoundland Berserkers - 4 Vancouver Whalers - 2END OF REGULATION 3 Stars Of The Game 1. Jonas Kahnwald - 2G, 1A 2. Daniil Nikiforov - 0G, 1A 3. Elias Kierkegaard - 1G, 2AExclusive 1 on 1 Interview - Cale Amundsen By the end of the first period, you'd seen only 6 shots and you'd let in 1/3 of them. Do you feel as though it was the jitters of Game 1, or was it perhaps something else that just wasn't clicking? Amundsen: Absolutely jitters... the finals themselves are just a whole other animal. You wait for that first shot with the thoughts in mind of being perfect... and then that happens. At that point at the end of one, I just had to make a decision of which route to go. Marns and J came over and just reassured the team was there, as they had been all playoffs. Coming out of the locker room the groove was there. Coming into the 2nd period, and carrying into the 3rd, it was apparent that you'd found your groove and had gotten comfortable in goal. The fans were worried about your performance going into the rest of the game and you definitely proved your vital role on the team. Did your coach give a speech before the 2nd period that stuck with you, was it a teammate, or was it perhaps that you simply found the right mindset? Amundsen: Marns words really settled me down. Not that I was shaken... but definitely at a point of just shaking it off. Whether a game in regular season... or the league finals. It is 60 minutes of hockey. Same capacity I've had to focus since I was a kid. Same game... same prep... same approach. I found that zone quickly and was able to push all the unnecessary what ifs out of my head and only focus on the next shot. With a Game 1 victory in the books, surely it feels nice to have the lead in the series. You guys definitely played the better game tonight and the scoreboard reflects that. Moving forward with the series, what might be something you guys need to change, and what might be something that you need to continue doing in order to win this series for your fans? Amundsen: This is going to come down to the basics. We do that right and everything else will fall into place. You have to be in the right spot to take advantage of the bounces that go your way. I have to be focused and in the right mindset. Two goals on six shots to start a game isn't a good position to put your team in, but they stepped up to the plate and we responded well. Vancouver can score... momentum can be deadly... we need to keep that heading into Game 2. 1,374 words (excluding Amundsen's responses) This article is ready for grading. The writing above is written and researched 100% by myself.
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