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Sopath · 12-24-2021, 09:03 PM

How Newfoundland's Upset Over Maine In S57 Defined The Rivalry

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Intro

Newfoundland and Maine have a long rivalry but often it is not recognized as such. This is because throughout most of this time Newfoundland has dominated Maine in an almost humiliating fashion. This is perhaps no more apparent than in S57 when last place Newfoundland beat 3rd place Maine in five games.

In the regular season Maine had won 5 of the 6 meetings. Newfoundland was the worst team in the league by points and no one had anyone but Maine moving on from round 1. Then the unthinkable happened. Last place Newfoundland wiped the floor with Maine. The S57 Berserkers were led by the youngsters of the S55 Four Star Championship team. Players like Finnish Center Lassi Suhonen, whom was in his 2nd season as captain. Russian Winger Vaseline Podcalzone and German Defenseman Jonas Kahnwald, whom were both rookies on the championship team, were now leaders on this team. 5 year Defenseman PBJ Soupann was also in his last year of eligibility in the SMJHL. By the time the playoffs came around everyone knew that it was Suhonen’s last season as a Zerk and Kahnwald was probably being called up by Los Angeles, so they didn’t want to leave anything on the ice in the playoffs. The team had youthful players like Bas O’Bigbers, Shion Okamoto, Ric Charlesworth, and Matty Sandeen to back up their talent. It was a team that was both reminiscent of the past when the team had won a Four Star Cup but also looking forward into the future. It wasn’t a year with any expectations, which made what came next so incredible.

Game 1 in Maine

Game 1 took place in Portland Maine before 6,400 fans who must’ve already been thinking about who they might face in round 2. This was looking to be the best Maine Timber team since the team arrived from Halifax. Fans were excited for the Timber to finally put the team on the map. This Maine Timber team was led by future San Francisco winger Alexander Oscarsson, Jesse Seppanen who never played in the SHL but had a great J career, and it was the final year in the SMJHL for future San Francisco Defensive superstar Rikard Bjerg. This was the year for Maine surely. They’d lost in Four Star Cup final to Newfoundland just two seasons prior in S55 and in S56 Maine was eliminated in the 2nd round by Newfoundland but that didn’t matter now. This was the team, this was the year, this was the time to win.

The puck dropped and after about 2 minutes the ref blew the whistle for a cross checking call on Lucas Johansson. Maine’s on the penalty kill now, no big deal. 11 seconds later the panic sets in as Lassi Suhonen bangs in a puck and opens the scoring. Not again… surely not again. It can’t keep happening like this. Maine settles down they regain their composure and after 10 minutes, Maine rookie Johnny Tsunami ties the game back up. Okay it was just a fluke. No big deal. Newfoundland is a last place team, Maine’s got this. A minute later Lassi Suhonen scores another one and suddenly Maine is now struggling to keep up with Newfoundland. Lassi Suhonen would complete his hat trick within 2 minutes of the start of the 2nd period. 5 minutes into the third period Newfoundland found themselves up 6-1. Maine would score two more but it was a futile effort. Maine gets washed in game 1 of the series. That was a fluke right?

Game 2 in Maine

In Game 2 Maine opened up the scoring on a Dogwood Maple goal but Newfoundland ties it up shortly before the end of the first period when 5 year NL vet PBJ Soupann ties it up. The anxiety begins to set in for the Maine fans in Portland who must’ve been thinking that surely this isn’t about to happen again. Surely. Then PBJ Soupann makes it 2-1 Newfoundland. The Zerks scored again in the third and Maine pulled their goalie late. They managed to bring it within one goal with a minute left but ultimately Maine drops both of their home games to Newfoundland.

Games 3-5

Maine took the first game in Newfoundland in a hard 4-3 victory but lost in game 4 0-3 as Hugo Gronroos recorded a shutout. It’s do or die, in Portland Maine in Game 5. They have to win to stay alive. The puck drops and Alexander Oscarsson quickly gave Maine the lead. This wouldn’t settle the nerves of Maine Timber fans, who’ve been through not just a tough series against the Zerks but a tough few years against the Zerks. So many times Newfoundland has been the source of their grief and 1-0 lead wasn’t going to change the worry that S57 could end like the others. They were right to not feel relief. Maine held onto the 1-0 lead for a period and a half before Renji Atake evened up the game for Newfoundland. Lassi Suhonen gave Newfoundland the lead on a power play early in the 3rd and Bas O’Bigbers iced the game late with a goal of his own. It was over. Maine, the third seed, had lost to Newfoundland, the last place team, in 5 games.

After

Maine would never be a top 4 team again and they would go on to lose to Newfoundland in the playoffs again in S58, S59, S60, and S62. Meanwhile Newfoundland’s youth would go on to lead them to incredible seasons in S58 and S59 before they had a record breaking season in S60 that saw them destroying the league and winning the Four Star Cup. They’d win another cup in S62. Newfoundland in the wake of this matchup established themselves as the class of the SMJHL and cemented Maine as the little brother of the rivalry. Even when Maine is the better team, Newfoundland finds a way to get the advantage. Chopping trees has become like an annual tradition in Newfoundland and it looks to stay that way for many more seasons.

Word Count: 1,089

*RashfordU* · 12-24-2021, 09:09 PM

!chop

**Lime** · 12-24-2021, 09:09 PM

!chop

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