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***bluesfan55*** · 09-23-2022, 07:25 PM

The Anchorage Armada were coming off of an S50 season where, in the regular season, they had been one of the dominant teams in the league, finishing one point behind the Colorado Raptors in the regular season standings (Colorado's 62 to Anchorage's 61). It was certain to be a Raptors-Armada final... but Anchorage lost a heartbreaking series to the Carolina Kraken 4-3, losing 3 straight games. Anchorage had only built upon a solid foundation of Jake Primeau, Mitchell van der Heijden, and Augustus Wang by adding rookies Cyril Vyskoc and Ryan Cvitkovich. Throw in good production from Jay Reeves and Andrei Petrikov, as well as a solid goalkeeping tandem of Ian Venables and Sergei Potvinov, and the Armada would finish with 62 points, again second in the league, this time to the Kraken, who had been dominant all season.

But the playoffs are a different beast entirely. Carolina, entering the playoffs as favorites, shockingly lost to the eighth-seeded Vancouver Whalers in the first round. This left Anchorage, who had barely avoided a reverse sweep against the Anaheim Outlaws thanks to a Game 7 win powered by Bischoff, Reeves, and van der Heijden, as the favorites. They faced off against the rival Whalers in Round 2 and won in 6, with the Armada coming back from 3-2 down in the third to win it thanks to a Daniel Bischoff goal with 23 seconds left. They were in the finals and favored to defeat the fifth-seeded Kelowna Knights.

The first two games went smoothly, as Anchorage won both 3-2 (Petrikov was the hero in both games, capping off Armada comebacks with 2 game winning goals to give them the upper hand). Then Kelowna began to win. And win. And win again. The next thing you know, Kelowna are up 3-2. At this point, all of the games have been decided by one goal. It's been a close, defensively-minded series with both teams refusing to budge an inch. Game 6 would be crucial for both teams, as Anchorage fought to survive and Kelowna eager to close out the series. Instead, Anchorage would shut out the Knights, with Ian Venables stellar in net and Playoff Petrikov striking again with another third period goal. This series was going to finish in 7.

Mitchell van der Heijden would score twice in the first period, his second goal cancelling out an equalizer from Kalevolaripaavo Kaspertommevisnapuu. Augustus Wang would then score off of van der Heijden's pass to make it a 3-1 game. All the Armada needed to do was close it out. Wang would score again to open the third, and Anchorage had 7 minutes to play tight defense. Instead, the Knights scored twice within 4 minutes, as Nicklaus Engel and Oscar Cordero kept them in the game. But Kelowna couldn't find the tying goal. Anchorage had held on to win both the game and the series 4-3. They were Four Star Cup champions for the first time under the Armada name. They'd win another cup in S57, but this Armada team will be known for their gutsiness; they could come back when they really needed to, even if they dug themselves into those holes in the first place.

ty to @High Stick King @EvilAllBran and @Ragnar for the sigs

*CptSquall* · 09-23-2022, 09:11 PM

Approved, +5 TPE to @bluesfan55

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