Familiar faces
WCHL Cup victories taste good to everyone.
As the dust settles from a heated and hotly contested conference finals, the teams that emerged were not shocking.
The Colorado Avalanche and the New York Rangers may not have been the top seeded teams in their conference, but these two teams own the last three WCHL crowns. The only question left to decide is if Colorado can win their third in four years, a feat done only by the legendary San Jose Sharks in WCHL lore, or if the New York Rangers can repeat with their second straight WCHL title.
This also marks a rematch of Season 13, which Colorado won to claim their first of two straight WCHL titles. It as well marks the fourth straight season in which a team from New York has made the WCHL final.
So repetition is the name of the game in this final.
But who will prevail? Will Colorado repeat their Season 13 victory, or will the Rangers defend their crown?
For Colorado to regain their crown, they need to continue to get solid netminding from Ilya Bryzgalov. The egnimatic Russian posted a .903 save percentage thus far, shocking after a so-so regular season.
Joining Bryzgalov in leading the charge is Lubomir Visnovsky. The elder European has found the fountain of youth, compiling 22 points in 19 games to lead the Avalanche in scoring. Patrick Sharp meanwhile leads the club with 10 goals and is the only other player with a point per game pace.
In New York, the Rangers are led by Henrik Lundqvist. The Hart and Vezina candidate had his numbers drop slightly in the seven game matchup with the highflying Pittsburgh Penguins, but he still has a .908 save percentage and just a 2.22 goals against average.
Up front, Stephen Weiss and Johan Franzen have been on fire, combining for 18 goals and 53 points so far this post-season. The Rangers defense has also been far more offensive minded than the Avalanche blueliners, outscoring them 18 to 11. If they want to out gun the Rangers, Colorado is likely outgunned.
Team defense is going to take the day for Colorado, and on paper they don't look like they would have a great chance. The same could have been said last round against a well balanced Calgary Flames team, and yet Colorado was the only team at the WCHL or ACHL level to seal their series in less than seven games. Even when they don't look good on paper, Colorado continues to find a way to get the best of their opponent. Only one series loss in the last 13 series is impressive enough of a reason to not rule out the Avalanche.
For the Rangers however, they have also won seven straight series and they'd like to make that eight in a repeat performance over the Avalanche. Both teams are on a roll of historic perportions in the WCHL, and it'll be interesting to see who emerges victorious in a battle of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object.
New York Rangers in six.
ACHL
(1) Norfolk Admirals vs. (3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in five.
WCHL Cup victories taste good to everyone.
As the dust settles from a heated and hotly contested conference finals, the teams that emerged were not shocking.
The Colorado Avalanche and the New York Rangers may not have been the top seeded teams in their conference, but these two teams own the last three WCHL crowns. The only question left to decide is if Colorado can win their third in four years, a feat done only by the legendary San Jose Sharks in WCHL lore, or if the New York Rangers can repeat with their second straight WCHL title.
This also marks a rematch of Season 13, which Colorado won to claim their first of two straight WCHL titles. It as well marks the fourth straight season in which a team from New York has made the WCHL final.
So repetition is the name of the game in this final.
But who will prevail? Will Colorado repeat their Season 13 victory, or will the Rangers defend their crown?
For Colorado to regain their crown, they need to continue to get solid netminding from Ilya Bryzgalov. The egnimatic Russian posted a .903 save percentage thus far, shocking after a so-so regular season.
Joining Bryzgalov in leading the charge is Lubomir Visnovsky. The elder European has found the fountain of youth, compiling 22 points in 19 games to lead the Avalanche in scoring. Patrick Sharp meanwhile leads the club with 10 goals and is the only other player with a point per game pace.
In New York, the Rangers are led by Henrik Lundqvist. The Hart and Vezina candidate had his numbers drop slightly in the seven game matchup with the highflying Pittsburgh Penguins, but he still has a .908 save percentage and just a 2.22 goals against average.
Up front, Stephen Weiss and Johan Franzen have been on fire, combining for 18 goals and 53 points so far this post-season. The Rangers defense has also been far more offensive minded than the Avalanche blueliners, outscoring them 18 to 11. If they want to out gun the Rangers, Colorado is likely outgunned.
Team defense is going to take the day for Colorado, and on paper they don't look like they would have a great chance. The same could have been said last round against a well balanced Calgary Flames team, and yet Colorado was the only team at the WCHL or ACHL level to seal their series in less than seven games. Even when they don't look good on paper, Colorado continues to find a way to get the best of their opponent. Only one series loss in the last 13 series is impressive enough of a reason to not rule out the Avalanche.
For the Rangers however, they have also won seven straight series and they'd like to make that eight in a repeat performance over the Avalanche. Both teams are on a roll of historic perportions in the WCHL, and it'll be interesting to see who emerges victorious in a battle of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object.
New York Rangers in six.
ACHL
(1) Norfolk Admirals vs. (3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in five.
Ohh!! OMG...I think it will be a war between these two hockey goalie camp
.