1973 NAML Season

Week 1 Scores:
Boston 31-53 Montreal
Toronto 40-42 New York
Miami 32-20 Cleveland
Philadelphia 35-45 Washington
Milwaukee 52-59 Chicago
St. Louis 42-20 Michigan
Houston 41-55 Minnesota
Los Angeles 41-35 California

Western Conference:

Pacific Division:

      -   Finishing first in the Pacific division for the second straight year were the Minnesota Walleye. However, much to people's surprise, they did so with a .500 record of 12-12. The team was starting to show signs of age, especially defenseman Calvin Black, who had his worst year statistically. However, the outstanding play of goalie Edouard Wallace kept Minnesota in several games they shouldn't have had a chance in. Analysts called his season "One of the most outstanding campaigns by a goalie in markball history." The Walleye finished the season 3 points ahead of second place.

      -   Coming in second were the Los Angeles Guardians. It was an off year for them as well, as they lost every single game against Eastern opponents. Much like the Walleye however, one player stopped the team from having a disastrous season: Young winger Oscar Madigan. In his best season on his young career, he set career highs in goals and tackles. Unfortunately, the rest of the team struggled most of the time, and he wasn't able to do it all himself. LA finished with a 11-13 record.

      -   Coming in third were the Houston Comet, who had their best season in their short history. Bill Nielson started to evolve into one of the game's premier defenders, while Joseph Erdem broke out in his second season, finishing one goal back of the league lead, with 52. The rest of the team started to show signs of great improvement under coach Bob Redmond. Houston finished with the same record as LA (11-13) but feel to third off of point differential.

      -   Coming in last with a disappointing season were the California Quails. They traded Bert Vaughan, their best defenseman, to Houston in the offseason, which caused their backend to struggle mightily throughout the year. The Quails gave up 35+ points in 20 of 24 games, an NAML record. Their one bright spot was Gary Ayers, who once again was near the top of the league in scoring. Rookie Philip Hamilton also enjoyed success up front. Cali finished at 6-18, worst in the league.

Central Division:

      -   Finishing first in the Central Division were the defending champions, the Milwaukee Dragons. They weren't quite as good as they were the year before, but they were still a force to be reckoned with. Hugh Pettas, Jon Desjardins, Bradley Prier, and Ty Davidson all shone throughout the year, and undrafted defender Brad Danault became known as "The Train" for his quick, crunching tackles. Milwaukee slowed down their pace near the end of the year, but still finished with a great record of 17-7.

      -   Coming in second and earning the wild card spot were the Michigan Bandits, who clinched their first playoff berth in 4 years. Amazingly, they did this despite the sharp decline of forward Hugh Westbrook, who only scored 18 goals all year. Instead, third-year flank Max Roulette broke out, helping lead Michigan's offense to a surprisingly great year. Garry Skene also improved in net, a huge help to Michigan's struggling backend. The Bandits finished at 15-9.

      -   Finishing third in the Central were the St. Louis Gatekeepers. It was another lost year for the 'Keepers, as they once again had no real star to lead them. Even goalkeeper Michael Hinton had a down year, destroying any playoff hopes. Despite all this, the team didn't actually play too terribly, but it was far from stellar. St. Louis finished the season at 9-14-1.

      -  Finishing last for the second straight year were the Chicago Crusaders, proving that their huge drop-off in 1972 was not a fluke. It seemed as though after 38-year old former star forward Bud Mahoney was forced to retire halfway through the season, the Crusaders stopped caring. Play was sloppy, There was no teamwork, and the coach and players were not mixing at all. Through all this though, Wingback Jacob Oliveus looked very good in his first season in the league, despite the team's struggles. Chicago finished at 8-16.

Northeast Division:

      -   Winning the Northeast Division for the first time were the Toronto Nationals. Francis Ashdam led the way for them, and he continued to grow into one of the game's premier players. As well, Matthew Attwater finished 3rd in the league in goals, with 47. Despite having a less-than-stellar backend, Toronto had a 4-0 record in games decided by less than a goal. This helped them achieve a 15-9 record.

      -   Coming in second in the Northeast, but finishing outside the playoffs were the Montréal Évêques, who had fallen in the Urquhart Cup final the year before. They had a great year, but their divisional record was less than stellar, causing them to fall out of playoff contention. J.P. Frenebois was the Paulies' best player during the year, both scoring key goals and helping out defensively, which is quite rare for a forward to do. Montreal finished at 14-10.

      -   Finishing third in the division were the Boston Wolfhounds. For the third straight year, they finished at .500, not enough to gain a playoff spot in the east. For the Hounds, the defense was fantastic, but the offense was abysmal. No player on Boston scored at a goal/game pace, the only team in the league to do so. Henry Logan was a rock on the backend, but he couldn't do it all, as Boston finished at 12-12.

      -   Coming in last, to nobody's surprise, were the New York Knights. They had their best season since their playoff appearance in 1970, but that wasn't saying much. Philip Cook was starting to decline, and all the signs were pointing to the Knights being historically bad in 1974. Owner George Small, who had owned New York since they joined the NAML in 1949, started hinting that he had had enough with the team and was looking to sell to another NYC-based investor. The Knights finished at 8-14-2.

Atlantic Division:

      -   Winning the Atlantic Division once again were the Philadelphia Falcons, although this season was much more dominant than 1972. Every piece was clicking perfectly, and they were in every single game they played. Rudolph Lussier cemented his status as one of the best in the game, Robert Stephens led the league in goals, Chris Olsen, Leron McCleary, and Mitchell Stephens all had monster years, and George Sovine was a beast in net. The P's finished at 18-6.

      -   Coming in second and grabbing the wild card spot were the Washington Warriors. Jim Gardenar, despite being in his 12th season, still played like he was the best player in the league, scoring 46 goals and recording a career high in tackles. As well, the midfield had a very strong year, most notably with centre Joshua Garweitak and rover Al Williamson. Washington finished the year at 16-6.

      -   Winning the battle of the expansion brothers were the Miami Tortugas. They were much improved coming into the year, with Louis Bonamie continuing to flourish in his second season, once again leading all defensemen in goals. As well, first overall pick Justin Saukov had a great rookie year, and didn't look out of place going up against the league best defenses. Despite these positives, the Tortugas still weren't good enough to compete for a playoff spot. Miami finished at 10-14.

      -   Finishing last in the Atlantic were the Cleveland Foresters. It was almost a carbon copy of their first year, with rugged veteran goalie Charles Jamison being the team's best player. Unfortunately for them, The outfield players struggled for most of the year, and the team struggled to adapt to the strategies of coach David Lima. Cleveland finished with a record of 7-16-1.



Rivalry Cup Winners:
Colonial Trophy: Washington (Defeated Philadelphia 3-1 in season series)
St. Laurent Cup: Toronto (Defeated Montreal 3-1 in season series)
I-94 Series: Chicago (Defeated Milwaukee 3-1 in season series)

The 1973 NAML Awards were given to:
Chester Harland Award (League MVP): Oscar Madigan, W, LA
Len Garey Memorial Trophy (Top Goalkicker): Robert Stephens, FF, PHI (53 goals)
Benjamin Legrand Award (Top Goalkeeper): Edouard Wallace, MIN 

Notable Events:
   -   The NAML announced that the centre square, which had been introduced in 1972, would be switched to a centre circle starting in 1974.
   -   Veteran defenseman Dean Levitt played his 300th game for St. Louis in week 11, becoming the second player to do so, and the first for St. Louis.
   -   Montreal announced huge renovations to Stade Centre-Ville, including a new-look exterior.
 

1973 NAML Playoffs

Round 1:

(W2) Minnesota Walleye vs (WWC) Michigan Bandits

Alumni Field was filled to the brim as the two teams took to the field, fighting for the right to play Milwaukee in the Western Conference Final. Despite Minnesota hosting the game, the Bandits were the favourites to win, as they finished with 3 more wins than the Walleye. 

The game started off with a quick pace, and the Bandits controlled the ball for the first few minutes, and managed to get a point out of it. Minnesota would get a point of their own at the 5-minute mark, but the Bandits would storm back down the field, and Max Roulette scored the game's first goal. Michigan would continue pressuring the Walleye backline, and at the 9-minute mark, Alex Campbell made it 9-1 Bandits. After this, Minnesota got their offense going, and they had their first period of extended pressure. At the halfway mark of the quarter, Chris Garafalo scored Minnesota's first major of the game, deflecting a corner kick past Garry Skene. The two teams would exchange points, then the Walleye would hold the ball for the final 5 minutes of the quarter, scoring twice to take a 14-10 lead after 1. The second quarter would start slowly. Minnesota look to expand on their lead, but 7 minutes in, it would be the visitors who broke out. Roulette would tie the game, and 2 minutes later, the Bandits took the lead back with another goal. Michigan continued with the insane pressure, but Minnesota would not break. The defense had several key blocks, and Edouard Wallace had to make a nice reflex save. However, with 9 minutes to play, Full Forward Jazzy Parraud punched in his first, bringing the lead to 8. Minnesota would have a few chances, but nothing would get past Skene. In the final 6 minutes, the Bandits would have possession once again, and Parraud would kick a point and goal, and defender Sebastian Bussey fired a long-range shot through to make it 31-14 for the Bandits, which would hold until halftime.

The third quarter saw the pace slow down, as the Bandits focused on protecting their lead rather than scoring. The backline pressured Minnesota fiercely, but Lennie O'Neal still managed to curl a shot past Skene, the Walleye's first major score in 25 minutes. The supporters hoped this would give them momentum, but just two minutes later, Roulette fired home a cross, restoring Michigan's 17-point lead. Off the centre jump-ball, the Bandits came all the way back down, and a shot by Parraud just missed wide, earning a point. After that, the pace went down even more, with the only other score being a slow-rolling goal from Roulette. After 3, Michigan led 31-14. At the start of the fourth, the crowd started being more vocal in support of the Walleye, hoping that their cheering would urge them on. It seemed to do the trick, as Minnesota started the quarter controlling the ball, and getting shots. Just over a minute in they had kicked a point, and 2 minutes later, O'Neal beat Skene in close, Michigan got some chances, but nothing too threatening for the Walleye to handle. At the 8-minute mark, an all-time misplay occured. Skene had just recovered the ball from the ground, and went to dropkick it upfield. However, his kick went right off the back of oncoming attacker Syl Yonker and into the net, bringing the deficit down to 13. Minnesota would build off this momentum, and had three point-blank chances, but Skene made up for his error, hitting each of the chances out for points. Had they all gone in, Michigan's lead would have been brought down to 1. Instead, The Bandits were holding on to a 10-point lead. They would get two chances of their own, but both missed the mark, going out for points. With under two minutes to go, Garafalo scored from long-range, cutting the lead down to 8. Now in a do or die situation, each Walleye player, including Wallace the goalkeeper was sent up in an attempt to tie the game. However, the Bandits cleared the ball, and it came to Parraud, who ran right up to the empty net and scored, effectively ending the Walleye's season. Michigan won by a final score of 46-34.

(E2) Toronto Nationals vs (EWC) Washington Warriors
In Toronto, Canada's Field was roaring and ready to watch the Nationals take on the Warriors for a chance to play the Philadelphia Falcons. Like the Western Conference game, the visitors were the favourites, as they finished 7 points ahead of Toronto in the regular season.

The first quarter was mostly back and forth. Washington scored the game's first point 2:37 in, but Toronto replied with the game's first goal 2 minutes later, as Jimmy Bjarnathan deflected home a cross. After a few minutes of slow play, Washington would control the ball for a period, and missed two shots wide, both good for points. The game would enter another dead period, then the Warriors would retake the lead with their first goal, a Jim Gardenar shot that deflected off a defender, then off of goalie Matthew House. Toronto would control the ball for the final minutes of the quarter, but only managed a point out of it. After 1, Washington led 7-5. The second quarter would see the scoring increase. In the first 90 seconds alone, Washington kicked a point, then Toronto responded with two quick goals to take a 13-8 lead. Soon after, Washington tied the game off a misplay. Off a corner kick, House attempted to punch the ball out, but mis-hit it, and the ball deflected off Gardenar and in. Washington took this momentum, and would end up scoring twice more in the next 6 minutes. The first was another goal deflected off of House, and the second a close-range effort from Michael Weber. It looked like it was all going wrong for Toronto, but after a fluke point from Francis Ashdam, The Stallions came alive. First, at the 11-minute mark, Bjarnathan kicked a point. Less than a minute later, Matt Attwater was in alone when goalie Rick Gould tackled him illegally. Attwater would have been awarded a penalty, but the ball ended up rolling into the net anyway, putting Toronto within 2. 3 minutes later, Attwater was in alone again, and this time chipped the ball over Gould, giving Toronto the lead. The Nationals scored a late point, giving them a 23-20 lead at the half.

The third quarter would see the scoring increase even more. In the first two minutes, Washington scored twice, and Toronto midfielder Ashdam was ejected for a harsh tackle. The Warriors continued rolling getting a point and another goal from Gardenar, meaning Washington had gone from 3 down to 10 up within the first 4 minutes of the quarter. Toronto would get the ball, and a bad tackle in the box led to Attwater being awarded a penalty, which bounced off the post and back out. However, the ball would come back to him, and he buried it, getting the crowd back into the game. The Warriors would come back and get another goal and point, but Toronto wasn't giving up. Bjarnathan scored off a free kick, but Washington negated that 2 minutes later, off a strike from Bobby Yaminger, and got a point out of it as well. The next 5 minutes would see the two teams trade goals twice more, and the Warriors would get a late point. In the end, the third quarter saw the two teams score 48 combined points, an NAML playoff record. After 3, Washington led 52-39. The fourth quarter saw the pace die way down, almost as if the two teams had used up all their energy in the third quarter alone. The first 6 minutes saw no scoring and few shots, until Gardenar potted home his fifth of the match, which caused some Toronto fans to head for the exits early. Still not giving up, the Nationals won the jump-ball and pressured the Washington zone, but the finishing shot by Attwater missed high for a point. To add insult to injury, Washington would score another goal on the very next rush. The pace died down quickly after that, with the only other scoring being two late Toronto points. In the end, Washington won 60-42, and advanced to face their archrival Philadelphia Falcons.



Semifinals:

(W1) Milwaukee Dragons vs (WWC) Michigan Bandits
Arnold Shannon Stadium was rocking in anticipation of the Milwaukee Dragons potentially heading to the Urquhart Cup Final in back-to-back years. Standing in their way were the Michigan Bandits, coming off of a convincing away victory over Minnesota.

The game started slowly, as it seemed like the two teams were getting a feel for how their opponents were going to play the game. The first score of the game would be a Milwaukee point from Hugh Pettas, off a shot that just missed wide. However, Pettas redeemed himself right after, as Michigan's kickoff went right into his hands, and he blasted a shot past Garry Skene. Soon after, Pettas had another shot to score, but this time Skene deflected it wide for a point. After a slow period of play, with 8 minutes to go, Michigan's offense got themselves together, and Jazzy Parraud drew a penalty kick, which he calmly converted. The next 5 minutes saw chances at both ends, but no scoring. Finally, with just over 2 minutes to play, Gordon Babach punched a cross home, giving the Bandits an 8-6 lead, which they held on until the end of the quarter. Michigan's offense continued pressing at the start of the second, and rookie Ryan Lugt scored his first career goal coming off the bench. Milwaukee replied with a point soon after, but on the next rush, the Bandits came right back and scored again, this time Max Roulette getting his name on the scoresheet. Over the next minutes, the ball remained mainly in Michigan's possession, and they had more chances. Ty Davidson, who had been having a poor game by his standards, stood tall and wouldn't let any of these shots past, turning would-be goals into points. With under 8 minutes to play, Milwaukee would score their first goal in over 30 minutes, as Joe Lapoers converted a penalty. Michigan would respond though, as Roulette converted a close-range shot to go up 12. Despite the quick answer, Milwaukee would return the favour, as Pettas scored again on the next rush. The pace and chances would die down to end the half, with the final score being a Michigan point. At the half, Michigan led the Dragons 24-15.

The third quarter started slowly, with the only scoring in the first 7 minutes being the two teams exchanging points. At the 9-minute mark, Michigan scored the quarter's first goal, a nice run from Roulette after taking the ball away from Pettas. 4 minutes later, the Dragons would get back within 8 via a point and goal from Lapoers. After a slow period, The teams would trade goals. First, Michigan got back up by 12, as Parraud scored off of an odd-man rush. 2 minutes later, the Dragons pushed it back to 8, as Jon Desjardins deposited a shot into a wide-open net. Michigan ended the quarter with two late points, and they were up 35-25 heading into the final quarter. In the fourth, Milwaukee had good chances, including a curling shot from Pettas that Skene barely deflected out for a point. Soon after, a diving punch from Desjardins hit off the post and in, just beating Skene, and putting the Dragons within 5. On the next possession, Desjardins had another great chance to get within 1, but he whiffed on the shot, and it went high for another point. Michigan took the ball back the other way, and a good shot from Parraud was deflected high by Davidson. Milwaukee was still in the game until Alfred Reeder potted one in close, making it a 3-score game, a tough task for the Dragons to do in 10 minutes. They pressed, but the Michigan defense stood tight. Milwaukee's only breakthrough would be a beautiful run by Lapoers, where he turned defenseman Brad Hughes inside out, then neatly beat Skene. Despite being within 5, that would be all the Dragons could muster, and the Bandits were victorious, 40-35. With the victory, Michigan advanced to their first Urquhart Cup since 1968, where they defeated Toronto.

(E1) Philadelphia Falcons vs (EWC) Washington Warriors
The atmosphere at Philadelphia Markball Park was incredible as archrivals Philadelphia and Washington walked out onto the field for what was sure to be a classic game. Every game in the biggest rivalry in markball was a battle to the end, filled with trash talk, dogpiles, and absolute hatred. This was the first playoff meeting between these two sides since the 1970 quarterfinals, where the Warriors defeated the Falcons in Philly.

Right from the opening jump-ball, the players were pushing each other around. With the crowd being rowdy and loud, the Falcons had a big advantage. On the very first rush of the game, Philly managed a point, much to the delight of the home faithful. At the three minute mark, Al Williamson of Washington and Anthony Hackett of Philadelphia, both known for being tough players, started fighting outside of the play, leading to several more players joining in. Once they were seperated, play continued, and at the 6-minute mark, Robert Stephens scored the game's first goal, making the crowd even more rowdy. Off the ensuing jump-ball, a shot by Mitchell Stephens was saved by Rick Gould and deflected out for a point. Philly continued with the pressure, and Chris Olsen would score to make it 10-0 Philly inside the first half of the quarter. After a period of slow play, the Falcons would pressure the Warriors again, and Robert would pot home a rebound, giving the Falcons a 14-0 lead. Washington was getting frustrated, and this would lead to another fight with 4 minutes to go. Williamson was the third man in, attracting another huge crowd and scuffle. The umpire was being lenient and not sending anyone off. Late in the quarter, Hackett ran into Gould after he had smothered a shot, leading to yet another scuffle between the rivals. In the final minute, Washington would finally get on the board, but only got a point. After 1, Philly led 14-1, and had all the momentum. In the second, the rivalry died down and the players would start to focus on markball rather than the physical aspect of the game. Philly would continue the great offensive pressure and got lots of shots, but couldn't score for the first 7 minutes. Finally, Rudolph Lussier beat Gould, and Olsen converted a cross, and the P's increased their lead to 21. The Warriors would kick another point, then Philly had two good chances, but both missed wide for points. The last minutes of the quarter saw the offense light up, and the Warriors would get their first goal of the game, a Gardenar bullet, with 3 minutes to play. Philly would rush the ball back, but the shot by Lussier missed for a point. Off the ensuing kickoff, the Warriors took the ball right back down to Philly's end, and Michael Weber dribbled one past George Sovine. Even in the final minute, the teams were rushing the ball back and forth, and the half ended with the teams exchanging points. After 42 minutes of play, Philly looked to be running away with the game, as they were up 26-11.

Whatever Washington coach Walter Collins said during halftime must have perked the Warriors up, as they came out a completely different team in the third. All the ways the Falcons had run through them in the first weren't working, and the offense was finally up and consistently running. 5 minutes in, they had several chances, but only had two points to show for it. Finally, with 7 minutes gone, Gardenar blasted one past Sovine, cutting the lead down to 9. The next 10 minutes saw them virtually always in Philly's end, and they had plenty of great opportunities, but Sovine and the Philly backline played as if they were brick walls, not letting a single shot through to the net. Gardenar would even win a penalty, but Sovine stood tall and managed to save it. If not for the backline's heroics, Washington easily would have taken the lead and ran with it. Instead, they were down by 8 with 25 minutes to play. In the final minutes of the third, Philly finally got some breathing room and some offensive chances of their own. Leron McCleary would capitalize, scoring his first and getting the lead back up to 12. Washington would have two great chances late, but both times, Sovine stood tall, deflecting them out for points. After 3, Philly was still up 30-20, but barely hanging on. Just over a minute into the fourth, Robert Stephens kicked a point. The P's got more chances, but couldn't convert, and let Washington score a counterattack goal, bringing the lead down to 7. Philly would put some pressure on, and managed two points to get some breathing room for their lead. At the 8-minute mark, off a counterattack, McCleary laid a perfect pass to Olsen, who had a wide-open net to shoot at, bringing the lead back up to 13. This brought the Philly crowd back to life, and that was too much for the Warriors to handle. 2 minutes later, Olsen curled a shot in from a tight angle, making the score 41-24 and effectively ending Washington's chances of a comeback. However, the Warriors weren't giving up. Weber would curl a shot in with 8 minutes to play, and just under a minute later, he struck again, making it a 9-point game. Right as the players were lining up for the jump-ball after the goal, tensions would flare again, and there was another scuffle. Once things were cleared up again and play resumed, the Philly defense tightened up and didn't allow Washington anything. With 9 seconds to go, Gardenar deflected in a cross, but it was virtually impossible for the Warriors to score twice with the time remaining. The game appeared to be well and over, when with 3 seconds to go, Williamson, who had been jawing and scuffling with several Falcons players all game, sucker-punched Hackett in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious. This led to several furious Falcons players coming after him, and caused a brawl with every single player, both on and off the bench, from both teams. It took 45 minutes for everything to be sorted out, and it was a miracle no Falcons supporters stormed the field as well. In the end, Philly won by a score of 41-36.

Wow, Michigan is back in it, I was really rootin for Milwaukee. Philadelphia is also back, after quite the scuffle with Washington it sounds like, were there any repercussions for Williamson, seems pretty ridiculous to knock a guy unconscious. 
Hopefully the falcons fight just as much this time, don't want the Bandits *cough* yankees *cough* winning again.

You also have the wrong graphic for the semifinals.

Last edited by MyTeamIsDr.Pepper (3/30/2020 3:35 pm)

Sorry I've been inactive, school has restarting through quarantine and I haven't really focused on this for a while. I recently had a chance to write the Urquhart Cup script, so here it is!

1973 Urquhart Cup
Date: September 29, 1973
Location: Miami-Dade County Stadium; Miami, FL
Weather: 83 ℉ (28 ℃)
Attendance: 20,000

On a hot night in late September, the focus of the markball world was turned to the tiny yet loud Miami-Dade County Stadium, as the Philadelphia Falcons and Michigan Bandits prepared to battle it out for the Urquhart Cup. This was Philly’s second time in the championship game in three years, and the Bandits’ first Urquhart Cup game since 1968. It was estimated that the crowd gatherd was split fairly evenly between Falcons supporters, Bandits faithful, and neutral Miami spectators.

As the opening bounce took place, the two teams started slow, trying to find out their opponents’ strategies. Over the first three minutes, Michigan had more offensive time, but only managed one shot that was easily saved by Falcons keeper George Sovine. Philly would carry the ball downfield, and Mitchell Stephens kicked the game’s first point, just missing a shot wide. The pace remained slow, with neither team really testing the goalkeepers. Eventually, at the 6-minute mark, Nick Hamer of the Bandits gave Michigan their first point of the game. This didn’t open anything else up, and commentator Gerrard Wiley noted “If this is what we are going to be seeing all night, you are better off watching paint dry.” Michigan managed another shot, but that was no problem for Sovine. After a long midfield stalemate, The Falcons started getting momentum, and eventually drew a penalty shot after a bad tackle inside the arc. Chris Olsen stepped up and buried the shot, scoring the game’s first major, and making it 5-1 for the Falcons. Spectators hoped this would lead to more offense, but unfortunately for them, the pace died right back down, and the only other shot of the quarter would be a weak dribbler easily dealt with by Sovine. The play wasn’t sloppy in any way, but the midfielders on both teams were tackling very effectively, cancelling any scoring opportunities. The game remained scoreless for the rest of the quarter, and Philly held on to their one-goal lead heading into the first break.

After 1: Philadelphia 5, Michigan 1

To the relief of almost everyone in the stands, the game saw more offense in the second frame. Within the first 4 minutes, the two teams had traded points, and less than two minutes later, a great passing play led to Leron McCleary scoring to extend Philly’s lead to 8. All the momentum was with the Falcons, and they weren’t stopping. At the 8-minute mark, a strong attack in the arc led to Rudolph Lussier kicking one neatly past Garry Skene. Knowing that the game was quickly slipping away from their hands, Bandits coach Elmer Joseph told his team to tightly forecheck the Falcons, not giving them time to think. This strategy appeared to work, and this led to Michigan being awarded a penalty shot, taken by Max Roulette. The shot originally hit the post, but bounced off Sovine and in, cutting the lead to 8. Michigan continued pressuring, and had several good chances, including a shot from Roulette that went fully wide, and two chances from Jazzy Parraud, both saved by Sovine. The Bandits continued with their momentum, eventually garnering a point from Robert Wang with 4 minutes to go. Off the bounce Michigan continued pressing, and with just under two minutes to go, Parraud punched home a perfect cross, just beating Sovine and cutting Philly’s lead to 3 after the Bandits had been down by 12 just 11 minutes earlier. The two teams slowed down to close out the half, knowing that the third and fourth quarters would be a huge battle.

At the half: Philadelphia 14, Michigan 11

The third quarter saw a huge outburst in scoring, even from the beginning. Looking to set the tone early, Chris Olsen grabbed the opening bounce and took a shot from just outside the circle, that ended up just missing wide. The point 3 seconds in set an Urquhart Cup record for fastest score from the start of a quarter. Michigan didn’t take kindly to that shot, and went quickly back down the field. Ryan Lugt would kick home an open rebound, tying the game less than a minute in. Off the bounce, Max Roulette would do the exact same thing Olsen attempted to do. He took the opening bounce, and took a quick long shot. Like Olsen’s attempt, his shot sailed wide, but it gave Michigan their first lead of the game. The Bandits weren’t close to being done, as they exploded over the next 7 minutes. Fred Strait converted a penalty shot, then Max Roulette scored twice, both from close range. Michigan still wasn’t done, as less than 90 seconds later, Angus Dolston scored a beautiful free kick, making it 32-15 for the Bandits. In just 7:37, the Bandits had scored 21 points, bringing their lead to 17. Philly would end up finally getting the ball, and managed to get a point from Robert Stephens and a quick goal from Melvin Pandora, but they couldn’t stop another Bandits onslaught. Fortunately for Philly however, Michigan couldn’t kick accurately to save themselves. They had three great looks, but each of them went wide for points. The next 7 minutes saw the first real slow period of play, but the Bandits would eventually get the ball back, and kicked a late point and goal, making the score 40-20 in their favour. Heading into the final quarter, it was looking like the Bandits were going to raise the Urquhart Cup for the 9th time in their history.

After 3: Philadelphia 20, Michigan 40

The fourth quarter started off quickly, with the Falcons getting two good chances, but couldn’t beat Skene either time. The first score of the quarter came 3:31 in, a Michigan point from Fred Strait, giving them a 21-point lead, which would end up being their largest of the game. Philly came right back and got a point of their own, but they were gonna need a lot more if they wanted to come back. The Falcons had another good chance 30 seconds later, but Skene came up big, deflected the shot out for a point. Michigan would then carry the ball to the other end, and got another point of their own. The high pace of play continued, and Philly would bring the ball back on a counter-attack, and this time McCleary was able to beat Skene low, getting the P’s within 16. Unfortunately for them, Michigan would take the ensuing bounce and negate the score, and Rick Holt punched home a cross. The Bandits would then successfully bring down the pace, giving the P’s virtually nothing to work with. Eventually at the halfway mark of the quarter, Rudolph Lussier kicked his second major of the game, once again getting Philly within 16. 4 minutes later, he had another glorious chance, but just missed high for a point. Philly intercepted the ensuing kickoff, and Chris Olsen would eventually hit the ball home, and all of a sudden Philly was down 11. Michigan would once again successfully bring the pace of the game down, and there would be no score for the remainder of the game. As the referee blew the final whistle, the Bandits celebrated their 9th Urquhart Cup victory in franchise history, and they became the first wild card team to win the Cup..

Final Score: Philadelphia 35, Michigan 46



In the annual commissioner's post-game conference, Peter Merle announced that in 1974, the league would be accepting bids from cities in the US and Canada for potential expansion, the earliest of which would take place in 1977. "We would just like to see if any of these cities could greatly benefit the league and the growth of the sport." He said. Merle also said that while there was no guarantee of expansion, there was a "very good chance" that at least 1 city would gain a team.
  

Last edited by NoE38 (5/04/2020 4:35 pm)

Congrats to the Bandits! What cities will we see for expansion? (Hoping my home area of Seattle is in consideration)