1973 Galapetra Regional Tournament 


The regional tournament started out with the Reapers playing HWHC in a battle of the top two. Both teams were tied in points during the regular season, so it made sense that they would have the closest game during the round robin. While Certonrack’s first line collected points all game, including a three goal effort from Rod Dallas (17), their goalie failed to support them on the back end. This gave Honey Whale’s roster the opportunity to capitalize on limited opportunities, ending the game at 5-5. From there, the two teams would go separate directions. HWHC would proceed to the finals with two wins to go with their tie, the first being 3-0 over the Harps and the other was a 2-0 win against the Herd.

The Reapers would finish out the weekend with two performances that showed the demise of their team’s roster, proving a lack of depth. In their second game the Little, Ellington, Dallas combo continued to put it all on the line with another 5 goal effort against the Harps that ended the Portarra team’s National hopes early. Confidence was shown by the Reapers going into their final game to claim the second spot in the championship, but the Herd had other plans. With their aggressive game, Vorackberg set the Reapers straight, holding them to 0 goals for the first time in a month while Jonathan Walker scored the only goal of the game.


1973 Galapetra Regional Championship Game


In the finals it was a battle between skill and physical play that entertained the crowd attending. HWHC took a beating in the first period, falling victim to 15 hits from the Vorackberg enforcers, but managed to slip through a couple of the hits that were missed to capitalize on 2 chances that saw the Herd’s players out of position. From the second period on the Herd struggled to play from behind, over using Walker every chance they could, putting the kid back on the ice to try to get some offense going. By the end of the night the Vorackberg team would leave with only an exhausted star and three misconducts, while HWHC picked up their first official regional title. Both teams will now turn their attention to the national finals where HWHC will be the obvious favorite of the two.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (2/04/2020 1:01 am)

Section30 wrote:

Not too bad, I'll take second place.

 
The boys from the north are buzzin. Avg 35 hits per game and have a 16 year old with the C on his chest scoring a point per game. Just need to find the balance or some support for Walker.

Alright!!! Here's hope for another title for the Honey Whale HC.

So life gets weird after school. A lot less time and energy for sure! The AltHL has really made me miss design though. I’m not sure how many were following this, but I hope the changes I’m going to make don’t stray from what is wanted. I’ll be finishing up the current season tomorrow, I hope, and that will be followed by a few teams to go with the offseason. I know these players are big for the move to the THL, but the story is what has made me drag my feet and it is hard to do the consistent cut and paste graphics to go along with them. I will be doing key players with short summaries for text and a rank system like the MAHL that only highlights position with the addition of points from now on. If there is any input to help know what is wanted or what could be removed please feel free to throw a comment on here!

Also posting this to hold myself accountable. Love the community and can’t wait to jump back in.

Update: My photoshop isn't compatible with my computer after updating yesterday. It might take a day or two.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (3/20/2020 3:59 pm)

1973 TYHDA National Festival


The round robin of the 1973 National Festival started with tradition colliding with youth in a game that ended tied between HWHC and Tri-City. While not a decisive game, this clash did show that both powerhouse defenses were vulnerable, even if the score was only 2-2.

In the other game on the first night, Yubay strided to an easy 3-1 win over a Vorackberg team that found that their aggressive nature would not be enough to hold the foreign strategy of the Drillers. Standout players of the game included Vince Swift, with 2 goals, Kip Waggoners, a young, desperate goalie filling in for their suspended starter, and, of course, Jonathan Walker, who put up the only tally for a limping Herd offense.

The second day was for revenge in regional rematches, where Tri-City squeaked by Yubay in a 1-0 win, and a shutout for Tri-City’s Steve Kitchens. While Walker and young defenseman, Mark Yount, combined for 5 goals in a 5-3 Honey Whale meltdown.

Once again, qualifying day played out as a play-in for the bubble teams fighting for the final spot. In this bubble battle, it was HWHC claiming the first berth in Galapetra history to the main event with a 3-1 win over the Drillers, who had again played victim of regional success followed by national failure . In a less stressful game, Tri-City rounded out their perfect round robin with a 3-1 win over Vorackberg. This would send these burley boys home far less than perfect.


1973 TYHDA National Finals


In this year’s game the rules were altered to better fit the weekend travel schedule of families by condensing the 3 game drag into a single game, winner take all.

The chips had settled and, again, we saw old versus new in a showdown that seemed very unlikely at the start of the season. It was the trumpet touting Triangles who marched in with authority in the first, claiming the period by scoring two early goals that shook Honey Whale. This shaking did not lead to a collapse though, instead HWHC came back in the second with two of their own. Tri-City was not ready to simply trade periods though, scoring on a Danny Kurtz shot from the slot through traffic with 2 minutes before intermission.

The shakes trembled all the way up the HWHC ladder this time around, sparking a brash decision by the team’s coach, replacing Rickie Furman with their 15 year old backup goalie in Furman’s final youth appearance. Furman was not able to get comfy on the bench in the third, being called back between the pipes seconds into the period when a wrap around was carelessly let in by the reliever. This caused the HWHC coach to reverse his goalie decision in a panic, putting a disinterested Furman back on the ice. These events caused a distraction that hung over Honey Whale players the rest of the game, and although they were able to find the net one more time, It would not be enough. The clock ran down, Furman was pulled again from the ice to be relieved by a player this time and the seconds faded to zero.

The Tri-City Triangles had won 4-3. A team who started the season without a rink now owned the whole league. The gear flew onto the ice, the trophy was lifted and hugs were given. Rocco Barrow, the owner of the wildly popular Honey Whale seafood chain and HWHC, was quoted years later during an interview saying, “Those boys might have their own memories, but my memory from that day is what the TYHDA means to me. We had lost and I was leaving my ice facility when I heard the faint sound of a trumpet. The damn Usko kids smuggled a trumpet in! That day they were the saints and they got to march. Still puts a smile on my face". 

....After the mic was cut, Barrow's whimsical quote was followed by, "I also fired an idiot that day, you know?"

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (3/24/2020 10:05 pm)