1974 GYHDA Season 

The 1974 season was a big milestone in the GYHDA, being the first year Certonrack did not top the mountain. Instead, it was Honey Whale leading the pack with a 4 point gap between them and the Vorackberg Herd. Captain, Zach Tackett (17, D), was the one to push the boys this season with unlikely support from Jerry Priest (15, F) and Robbie Metzget (16, D), who brought some youthful balance to Tackett’s desperate need to win in his final year. Jerry Priest was the talk of the season, challenging Jonathan Walker for the scoring title while two years younger, but coming up a few short.

Speaking of Ferdinand, as friends of Walker liked to call him in reference to Ferdinand the friendly bull, he continued to terrorized the league in his final year, carrying the offense of a team who didn’t seem to have a variety of scoring threats. With 32 goals and 5 assists, Walker’s performance alone deserves nothing less than second for the Vorackberg Herd. 

At third we find an unlikely team, and that is being said negatively. After winning back-to-back GYHDA titles, the Certonrack Reapers found themselves in unfamiliar territory with a year that started 0-3 against an unfortunate list of teams to play at the start of a season. This snowballed into 3 additional ties during a time when Mitch Hoover’s leadership and play seemed to turn off. Seeing this, James Bishop (16, F) saw that someone needed to steer the storied team back on track, leading them straight back up to the top before settling at third.

In the final spot to advance, we have the pleasure of seeing the spunky bunch from Rosran tear their way back from the basement they finished in the year prior. The Grads benefited from their previous year, giving time for younger players to blossom. The one player who seemed to fully bloom was Bruck Donahue (16, F), who sneaked into third in the scoring race for the league, but much like the point difference between third and their fourth place finish, Donahue was far behind the top two goal scorers.

In the bottom half, we saw Cooley Bay frustrated due to missing out on a playoff run for the second year straight. They were followed by the team Rosran would replace, the Portarra Harps. Despite a sixth place finish, the Harps actually had the second fewest wins during the season, finding a way to tie their games more often than any team would like to admit. Rounding out the bottom was the Travelers and the Braves, who had wildly different stories for teams who found themselves so close together. The Travelers actually found a diamond in the rough this year with Sal Kidd (16, G), who claimed all 6 of their wins facing an average of 37 shots each. Fort Bevin, on the other hand, was in trouble. With only 1 win the whole year, Torland’s military considered them an embarrassment, threatening to disassociate half way through the season. This would not be necessary though, with the Braves finding all of their 9 points in the second half of the season. If curious, that win was 3-1 over Cooley Bay, where they scored a fourth of their season goals in a span of 28 minutes.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (4/14/2020 7:56 pm)

Good to see the Herd having another good season, disappointing they couldn't bring it home but I wont complain with second!

The Wind Socks look amazing, they're up there with the Drillers for my favorite team in Tamokeva.

Last edited by Section30 (4/14/2020 11:31 pm)

1974 TYHDA Season 

The 1974 season brought a new travel schedule to the league, testing many of the established teams with quite a bit of distance south. This was combated by a shortened schedule, turning a season that was once 20 games into 18. Even with two less games the Yubay Drillers accomplished their best season in their TYHDA era, putting up 11 wins, 3 losses and 4 ties. This group was expecting success with such a deep roster that included Jack Skinner (16) on the front end and an elite defensive core led by Chad Landis (17), who was league MVP, and the aggressive Marcus Park (16). If this group couldn’t do the job, the goalie tandem of Kip Waggoners (16) and unpredictable Dusty Connelly (17) could step up when called. Both were considered for Mr. Goaltender but it was Kip who landed the honor letting in 8 goals all season,  3 fewer than Connelly.

Behind the Drillers was a dog fight between the new kids on the block and the other Yubay team that ended with the city experienced in actual dog fights winning the battle. Kurohara took no time introducing themselves, defeating the Rad Cats 8-1 in their first TYHDA game. This dominance continued into the mid season when trips to Hyletville stalled the team's streak. The travel was too much, resulting in 2 dropped games in the city, sending them back behind the Drillers in the standings. The Wind Socks also fell one short in the MVP department, having Chris Waterman (17) put together an outstanding year to have the door slammed in his face, again, by the Drillers. 

Two things were rejuvenated in Yubay this year. The first being the red hot Ambassadors, who only jumped one spot in the rankings, but looked like a completely different team backed by William Schreiber (17), who had a performance many would argue was better than any Drillers goalie. The second thing to gain life was the rivalry of Yubay. In the three game series the Drillers claimed two, but the Ambassadors one win was convincing, having 4 goals scored by Vince Ramano (16, F) and a final score of 5-1.

Claiming the brand new fourth spot in the regional tournament was Hyletville, seeing a third straight drop in the standings, but still not missing the playoffs for a third straight year. With the forward of the year, Andrew Lomax (17), it was hard to believe their troubles, but knowing that they had significant forward depth with the second line duo of Brendon Chestnut (16) and Steve Parrott (16) playing support made it shocking that the Penguins were in any danger. Their fault was in their defense’s lack of communication. Despite bolstering plenty of talent on the point, the team still allowed the third most goals against in the league.

Looking from the outside, in fifth, was the brass bandits who stole last year's national title. While the GYHDA teams were stunned, the teams closer to the story understood the deflation of the team who hit the restart button, having to replace 7 of their best with what seemed more like bare faced bandits. Despite the quick change, Dom Galloway (17) still put together a great performance in the crease in his last season, while Danny Kurtz (17) led an offense with a severe lack of support.

Jumping a spot only because a team was added were the Podangrad Polar Bears. While not having any standout talent, the Polar Bears still put together a season they could be proud of, having notable series against the Wind Socks (3 ties), their rivals in Usko (2 wins and 1 tie) and the Rad Cats (2 wins and 1 loss).

Speaking of the Rad Cats, their fears ended up being justified. The team who was not used to top talent every single game was smacked around by the league. While deflated, there was not much worry from the club. What was soft became hard, and players who saw the most pressure are starting to look like diamonds. Look for Coleman McCrary (15, D), Andy Ledbetter (15, D) and, recent Japanese immigrant, Jared Tanaka (15, F) to lead the charge going forward. On top of this, word that an age rule acceptance would be granted to 13 year old Jacque Betancount has been circling the newly renovated Rad Cat facility.

1974 Galapetra Regional Tournament

 
While the Reapers, HWHC and Herd have been a mainstay in the GYHDA regional tournament since the concept came to life, it would take Rosran to complete the formula to throw this tournament back to 1972, the last time all four had been in the event. The weekend started with a matinee showing between the Grads and the Reapers that had the two teams prove that an 8 point deficit in the standings was not justified, ending 1-1 in a game that saw no team take control.

This was followed by the opening ceremony, having all four teams on the ice for introductions and then went directly into the main event, Vorackberg Herd versus HWHC. A lot was expected of this game due to the amount of talent on the ice, but only one stole the show. Jonathan “Ferdinand” Walker was Galapetra youth hockey, and his performance in the opening game solidified that. Walker opened the show 5 minutes into the game with a goal from the right circle’s board side hashmark that went over the goalie’s shoulder, off the right post and in the net. This rattled the younger HWHC goalie, setting off a meltdown that would ultimately lead to the Herd getting revenge for the previous year’s final. The first was followed by 3 more for Walker, who was showered with roses brought by high school fans from Vorackberg after his hat trick goal, stalling the game for 10 minutes while the ice was cleaned of all the petals. At the end the score was 5-1, the Herd were on a stampede while Honey Whale were shocked again. 

The thrill of the previous night’s win swung into the next day as the Herd played the Reapers. Shots were consistent for the farm boys, but the Mitch Hoover ran defense proved to hold up for Certonrack. The Herd seemed to have hit a wall hard at the beginning of the third, as a good change put Reapers forward, James Bishop, on a breakaway that ended in the back of the net. Time ran down, and it looked like the Reapers were going to shake up the standings until they took a hooking penalty with 5 minutes left. The Reapers shut down Walker, but forgot that Mark Yount also had a goal scoring touch, letting the defenseman rip down from the point, fake a pass to Walker and bury the puck into the net while the goalie was sliding the other way. The game would end 1-1. 

The Grads would go into their next game with an advantage over a deflated Honey Whale team that was known to get shaky when faced with adversity. The Grads would score first and looked like they would ride out the win until Jerry Priest and Robbie Metzger sparked a third period comeback that captured a 2-1 win for HWHC, and surely ended all national dreams for the Rosran squad. 

Two goals were scored the final day. One was a second period game winner by the Herd to earn the right to wear their traditional black jersey in the regional finals game as the home team. The other would come in more dramatic style in a game that would decide who would meet the Herd in the finals. Watching the Reapers and HWHC players play with such desperation brought the intensity of an indy league game to the Honey Whale Athletic Complex. Shots were fired, hits were crushing, saves were shocking and when the dust settled, James Bishop’s goal was game defining. Certonrack would continue with a 1-0 win over HWHC.



1974 Galapetra Regional Championship Game



Number one had been knocked off the top and the championship came down to the two teams who were tightest in the standings. The roads traveled to the finals were dramatically different for both teams, and that is what decided this competition in the end.

The first started fast for the Reapers, who looked like bees buzzing around the ice in their black and yellow. At one point they had the Herd pinned in their own zone for 4 straight minutes unable to make a change. The four minutes ended with an icing, keeping the tired Herd players on the ice longer while the Reapers changed to line one. The Herd would finally get their change 10 seconds later when Certonrack’s center stepped around Vorackberg’s on the faceoff and passed it back door for a tap in. 

The Reaper’s 1-0 lead would continue through the second, and in the third it looked like the Herd were in trouble again. It took the Herd’s captain a lot to pick the boys back up, but an uncharacteristic, demanding center ice hit from Walker suddenly reminded the dairy boys that their game was not strategy or finesse, but instead was outworking their opponent. A surge in aggression by the Herd exposed Certonrack’s fatigue from the previous night. With half the period left, Walker would chase his own dump into the Certonrack defensive zone, beating out the defender and firing it towards the front of the net. The puck took a wild bounce, misdirecting off a skate then the goalie’s pad and back out to a Herd winger who scored to tie the game. The Reapers would hold on the remainder, forcing OT. 

The last stand was short lived for Certonrack, who were obviously not the favorites going into OT based on their third period decline. It was only 3 minutes into extra time when a familiar face decided to make his impact on the scoresheet. The play started in the defensive zone where Mark Yont fired the puck up the boards towards his winger for a breakout. The winger saw the Certonrack defender pinch and decided to let the puck go by him up the boards past both him and the out of position defender. This left Walker and a tired Reapers defenseman in a foot race from the other side of the ice. Walker, who would beat most fully rested defenseman in a race, picked the puck up with plenty of time, stunning the goalie, who expected a deke, with a quick five hole shot that sent the red light flashing.  Roses flew from the stands and the Herd stormed onto the ice, almost crushing the much smaller star in a pile of boys the size of men. The Vorackberg team who had lost all three regional games with a budding 15 year old star only two years prior now had that same player raising the regional trophy with the Herd logo on his chest and still only peach fuzz on the face.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (4/17/2020 2:50 pm)

1974 Tamokeva Regional Tournament


With such a talented group of teams entering this year’s tournament everything was up in the air, even an experienced gambler would be sweating over these games. The first day opened with the traditional afternoon game that saw the Hyletville Penguins welcome the Kurohara Wind Socks in their first postseason appearance with 3 goals from Andrew Lomax, and a swift 4-0 dominant performance that shocked the new kids. The main event for the opener was the battle of Yubay. It was a defensive battle that would see no cracks by either side, and when one of the many offensive threats broke out on either side, there was always a goalie there to stop them. This game was ultimately decided in the third when an Ambassadors shot from the point redirected off the shin of a Drillers player, beating a screened Kip Waggoners, who wasn’t even aware of where the puck was when the red light lit. 1-0 Ambassadors

There were more expected results on night two that mirrored the regular season perfectly. In the first game, the Ambassadors and Wind Socks played in another tight contest. Kurohara, who saw 4 go by them the previous night, made sure to fortify their castle by playing sound defense and cautious offense. While this approach held the Ambassadors a majority of the game, another bounce from a Dirk McKenna point shot found its way to the back of the Wind Socks net. This infuriated the Kurohara kids, who retaliated with the explosive offense they were known for, scoring minutes before the game was over, ending the game 1-1. The game between the Drillers and Penguins was less dramatic. The Drillers would score two first period goals, and glide to 2-1 victory that never seemed as even as the score suggests.

Every team had a chance going into decision day, but the most heated match was no longer between two teams playing that day, once the Wind Socks shocked the Drillers 2-1, ending the run of dominance for the Yubay team. It was now up to the Ambassadors to determine who would meet Hyletville in the finals by playing Hyletville. To advance to the finals all the Ambassadors had to do was lose by less than 4 or lose by 4 and at least score one goal, which was manageable for such a talented team. However, nerves got to them early, letting up 3 goals in the first to give a watching Kurohara team a glimpse of hope. The rest of the game would be filled with desperate defense from Yubay that was led by their goalie, William Schreiber, who stopped 27 shots with a broken finger after relieving their younger goalie in the first. The clock hit zero, and the first team to ever be ecstatic over a 3-0 loss was seen that day. It would be the Hyletville Penguins and the Yubay Ambassadors meeting to dance again in the regional finals. 

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (4/22/2020 3:23 pm)