Cool to see the country in context. I like that you'll eventually be developing another country, maybe even another rival league?

I've definitely gotta be a fan of Lake Hope. I'm a musician. I like lions. I like black/silver/white color schemes. I really like the backstory for Cayuga. The others look good. I think there's a lack of black on Mount Faith's away sweater. For Kelly City I think the two blues need more contrast. I like the logo though! The Blackhawks look cool.

Well what do you know, I'm finally commenting on a hockey league on this site, especially considering my username!

Anyway, this sounds like a cool league! My favorite team so far is the Eruption, as I feel it's a unique name, so I'll pull for them for now at least. Have you given any thought on the culture to Yorkland, though? I'll be looking forward to more about this league!

The Inaugural YHL Draft
August 1st, 1989
The lottery balls were revealed the night before the draft, revealing the draft order for the inaugural draft. Battlefield would get the first pick, but with a snake style draft, it
meant they had to wait a long time to build on it. The opening round went as follows:



Patrick Wells would go first overall, while Cayuga would take the only goalie in the first round. After 18 rounds, the teams were drafted, the league was set and it was time to drop the puck.

Up next...the 1990 season!

1990 Pacino Cup Playoffs:

East Final - Cayuga Saints over Mount Faith Eruption in 4
The East Final went the same way as the regular season, as Adam Ball led the Saints to an easy 4 game sweep of the Eruption. Mount Faith had a 4-2 lead in Game 1, but after that it was all Cayuga.

West Final - Bentley Stars over Fort Theory Generals in 7
While the East Final was a wash, the West Final was an absolute war. After splitting the series in Bentley, Fort Theory would go home to the Beacon Grounds Coliseum and lay an absolute beating on the Stars, 7-3 and 7-2. With their back against the ropes, head coach Brooks Bondar rallied the troops in games 5 and 6, completely turning the tables and blowing out Fort Theory. Game 7 back in the Element Air Centre was a blowout for Bentley, but was also an absolute fight filled affair after Fort Theory took out their frustrations with big hits and by dropping the gloves. The Stars will host the Saints to kick off the Pacino Cup Finals.

Pacino Cup Finals - Bentley Stars over Cayuga Saints in 7
After a Game 7 war, the question was whether Bentley had spent everything they had or would Cayuga be rusty with the long layoff. It ended up that neither were true, and Cayuga would take Game 1 in a 6-5 thriller. After splitting the series in both Bentley and Cayuga, the Saints would take a commanding 3-2 lead going into Game 6 at home. Despite being up 6-4 going into the third and having the hot Ball in net, the Stars rallied again with their back against the ropes and would come out with the win. Game 7 back in Bentley was 3-3 after 1 and was looking like another high scoring affair until Ball and Barker went save for save. With just over 6 minutes to play, Saints defenceman Foster Cohen took a cross checking penalty in front of the net to put Bentley on the powerplay. The Stars moved the puck around quickly on the man advantage and eventually Bentley d-man Louis Hunter scored on a seeing eye shot from the point. The Stars would hang on and claim the Pacino Cup.



Following the season, the league announced it’s first ever Awards Winners:

League MVP & Forward Of The Year - Efrain Little, Dawn Mills Devil Rays
Defenceman Of The Year - Maxim Shannon, Fort Theory Generals
Goalie Of The Year - Toby Barker, Bentley Stars
Scoring Champion: Oakley Kim, Lake Hope Lions
Playoff MVP - Louis Hunter, Bentley Stars
Prime Minister’s Trophy - Bentley Stars
Pacino Cup: Bentley Stars



Up next... the 1990 Off-Season and Draft

Let me know what you think! What needs to be changed? Layout? Game breakdown? Split the playoff posts by round to build anticipation? All feedback welcome.
 

Last edited by 3pointtally (7/12/2020 4:56 pm)

1990 Off-Season and Draft
After a very successful opening season, Yorkland prepared for it’s second season with the 1990 draft. Of note, the Brooklynn Blackhawks traded the 5th overall pick to Battlefield for goalie Mack Simmons and then Battlefield would flip their second round pick, 13th overall to Lake Hope for goalie Stephen Rogers. The first round went like this:


With the first year down, all teams retained their coaches, but it was felt that Anchor City and Lake Hope needed to show improvements or else the first coaching changes could be on the way.

Up next… the 1991 Season...