1953/54 WCEHL Finals
     The action started prior to game 1 of the series when Jed Diggins and his California squad showed up to the Sun Valley Stadium, despite his own players telling him they had not made the finals. Confrontation was finally hit, as both the Grizzlies and Flamingos met in the tunnel outside the rink prior to warmups. Not knowing what to do, the teams decided that a fight would determine who would get to play the Tribe. It was not until half way through the warmups when the absence of the away team started to worry Commissioner Zamboni, prompting him to investigate. Once he turned the corner of the dressing room area, he saw havoc. A full-on brawl had started! Players were in headlocks, some were threatening others with skates, and one Vegas player had oddly set up a table to take bets. (Must have been a force of habit)
 
     By the time Zamboni had broken up the teams and explained the situation, the Arizona Tribe had already sat through the national anthem by themselves. The Flamingos scrambled onto the ice and took their position, while the Grizzlies quickly decided to grab some Tribe merchandise and their popcorn to go cheer on the home team. Exclaiming that, “if they don’t win, it would be a shame”! The scrum immediately caught media attention, and, as the puck dropped, the eyes of the nation gazed upon the first ever WCEHL final with intense interest.
 
Game 1
     Vegas had a slow start from the draw, giving the heavily favored Tribe an opportunity to jump the Flamingos with a goal 3 minutes into the game. The start of the second was no better for the Flamingos, losing the initial faceoff and watching as both defenseman touched the puck before returning it to Wayne Zimmerman for a quick clapper from the top of the circle. It was now 2-0 only 13 seconds into the second, and the Flamingos were deflated. Vegas would score late in the period to pull within one, but another duo of Tribe goals would lock the game at 4-1.
 
Game 2
     The second game would have a similar fate as game one, with the difference being when goals were scored. Arizona opened the game with a powerplay goal within the last two minutes of the first period, giving them momentum at break. This would follow through to the second when Benoit tallied the second for Arizona. Again, the Flamingos would claw within one from a powerplay goal of their own, but hope was dashed again. Arizona would put the game out of reach with two empty net goals in the final 3 minutes, and the Flamingos saw elimination looming as they dropped two consecutive 4-1 losses on the road.
 
Game 3
     The Flamingos felt the weight of elimination going into their first playoff home game, and that pressure was all that was needed to spark a performance the Tribe just couldn’t expect. The game started competitive, as the Flamingos only netted one in the first, but things soon got shaky for Arizona. Anastasio Moran took over, scoring two goals in the second, finishing the night with a third later in the game. This overshadowed the performance of 22-year-old, Nick Stinson, who also played a large role by netting two in the third period. After two dominant wins, the Tribe had been embarrassed. The game would conclude 6-1.
 
Game 4
     The final game in Vegas could end in the Tribe celebrating a title, or a trip back to Arizona for one last game. Knowing this, both sides were on their toes from the initial drop of the puck. With game 3 in mind, Arizona played a defensive game, trying to capitalize on any errors made by the aggressive play of Las Vegas. The first ended tied, and followed with another underwhelming period on the scoreboard. The play on the ice was a different story, though. The Tribe revved up their offense, throwing 20 shots on net, but none were getting through. With 5 minutes remaining in the period, Vegas goalie, Ed Gaston had thought he wrapped up another big period performance, but that changed with a dump by Wayne Zimmerman that bounced off a Vegas defenseman and into the net. The Flamingos were holding on to life entering the third, so they did what they knew best, hit. 15 enormous collisions and 13 minutes later, Vegas had themselves a goal. Time ran down and this competition would go into the history books as the first OT playoff game in WCEHL history.
 
     Depth would prevail in a game that had most of the players leaving what they had to offer in regulation. To the home fan’s delight, it would be lesser known Paul Cooper that sent the series back to the desert… well the other desert. With a 2-1 Las Vegas win, we once again had a series.
 
Game 5
     The Valley was hot, but the “Teepee” was hotter come game night. This one was for all the marbles (which discouraged most players because they were promised bonuses for winning, not marbles). Despite the confusion, it was time for some hockey. As fans learned from the series, a game didn’t start until Zimmerman said it did, and he would give his blessing 10 minutes in, scoring his fourth in five games. This deficit would be cleared 2 minutes into the second on a Vegas powerplay goal. This was promptly responded to a minute later when a Zimmerman pass found his winger open for a far side tap in. The snow would continue to ball as the second went on, as Arizona produced 2 more to make the tally 4-1. A second intermission regroup would give the Flamingos enough to force a second goal, but, again, their momentum would crash, leading to another pair of Tribe goals. With the score showing 6-2, it became more and more obvious to the crowd, who were gradually growing in volume, that Arizona would be the home of the first WCEHL champion. Cued by the sound of a roaring fog horn, it became official. The Arizona Tribe were victorious!
 
     Commissioner Zamboni would come on the ice, giving congratulations to Wayne Zimmerman, who won MVP with 4 goals and 3 assists in the series. Zamboni would continue by reaching to grab the league trophy so he could give it to Joe Benoit, but due to the excitement of the event he had left it in his car. Benoit would grab a large bottle of champagne from Zamboni’s hand, believing that it was part of the presentation and not just a factor of Zamboni’s indulgence of the night. Benoit took the newly opened magnum (1.5 liters for the kids at home), and tipped it back until it was gone, proceeding to slam it on the ice, causing it to shatter. The team went wild, the fans lost their minds and the nation was introduced to a new brand of hockey.
 (Had to leave out the "noise" filter I've been adding to all the visuals that give an old school vibe because it didn't look right with this. Tell me if you think I should keep bringing the "noise" or if you prefer things without it. Thanks for the support!)

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (8/03/2020 10:09 pm)

I called it! I called it! Beautiful series, even if our opponents and our MVP are idiots... 🙄 Good series to the Vegas Golden Kni.... I mean Flamingos!



Also, Scratch, I apologize for derailing the thread. Went on longer than I meant it to. I'll reel myself in next time.

An owner forcing his team to travel even though they didn’t make the finals? That’s a new one. Still damn funny though!

Can’t wait for the offseason.

I love the idea of a Commissioner who is trying to take it perfectly serious, just... drinking on the job, rubbing his (or her) temples in exasperation, just trying to figure out what terrible choices exactly they made that led them to this particular situation.