1957/58 WCEHL Season
 
     The 1957/58 year would not see much shift in seeding between teams, but the ones who did shift around generated enough attention to make the season a must see when playoffs came in to focus. 
 
     Starting from the top, we have the California Grizzlies dethroning the Long Beach Earthquakes to take home the regular season title. While California had only taken the top spot by one point, the battle they showed throughout the season more than justifies their position at number one. The season began slow for the Grizzlies, seeing the team only touch third by game 22. Up to this point, it was the Zimmerman, Tapping and the duo of Cornish and Urbair in net keeping the California team in the playoff hunt, but once Long Beach showed vulnerability it would be underdog players, like 31-year-old Arthur Ashley, who scored a team leading 47 points, and unknown left winger Jonah Kendrew, that would clear the path to clinching the top spot on the last night of the season.
 
     As mentioned before, the Long Beach Earthquakes would find themselves in second for the first time in their existence. While this stat would be a proud accomplishment for most franchises, it was jarring for the heavily talented Earthquakes, and their owner French Friday. It is hard to determine where to point the blame for the shocking result because it seemed like all of the stars had played their part. Anastasio Moran returned to normal play, generating a stat line that earned another MVP trophy, while McGorrie and Hornbury had continued their high output that is expected from them. The analysts of the league put their money on an aging roster, saying that tired legs are the reason that the consistently powerful locomotive couldn’t make it to the station. Hopefully this isn’t the truth for Long Beach, who are going to face even more obstacles in their effort to return to the Magnum this postseason.
 
     Youth would be no problem when it comes to the third place Salt Lake Bees and forth place San Diego Canners. For the Bees, three of their top five point scorers were 22 or younger, including Salt Lake homegrown Larry Rogers and high threat power forward Frank Olesen. The only Bee to outplay the youth would be ageless Andress Riekstins, who earned most valuable defenseman to go with a season that saw him break all personal point records. 
 
     The Canners had a point spread that looked very similar to Salt Lake, having Joe Benoit lead a pack of five under 22s who all resided in the 30+ point club. The most impressive thing that San Diego had to offer was its depth. While the first line and goalies had less than inspiring performances, the second line would be the reason the Canners were able to sneak into the playoffs on decision day. Another thing to note would be the struggles of 1955 first overall pick Rezvan Ruohong. The potential phenom did not have an awful year, but his third-year slump was enough to land him on the trade block.
 
     The first team on the outside looking in was Marty Shaver and his pack of Flamingos. Despite their late season push, the Flamingos were not able to wonder their way back to the playoffs after last year’s six berth shenanigans. What hurt the most for the young team was watching their hopes slip away on the last day of the season when they got to witness San Diego power by them with a 6-2 win over Oakland.

     The final three teams would go TTHC, Oakland then Arizona, all being even less concerning to the other teams than last season. Other than a late season push that made them look competitive, TTHC fielded a mediocre team on most nights, with an occasional flash from rookie of the year Scott Kehler throughout the season. This would be much more impressive than their pals up north in Oakland, who presented a team that could best be described as Kenny Corderey trying his best to ignore a fire in the room he was sitting in. On an odd note, Oakland did manage to become the most feared team in the league with help from a random Italian who showed up to open tryouts wearing what looked to be Nicolas Vogel’s old Oakland gear. Sgt. Johnson did not bother to ask where young Nico Tortellini came from, but he did consider him a cheap blessing who managed to tally 209 penalty minutes in 44 games. Tortellini’s most impressive performance came in the second to last game of the year when he accumulated 18 PIMs while battering the Flamingos into submission. Many believe this game played a significant role in the downfall of Vegas.
 
     As for Arizona, they sucked. Without a veteran presence to lead in the locker room, the “Trio of Ones”, as they have been called frequently, looked a bit lost on the ice. The most successful of the bunch would shockingly be Mark Seguin. The Hawaiian native put up 18 points in his freshman year, but would fall just short of rookie honors. 
 
Here's a live look at the eve of the 1957/58 WCEHL Gauntlet, the preferred holiday of any sophisticated individual.

Well, there’s your four! Always interested to know what the fans think, so fill me in as we wait for the gauntlet to start.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (2/03/2021 1:01 am)

Rugrat wrote:

From Champs to Chumps I guess... just the Arizona sports way.

Things are looking better than they were! That is the bright side.


THE 1957/58 GAUNTLET
 

#1  California Grizzlies  vs  #4  San Diego Canners
     Number one was almost conquered by the fourth seed again this year, but, luckily for the Grizzlies, this series was defined by San Diego’s knack for shutting down their own momentum. During game one, a true look at the powerhouse battle was seen in a first period with no goals. Finally, Joe Benoit was able to crack California’s goalie, but any advantage gained would be dashed immediately by four consecutive Canners penalties. The Grizzlies would only capitalize on one powerplay, but scored 5 times in total to win the first game 5-1. 
 
     A return to consistent play would give the Canners a 2-1 win in game two, sending the series to San Diego for a deciding finale. 
 
     When the puck dropped in the final game of this Gauntlet Semifinal round, both teams showed they were aware of what was at stake. Hard hits and blocked shots from both sides were the highlight of the first period, meaning that it would take more than 20 minutes to break the ice for these two teams, again. It would be 20 minutes and 47 seconds, to be exact, when rookie Arthur Savage scored his first career playoff goal after playing only three games in the regular season. Of course, Joe Benoit would have a response following the goal, but his celebration was cut short by the ref who decided to call goaltender interference on the play. The carpet was pulled from under SD immediately when Grizzlies captain Joe Nichols score on the powerplay. The frustration of what the Canners considered a “blown call”, and what everyone considered a call that would play a serious role in the outcome of the series, showed on the ice as they became more physical. Calm heads would prevail, though, as California netted two more on their way to a 4-1 victory that would send them back to the finals.
 
 

#2 Long Beach Earthquakes  vs  #3 Salt Lake Bees
     The offensive battle between Long Beach and Salt Lake would challenge the 1954/55 five game Magnum series between Arizona and Las Vegas for most goals scored between two team, and the impressive part about this statistic is that this series was two games less. Based on that fact, this was obviously a high action fan’s dream, giving them a rush as they were forced to the edge of their seat for the spectacle delivered by the Quakes and Bees. The action started in game one as Frank Oleson provided his usual playoff routine, scoring a natural hat trick in the first period before Long Beach decided to respond with two of their own. If that wasn’t enough, the second would be a bigger handful for the scorekeeper, who marked his sheet two more times for the Bees and four more for the offensive powerhouse from Long Beach. Entering the third, it was 6 to 5 with Long Beach in the driver’s seat, but this would not last long. It was Norris Childress who would knot the game with five minutes remaining, convincing fans that they would get more play time than expected. Forty-year-old Juhani Vastamaki was growing tired of the scoring marathon, though, deciding to put the game away for Long Beach with under a minute remaining. This would bring the score of the game to 7-6, tipping the series in favor of Long Beach.
 
     Believing that they were in for another back and forth game, the Salt Lake Bees desperately kept the scoring pace that was set the previous game while Long Beach looked like they had run out of steam. The game started and ended with Andress Riekstins goals, while 7 more were scored by his team along the way. The 9 goals put on the scoreboard would fuel the rowdy fans back in Salt Lake, making many exclaim that their team scored so many goals that it looked more like a Box Soccrosse game out on the field of play. Unfortunately for Long Beach, their game still looked like hockey, only scoring three in a 9-3 clinic that they fell victim to. This would mean that the Semifinals would provide plenty of hockey this year, giving another game three to fans of the WCEHL.
 
     After a jarring season followed by a shocking game two, Long Beach now found their backs against the wall on unfamiliar ice in a do or die situation. This would show in the first two periods of game three, as the Bees would jump to a two-goal lead. The excitement of the crowd was overpowering, and it felt like there was no possible answer to be given by Long Beach despite there being twenty minutes left to play. This would not be the case. Upon return to the ice for the third, postseason veteran Brian McCoal would shush Salt Lake fans with an unbelievable individual effort goal. This was followed by another spectacular shot, this time from Jeffrey Tosewell, and before Salt Lake could react it was 2-2 with ten minutes remaining in regulation. Both sides would push for the final spot in the finals, but it would take the unchallenged talent of Anastasio Moran to break the tie, giving Long Beach a trip to the Magnum with his first big impact play of the postseason.
 

With that, the stage is set. We will see the return of California vs Long Beach in a match of talents who have seemed to accelerate their young rivalry right to the top of the WCEHL. Will California continue their run as the only team that can contain Long Beach, or will the Earthquakes be able to handle their demons during a run at redemption? Tune in to The Magnum, only on CBS, to find out.

Go Grizzlies!

Alright, the Grizzlies are the champs! The Quakes put on a decent comeback, but California held on! Take that, French!

(Also, I love that Two Towns' pennant says "One City".)

Pssst.... it's time to wake up.