1989 THL PLAYOFFS


Wildcard Round

7 Quebel Crusaders vs 10 Bancana Kings
A close series saw the Kings' Pete Lentini win the scoring battle between he and Joel Eklund. Lentini scored the OT winner in Game 4 to notch the upset. [BAN wins 3-1]

8 Portarra Pioneers vs 9 Vensessor Swans
The series was a slugfest as both teams locked in defensively. The Pios jumped ahead early with a pair of shutouts but the Swans battled back and won three in a row to move forward. [VEN wins 3-2]


Quarterfinals

1 Portarra Whales vs 10 Bancana Kings
A shocking 11-0 blasting in Game 1 by the Whales turned out to be an outlier as Bancana bounced back with a double OT win in Game 2 and turned it into a close series. A disallowed goal from Lentini late in OT in Game 6 allowed the Whales to notch the winner and clinch the series instead. [POR wins 4-2]

2 Kavalos Electrics vs 9 Vensessor Swans
In an exciting back-and-forth series, the Swans took Kavalos all the way to the brink before the Electrics' offense roared to life in a 7-1 Game 7 win. [KAV wins 4-3]

3 Alko Wizards vs 6 Kurohara Killers
The Killers came out fast and furious but the Wizards steeled themselves and fought back into the series to take it to a winner-take-all. Sam Sebastian scored the eventual game winner in a 3-1 win in Game 7 for a hard-fought series victory. [ALK wins 4-3]

4 Alko Barbarians vs 5 Kirlow Kodiaks
A triple overtime thriller in Game 1 set the tone for the series as the Barbarians prevailed. It was a trial by fire for the Romanov brothers who acquitted themselves well enough despite losing the series to Alko. [AKB wins 4-2]


Semi-Finals

1 Portarra Whales vs 4 Alko Barbarians
The mighty Whales were a completely different beast than the youngsters in Kirlow and the Barbarians had trouble keeping up from the start. The Whales were not to be denied and blitzed the Barbarians to a clean sweep. [POR wins 4-0]

2 Kavalos Electrics vs 3 Alko Wizards
In a wild series, the Wizards stole Game 1 before getting pasted by three straight shutouts from Steinecke in goal to put them on the brink. MVP defenseman Darren Cain was on another level as Alko's offense was stymied. The series turned in overtime of Game 5 when Cain crosschecked into the boards by Wade Guerin in a sickening crunch that broke Cain's tibia. Cain had to be carted off the ice and the emotional Electrics couldn't finish the Wizards who won in OT. They proceeded to bounce back in the series and earn the upset with a 3-1 win in Game 7 to book a berth to their first finals appearance.


C&C always appreciated!
Up next: 1989 Marcotte Cup 

Nice!  Now all we need is for the Whales to win 4-2 to nail the prediction, haha!

This has been a very entertaining playoffs so far.   While the upsets have been seldom, the quality of the series, (particularly anything involving the Alko Wizards) has been high.  Shame for the Electrics to lose Darren Cain to a broken tibia, as they were on their way to winning the series before that before losing steam after the injury.  Unfortunately, that definitely can happen when you lose your MVP, especially so gruesomely. 

This will definitely be an interesting series, as the Whales have not had things nearly so dramatic as the Wizards, who've had to come back from being down 3-2 and 3-1 in the playoffs so far.   I still feel the Whales are winning this, although that small scare with the #10 seed Kings (being down 2-1 before winning the last 3 games) gives me reason to wonder if the Wizards can pull the upset.   

 Sticking with Portarra to win the series 4-2.   Don't think the Wizards can make another dramatic comeback this time, but they've become an interesting team to watch the last couple of years, they could be a champion soon!  Can't wait to see!

To recap season:

Sina is terrible. Alko Wizards have some serious firepower from their sticks (magic hockey sticks?). Portarra Whales are too good right now. Knowing how that goes, Alko in 6.

1989 Marcotte Cup Finals

The 30th Marcotte Cup features a matchup between a burgeoning dynasty of an original team and a young new team eager to make their mark on the league. The Whales have won two straight Cups, both against a tough team in Kavalos. The Wizards, meanwhile, entered the league in 1983 and have found their rhythm with a mixture of youth and veteran presence. Forward Bill Bronkowski leads Portarra as the clear best player in the league while Alko features a rising young talent in Sam Sebastian who just secured his first Best Forward trophy. The Whales' top line of Bronko, Parrino and Caparros might be the most dominate in the league while their top defensive pairing with Eli Priestley and Herb Hass is also tops. The Wizards will counter with Sebastian heading a line with veteran Andrew Lomax and Rod Levin. Their top blue line pair of Joseph Van Deen and Ernie Powers can hold their own. “Large” Arlie Lozano mans the net for Alko and is considered a top goalie. Portarra's Brian Mahaffey, however, has more experience, especially in the playoffs. The biggest difference between the two squads is depth with Alko unable to match the deeper bench of the Whales. The coaching staffs of both teams are well respected with Sid Snyder manning the post in Portarra and Donnie Thomas for Alko.


1 Portarra Whales vs 3 Alko Wizards

ALK 1 @ POR 5 – The opening salvo in Portarra showed a clear discrepancy in talent as the Wizards struggled to keep up with the Whales with Bronkowski scoring two goals and Priestley playing on an elite level.

ALK 3 @ POR 1 – The Wizards found better rhythm in Game 2 as Sebastian opened the scoring and the team focused on keeping Bronko off balance.

POR 4 @ ALK 0 – Even with Bronko held in check, it was Eli Priestley who converted some offense from the blue line as he had a goal and two assists while the Mahaffey and the Whales kept Alko off the board.

POR 1 @ ALK 3 – Determined to earn the split, the Wizards bit down on their mouthpieces and played a slow and heavy style for two periods to wear down the Whales before opening up on offense. Lomax scored and assisted.

ALK 0 @ POR 1 – With the series tied, but teams played a classic hard-fought game with lots of action along the boards, including a pair of fights that saw Bronko get roughed up. Midway through the third, a huge hit on Levin by Priestley dislodged the puck and Priestley fired a long distance pass up the ice to a streaking Caparros for the game-winner.

POR 4 @ ALK 0 – With the Wizards now on the brink, the Whales seemed reinvigorated after a tough few games and found their stride as Brian Mahaffey was a stonewall in the net to a shutout victory. Priestley again scored and assisted and the Whales secured their third-straight championship to cement their dynasty and move into second place for all-time Cup wins with five. Priestley was awarded Series MVP for his stellar play.

1989 Marcotte Cup Champions: Portarra Whales (5)


C&C always appreciated! (Shoutout to Stickman for the correct prediction!)
Up next: 1990 offseason

I usually hate dynasties, but how can I cheer against that happy little Whale?!

Congrats to Portarra for doing something only one other team has ever done winning three straight!