Thanks for hanging in there everyone! The first season will be in the very near future, but until then here is the inaugural class.

Go Harps and Penguins!

GYHDA 1972 Season


Things were closer than people thought it would be in season one of the GYHDA, with only a game and a half separating the top three teams. When the dust settled it was Certonrack and their shutdown defense who ended up on top. Starting from the back, it was Fred Teal, a 17 year old goalie from the city, who sparked an unbelievable run with his talents in net. Teal set the bar early, only letting in 10 goals over his 19 games played, earning him a .526 GAA, but falling short of any regional awards. Other notable players were, 17 year old defenseman, Kevin Daley who aided Teal in the defensive zone while being a key playmaker on the counter attack, and Adam Pendleton, a 17 year old THL draft prospect who scored 19 of his team’s 31 goals, claiming regional player of the year for his efforts. 

Earning the number two spot by goal differential was the Rosran Graduates. This was another team who proved defense was the key this year, only letting in 18 goals over their 21 games. Kenny Ratcliff was the story of Rosran’s season, putting an average team over the top with sound, underrated performances in net. Along with Ratcliff, Nathan Berryman (17, D), and Garrett Guillien (16, F) put together some respectable performances that caught the eye of scouts. Only Berryman and Ratcliff will be eligible for the draft this year, but they have been overlooked for the most part. 

Because of how things shook out with goal differential, the Herd happily find themselves in third, earning a spot in the regional tournament comfortably. Unlike most, the Herd achieved with their physical play that most teams south of them were not expecting. While the majority of the team were throwing bodies around, 15 year old Jonathan Walker found himself scoring at an alarming rate for such a young age, earning him the nickname “The Kid” around the team’s rink.  

Honey Whale was the last team to punch their ticket into the regional tournament with a season that left many questioning the program’s leadership. Even with the heavily talented roster, HWHC could not figure out how to string together multiple wins at a time after being shocked by the Harps and Blur in their first two games of the season. This resulted in a reckless offensive push fueled by selfish play for the remainder of the season. Even worse, the coaches backed the play, relying heavily on the top line when there was plenty of talent throughout the roster. Because of their approach, HWHC had an outstanding amount of goals scored, tallying just over 50, with both Heath Windham and Marc Alford leading the charge having 38 of the goals between the two. Honey Whale also were able to claim the worst goals against of the four playoff teams by a landslide, and it could have been worse if it weren’t for an MVP goaltending performance by Brian Mahaffey, with support from Wally Burden. Burden is widely regarded as the best “stay at home” defensive player from the region to declare for the draft in quite some time. Without the two, HWHC could have easily been the fourth Portarra team to be looking in from the outside. 

Beyond the top four, there is not much buzz around the teams who did not make it besides some 15 year olds that are talented, but too young to conclusively say if they will be the difference for their clubs in the future. The top story around the bottom of the league, and the league as a whole, is the dramatic under performance of teams from Portarra. At one point, many thought they would fill at least three of the regional spots, but instead they did the exact opposite. Hopefully it is just a matter of adjusting to the style of play, rather than blind favoritism by the league to include clubs that are below the intentions of the project.

Below are the awards given to the top players in each position for the 1972 season.



 

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (12/23/2019 12:58 am)

Glad to see the Herd make the playoffs, shame they crapped the bed once there though. Congrats to the Reapers.

TYHDA 1972 Season


The season in the region to the west had less coverage, but an exciting ending with a three team fight for the final two spots. Starting from the top, Hyletville stole the show when they grabbed first place 8 games into the season and held it until the very end, topping the table by 8 points when the season closed. The Penguin’s team was built by a healthy mix of talent, having a solid forward lineup with plenty of depth, a young goalie and arguably the best 17 year old defesemen in the region. In net, Darron Everett (16) stole the starting job from his older competitor after game 5 and never looked back. Everett never faced too many shots, but he was one to put on a show in the crease with flashy saves and an aggressive personality. This sense of flair caught attention from the board in Portarra and ultimately was the reason for his regional top goalie award. Lastly, there is Ollie McClellan, the captain and the truest representation of a Penguin since the days on the pond. His dominance on the ice and care for his teammates brought the team together in a way that is not normally from a youth team. Because of his all around talents, McClellan received three pieces of hardware at the TYHDA award ceremony, including “Mr. Tamokeva”, Defenseman of the year, and the first ever Longfellow award, given by Hyletville to a player in their senior year who best reflects the club, showing leadership, commitment, and skill, all characteristics of Harlan Durant’s late friend, Clyde Longfellow. 

In second, the Yubay Drillers find themselves ahead of their cross town rival for the first time in history. The teams were not separated by much, splitting their series 2-1-2 each, but the Drillers won bragging rights on the last day of the season with a little help from Tri-City’s 2-0 win over the Ambassadors to give them top spot in the city and a higher seed going into the regional tournament. Yubay’s season was underlined by endless training and attention to detail when learning systems. Warden worked the team hard knowing that their players were average on paper compared to the league, being a club built of 16 year olds who were still trying to find themselves on the ice. One standout who was not seen as much was 15 year old Dusty Connelly, an intriguing prospect who backed up his 17 year old counterpart who was arguably his equal when it came to skills. From the teams performance came one award that was rightfully given to Mark Warden for coach of the year, giving acknowledgement for all he and his coaching staff has put into the organization.  

The Yubay Ambassadors close out the tournament’s qualifying teams, finishing in a close race that saw them squeak by the Triangles in the second to last game of the year, making the loss to them in the final week not hurt too bad. Despite the shortcomings in the battle of Yubay, the Ambassadors put together a year of dominance that was held back by goalie troubles. Yubay fielded a team of potent offensive talent that was led by the most dominant line of forwards in the whole country. On this line was star centerman Bobby Sallee (17), who had tremendous puck battle talents that paired with a protection game that made it impossible to separate him from the puck anywhere on the ice. These qualities earned the 6’5” power forward the nickname “Rubber BandIt” and the Tamokeva Forward of the year award. With him was his 16 year old younger brother, Cameron Sallee, who matched his older brother in talent, but in different areas of the game. Cameron is a player known for his speed all around. From skating to shooting, Cam is the fastest player on the ice and should not be left open for long, converting on chances in an instant. Giving him a majority of those chances is 17 year old playmaker Jed Poe. Jed is a quiet player who goes unnoticed for the most part, but his presence is unquestionably felt on the stat sheet, having a pass so accurate that he could add goals to any player’s season if on the ice with them. Another notable player who will most likely have a career past the youth level is 17 year old defenseman Joe Kimble, who had a lockdown season and was an essential powerplay piece for the team.  

Below the line, we find the two south most teams in the TYHDA. In Usko, the Triangles found moderate success with a young squad who shocked many out of the gates, fighting punch for punch with Hyletville until about half way through the season. They then fell off the map when their rink situation caused off-ice distractions and stress for the players. By the time they were back on track it was too late, but the 4 game win streak that they ended on shows plenty of promise for the future. 

And last but not least….. well maybe not the least between the two regions, we find the Podangrad Polar Bears. The Polar Bears had a very difficult time adjusting to the play of the rest of the region in their first year outside the Tri-City, expecting the best but getting what could only be described as their worst nightmare. The only thing going for them was forward Ray Mixon, who would be aging out of youth hockey at the conclusion of the season. Ray carried the teams offense, scoring 16 of the team’s 21 goals. He would be a good fit in the THL with a couple more years of work, but for now he has his mind set on playing with the Podangrad Pathfinders, the local Indy league team he has followed since he was a child. 

Below are the awards given to the top players in each position for the 1972 season.

Last edited by Thehealthiestscratch (12/23/2019 1:36 am)