I think I’ll give a brief go at a little hobby I had in the past now that their are more teams in the playoffs.

Captains vs Whales
Both teams are good but it seems like the gap between 1 and 4 is significant. The Captains showed to be a better team on both sides of the puck and I can’t see them losing. 4-1 Captains

Anchors vs Glaciers
This will be a closer one when considering the strength of the division, but based on the past it would be hard to go against the Anchors in this series. It will be closer at 4-3 in favor of the Anchors.

Kodiaks vs Pioneers
The Kodiaks are by far the best team in this division, and considering how this year shook out it was not the cleanest way the Pioneers could claim their first appearance. It will be fun for the young club, but I don’t see this being a historic series. 4-0 Kodiaks.

Heralds vs Neptune’s
It’s nice to see the Heralds in the second spot in the division after the drama around the city, but it’s time for playoffs and if any team creates an upset in the first round I think it be the Neptunes. Stats would tell me otherwise, but it’s not like we come here excited knowing that the top seed will win every time. Neptunes in 7

From there, I say the Captains and Kodiaks will meet in the finals after handling the Anchors and the Neptunes comfortably. Although the Kodiaks were crowned kings of the season, the Captains played in a division that was noticeably better  and still took home best +/-. With that said, I think my Kirk boys will bring the trophy back to the midnight mile for a second time in a series that goes to 6 games.

Steelman wrote:

FC Macbeth wrote:

After following the THL for a long time, I don't have a team to support.
Any teams to look out for, people?

Thanks for following along! As the series creator I'll weigh in a bit, but would definitely like to see what the fans think. I'll go alphabetically with a non-biased overview of each team right now. It's always interesting to me to see which teams people pick in a fictional universe because there are less ties to real life cities that tend to define our rooting interests. It seems like quite a few folks have chosen teams based on the fictional city identity rather than just the team logo/style which I think is cool. Torland has definitely developed into an almost-real place for me as I've been working on it and adding to it for several years now.

Personally, I typically choose between a variety of factors, usually starting with city identity but sometimes a cool logo and clean uniform set can take my eye (such as the Duluth Voyageurs in S30's MAHL).

CHASONNE HERALDS
Chasonne is your weird, eclectic musical, artistic city and the team vibes from that culture with the prominent use of Columbia blue among other things. Original franchise. Trying to make a another push with aging future hall of famers D Paul Kauffman and F Gary Wisniewski in tow.

FORT BEVIN ROCKETS
New guys on the block. Solid bold color scheme. Backed by the military, owned by a former Army Major. They want to establish a tough identity. Hometown kid forward Bernie Sharpe gets to captain the squad. Stoic bunch.

KAVALOS ELECTRICS
Far west expansion city. Kavalos is extremely diverse, very unique city. Atypical hockey town. New team wants speed and flash. Weird logo. Cool sleeve-length shoulder yokes. Young team in progress. F Sam Toivonen could be special.

KIRKENPORT CAPTAINS
The Kirk Boys are one-of-a-kind. The Midnight Mile is world-renowned. Don G is a brash owner. The Isle loves hard-hitting, nasty hockey even though the current squad features a blisteringly fast and potent offense. They're at the top of the food chain right now and looking to cash in. Never a dull moment in Kirkenport. F Keenan Draper, D Lauri Rikhard and G Gerry McKnight are studs.

KIRLOW KODIAKS
Kirlow is a hockey town through-and-through. Rabid fanbase. They lost a team once and don't want to do that again. They have a cool brown theme. They're actually named after a motorcycle. The Kodiaks are good right now. Real good. Pascal Brink is a star. Veteran defenseman Carey "Wags" Waggoners is one of the OG's of the THL.

NARVA NEPTUNES
The Crown City is a preppy, law-school city. But the Neps have the league's most tenacious defense and nobody looks forward to playing these guys in green and blue. They used to suck. Badly. The "Fleece" is part of league lore. Now they're tough mofo's with the likes of Gav Brankovic and George Gallenbeck manning the blue line.

PORT ALRENE ANCHORS
Considered half of the two marquee cornerstones, the Anchors are a mainstay with a resume to back it up. They have 3 chips in the trophy case and figured out a way to send hall of famer Gary Wiz packing and retool the squad into another Cup. Goalie Ferdy Haight is the best in the world. They have youth up front again and will be contenders still for awhile. Port Alrene is a tough harbor city with a raucous fanbase. They absolutely hate the Whales.

PORTARRA PIONEERS
They're new to the North Side of Portarra but the Pioneers are already crafting their own unique identity to their much older brothers. They've got some bright orange sweaters. A hard-ass coach, GM and owner and they want to win right away. Young defenseman Thomas Nelissen looks good.

PORTARRA WHALES
The other half of the league cornerstone, the Whales are the stabilizing force in the league. They're traditional, they're competitive, and do things the right way. They absolutely hate Port Alrene. Future hall of famer Anton O'Reilly is nearing retirement but the team has been able to retool on the fly and young forward Cal Capezzio is ready to carry the lunch pail. And they're coached by a father/son duo, Larry Weatherford and dad Al are on the bench.

TROWBURGH HERONS
The first team wasn't good. This time the financial center of Torland gets a bright, flashy team to root for. They've got lots of money and plenty of talent. Adam Oreskovich could go down as the best player of all time or the biggest bust in history. Lightning rod team with mercurial personalities. They'll be fun. They want to win quickly and might get there faster than critics believe.

YUBAY FALCONS
In the Sava Side of Yubay, things right now are not looking good despite a long history of success and some incredible games in the playoffs. They've got 3 Cups but things might get worse before it gets better. Geno Pasternak is a household name. The Falcons have a huge international following, particularly in the Euro/Asias. Hallmark franchise with a ton of pride and a blue-collar fanbase. They have a reputation for being clutch.

YUBAY GLACIERS
Sava's crosstown rivals in Niko Side are a different breed altogether. They had nearly instant success and scorched the earth for a couple of years while they racked up a couple of Cups. The fanbase is spoiled rotten from winning but generally good folks. Yubay is truly an incredible city with tons of ardent hockey followers. Peter Isaksson is the scoring star and former bad-boy MVP Joaquin Outlaw is on the blue line. They're the only team not to change their uniforms yet. Who knew a pizza slice could be so great?


There ya go. Hope that helps!

(I wrote this off the top of my head and I'm sick with the flu right now so hopefully all the facts are correct!)

Thanks, I'll consider these options sometime.

Since I hadn't made sigs for any of the new teams, I went ahead and did a full new batch style with bold looks. Here are the "73 Style" sigs for each team. I'd be happy to customize a specific look for any team as well if this style doesn't suit you.

Just want to stop by and say great work as always! The identities are amazing and things are really getting interesting with more teams. I'm looking forward to the postseason.

1973 PLAYOFFS

QUARTERFINALS

Willard Division

1 Kirkenport Captains vs 4 Portarra Whales (KRK wins 4-1)
In a surprisingly high-scoring series that excited the fans, the Captains weathered a 4-2 loss to the Whales in Game 3 as Gerry McKnight found his touch in a Game 5 shutout to advance.

2 Port Alrene Anchors vs 3 Yubay Glaciers (PA wins 4-1)
The big difference was indeed Ferdy Haight as he shut down the Glaciers attack. The Niko Siders made an attempt at a comeback after falling way behind in the series and couldn't match the intensity and speed of the Anchors.

Hatch Division

1 Kirlow Kodiaks vs 4 Portarra Pioneers (KIR wins 4-2)
The Pioneers looked completely overmatched in the first two games but then suddenly changed course and tied up the series in a 2-1 OT win at home. The Kodiaks came back with vengence in a 5-2 win and closed out the series in 6 games but the Pioneers certainly established some pride for their new team.

2 Chasonne Heralds vs 3 Narva Neptunes (CHA wins 4-1)
It was a tightly fought series but the Neptunes just didn't have the juice to survive multiple overtime games as the Heralds and Paul Kauffman showed razor sharp focus in the key moments.

SEMI-FINALS

Willard Division

1 Kirkenport Captains vs 2 Port Alrene Anchors
Both teams came out swinging in Game 1 but it was the Anchors who scored the KO, winning 2-3. In retaliation, Keenan Draper and the Captains gathered themselves and pulverized Haight 4-0 and proceed to blitz through Port Alrene for three more games to take the series by storm and a berth to the Marcotte Cup.

Hatch Division

1 Kirlow Kodiaks vs 2 Chasonne Heralds
In what was expected to be a close series, the Heralds seemed to lose the focus they'd had in the Quarterfinals and the Kodiaks seemed to be back in reality after their tough series against the Pioneers. Paul Kauffman played well but the team gave him very little support as Kirlow were led by stellar play from Pascal Brink and Carey Waggoners.


1973 MARCOTTE CUP CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

1 Kirlow Kodiaks vs 1 Kirkenport Captains
In a first-ever matchup of a pair of divisional 1-Seeds, the Kodiaks and Captains are very evenly matched as seen by their season standings, seemingly on a collision course all season. Kirlow's debilitating loss in the '72 Finals and the Kirk Boys razor-thin loss in seven against Port Alrene in the '72 Semis have both teams itching to find better success. Kirlow is looking to win the Cup for the first time while the Captains, after years of heartbreak and famously winning in 1971, are looking to break through again. Pundits are split on which team to pick as a winner and the series was a pick 'em in the betting circles. Due to their slightly better regular season record, the Kodiaks will have home ice advantage in the series.

Game 1: KRK 1 @ KIR 0 (OT) – Both teams seemed to be testing for weaknesses in a fast-paced but tight first game that went into overtime. Keenan Draper poked in the winner in a scramble in front of the net that incensed Kodiaks coach Sam Bennett but the call stood.

Game 2: KRK 2 @ KIR 0 – Gerry McKnight was in fine form, stopping every Kodiak shot on goal as he frustrated the offense of Pascal Brink and company. On the other side, both Draper and Wydra scored as the Kirk Boys took a two game lead.

Game 3: KIR 2 @ KRK 0 – The Kodiaks took back some momentum as Carey Waggoners and Jerry O'Reilly stifled the Captains and each scored as the forward units on both sides were silent.

Game 4: KIR 0 @ KRK 3 – Eager to win at home, the people of Kirk were treated to a brilliant hat trick by Keenan Draper who looked like a man on a mission as he seemed to skate circles around everyone. McKnight held on to a shutout as the Captains out-hustled the Kodiaks.

Game 5: KRK 1 @ KIR 2 (2OT) – Back in Kirlow and their backs against the wall, the Kodiaks broke out of their funk and both teams battled back and forth in a tightly fought war that went into two overtimes. Draper again scored for the Captains as he continued his torrid pace but Pascal Brink finally got onto the stats sheet with a goal and Marc Truong scored the winner.

Game 6: KIR 1 @ KRK 2 (OT) – Chris Wydra opened the game with a sizzling slapshot that froze Greg Kannell and put the Captains ahead early. The Kodiaks fought back however, with F Freddy Hoffmeyer finding a home for the equalizer late in the second period. As the action swung like a pendulum, it was a rocket off the stick of Keenan Draper midway through overtime that sealed the deal and propelled the Captains to their second Marcotte Cup. For his near historic postseason play Draper was awarded series MVP.

1973 Marcotte Cup Champions: Kirkenport Captains (2)

Up next: A disastrous offseason for the THL