Congrats Narva!
Good for the Neptunes taking home the cup again. They have always been my back pocket team when the Kirk boys fail to come through, and it makes me happy to see the quiet team find all this success after years of really good performances. Seeing the finals graphic, it looks like an attractive series. The Anchors rolled out the new era design just in time and I have always loves the thick stripes on Narva. The Neptunes could really use a white outline around the "N" on the white jersey, their logo looks like a blob with how similar the shades are. The green and blue look gorgeous when they don't touch, but atrocious when they do directly. (You somehow found the new white and yellow for me) I hope Chasonne doesn't want that baby blue back, because this is the perfect opportunity for Narva to lighten their blue up a tad to make an untouchable and unique color scheme. 

Make Room for 2 More!
Abrieden, the city I should most connect with when it comes to city feel (until a suburban-sprawl tech city comes into play), is a nice addition to the THL, adding some diversity to the league. I like Larry Lamb and support him before the team even takes the ice. His antics and marketing touch will most definitely keep this team around, and even make them a favorite for stadium atmosphere. His love for what he puts his time into makes me hope this team is successful. The meaning behind the team name is great, somehow being the most humble way of naming a team after yourself. I'll say the logo is definitely the most intimidating in the league, and will most likely inspire some sweet mask art for the goalies who have the pleasure of playing for the Bucks. I think the team could have a great secondary if the face was removed, creating an "A" with antlers completing the horizontal line in the "A". The crest is a fun shape, but I think the logo could stand alone without it, maybe they should play with the idea on their light jersey. If the crest is removed it would give the main focus of the logo the opportunity to be bigger on the jersey. Since it inspired a fun team tradition I'm content with the pancake for now. Not much to say about the jerseys, they are classy and very traditional for a new team. The socks seem odd, but striping taking up a lot of space seems like a sock trend in Torland.

Quebel is a very interesting small market city to include in a market that I would think the Anchors have locked down. I am unsure about their future, but happily welcome them for the time being. I like the name because there is some creativity that can work off of it, but I am unsure of the forced stick and "Q" for the logo. I like the idea, but I think the logo would be so much stronger if we got to see that very nice symmetrical crusader under the stick. That helmet would be a very strong identity on its own, and the addition of a stick "Q" could be a nice secondary. Saying that, I think a lower case "q" with a stick coming off the bottom would be a very nice way to represent the small city with big time hockey aspirations. I like the blue set, but wish there was a little more to the white. The idea of striped cuffs looks very nice and certainly stands out in the league. The biggest disconnect visually is the inconsistency throughout the uniforms. I like the white/red/white on the sleeves, but the shoulders might look better just being white because there isn't more white to outline the red. I also wish the hem added that white/red/white, while the socks removed the space between the colors to continue that pattern. 


Congrats to Lomax and McKenna getting grabber in the draft, can't wait to see Lomax playing for KIR.

The Heralds have also become more tolerable! I like their new striping and colors a lot. I much prefer the banner over the previous logo. I have to say this might be the best they have ever looked. 

Lastly, Don Jr. has been around Caps hockey so long that he better know his city's brand of play. We will miss Don Sr., but I am sure he will be around in some capacity. He won't be able to stay away from his Kirk Boys for that long. I put forward the request of his name in the rafter and a farewell salute on opening night of the 1980 season. (With a nice promotional captains hat souvenir for the fans to commemorate the event)

Section30 wrote:

The Heralds just went from one of my least favorite looks in the league to one of the best. The new colors work way better and the striping is naughty.

Naughty striping. I'm still laughing about that. Best compliment I've ever received. 

dvdbubba27 wrote:

Good luck, Junior, and props to Von Wentz on an amazing career. I can't wait for the Falcons to raise #33 to its rightful place in the Yertas Arena rafters, and I know for a fact that the Hall of Fame will be calling his name very soon. I would also like to congratulate Lou D'Angelo on becoming the eleventh person to go into the Hall of Fame - and, yes, I have been keeping count.

And on behalf of all of my fellow Kirk Boys - thank you, Don G, for all of your tireless service to the Kirkenport Captains hockey club, to the City of Kirkenport, to the Isle of Kirk, to the State of the Alrene Isles, and to the Republic of Torland. (Is that the right name?) Running a sports team, let alone a major league sports team, is a thankless job, and he has done a fine job these last 19 years. The Isle will always cherish the 3 Marcotte Cups we have won over the last 19 years, and I hope retirement treats him well.

​Wentz will almost certainly be first ballot in his first year of eligibility which would be the class of '81, as the Hall of Fame is working on two year cycles. I don't think the Falcons will wait that long to officially retire his number and hang it in the rafters though. 

Don G is a living hero in Kirkenport, so I don't imagine he'll disappear much from the public eye.

Yes, I generally refer to it as the Republic of Torland, though that's subject to change when I fine-tune the political landscape of Torland. Especially for the 80's with various civil rights movements. Torland does have a 4-party political system though.

ThisIsFine wrote:

I’ll take a Whales/Kings double sig, please.

​I've got this on the queue. I may hold off for a season to see how the UHA plays out though.

AJHFTW wrote:

Chasonne Heralds new set looks classy, got the right numbers of stripes for both arms and hem, and the colours are excellent it fits with the logo nicely. Nice work.

Thanks! I really like how it turned it out myself.

Stickman wrote:

Awesome job with the new Heralds jerseys!  I'd have to look at them all, but this actually might be my favorite yet!

I was hoping some of the resident Heralds fans would like them, so I'm glad to hear that.

Will this continue?

Rugrat wrote:

Will this continue?

Steelman last posted in this, his topic, 4 days ago. If the people running these stories rush to get out their story, they'll likely not be as good.

1979 THL REGULAR SEASON


In their first games as THL franchises, the Bucks were greeted by a 3-0 shutout from the Glaciers while the Crusaders hit a brick wall against Guilden losing 4-1. The Glaciers jumped out to an early league lead behind stingy netminding by Tim Sagendorf who won his first Best Goalie award. The team surged to the top of the standings and held put through the season as Pekka Jokinen and Co were an offensive juggernaut. Across the river in Sava Side, the Falcons saw a revival with Geno Pasternak looking like a younger version of himself as he led the league in scoring. The Falcons' plan of speed around Pasternak seemed to pay dividends as they took home their first division title and Geno added several more pieces of hardware to his collection. Truly an incredible season for the 36 year old Russian center. With both sides of Yubay atop their divisions, they feel like the teams to beat.

The defending champs in Narva struggled at times throughout the season but the veteran leadership of the team helped keep them in the hunt as Kris Kotulak and Gav Brankovic led the way. Just behind them, the Pioneers made a big jump in the standings as the talent on their roster began to mature. With forward Jonathan Walker now firmly in the lead dog position on offense, the rest of the team fed off his quiet and focused energy to 122 points and a #3 seed. The defense was solid with Thomas Nelissen making life easy for Adrian Petrov in goal.

The hottest team in the league is also the biggest surprise as the Guilden Barbarians went on a rampage in the last week of the season to overtake the Whales and Herons to notch their first playoff birth in franchise history. Oft-injured forward John Jurski had a full season and caught fire late on a top line with Lorenz Laduca and Alvin Yaquinto, propelling him to a Most Improved award. With defenseman Gil Van Nuland also registering the first All-Star selection in the franchise, it was rookie goaltender “Large Arlie” Lozano who made the biggest splash. Wearing his signature double 8's, Lozano's gregarious personality and wild play style seemed to inspire the Barbarians and their fan base to new heights for the young franchise.

Scoring around the league was up due in no small part to the hapless Abrieden Bucks. The squad gave up 300 goals to make a new league record. The team decided not to take itself too seriously and focused on providing a fun and entertaining product on the ice in something of an innovative approach to a brand new team getting their feet wet in the pros. Pundits panned it as juvenile but team owner Larry Lamb spearheaded the approach after seeing failures in Trowburgh and Lecayne and other places. The Clarenrane Arena was full capacity for the majority of the season as fans got to experience games on the bench with the players, draw up plays and even participate in locker room activities between periods and attend concerts from hot ticket artists after each game. Every weekend the team would hold open on-ice tryouts with some of the players for the fans before the game which became a hit. And of course, the Pancake Toss became a cult classic. Quite a few league rules were broken but Commissioner Hatch let it slide due to desperately wanting to maintain their new market.

Fellow expansion team the Quebel Crusaders took a much more serious approach. They finished last in the division and last in the league in goals scored but still put up a quality effort and the team defense was relatively strong as rookie D Bram Vandergert led the way. The Saints saw an abysmal effort in goal by Reed Darling waste a potentially good season of team growth and the net will be a position of focus in the offseason. The Heralds, with rookie sensation Gian Guiliano, saw improvements all around as the young team began to gel. Chasonne feels they're only a few pieces away from contention now. The Electrics had a disappointing season that fell shy of the playoffs. Their no-name team-first style was easily thwarted with no lead scoring options as the Kavs couldn't find enough firepower to overtake the Kodiaks, who managed to break through their own struggles. Kirlow wasn't tight as a team, and the defense was lacking chemistry, but the squad was just feisty enough with Pascal Brink to squeak ahead of the pack for the #4 seed.


Always seemingly matched, the Anchors and Whales both struggled. The Anchors in particular seemed to fall off a cliff as the age of their roster caught up to them. Dimitri Ranko did his best but with Paul Kauffman and even Ferdy Haight in a downward slump, it wasn't enough. Portarra's Cal Capezzio had a nice scoring season but the aging legs of Shane Galbraith and Maxwell Blunt faltered late as Guilden leapfrogged them. The Herons had some nice stretches during the season but were mirrored by several stretches of bad play as the team was a roller-coaster. Still, with so many young players the team focused on fundamental development with an eye toward the future.

Neck-and-neck in the Willard was the Rockets and Captains who both finished with 129 points in the standings. In a point of contention, the Rockets grabbed the #2 seed and home ice based on an old vaguely-worded tiebreaking rule that allowed Fort Bevin to be listed ahead based on the difference of a single goal in the differential, despite the Kirk Boys having logged one more win than the Rockets. It's a rule sure to be visited in the offseason. Fort Bevin's Pat Ossola was brilliant, taking home the Best Defenseman as Kevin Korycki and squad were a tough team all around. The Captains saw bounceback seasons from nearly everyone on the roster, particularly Keenan Draper and Gerry McKnight. In what could be a final run for this veteran group, it was a point of pride from soon-to-retire Don Giordano that his guys still had some life left in them.

Playoff Preview

Glaciers vs Barbarians
The reward for a first playoff birth is a date with the juggernaut in Niko Side. Will the Barbarians' wild ride continue or will the Glaciers snuff it out?

Rockets vs Captains
These teams are about as evenly-matched as it gets. The Rockets have slightly better defense. The Captains have slightly better scoring. The teams were just 1 point apart in their season differential. Both teams are hot. It's a true pick 'em.

Falcons vs Kodiaks
The Falcons are flying high again with Geno and Company. The Kodiaks have snuck into the playoffs but have a veteran group. Will Sava Side soar or will Kirlow prevail?

Neptunes vs Pioneers
The champs are back in the dance and want to prove they're still the best. The upstart Pioneers are ready to shed their rebuilding label. Will Narva show their metal or will the boys in orange blaze a new trail?


C&C appreciated on a wild season!

Up Next: UHA season and THL playoffs