The Canadian National Fantasy Hockey League

The team with a trace of GM Buckley's involvement bowed to the one that he stewards full-time. The Jasper Mountaineers swept the Toronto Tigers to win the Season 15 championship and give the team its first championship since moving from Lunenberg, NS to the west and renaming themselves from the Whalers. A great season 15 to all teams, we'll take a short break while I get school and work in order again (last term coming up) and then we'll head into the offseason activities.

The Commish.

It is officially an all Buckley final. The Mountaineers are currently led by GM Buckley and that same GM constructed and operated the Tigers for several seasons’ right up to the beginning of this season. This year a new GM took over the Tigers only to leave after a few short weeks but the team is 100% intact from last season when Buckley managed all hockey operations. In essence this is a series matching the Mountaineers built by Buckley against the Tigers also built by Buckley.

The Jasper Mountaineers for the second consecutive round have swept there playoff opponent. The dominating offensive display and sensational goaltending by Pelle Linbergh has been the difference. Lindbergh is 8-0 this playoffs with an astounding 1.37 GAA and a .948 save percentage including 1 shut out. Head coach Walter Kingston is thrilled to be in the Conference Finals with a few additional rest days. “We are healthy for now and finishing an opponent quickly is important, we accomplished that now on to the next round.

Montreal was the best team in the CNFHL this year but seven playoff games later they are asking what when wrong? The team just could not connect enough positive minutes and when they needed a save it just didn’t happen. The team exceeded every expectation this season and the future looks bright but at the moment players, coaches and fans are all left disappointed.

Jasper has disposed of the Horsemen in four straight games something no one thought was possible. The Mountaineers came out flying scoring 3 goals on 17 shots in the first period. The Horsemen were under siege from the drop of the puck and never really recovered losing 4-2.

Today Jasper sits on the verge of a sweep in a series many felt might go 6 or 7 games. How did this happen? Mountaineers head coach Walter Kingston didn’t give away any secrets and is focused on simple hockey. “We knew heading into this series the Horsemen had world class goaltending, are deep at center and balanced on defense. Our plan has been simple, attack the wing positions and really use our speed to push the 3rd and 4th lines. The Horsemen have 2 great lines and 2 lines that have some gaps; the plan as I said was simple.

In-term GM vs. In-term GM. May the best in-tem GM win. The Thunder are have experienced a miracle season and that should continue in an easy 4-1 series victory. This comes down to pure offence, the Thunder have it and the Chevs wish they did. I acknowledge the Chevs have a talented defense and goaltender but at forward the Thunder is far superior. The Thunder is loaded with tough scrappy players that will test the depth and grittiness of a Chevalier team that just squeaked into the playoffs.

This could be the most exciting match up in the first round. These teams have long histories in the CNFHL and know each other well. What does it all mean? Based on the regular season stats the Mountaineers are serious underdogs. The Horsemen have scored more goals and allowed a lot less throughout the season compared to the Mountaineers. Injuries have plagued both teams right now and that many not change as the series advances. Mountaineers captain Billy Jags feels his team has a chance despite the odds makers.

Montreal has waited a long time for something to cheer about and this Miracle season has delivered in a big way. The Montreal Thunder defied gravity this season going from a team most predicted to struggle just making the playoffs to an elite club. I asked head coach Mark Vandzura who should be a coach of the year candidate what was the difference this season? “We had a great in-term GM. He made some changes bringing in Buckley, Bauer, Brown, Scriver, Kerrey, Dumont, Cambell, Wiggin, Cartman, Coyle, Blaeser, Gilbert, and Cologan among others.