Steelman Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 1940 Playoffs 1 New York vs 4 Philadelphia (4-3 New York) In what will assuredly go down in history as one of the all-time great playoff series, the inaugural playoff bout between New York and Philly was a fantastically thrilling start for the new league. It started with a 2-1 upset by Philadelphia in Game 1 as the usually slow paced Owls surprised the Knights by switching to a fast-paced attack in the first period and quickly scored two goals off of Neal Dahlheimer. The Owls pounced again in Game 2 as the wheels came off for Dahlheimer who allowed 4 goals and the Knights offense floundered mightily and couldn’t find the net. Suddenly down two games, Game 3 was a vicious affair as both teams battled back and forth. New York forward Tim Dahl scored the winning goal late in overtime to break a 2-2 tie and get the Knights back into the series. They followed it up with a 2-1 Game 4 win with star defenseman Erwin West scoring twice. Game 5 was a 1-0 win and another shutout by the Philly net tandem of Hatley and Henderson and put New York on the brink of elimination. The Knights responded with a shutout of their own, again breaking through late in overtime, this time a goal from wiley veteran F Paul Price. This set up the first winner-take-all Game 7 showdown and the tickets sold out within the day. Both goaltenders were razor sharp and with nobody able to score the game took on an even nastier tone as the both teams battled it out. It was late in the 3rd period when Paul Price again found his late game magic and smashed a long slapshot past Henderson for the series win. 2 Montreal vs 3 Detroit (4-2 Detroit) With owners Nelson and Wilson staring each other down from opposite sides of the benches, the Monarchs and the Lancers fed off the animosity and went to war with what a news outlet described as “breathtakingly brutal” hockey. The much-maligned Detroit netminder Craig McCrone rose to the occasion and outshined rookie phenom Mackley with a shutout while the Lancers offense scored twice, star forward Tony Minsi scoring and assisting on both, for the 2-0 Game 1 upset. McCrone continued the brilliance in Game 2 with his second consecutive shutout as the Lancers won 1-0 and jumped to a two game lead over the stunned Monarchs. The pendulum swung the other direction, however, as Mackley strung together consecutive shutouts of his own as the Monarchs posted a pair of 1-0 victories to even the series at two wins apiece. Game 5 was a lightning rod as the jawing from the owners trickled down to the players and coaches. Montreal forward Mitch Barber scored first on a beautiful piece of skating that left McCrone eating ice. Multiple fights broke out a few minutes later as the game grinded to a halt. The fracas seemed to calm the nerves of McCrone and the Lancers and they kept the Monarchs at bay as Minsi and Co scored twice to regain the series lead. That proved to be the pivotal point as the bruised and battered Monarchs didn’t put up much of a fight in Game 6 as McCrone posted his 3rd shutout of the playoffs and the Lancers won 2-0 to advance to the first UHA Finals. It was reported that Telly Wilson’s grin was miles wide as Graham Nelson slunk away. NELSON CUP: 1 New York vs 3 Detroit (4-1 Detroit) The first UHA Finals matchup between New York and Detroit was set and both teams felt good about their chances but New York’s hopes were quickly tempered as their high-flying offense ran into the buzzsaw of the razor sharp Craig McCrone in Game 1 as he posted his 4th playoff shutout and the Lancers scored a late goal to secure the first win of the first UHA Finals series. New York’s Tim Dahl scored first in Game 2 and the action went back and forth until the Lancers again scored a late goal to tie it up and send it to overtime. Minsi proved why he was one of the best forwards in the league as he rocketed a puck to the upper corner of the goal to secure their second win. Game 3 was identical, New York scoring early, Detroit tying late, but this time veteran F Paul Price pulled out the overtime win to give the Knights their first win in the Finals and restore hope in making a series comeback. Those hopes were short-lived however as McCrone masterminded yet another shutout in Game 4 as the Lancers won 1-0 behind a goal from rookie forward Bill Fanner. The frustrated New York offense scored quickly in Game 5 on a long slapshot by F Edwin Vaughan but the Detroit defense clamped down and scored two goals of their own, one by veteran Hollis Hartlip and one by young Morgan Koppen, to give the Detroit Lancers a 4-1 series victory and be the first team to hoist the Nelson Cup. The Finals MVP was awarded to goaltender Craig McCrone for his playoff brilliance. 1940 NELSON CUP CHAMPIONS: Detroit Lancers (1) 1940 UHA Awards Most Valuable: F Eli Lawton, CHI Best Forward: F Tony Minsi, DET Best Defender: D Erwin West, NY Best Goalie: G Leeroy Mackley, MON Best Youngster: F Troy Englehart, PHI Best Coach: Anderson Penny, NY 1940 All Gold Puck Team: G Leeroy Mackley, MON D Erwin West, NY D Tom Peterschmidt, CHI F Tony Minsi, DET F Eli Lawton, CHI F Mitch Barber, MON 1940 All Silver Puck Team: G Neal Dahlheimer, NY D Dom Isley, PHI D Clyde Van Lon, CHI F William Norbert, PHI F Virgil Brockmeyer, PHI F Tim Dahl, NY Fictional Baseball Series: Torland Star League Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darknes Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 I got one team right and my presumed Prediction went also wrong! Well congrats to the Lancers, curious to see how the league continues on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSO94 Posted November 12, 2016 Share Posted November 12, 2016 Detroit baby that's what I said from day one . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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