Strat Cup, Game 3 (Part 2)

I won't bury the lede: The Victorias are Strat Cup champions for the second year in a row.

The full story is a bit more complicated. Before the second period closed out, Blair Russell scored to pull the Comets within one. In the third, both goaltenders were tested but did not yield another goal; Bowse Hutton in particular was outstanding, finishing with 40 saves on 42 shots. His performance was overshadowed by a couple of penalty calls late in the game. With the Vics clinging to a 3-2 lead and the clock ticking away, Marty Walsh was called for a penalty. Then, with less than a minute to go in regulation, Taylor was sent to the box. The game mechanics don't account for context, so these penalties -- incurred in the waning moments of the game with the offending team maintaining a one-goal lead and on the verge of winning a championship -- strike me as a bit unrealistic. Walsh and Taylor are not, in game terms, penalty-prone players, and one would think they'd be on their best behavior in that situation anyway. No one wants to be the guy who cost his team the title because he took a bone-headed penalty at the end of the game. 

As such, the last few minutes were kind of unsatisfying in how they turned out. I don't think it's worth winding back the clock to replay the second half of the third period in the hope of obtaining a more realistic outcome, however, so I'll just imagine the home team's fans raining boos and insults upon the referees and then erupting in exultation when their team kills off back-to-back penalties to seal the win.

I'll have more to say about Season 2 after I digest the stats. For now, congrats to the Victorias -- the first dynasty of my little historical hockey league!