Thank the Scheduling Gods!

Creating the schedule for a professional sports league is a herculean task; for my five-team Strat-O-Matic hockey league, however, the scheduling is essentially random. When I generated the Season 4 schedule, I plugged in the team names without giving much thought to who was playing whom and when. I certainly had no way of knowing that the Victorias and the Bulldogs -- last year's third- and fourth-place teams -- would improve so dramatically and dominate the other three franchises. I also had no way of knowing that first place in the regular-season standings -- and an automatic berth in the Creighton Cup Finals -- would come down to a Vics/Dogs matchup in the former team's final game of the season and the latter's penultimate game. 

But here we are! Tonight the top teams of Season 4 squared off for the fourth time this year. Historically, the Vics have owned the Bulldogs, and came into this contest with a record of 1-0-2 against their favorite foes here in Season 4. (A quick check reveals that the Bulldogs had defeated the Vics only twice in 17 prior regular-season and playoff games.) 

Phat Wilson and Bruce Stuart traded goals in the first, and then the Vics' Marty Walsh tallied on the power play in the second to put his team up by a goal. The stage was set for a wild third period. Tommy Dunderdale tied it moments into the final frame, with assists going to Gord Roberts and Jack Laviolette, both of whom had assisted on Stuart's earlier goal. Cyclone Taylor had assisted on both goals for the Vics, so the race for the league scoring title will come down to either Roberts or Taylor. Laviolette, meanwhile, continued his march toward setting a single-season plus/minus record; not only is Laviolette the strong frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, he's also giving Taylor a run for his money as both men vie for the Defenseman MVP trophy.

With the score knotted at two apiece, the Vics knew that a tie would secure first place. Even so, they pressed the attack and made an emphatic statement late in the third. Dubbie Bowie set up rookie Harry Hyland for the go-ahead goal, and then Bowie fed Taylor a moment later for a strike that sealed a 4-2 win. The Dogs must now face the third-place team (either the Thistles or the Comets, as the expansion Millionaires have already been eliminated) if they're to join the Vics in the Creighton Cup Finals. As for the Vics, they can rest easy for a few days, admiring their astounding 13-2-3 all-time record against the Bulldogs.