Wild (Card) Finish

Incorporating the wild-card format turned out to be a great decision. Without it, the Vics and Bulldogs would have punched their tickets to the Creighton Cup Finals weeks ago, leaving the other three teams to play out a bunch of meaningless games. Instead, the remaining teams all had a shot at a wild-card berth. Although the Millionaires were eliminated from contention in their penultimate contest, the Thistles and Comets met in their respective final games with a playoff spot hanging in the balance. The Thistles would clinch with a win or a tie, while the Comets needed to win outright. 

It was a heated affair from the first minute of the game, when the Comets' Blair Russell took down MVP candidate Alf Smith. Of course, the Strat-O-Matic game system has no way of knowing the emotions that real-life players would feel in this high-stakes game, but it was a cool coincidence that my Action Deck draws resulted in all sorts of aggression and mayhem. There were five penalties in the first period alone! 

The teams traded power-play goals in the first, with the legendary Frank McGee scoring for the Comets and captain Tommy Phillips for the Thistles. Alf Smith gave the Thistles a 2-1 lead in the second; that strike was his sixteenth of the year, tying him for the second-most goals ever scored in a single season. It's probably not enough to push him past Gord Roberts for Forward MVP, but it was certainly a memorable season for the rugged winger. In the third, Mike Grant blasted a slap shot on the power play to tie the game at two. For the Comets, however, a tie would still end their season. They tried to keep up the pressure, but the Thistles would not relent. The game ended in a draw, and thus the Thistles claimed the second wild card. They'll face the Bulldogs for the right to battle the Vics in the Creighton Cup Finals. 

There's only one more game left in the regular season (the Millionaires hosting the Bulldogs in a game that matters only for individual stats but with no playoff implications), and afterwards I plan to take a little break before beginning the postseason. I need to catch my breath -- Season 4 has been a blast!