PHL Season 1 Week 2 Pro Division Recap
Week 2 Pro Division Recap
Welcome back to The Wrenport! Thank you to everybody who reached out to me asking questions and giving suggestions following the first release. I’m glad that this was welcomed with open arms. We are only scraping the surface of the potential for The Wrenport and before long we will have more engaging content for this wonderful community. With the help of Catie We will be looking to move The Wrenport to a dedicated Blogger.com page. Until that is finished this is how I will be releasing the articles. Without further adieu, Week 2 of the Pro Division.
Tuesday May 6th 2025
Red Deer Caribous V.S Halifax Hooks
The Caribous look to fight back after a tough week 1 as they take on The Hooks who hope to claw up the rankings in the close race for top of the standings early in the season.
Game 1
Game 1 saw the winless Caribous once again fall short of a win as the Hooks collect this one 2-1.
Bubba (1g, 1a), Owl (1g, 1a), and Bojarzin (2a) connect for both of the goals that lifted The Hooks to this victory. 6th round pick substitute Crow drew into the lineup for his debut but unfortunately for him was held off of the score sheet. Crowbar grabs his 3rd win in his 5th start of the season.
Kiwi (1g) gets the lone goal for the Caribous assisted by Canada Karl (1a) & pk (1a) with Oihwef being held off of the board. Goaltender BigLar got his first start of the season but was left waiting for his first win.
Game 2
The Caribou can celebrate at last as they pull together a win in the second game taking a 2-0 victory over the Hooks.
Captain Canada Carl (2g) leads his team to the victory with a 2 goal performance with Oihwef (2a) assisting on both goals. Pk (1a) & Kiwi (1a) assist one goal each and TheGoldTrader gets his first win of the season in his 5th start.
The Hooks were feeling the absence of Dalfan in this one as they struggled to get the offense going, unable to solve TheGoldTrader. No lineup changes were made for the Hooks so Owl, Bubba, Bojarzin, Crow took the ice with Crowbar in net.
Calabasas Camel Crushers V.S Philadelphia Liberty
The Camel Crushers were the only team that was able to stop the rolling Beavers in week 1. They hope to take that confidence into this matchup against the Liberty and their red hot goalie Zebra who leads the league with 3 shutouts so far this season.
Game 1
The Camel Crushers came out flying in this first game, capturing a 3-0 victory against the Liberty who couldn’t solve goaltender Grip.
MikeThrowdano made a lineup change for this game pulling himself from the game in favor of V (2g) who makes his season debut picking up 2 goals in the victory. Glen (2a) and Jabba (1g, 1a) both get a pair of points while Trev (1a ensures that everybody on the ice gets on the scoreboard. This includes Grip (2a) who gets the first multipoint game for any goalie in the PHL with a 2 assist performance.
The Liberty were held off the scoresheet for the first time this season, Kapanen, Tony Flow, Rezy, and Toaster drew into their collective 5th game consecutively with Zebra between the pipes but couldn’t get anything going offensively.
Game 2
Game 2 was a different story entirely as the Liberty flipped the script on the Camel Crushers with the second game in a row ending 3-0 this time in favor of the Liberty.
V pulled into his second game as Captain MikeThrowdano rewarded him for his strong first game performance but offense dried up for his squad in this one. Glen, Jabba, Trev laced up their skates alongside V with Grip in net again.
The Liberty fought back after a tough 3-0 loss in game one and turned this one in their favor. Captain Kapanen (2g, 1a) and Rezy (3a) led the way for their team offensively. Tony Flow (1g, 1a) and Toaster (1a) found their way into some points as well and Zebra bounces back from his first game giving up more than 2 goals to collect his league leading 4th shutout of the season in 6 games.
Thursday May 8th 2025
Albany Beavers V.S Bloomington Wild
The Beavers and Wild duke it out for the first time this season after finishing week 1 tied in points for top of the division. The Wild might have their work cut out for them against the high scoring Beavers as they look to defend their unbeaten in regulation streak of 4 games.
Game 1
Game 1 of this top tethered matchup went the way of the Beaver as they took a controlling 3-0 win against the Wild.
No surprises for the Beavers lineup as captain Meatsale (3a) Hijinx (3g) led the way offensively, connecting on every one of Hijinx’s first hat trick of the season. Hijinx Drafted as the 1st substitute and backup goalie is quickly cementing himself as a potential mainstay in this lineup as he draws into his 5th game playing in every contest so far. Chad (2a) and Car (1a) get involved as well as everybody except for goalie Yeesh (Who gets his 5th win) get on the scorecard.
Every starter has played every game so far for the Wild and nothing is different this time around as Lumalee, DickiePecker, Owen & Mat line up for their 5th game in a row together. Sleepi gets her 5th start but unfortunately they lose their first game in regulation on the season.
Game 2
The Beavers aim to double down as the Wild try to fight back but it's not enough as they fall 1-0 failing to score for the second game in a row as the Beavers get some breathing room at the top of the leaderboard taking 6 points in the matchup.
Hijinx (1g) builds off of his first game hat tricks and scores his 4th goal of the matchup scoring every one of The Beavers goals. Meatsale (1a) and Chad (1a) assist on the lone goal as Car is held off the scorecard, Yeesh collects his 5th win of the season.
Captain Lumalee and the Wild opt for the same lineup after the first game shut out and unfortunately for them can’t solve Yeesh as they fall, losing both games without a goal.
Albany Beavers V.S Calabasas Camel Crushers
Playing their 3rd and 4th game on the day the Beavers look to widen the gap between them at the top of the leaderboard and the rest of the league. Meanwhile the Camel Crushers look to find their footing in this tough league and grind out a few wins against the top seed team.
Game 1
The Beavers can’t be stopped as they take their 3rd straight shutout, taking the win 2-0 as the Camel Crushers get shut out for the 4th time this season.
Meatsale (1g, 1a) find his way back into the goal column as Car (1g,1a) and Hijinx (2a) all gather 2 points a piece with Chad pointless in the game and Yeesh grabs his 6th win in 7 starts and 3rd straight shut out.
Captain MikeThrowdano is once again playing the role of bench boss as he opts to play V over himself for the 3rd game in a row. Trev, Jabba & Glensky alongside him and John playing his 3rd game of the season after backup goalie Grip saw the last few games.
Game 2
Game 2 was a close affair as the Camel Crushers battled hard following being shut out in the last game. This game was settled in overtime with the Beavers taking the win 3-2 finishing their week with 11 of the 12 possible points
Meatsale (3g) was reminded in the previous game how much he loves to score so he decided to do it 3 times this game collecting his second hattrick of the season. Hijinx (3a) caps off a very successful week with another 3 point night while Chad (1a) and Car (1a) each grab a helper. Yeesh (1a) gets his 3rd assist of the season while he grabs his 7th win of the season.
Same lineup for the Camel Crushers apart from giving Grip his 5th start of the season. Glensky (2g) & Jabba (2a) link up for both goals on the night as V (1a) grabs an assist but it isn't enough to push them over the edge as they walk away with the single consolation point.
Philadelphia Liberty V.S Halifax Hooks
Penultimate matchup of week 2 sees the Hooks take on the Liberty, both teams hoping to finish their week strong and stay in the race for top of the league.
Game 1
Game 1 was a nail biter as the Hooks managed to squeak out a narrow 1-0 victory against the Liberty.
Bojarzin (1g) gave the Hooks the winning goal assisted by Dalfan (1a) & substitute player Maus as he got the start in favor of Bubba. Captain TheLittleOwl was in the game but was held off the score sheet and Crowbar collected his third shutout of the season.
The Liberty who typically score goals in plenty get shut out for the second time this week. Playing their 7th straight game together Kapanen, Tony Flow, Rezy & Toaster took the ice with Zebra in net but despite their efforts Crowbar shut the door keeping all of them off the scoreboard.
Game 2
Game 2 was a completely different story as the Liberty took command and went back to their high scoring tendencies as the Hooks failed to maintain the shutout defense from the game previous, losing 4-1.
Kapanen (2g, 2a) & Toaster (2g,1a) collect the teams 4 goals with Tony Flow (2a) and Rezy (2a) picking up a pair of helpers. Crowbar (1a) finds his way into the assist column as well as he grabs another 1 GA win, bouncing back nicely with only 2 goals against since the teams 3-0 loss to the Camel Crushers earlier in the week.
Low scoring games have been the bread and butter for the Hooks so far this season, and that was not this game. Maus (1g) scores the lone goal for the Hooks assisted by Dalfan (1a) & Bojarzin as TheLittleOwl is held off of the scoresheet for the second game in a row.
Bloomington Wild V.S Red Deer Caribous
The final matchup of week 2 brings us the Caribous who are hungry for their second win coming off of a 2-0 shutout victory against the Hooks. Meanwhile the Wild are seeking a bounce back couple of games after being shut out by the Beavers in both of the games previous.
Game 1
Game one was a back and forth affair needing extra time to find the conclusion. The Caribous find the back of the net in the end and take the game 2-1 collecting their second win, this one in overtime.
Kiwi (1g, 1a) & pk (1g, 1a) are the goal scorers for the Caribous in this victory. Pk getting his first goal of the season. Canada Karl (1a) & Oihwef (1a) both getting an assist and BigLar gets his second start and first win of the season.
The Wild didn’t have the firepower to win this one but the one goal they did get was scored by Owen (1g) assisted by Lumalee (1a) & Mat (1a). DickiePecker did not get a point in this one. Sleepi loses her third game in a row but it's hard to win without the run support as the Wild has scored just 1 goal in their last 3 games.
Game 2
Final game of the matchup and final game of Pro Division week 2 brings us a 3-2 final seeing the Wild manage to edge out the Caribous grabbing their first win and third point of the week.
Owen (3g) took the teams goal scoring woes into his own hands picking up a hat trick on the night. Lumalee (2a), DickiePecker (2a) & Mat (2a) all pick up a pair of apples and Sleepi avoids a 4th straight loss as she holds the Caribous to just a pair of goals in the win.
A pair of goals by Kiwi (2g) assisted by Canada Karl (2a) & Oihwef (1a) is not enough this time around as their week comes to an end with a loss. Pk started but was held to 0 points in the game and BigLar gets his second straight start but came up short from his second consecutive win.
Quotes From The Captains
What potential weaknesses do you plan on working through with your team to prepare for the playoffs?
Kapanen “in most instances of a team based sport. But basically in these leagues you don’t really stray from your core 5 basically ever because chemistry is so important”
MikeThrowdano “I think we're in a good spot where every player on our team is playing in a role they are completely comfortable playing, it's just coming down to getting the reps in together and breaking the old habits.”
What team is the biggest surprise to you as of this point in the season?
Kapanen “Red Deer”
MikeThrowdano “I'd probably say BLW. Owen is developing incredibly well, and he has 3 insanely smart and talented players around him to really push him to the next level. Excited to see how good he gets throughout the season”
How do you handle trying to decide when to use a substitute player over a starter?
Kapanen “in most instances of a team based sport. But basically in these leagues you don’t really stray from your core 5 basically ever because chemistry is so important.”
MikeThrowdano “We are in a unique situation where most of us fit into most roles and can adjust based on people missing games. When I drafted this team, I was more focused on ambiguity than raw skill, and it allowed us to run multiple different setups to see what works best for us. As of right now, I think we're in a great position with the entire roster, where it feels like anyone can fill in when needed. We try to use our starters based on the draft, and I drafted based on play time. The ones willing to work the hardest, and spend the most time, are generally the ones playing the games”
League Trends
Zebra Continues to be the only goalie in the league with a GAA <1 with a 0.875
Meatsale & Hijinx lead the week in points both of them getting 9 points in 4 games
The Wild & The Liberty have not had a player outside of their starters play for the second week in a row
Grip is the only goalie with a multi point game & leads goalies in ppg with a 0.6 PPG
Crow & Style are the only players who have played more than one game who doesn’t have a point.
Hijinx continues to lead players drafted as a sub in points.
This has been the weekly Wrenport for week 2. For any comments, questions or ideas about how to improve this weekly column please reach out to me on discord. You’ll find me as Wren in the PHL official discord server.
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