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Div 1 [VMSL Div 1] Predictions, Results & Banter 2017/2018

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Canucks4Ever

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Originally scheduled as the penultimate week on the schedule before cup play interfered, most teams will have just two games remaining after this week. This could finally be a decisive Match Day as NorVan Lions can clinch the title, Guildford can put themselves on the precipice of promotion and we may have our first confirmed relegated team. Let's see how it all unfolds!

Completely Baseless Predicitions for Week 21:

Binger's Army v NorVan Storm
The great escape is nearly complete for the Army. After looking like major relegation candidates after a pair of devastating losses to currently relegation placed Richmond and GN North Delta, Bingers have won three league games in a row, including a possibly promotion altering 2-1 defeat of Columbus two weeks ago. Another win for the Army would put them on 22 points which all but guarantees safety as the teams below them would have to just about win out to pass them. The veteran Vancouver boys won't want to leave things too late with tough games against Metro Athletic and NorVan Storms cousins, the league leading Lions, still to be played. Life will certainly be much easier simply coasting to the finish line if they can pick up the points here. NorVan are sitting on 23 points and could see themselves mathematically confirmed safe even with a loss, if other results go their way. A win would do it for sure, but after crashing out of the Imperial Cup in humbling fashion with a 6-1 loss to Premier Coquitlam, perhaps the Storm are ready for the offseason. In stark contrast to fighting for promotion in Division 2 or battling it out for the Division 2 Cup, NorVan are learning that the reality of Division 1, while it brings a higher level of competition, means an early summer for many clubs. These two drew in their other meeting and there is surely good odds on thing finishing level again in this one. Bingers, however, are likely still a little bit nervy of the drop and, as such, I expect them to find an extra gear against a team that might just have better things to do on a, probably, wet Wednesday night.

Guildford v Columbus
MOTW and likely Match of the Season as well. This one is pretty much for all the marbles. After seemingly seizing control of the promotion race, Columbus have let things slip, failing to win either of their previous two league outings. A disappointing 0-0 at home to mid-table and newly promoted NorVan Storm was followed up with a devastating loss to relegation threatened Binger's Army. If those results were meant to knock the fighting spirit out of the Italians, it seemingly did not, as they responded by beating Premier EDC in the Imperial Cup last time out. Guildford took their opportunity to pounce on the struggles of Columbus and have ridden six straight league wins to wrestle the upper hand in the promotion race away from Columbus. They opted for a different strategy in the Imperial Cup, resting several players and slumping to a decisive defeat at the hands of Metro Athletic. Guildford also have discipline issues this week with influential Iwan Jeckanski, son of head coach Sasa, and goalkeeper Devan Nagra suspended. If the Surrey boys can win this one it will mean that they need only one win from their final three games, or another Columbus loss to confirm their promotion. Indeed even a draw would leave them in good stead as they would need only four points from their final three games to guarantee at least a sudden death promotion playoff. So it is essentially a must win for Columbus. Even if they come away with the three points, the East Van boys will need Guildford to drop points again before the end of the season in order to have a chance to go up. However, the Surrey boys still have to play league leaders NorVan Lions and that fixture would certainly loom large if Guildford needed to get a win from it. Indeed the parallels are similar to when Guildford traveled to Empire back in November and Columbus effectively needed a win or else they would be cut adrift from the, at that time, four team promotion battle. On that day Columbus showed their pedigree, flying out to a 4-0 lead before half time and then comfortably seeing the game out. Guildford have yet to show that level of ability to find a result when they absolutely must have one and now would be impeccable timing for an indelible moment in the history of their club. They expected to go straight to Premier when they debuted in the VMSL open divisions three seasons ago, but it has been two campaigns of disappointment and tough lessons to learn up until now. Can they seize this moment? It will be fascinating to find out. For my money I will take the veterans, based on the fact that they have done this before and the fact that Guildford have wilted time and again under pressure.

Romania v Rino's Fury
The "Who Cares?" game of the week has Rino's against Romania on Saturday. Neither team is technically mathematically safe from relegation, but, realistically, both are just running out the clock on the season. Romania have not looked like giving a damn since the start of December when they were the first team to take a point of league leaders NorVan Lions. That was the last time that they came away with anything other than a loss and, even with another loss this weekend, they could have their place confirmed for next season if other results go their way. Rino's are buzzing, fresh off dispatching their nemesis Westside from the Imperial Cup last weekend. While they may not be as up for this one, or be fielding as strong a side, they are the one of these two teams that could really use the points. A win coupled with other results and it will be job done, but a loss and other results going against them could all of a sudden things might getting a little hot under the collar. Following up an Imperial Cup upset with a shock last minute relegation would be calamitous, so expect the Rino's boys to be slightly more motived this weekend.

GN North Delta v Metro Athletic
The last minute great escape act for GN is just about up. After an abysmal start that nearly saw them laughed right out of the league, North Delta showed some fight back in the second half of the season and managed to keep their survival hopes on life support with back to back win against relegation rivals Bingers and Richmond to start 2018. However, their inadequacies have been laid bare once more over their last two games, losing by a combined total of 8-3. Another loss this week takes automatic survival mathematically off the table leaving with the minuscule chance of a relegation playoff as their only hope of survival. Metro officially have nothing to play for, unable to go up or down, so there is a small chance that they struggle to find the motivation to trek out to North Delta. That being said, the way they approached their Imperial Cup tie with Guildford indicates that they have no qualms with playing for pride and I would also wager that they are wanting to ensure their finish above their local rivals, and fellow newly promoted team, Burnaby Selects White Eagles. The two are currently level on points and tied for fourth place, which means Burnaby will want to ensure they bank all the spoils against the league's bottom side. Given GN's overall form this season, I would expect them to do so.

NorVan Lions v Richmond Royals
It's coronation time on the North Shore. The NorVan boys may actually be crowned Champions Friday night if Guildford fail to beat Columbus, but, if not, then one more win at home to Richmond will do the trick. Few have threatened the Lions this season, with only a single draw and loss to their name this year, so they will be expectant of yet another victory before launching into celebration mode. The game also presents NorVan's leading scorer Will Kendal with a chance to pad his stats as he looks to chase down Columbus veteran Steve Deblasio in the Golden Boot race. Deblasio currently has the edge with 22 goals to Kendall's 20 with just three games left to be played each. Richmond are really starting to face the reality of relegation and desperately need to put some points on the board. Maybe if NorVan are already confirmed as league winners the Royals will be in with a shout at a point or maybe even all three. Otherwise, it is hard to see how NorVan won't be motivated to put this one away at the first time of asking.

Burnaby Selects White Eagles v GN Sporting
After looking like they had finally figured this whole Division 1 thing out this season, GN find themselves precisely where they finished last season: on the very edge of relegation. Most concerning is the fact that the team chasing them, Richmond, have a pair of games in hand, so the Surrey boys could well find themselves in the clubhouse at the end of the season waiting for their fate to be decided by others. Thus, GN could really do with some points against a Burnaby Selects side that have nothing left to play for this season. The problem is, the former Serbians are hardly the type of team to be in a generous mood, having scored 60 goals this season. They certainly love clattering them in and have rarely shown much mercy at any point this season with eight of their 11 wins coming by more than a single goal. Adding to their motivation will be the fact that these two meet again next week in the Imperial Cup with the winner likely booking a date against Premier Croatia. Given how much a date with their old arch rivals is like to mean to them, it is unlikely White Eagles will want to show any weakness or give GN anything to hope for ahead of that tilt. I think the Burnaby boys will put on a show in this one.
 

big gk

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going to be a big finish on both ends. 5 teams at the bottom are battling to stay above the drop zone. is diblasio injured or will he play friday he is a differance maker
 

Golazo

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going to be a big finish on both ends. 5 teams at the bottom are battling to stay above the drop zone. is diblasio injured or will he play friday he is a differance maker
Very interested to see what happens on both ends as well!
He told me he's done for the year, been out for weeks.
 

dezza

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Congrats to Norvan Lions on winning the division!

Seems like their older brothers will do the same in Masters Div 1, so well done to @bonefish on getting everything organized for a double-title season on the north shore!
 

SmartCoach

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Looks like the two teams that took over spots from last year div1 teams will be gone
Terrible choices by those 2 clubs it is not so easy to manage teams in multiple divisions
We chose to drop a team to div 2 and it gave NorVan Storm the chance to come up this was a good discussion
Under the new system Getting the players to go along with what is best for a club is not easy
Way too many egos mostly young players that move from club to club
We have been very lucky to have a core of very loyal players
And excellent coaches
 
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Canucks4Ever

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Looks like the two teams that took over spots from last year div1 teams will be gone
Terrible choices by those 2 clubs it is not so easy to manage teams in multiple divisions
We chose to drop a team to div 2 and it gave NorVan Storm the chance to come up this was a good discussion
Under the new system Getting the players to go along with what is best for a club is not easy
Way too many egos mostly young players that move from club to club
We have been very lucky to have a core of very loyal players
And excellent coaches

Is nobody seeing the irony between this comment and how Rino's Tigers came to be and their first year in Premier....?

Agreed though about kids these days and egos. 18 year olds think they are something special and then they come up against DeBlasio or Milad and Milad and it turns out they have some room for improvement. Shocker...
 

Canucks4Ever

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The rubber meets the road in the promotion fight this weekend. Guildford head to the North Shore to take on "nothing-to-play-for" NorVan Lions. The Lions were the class of the division this season, but, having already secured the league title, will they have any interest in halting Guildford's bid to go up along with them? A loss for the Surrey boys would but Columbus in the driver's seat, but a win would swing things fully towards Guildford who would have only relegation threatened GN Sporting and Richmond standing between them and a spot in the big time. A in North Van this weekend would put us on course towards a promotion playoff. Of course it is all academic if Columbus lose to Burnaby Selects White Eagles for a second time this season.

Also some action at the bottom of the table where a Bingers win or a Richmond loss would see the Army safe for another season and a draw for Bingers would mathematically ensure at least a playoff for survival. They are likely already safe however given that their doomsday scenario only plays out if they lose both their remaining game and both GN and Richmond run the table which would be impressive considering that both have to play Guildford who, as mentioned above, must have the points to ensure their promotion.
 

Canucks4Ever

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Well Columbus got the loss from Guildford that they desperatley needed but had already bottled things with a draw against Burnaby. The Surrey boys just need a pair of wins against bottom feeders GN Sporting and Richmond and they will play in Premier next season. Surely they are as good as up, no?
 

dezza

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Richmond kept their hopes of staying up alive with a win over Romania... Nicking a point off of Guildford/Columbus and forcing a playoff with GN Sporting who are in such rough shape they forfeited their Imperial game is within the realm of possibility.
 

ref44

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Well Columbus got the loss from Guildford that they desperatley needed but had already bottled things with a draw against Burnaby. The Surrey boys just need a pair of wins against bottom feeders GN Sporting and Richmond and they will play in Premier next season. Surely they are as good as up, no?
No. not necessarily. They have been known to shite the bed too. not a done deal I believe.
 
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