The Berlin Smurfs defeated Helsinki 6-1 on Saturday to win their second straight EURO League Cup. The Germans were outshot 37-27 but still won convincingly by combining great goaltending by Calvin Pickard with deadly accuracy at the other end. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the team captain and leading scorer in the playoffs, was named first star after he got assists on four goals, including the first three of the contest.
The Smurfs were impressive throughout their great playoff run. They lost just one game in their three-round romp through the Southern Conference and then just two in the finals despite playing with injuries the whole series. Kurtis MacDermid, Carl Dahlstrom, Tamir Ganbold, Shea Weber and Ryan Hartman were all pressed into service after spending the regular season watching their teammates from afar. Berlin finished the regular season 5th overall behind Northern Conference powers Helsinki, Belfast, Minsk and Copenhagen. They were essentially the same team that finished 4th overall and won the Cup the season before. The only regular starter who left in the off season was winger Anders Lee, replaced on the second line by Artturi Lehkonen.
“They just kept going and going, helping their mates and showing championship determination,” said Sepp Blatter, the league’s Director of Player Safety and Discipline. “All of Germany should be proud of them again this year and I’m just glad I could help.”
The pride in the team is so strong that city leaders decided to take up Guybrush Threepwood on his demand that a statue to the Smurfs be erected, perhaps in place of the Brandenburg Gates, which he alluded is old and has worn out its usefulness.
Helsinki General Manager Jukka Tuominen seemed dejected after the series, and reporters heard him mutter to himself “How much more do I have to give to him?” They weren’t sure to whom he was referring. It was the second year in a row that Helsinki lost to Berlin in the Finals.
The Helsinki team that finished first overall in the regular season got past Oslo in 7 games, then past surprising Dublin in 7 games and then Minsk in 5 before facing Berlin. Jokerit center Anze Kopitar led all EURO players in playoff scoring with 35 points in 25 games. He had 18 points in 18 playoff games the playoff season before for Helsinki and was reacquired in a trade this year after floundering in Bratislava.
In the league office, secretary/accountant Rose was miserable. “I thought for sure Helsinki would win this time,” she said. “I even crocheted a replica championship jersey I was going to present to Jukka after the series – he is so cute – and now I don’t know what to do with it. Maybe I’ll hold on to it in case they ever do win it. Or I’ll try selling it to Igor Kirunov. He’s not that bright. He probably doesn’t even know Berlin won it.”
The Smurfs won’t be fading away anytime soon. Most of Berlin’s squad is signed through next season. Jan Kovar, who was injured and didn’t play in the Finals, is the only one whose contract is up after the season. Threepwood will have to decide if he wants to retain Eli Sherbatov another season at $7.4 million, but the decision might be an easy one. The 29-year-old Israeli winger will get probably get nominated for playoff MVP after finishing second on the team in scoring and first in the league in plus-minus. Erik Forssell, the best team player a GM could ask for, has already told league officials he does not want to be nominated this year for any individual awards.
“Yes, I am probably the best player in hockey. But this is a team game and I want to let other players win the trophies. They need the confidence and in the long run, that will help everyone,” Forrsell said before leaving the arena with three German models who were lugging cases of liquor somewhere.
