The Week That Was the Avs 1/20-1/26

This week saw the Avalanche crawl back into a playoff position and then with a pair of losses saw the 7th spot slip away as well as the 8th as Minnesota jumped them in the standings. The week also saw JS Giguere taking over as the #1 goalie on the team and playing well but having the guys in front of him let him down with poor defensive zone coverage, turnovers, and odd man breaks. Overall headed into the All-Star break they sit only a point out of the playoffs but also only 2 points ahead of three different teams whom all have at least 1 game in hand on the Avalanche.

The Week That Was the Avs 1/13-1/19

The Avalanche this week went 2-1, both of their wins being by 1 goal (and one in overtime) and their loss being a blowout. Overall they played pretty well this week, other than a portion of the game they lost, and managed to climb back into the playoffs for now. They as of this writing currently sit in 8th, 4 points behind LA (though with 2 more wins - LA has 10 OT/SO loss points this year) and sit 1 point ahead of Minnesota who have a game in hand on the Avalanche and 2 points ahead of Dallas who have 3 games in hand as well as 2 points ahead of Calgary and Phoenix. They sit 2nd in the division, a full 8 points behind Vancouver who also has a game in hand.

Past Meet Present - An Ally Arrives

With another week past I decided to allow the players a chance to write yet another recap.  Jeremy was the only taker and put together another good write-up of the adventures of the Karameikan Fist.  Below is that write-up...

The Week That Was the Avs 1/6-1/12

 

On a week that could have put the Avs solidly back into the playoffs they started strong winning against Chicago and then played 2 poor games and 2 periods of poor hockey in a third. Instead of being solidly in, they sit 2 points behind LA and Minnesota and 1 behind Dallas (and 4 behind Nashville who swept the home and home), going 1-2-1 this week.

Past Meet Present - A Narrow Escape

Last week the Karameikan Fist found themselves caught in a trap and narrowly escaped.  It was hard fought and had the enemy used just a bit better decision making regarding the party's only escape route they likely would have eliminated the Karameikan Fist right then and there, however they didn't and while badly wounded with a few casualties, they did manage to retreat back into the tomb once again.  Again this week's recap (with a few minor tweaks) is done by Jeremy...

The Week That Was the Avs 12/30/11-1/5/12

The Avalanche continued to put together wins, finding ways to do so even when they aren't playing poorly.  This week they went 2-0 including their 7th shootout win of the season (18 for their last 19) and are 9-2 in their last 11 games.  They have charged back into playoff talks sitting in a group right around that 8th spot and even held that position for a brief time this week.

Past Meet Present - Testing the Rock

Seems as if I've been unable to do a number of the recaps of the games recently, and yet again I called upon the excellent story telling abilities of one of the players.  (Everyone should really check out his Star Wars game recaps over at jhaeman.blogspot.com.)  Here is the events as they unfolded the week prior...


After a frantic retreat to the safety of crypts dedicated to fallen worshippers of Tyr, the Royal Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company spent the night resting and discussing what their next course of action should be. Knowing that a large contingent of warriors dedicated to the foul god Orcus lay just beyond the barred doors, two options became apparent: fight or flee. Caullum undertook an initial investigation of the narrow rat tunnels that led into the crypts, but kicked a stray pebble and alerted the besiegers to the tunnels' location. He returned with the bad news, and Atvan magically transformed into rat form in order to continue scouting the tunnels undetected. Soon after, a portion of the tunnels collapsed! Taking shifts, the party worked hard to excavate and even broaden the tunnels, in the hopes of finding a way out for everyone and to discover what happened to Atvan; but the druid remained missing. 

As the digging continued, Shadow suggested the bronze doors should be better secured. He suggested dragging over one of the stone sarcophagi, but it proved far too heavy, even with the strength of Daisy added to the mix. Over the objections of the priest Corum, Shadow convinced the others to remove the lids from several sarcophagi and stack them in a barrier in front of the door.

After hours and hours of digging, much of the tunnels had been excavated and widened. However, a chance conversation between Temeris and Shadow led to each feeling that a better course of action would be to open the doors, allow the Orcus worshippers to rush into a bottleneck, and then be whittled down. However, when the doors were thrown open, the enemy did not charge! Having learned its lesson, the enemy force stood back and avoided the trap. The head priest of Orcus traded verbal barbs and taunts with the party, but neither side would commit to an attack. The worshippers of Orcus refused to be drawn into a narrow killing field and the party refused to venture out and be overtaken by superior enemy numbers. Eventually, the party shut the doors again to figure out what should happen next.

More digging continued, but Temeris and Shadow were primed for action. They convinced a reluctant Corum, Daisy, and the men-at-arms to sortie out in the hopes of striking a blow and then retreating again to the safety of the crypts. In due time the company was assembled in attack formation with Daisy at the front. The bronze doors were again thrown open and the company charged into battle. Daisy found herself immediately surrounded by zombies, while Caullum used his Wand of Magic Missiles against spellcasters, Shadow fired arrows, and Temeris tried to pitch in where he could. Despite their valiant efforts and the destruction of several zombies, the party was in a poor tactical position when a handful of massive ogres stepped into the fight. After one of the men-at-arms was almost torn in half by an ogre greataxe and Daisy had been badly hurt, a hasty withdrawal was made and the bronze doors barred again.

Almost every one had suffered severe wounds in the short fight, and although the guardsman's life was saved, Jym and some of the men-at-arms were demoralized. Temeris tried to give a rousing speech to keep their spirits up, with Shadow putting in words of support. Although the fight went poorly, Temeris and Shadow remained convinced that this is a fight that could be won, and continued talking strategy as the hours crawled by.

Trapped, wounded, and without their best spellcaster--what lies in store next for the Royal Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company?