World Cup of Hockey XXV [Everything/IC]

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

To: Anyone related to the matter
From: Gaston Tremblay-Sachs, President, World Cup of Hockey Federation; Jacques Lemieux, President, Quebec Hockey League

To whom it may concern,

We would like to express some concerns about several incidents during this early part of the World Cup of Hockey. It has come to our attention that 5 Sanctii players, including a prince of the very aforementioned country, were killed by Gregoryisgodistani enemy crushers right after the final whistle of the game.

However, it has also come to our attention that the Prince Josephus, the very target, has done actions that were of no better in protecting himself. It was said by Enemy Crusher Krusholli Crushsaintland, and further supported of this by referees presiding for the game(Referees: Felix Marchand, QUE, Antti Kokkonen, SJG. Linesmen: David Connaughton, QUE; Patrik Mily, NHV) of this, that Prince Josephus himself has taunted the Gregoryisgodistani of not crushing anyone to death. Considering what could've happened out of that, the very action was unnecessary and stupid that it was as if he's begging for the player to crush him to his death.

Now moving on is more worrying of our incident last night. It came to our attention to our attention that out of 4 other players whom were killed, 2 of them were playing in Quebec Hockey League, with Trebatius at St.John's Celtics and Bruccius at Acadie-Bathurst Titan. With the loss of these 2 lives, those two teams will be guaranteed to suffer through a prolonged period of financial and mental damage on the organisation and the players themselves. In addition, financial compensation for the victims' families must happen as well.

Therefore, Quebec Hockey League and World Cup of Hockey Federation will be giving no punishments to Gregoryisgodistani NT for the death of Prince Josephus, for he brought it upon himself and neither the QHL nor WCoHF is responsible for this. However, we'll still be fining the Gregoryisgodistani delegation a $18 million Quebecois dollars of fine($54 million NS), due to the monetary loss of 4 other players to the Sanctii delegation, especially that of Ioannes Bruccius and Marcus Trebatius to Quebecois hockey community.

Thank you and I hope all of your time in Quebec and Vaugania will be splendid.

Sincerely,

Gaston Tremblay-Sachs,
President, World Cup of Hockey Federation

Jacques Lemieux,
President, Quebec Hockey League

[Isula ge Ru]

O Cosilhu Oquea Glaĉea Naĝuu ĝ'A Isula ĝe Ru
The Isulan Ice Hockey Association
Preu
Presents
Ó Beisilhaĝu Oquea Glaĉea Naĝoalu
The National Ice Hockey Team

Ice Hockey in Isula ĝe Ru is not a large sport, but what the Isulan support lacks in size, they make up for with fierce nationalism and fervor. The Cosilhu Oquea Glaĉea Naĝuu (COGN), so long a simple fan-funded organization for Olympic entrants only, won a major cession as they bid to see Isulan hockey take place more than once every four years, an entry into the World Cup of Hockey. The small but passionate contigent of Isulan hockey fans and players have also pushed for, and taken it upon themselves to create, a national league for the sport, which is slated to begin play after the World Cup.

Coaches

Head Coach: Papiu Rafa Beardu
Assistants: Conrau Salbauora Vuĉu

Players

Line One

Center: Iosu María Héitora Salomóu
Left Wing: Vibianu Felha Quintilhanu
Right Wing: Marcu Maria Selha Caru

Line Two

Center: Tereĝu Aurelha Flaiau
Left Wing: Maisu Festa Ceĝilhu
Right Wing: Tulhiu Cornelha Ĝocleĝau

Line Three

Center: Luĝau Fabriĝa Sepĉiu
Left Wing: Horĉesiu Enhaĝa Lelhu
Right Wing: Ioidu Sadurnia Auesĉu

Defensive Pair One

Right: Samuél Iosefa Iulhu
Left: Mariu Calha Sanhu

Defensive Pair Two

Right: Iames Eroĝia Marcalhu
Left: Carlu ĝe Isula Esiru

Goaltenders

Starter: Marĉiu Elha Briu
Backup: Lucreĝu Via Felicu

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes, I determine severity
Godmod Injuries to My Players: Yes, see above
RP Penalties for My Players: Yes
RP Ejections for My Players: No
Godmod Other Events: Yes

[Super-Llamaland]

O'Reilly: Super-Llamaland Stands with Saintland in Time of Need

In a press conference this morning, Llamanean president Christopher O'Reilly declared that Super-Llamaland would "stand with Saintland in their time of need."

When asked to explain, the president, who is finishing a second seven-year term, stated this:

The vile enemy crushers of Gregoryisgodistan have just brutishly murdered the crown prince of Saintland, Prince Josephus, and four of his teammates following a match of hockey. Gregoryisgodistan publically said they would kill Josephus, but Saintland believed wrongly that Gregoryisgodistan would not commit such a horrifyingly egregious act of war. We support Saintland entirely in future ventures against Gregoryisgodistan, and hereby declare the following:

Firstly, we will declare a complete embargo on Gregoryisgodistani products.
Secondly, we pledge six thousand men in support of Saintland if war between the two nations breaks out.
Thirdly, we have agreed with President Adam Watson to defend Hicaña's Isle Benoit from Gregoryisgodistani ally Quebec if need be.
Fourthly, we will declare a travel ban to Gregoryisgodistan.
Fifthly, we, as president of the Former Llamanean Union League of Nations (FLULON), will propose a bill for our partner nations in FLULON to declare similar restrictions.

In a similar method, the Gruel Flag Republic in Farafelle Valley was readmitted to Super-Llamaland after a few skirmishes. Gruel prices from the more eco-friendly Farafelle region have been raised steeply with no other source of gruel available, but with no actual real market for gruel domestically nobody has complained.

---

Next day

FLULON Places Embargo, Travel Ban, on Gregoryisgodistan

The entirety of the Former Llamanean Union League of Nations (FLULON) has voted to declare a complete embargo and travel ban on goods or people from Gregoryisgodistan. The member nations of Super-Llamaland, Hicaña, Sola, Miklandia, Vjaalsbürg, The Arendellenske Union, and Hakifao voted unanimously to pass the Gregoryisgodistani Travel Ban and Embargo Act with a debate time of only thirty-nine minutes, despite weak protests from Hicaña.

President Adam Watson, when questioned, stated: "with Llamanean defense, Isle Benoit is safe from rival forces. We as a nation wholeheartedly support this venture."




[/quote]

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

UNIFIED SUNRISE ISLANDS
THE SUMMER STORM

UNIFORM

Home - Away

ROSTERS
Goalie
#1 Louis OULETTE - Mardi Capitals [SHL]
#50 Marty SVELBER - Currien Hurricanes [SHL]
#99 Lucas PEREIRA - Granger Penguins [SHL]
Defender
#2 Nattie ROUX - Maori All Blacks [SHL]
#3 Igor MANCEBO - Thunchester Owls [SHL] ALTERNATE
#4 Joseph STOCKTON - Hartford North Stars [SHL]
#5 Jean-Guinevere LEVESQUE - San Jose Sharks [SHL]
#6 Hatoshi KOMODO - Lynder Aces [SHL]
#7 Hinata SUZUKA - Moncton Citadelles [SHL]
#8 William MATTERBERG - Hayden Whalers [SHL]
Center
#9 Else SAMATH - Granger Penguins [SHL]
#15 Israphel MORTIISE - Mardi Capitals [SHL] ALTERNATE
#22 Jean ROUGEAU - Granger Penguins [SHL]
#40 Bret OIKONNY - San Jose Sharks [SHL]
Left Wing
#10 Tyson SHARP - San Jose Sharks [SHL] CAPTAIN
#17 Enrico DELGADO - Maori All Blacks [SHL]
#25 Mauro BREMMER - Mardi Capitals [SHL]
#44 Jean-Louise MONTABEAUX - Granger Penguins [SHL]
Right Wing
#11 Tiago MOTTA - Mabel Wigglytuffs [SHL] ALTERNATE
#16 Frederique BLANC - Madjorie Castors [SHL]
#20 Rafael CARVALHO - Franca-Barbara Twins [SHL]
#21 Eduardo CARVALHO - Matthew City Rangers [SHL]
COACH
Jean McCONNERY [Style: +2]

DEFENSE
First Line
#2 ROUX
#3 MANCEBO
#4 STOCKTON
Second Line
#5 LEVESQUE
#6 KOMODO
#7 SUZUKA
Third Line
#3 MANCEBO
#6 KOMODO
#8 O'SHEA
OFFENSE
First Line
#9 SAMATH
#10 SHARP
#11 MOTTA
Second Line
#15 MORTIISE
#17 DELGADO
#16 BLANC
Third Line
#22 ROUGEAU
#25 BREMMER
#20 CARVALHO

STADIUM

Parc de Beart is once again the home of a Sunrise national hockey team. A venue at the World Cup of Hockey 22's later rounds, Parc de Beart is normally home for two teams of Beart, Ninon and Mignon Beart. The Capacity of 75,000 seems good enough for matches of the Sunrise on ice.

RP PERMISSIONS
Not killing them or injuring them for life is a must. The rest, I suppose I'm fine.

[Gyatso-kai]

.::HOME Locker Room; Stormhurst Ehibition Hall, Stromhurst, Vaugania
2235 hours local time (UTC-3), 18 October 2014.3

The game had ended just twenty minutes prior, and Song Unataq felt on top of the world.

My second game for the Ice Bisons... and I got two goals!

He stared down at the floor of the Home Locker Room at his skates and just smiled. The other players were all in various states of dress --- some in nothing but towels, others starting to dress in their civilian wares --- but Song was still completely dressed in his game uniform. He looked down at the black of the Ice Bisons home sweater and just shook his head in disbelief.

"It is weird that we are always the home team for the group stage," Hakoda Ishii spoke from across the room. He had a deep, almost booming voice; a trait that seemed to make Song focus on him whenever he said anything.

"It really is," responded the veteran defenceman Pakku Ito; a man Song referred to as Ito'Issumatak, or "Chief Ito" out of respect for such an esteemed veteran from the Northern Water Tribes. "However, I do believe Kad'buir and Huangshun were both speaking of working out an arrangement with the other teams to allow them to wear Home sweaters for at least some part of the group stage."

A laugh reverberated from next to Song, and he looked over to meet eyes with Oto Yaji. Even though he was three years Song's senior and a player for the University of the Northern Tribes, somehow Song beat him out for the first line back before the Royal Alexandre Invitational.

"But I so love this black," Oto spoke up, standing and exaggerating the shape of his 'hips'. "It is so slimming!"

A storm of socks flew at Oto, who seemed to effortless dodge them as he sat back down. As he sat, a quick hit to Song's shoulder brought the man into the conversation.

"What about you, Unataq'illamar?" Oto said as he took off his sweater and hung it neatly in the locker space.

"I happen to like the black better than our whites..."

"Really? I kind of enjoy the white. Looks a bit more like our flag."

"Yes," interrupted Ishii as he seemed to suddenly be standing before them in his traditional Mandalorian garb. "But you have to remember that our first jerseys were quite a bit different than the one we wear now."

Song stuttered, still trying to figure out how he didn't notice a man in a mixture of armour and heavy furs walking up to them.

"Oh... well... I don't really uh, remember, uh, them..."

"Oh, they were rather intersting." Ito stood up, and walked over. The other members of the team, all finishing changing, seemed to be paying a bit more attention to the young pair and the veterans.

"It was black, with these odd stripes on our arms and down our chest and back. Gold, green, and red."

"And we were still under the Sì​ Xíng Qí​zhì, our old flag," spoke Kal Skirata; son of Head Coach Kad Skirata and a player Song looked up to while he was in Secondary school. "In fact, I think when I played in the Juniors, it was the first time we wore the new emblem on our chest."

"Yep, Kal'ika" clipped Sato Sorua, "because later that jì we made the cut for the National team and got to wear the original 'Black and Gold'."

"When did the red and gold get added to the sweaters?" asked Song, who had finally taken off his skates.

"I want to say," Ishii said, stroking his chin lightly, "It was in World Cup Eighteen. We had the tri-stripe on our sleeves and down our thighs."

"Yeah," Ito sighed as he sat down across from Song on an empty bench space. "We still had the Five Stripes down our thighs in Seventeen."

"Five Stripes?" Oto quipped as he stood to continue dressing.

"Yeah," Ishii leaned against one of the lockers. "One stripe for each of the Four Nations, and a fifth golden stripe for all those who did not fall into the Elementals."

"Were there any non-elementals on the team?"

"Actually, yes, though most of us belonged to one of the Nations before we 'converted', as you would say."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Ishii sighed. "I think our first true Mandalorian was Jaster back in Eighteen, though he filled in for an injured Kuruk and fell back into the reserves for Nineteen."

*chime*

Ishii and Ito both stood to attention before checking their watches. They looked to one another before nodding in agreement. Ishii stepped towards the centre of the room before taking a deep breath.

"Alright, you dikut'la aruettise! Move your shebs out of here. Tee-minus five until we are to report to the buses!"

Song and Oto quickly scurried, as did most of the younger players. As Song looked up, he could see such a stern and almost angry stare upon Ishii's face, as he had obviously lost track of time; with the chime being a text reminded from Skirata to move the team a bit.

Though, as Song turned to his locker to grab the final layer of his civilian wear, he could have sworn he saw Ishii smile before turning to stand at the locker room entrance.

[Havl]

World Cup of Hockey XXV - Havl 3, Arvenida 3

Yzerberg – On a night when Havl Hockey honored one of its greatest players, the current squad of World Cup hopefuls nearly faced one of the most dramatic upsets in team history. Fans at Capital City's Sparky Arena came in droves to watch a live simulcast of Havl's second match of this edition of the World Cup of Hockey against unranked Arvenida. Before the event, representatives from Havl Hockey honored six-time WCoH veteran Brian Beierle by raising a banner baring his famous #2 into the rafters. When the defenseman retired from HHL competition at the end of last season, he received similar honors from his beloved Davenport Pilots.

Beierle, who won three World Cups with the national team (WCoH 20, 21, and 22), joined former teammates Justin Donndelinger and Davis Rich among those honored by Havl Hockey with retired jersey numbers. The Davenport native stepped in as national team captain in WCoH 24 after long-serving captain (and now national team head coach) Justin Donndelinger's retirement.

"It's an honor," said Beierle. "To be honest, it's a little strange to see my number in the rafters here in Capital City," Beierle joked. "But I've played so many games here over the years that it almost feels like a second home to me."

With Beierle's retirement, only six players from Havl's most recent World Cup championship (WCoH 22) remain on the roster: Adam Fleer, Jason State, Taro Tsujimoto, Sergei Skrbinski, Jay Marshall, and Tomas Holicek.


Havl Hockey honored Brian Beierle by retiring his jersey number on Saturday.

Despite the festivities in Capital City, there was little to celebrate at Yzerberg Ice Hall as unranked Arvenida nearly toppled the second-ranked team after a busy first period. The upstart squad took an early lead with two goals in the first five minutes of play. The first was on a bumbled play by goaltender Haley Hasenpfeffer who, after a glove save, dropped the puck back into play for an unaware Tanner Blankenship who had assumed the 'tender had held the puck. In the ensuing confusion, Arvenida knocked the idle puck in for an easy goal.

"That was a big, stupid mistake," said Blankenship. "Obviously, we're still trying to get to know each other and how we're going to play as a team [...] there are still some issues that we're working on."

A less-than-amused Blankenship broke his stick in anger on the way back to the bench.

"Those two [Hasenpfeffer and Blankenship] have played together for the [Davenport] Pilots for a while," said head coach Justin Donndelinger. "It's a little different to play together on the national team; we do things differently, and that was a snafu that came from that."

Less than a minute later, Arvenida took a two-goal lead when Hasenpfeffer botched a routine glove save from the point. After stopping the puck midair, she failed to control it and appeared to accidentally knock it backwards into the net.

"That was a bad one," said Hasenpfeffer. "I had it, but I don't know what happened."

Sparked by their surprising start, Arvenida took control for the middle of the first period, putting seven shots on goal, including a nasty rebound that was poked in for a third straight goal. After seeing his team take a three-goal deficit, Coach Donndelinger called a much-needed time out. Havl seemed to regain control of the period, but the three-time champs entered the first intermission three goals behind their unranked foes.

To start the second period, the fabled Firing Squad offensive line played three of the next six shifts before Jason State sent a deking backhander past Arvenida's netminder to put his team on the board. Adam Fleer joined in with a powerplay goal three minutes later, and team captain Petr Zaradnik tied it at three with a brutal slapper from the point as time expired in the second.

Havl played desperately in the third period. Arvenida never challenged to retake the lead despite putting an additional four shots on goal. Havl, led by the Firing Squad, controlled the play, outshooting Arvenida 17-4 in the third. But the unranked challengers limited Havl's quality chances, and the second-ranked squad was forced to take the draw.

With the tie, Havl moves to third in the standings for Group E behind Nova Anglicana and The Fair Republic. Coverage of World Cup of Hockey XXIV continues on HTVM Sunday as Havl faces 40th-ranked New North Aqmuland for their first away game of the tournament.

Box Score

	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
Havl	0	3	0	3
Arvenida	3	0	0	3

Team Leaders
Num	Name			G	A	Pts	Games Played
11	Adam Fleer		1	2	3	2
9	Brad Neubauer		0	3	3	2
19	Jason State		2	0	2	2
3	Petr Zaradnik		1	1	2	2
13	Graham Hatch		1	0	1	2
16	Travis Hampstead	1	0	1	2
18	Carson West		0	1	1	2
8	Andrey Pasternak	0	1	1	2
15	Martin Klerx		0	1	1	2
20	Ravi Chandrasekhar	0	1	1	2
10	Joey Kaminski		0	1	1	2
12	Taro Tsujimoto		0	1	1	2
14	Brady Anderson		0	0	0	2
6	Sergei Skrbinski	0	0	0	2
4	Tanner Blankenship	0	0	0	2
22	Rhys Dykstra		0	0	0	2
36	Jay Marshall		0	0	0	2
77	Tomas Holicek		0	0	0	2

 
Num	Name			GP	W	L	T	GA	SA	GAA	S%	SO
31	Haley Hasenpfeffer	2	1	0	1	3	40	1.50	92.5	1		
30	Ty McLaren		0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0

Scores and Schedule
Date	Home Team		Away Team		Score	Result	Venue	
17 Oct  2Havl			55Terre des Gaules	3-0	W	Yzerberg Ice Hall
18 Oct  2Havl			URArvenida 		3-3	T	Yzerberg Ice Hall
19 Oct  2Havl			16The Fair Republic			Yzerberg Ice Hall
20 Oct  2Havl			21Nova Anglicana 			Yzerberg Ice Hall
21 Oct  2Havl			URZips Nation 				Yzerberg Ice Hall
22 Oct  2Havl			URNorth Britonisea 			Yzerberg Ice Hall
23 Oct  2Havl			47Patistan 				Yzerberg Ice Hall

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

MD3 Results for Vauganian Side, presented by Aeroquebec

Group E
Havl 2–0 The Fair Republic
North Britonisea 0–2 Terre des Gaules
Arvenida 3–6 Patistan
Zips Nation 3–7 Nova Anglicana

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana          3    3   0   0    12    5   +7     6
2 Havl                    3    2   1   0     8    3   +5     5
3 Patistan                3    1   1   1    11   10   +1     3
4 The Fair Republic       3    1   1   1     8    7   +1     3
5 Terre des Gaules        3    1   1   1     4    5   −1     3
6 Zips Nation             3    1   1   1     6    9   −3     3
7 Arvenida                3    0   1   2     7   11   −4     1
8 North Britonisea        3    0   0   3     1    7   −6     0

Group F
Gyatso-Kai 3–3 Equestrian States
Novaya Zemlya 3–5 Mapletish
Bandwagon 1–0 Soviet Canuckistan
Nassau-Hessen 4–0 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nassau-Hessen                               3    3   0   0    14    4  +10     6
2 Gyatso-Kai                                  3    2   1   0    15    5  +10     5
3 Equestrian States                           3    1   2   0    14    9   +5     4
4 Mapletish                                   3    2   0   1    10    7   +3     4
5 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland    3    1   0   2     4   10   −6     2
6 Bandwagon                                   3    1   0   2     3   15  −12     2
7 Soviet Canuckistan                          3    0   1   2     6    8   −2     1
8 Novaya Zemlya                               3    0   0   3     8   16   −8     0

Group G
Torisakia 1–1 Estope
Australian Council 2–4 Semarland
Camerania 0–4 Borschlandia
Kazirstan 0–1 HopNation

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Torisakia               3    2   1   0    14    3  +11     5
2 Borschlandia            3    2   1   0    13    6   +7     5
3 HopNation               3    2   0   1    10    9   +1     4
4 Kazirstan               3    1   1   1     7    7    0     3
5 Estope                  3    0   3   0     4    4    0     3
6 Semarland               3    1   0   2     7   13   −6     2
7 Australian Council      3    0   2   1     6    8   −2     2
8 Camerania               3    0   0   3     4   15  −11     0

Group H
Unified Sunrise Islands 4–4 Vaugania
Abanhfleft 4–6 Super-Llamaland
Mieraskya 0–3 Zenic
Sudenland 2–7 Norrehavn

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Zenic                      3    3   0   0     9    0   +9     6
2 Norrehavn                  3    2   0   1    14    5   +9     4
3 Vaugania                   3    1   2   0    13    8   +5     4
4 Unified Sunrise Islands    3    1   1   1    10   10    0     3
5 Super-Llamaland            3    1   0   2     8   16   −8     2
6 Mieraskya                  3    0   2   1     6    9   −3     2
7 Abanhfleft                 3    1   0   2     8   13   −5     2
8 Sudenland                  3    0   1   2     5   12   −7     1

[Vaugania]

Matchday 3 - Quebecois Side

Group A
Saintland 4–0 The United Kingdoms of Zackalantis
Darmen 0–2 Gregoryisgodistan
San Jose Guayabal 6–3 Friday Freshman
Britonisea 3–5 Free Republics

  Group A                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Saintland                               3   3  0  0   13   5  +8    9
  San Jose Guayabal                       3   3  0  0   13   5  +8    9
3 Free Republics                          3   2  0  1   10   7  +3    6
4 Gregoryisgodistan                       3   2  0  1    3   1  +2    6
5 Britonisea                              3   1  0  2    6   8  −2    3
6 Darmen                                  3   1  0  2    5   8  −3    3
7 Friday Freshman                         3   0  0  3   11  19  −8    0
8 The United Kingdoms of Zackalantis      3   0  0  3    0   8  −8    0

Group B
Hicana 6–3 Nova Terra Divinia
Transalpine Republic 7–3 Neu Engollon
Jeckland 3–0 United States of Devonta
Polar Islandstates 4–2 Miley World

  Group B                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Transalpine Republic                    3   3  0  0   19   7 +12    9
2 Hicana                                  3   2  1  0   15   5 +10    7
3 Polar Islandstates                      3   2  1  0   12   6  +6    7
4 Jeckland                                3   2  0  1    8   8   0    6
5 Neu Engollon                            3   1  1  1   17  13  +4    4
6 Nova Terra Divinia                      3   0  1  2   10  21 −11    1
7 Miley World                             3   0  0  3    6  14  −8    0
8 United States of Devonta                3   0  0  3    3  16 −13    0

Group C
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 5–3 Mieraskya
Cosumar 1–2 Ko-oren
Mohawk Clans 4–0 Isula ge Ru
Narsora 4–1 Jecatria

  Group C                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Narsora                                 3   3  0  0    9   3  +6    9
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec                 3   2  1  0   13   6  +7    7
3 Ko-oren                                 3   2  1  0    7   4  +3    7
4 Cosumar                                 3   2  0  1    9   6  +3    6
5 Mohawk Clans                            3   1  1  1    6   3  +3    4
6 Jecatria                                3   0  1  2    4   9  −5    1
7 Mieraskya                               3   0  0  3    5  11  −6    0
8 Isula ge Ru                             3   0  0  3    3  14 −11    0

Group D
Vilita and Turori 4–0 British Grand Pacific
Aquitayne 2–1 Valanora
Esparmuran 6–2 Friskney Eaudike
Mizuyuki 6–2 RPGers

  Group D                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Esparmuran                              3   3  0  0   16   3 +13    9
2 Aquitayne                               3   3  0  0    5   2  +3    9
3 Vilita and Turori                       3   1  1  1    9   6  +3    4
4 Mizuyuki                                3   1  1  1    8   6  +2    4
5 Valanora                                3   1  1  1    8   8   0    4
6 British Grand Pacific                   3   0  2  1    6  10  −4    2
7 Friskney Eaudike                        3   0  1  2    6  11  −5    1
8 RPGers                                  3   0  0  3    3  15 −12    0

[Novaya Zemlya]

NOVAYA ZEMLYA: Political consequences following World Cup failure

ST. JOHNS, VAUGANIA - Novaya Zemlya's first ever appearance in the World Cup of Hockey has been a dissapointing affair so far. After 3 games the team sits at the bottom of Group F, with 3 losses and a staggering 16 goals against. Following the 3-5 loss against Mapletish, a spokesperson from the Central Committee of the ruling Party of Labour announced that Sports Minister Galina Ukhtomskaya has been relieved of her duties. In a brief statement, party leadership expressed its deep concern over the lack of defensive coverage and also urged players to "shoot the puck".

Hockey is the national sport of Novaya Zemlya and the World Cup fiasco has caused widespread discontent throughout the People's Republic. Monday morning rumours surfaced that the head of the novozemlyan Hockey Federation, Edgar Shmelev has gone missing. Shmelev was in attendance when Novaya Zemlya suffered a humiliating 7-2 loss against Equestrian States but has not been seen since. Federation functionaries have refused to comment on the matter but several foreign commentators agree that "this has Intelligence Service fingerprints all over it".

Between the embarrasingly poor efforts on the ice and the repercussions off the ice, World Cup of Hockey 25 is well on its way to becoming a national trauma for Novaya Zemlya.

[Ko-oren]

Dragonflice and Ice Knights still going strong

The big Northwestern rivalry between the Ko-orenite Dragonflice and the Quebecois Ice Knights keeps on going as both heavyweights win their third game in the WCoH group stage. Ko-oren beat Cosumar 1-2, keeping their game cool and agile as always, while the Royal Kingdom won 5-3 over Mieraskya, once again making us question their nickname and wondering why it isn't the Ice Fights yet. After the draw between the two Atlantian Oceanian teams, Narsora overtook them with good hockey, and they won again against Jecatria (4-1). This means that for now, the Ko-orenites and the Quebecois are in second and third with 7 points each. Cosumar suffered their first loss and are fourth with six points. Four games left, and Ko-oren is looking confident. The four games left are against the unranked teams and the low ranked ones: Narsora first, hopefully dealing them their first defeat, and Jecatria, Isula ge Ru and Mieraskya afterwards. The Royal Kingdom of Quebec has the same opponents, but they will play Mohawk Clans instead of Mieraskya.

Konstantinovich and Novotný both scored for Ko-oren and Mosling scored for the Ice Dragons. Akeem Mosling scored early in the second period for the equaliser during powerplay as Lelu Lerolan was sent off for 5 minutes for boarding. This was after Konstantinovich's early game opener, scoring from a freak angle that Martin Holcomb just did not see coming. After the lucky shot went in, the Dragonflice held back for a while to adjust to the game Cosumar was trying to set up. Late in the second period Eric Kline was off for two minutes after holding, and Novotný scored the winner. It is not that both teams were fouling a lot, but that there only were a few fouls and ejections that were very efficiently dealt with by the opponents. Ko-oren has a knack for powerplay goals anyway, and defensive secureity makes that we only have conceded four goals so far, and we already played Quebec. The next game against Narsora will dictate whether we can keep them behind us, and our ever so slightly easier schedule from now on hopefully has us qualifying as first in our group too.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

From the Desk of Lord Almighty Gregory

To: Gaston Tremblay-Sachs, President, World Cup of Hockey Federation

Dear Mr. Tremblay-Sachs,

We have received your notice of fine for our brave, noble Enemy Crushers' actions against Saintland. However, we are concerned about more than just the fine. A quick look at the schedule reveals that Game 2 of the Finals is to be played on November 5, which is Creation Day, the holiest day of the Gregoryisgodistani calendar. All citizens must fast for 24 hours and hold a solemn, holy praise and prayer service to Lord Almighty Gregory, who is me by the way, for I am the one True Lord. On November 5, 0000, I created the multiverse and then each November 5, the people honor me. Therefore, if you wish for us to pay the fine, you must agree to move Game 2 away from November 5 should we reach the finals. We would even accept you starting the game after midnight on November 6, though preferably at least an hour or two after midnight so our players have time to break the fast and warm up for the game. I do believe starting the game at 2:00 AM on November 6 would allow you to play the third game of the finals as scheduled on the night of November 6 without significant adjustment to anything. (OOC: Without adjustment to scorination schedule.) There is precedent for this. Most tournaments taking place during the Christmas season involve a Christmas Break so Christian-majority nations are not forced to play on their most holy day and can instead be with their families praising Jesus (not Eye-ee-zus, as Saintland calls this demon.) Although Christianity is banned in Gregoryisgodistan as a heathen religion, as well it should be, we have never objected to this practice because we believed this to be fairly applied. I suspect that no Jewish-majority nation would be forced to play on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, although to my knowledge there is no Jewish-majority nation currently active in the sporting multiverse. The only Jewish-majority nation Gregoryisgodistan has ever encountered is Kishrael, but they are only involved in WorldVision, not sports. Nonetheless, I suspect the WorldVision Committee would not hold the WorldVision competition on Yom Kippur out of respect for the Kishraelis, and that sporting organizers would do the same should Kishrael ever join the sporting community.

Therefore, it comes down to this. If you want us to pay the fine you ordered, we will, but first you have to do something for us. Reschedule the game scheduled for Creation Day. You don't have to move it to the next night, only until a couple hours after midnight on November 6, thus allowing the normal schedule to continue without interruption. Should we fail to make the final, you could of course hold Game 2 at the normal time. Needless to say, the same goes for the third-place playoff. Should we make the third-place playoff, we would request the same time change, but should we not make the third-place playoff, it too could be played at normal time. And rest assured, we will not be making the third-place playoff. We will make the final. We will bounce back from that loss to Saintland. Already we have bounced back by beating Darmen, and now we have four easy games that we should win. 18 points should be enough for a Top 2 spot in this group, and while Saintland will regrettably win it most likely, we will have enough points to finish second. We knew that if we beat Darmen, we would probably go through, and now we beat Darmen, so we will probably go through.

I call upon you to do the right thing and respect out religious beliefs. Do not make our players play on Creation Day, the holiest day of the year here in Gregoryisgodistan, celebrating the day that I created the multiverse in my infinite glory. Remember that I am the Lord Your God who created the multiverse on November 5, Year 0000, and that I could destroy it all if I wanted to. Fortunately for you, I do not. However, if you do not agree to reschedule the final or third place playoff away from Creation Day if we make it that far, we will not pay you our fine. I encourage you to do the right thing out of respect for everyone involved. Remember who your God is - it is I, the one True Lord of the multiverse. If you do not agree to reschedule the game, not only will we not pay the fine, but we will have a bunch of telemarketers call you on Christmas, your holy day. They are probably outsourced to some non-Christian country that instead worships multiple heathen gods as well as cows, and they would not particularly mind calling you on Christmas. However, I am sure you would mind receiving all those calls on Christmas as you want to be with your family. Therefore, do the right thing and reschedule the game and I will not be forced to resort to extreme measures.

Recalling my awesome Creation,

Lord Almighty Gregory

[Neu Engollon]

"Good Evening, Neu Engollon. I'm Karl Demais and you are watching the NETV Sports 7 Update. We go again to the Twenty fifth World Cup of Hockey in Quebec where the Ibex are playing and attempting to build on their past successes and move on to the later stages. So far, that's not going as well as we hoped it might. A tie the other night to the Hicanan team, and that brings us to tonight's horrible loss, if you didn't get a chance to catch it earlier. Transalpine Republic outscored the Ibex more than double. Pascal Soltis was indeed still put in the net despite obvious concerns about his determination and even cognizance. Finally, he was pulled in favor of Cal Bassatti, who in turn was pulled out to leave an empty net 8 minutes into the third period, when the Transalpinians were up 4 to 1. That move, while deemed necessary in order for the Ibex attempting to get back up in the points, spelled the final disaster as Transalpine took advantage to pound through three more shots on the net that the defense were unable to block. The Ibex did get those two more goals to hold off total slaughter, but they seemed to be wholly unprepared for tonight's attacks, like they hadn't even expected the Transalpine team to be up to such a standard. We remind ourselves that the team's motto is 'Every Foe is Formidable', but did they operate off that this time around?
I talked to winger Maury Terfram via video connection earlier, soon after the game.

"Maury, thank you for taking the time out to talk. I'm not going to beat around the bush here...What happened out there?"

"We lost, Karl. We lost."

"Yes...but, how? Where do you think the holes were?"

"I don't want to get down on my teammates, Karl, as we all win together and we all get beat together. We're all disappointed here. The last couple games were the big ones and they didn't quite go as we'd hoped, even though only one was a loss. I don't have much more to tell you than that. We weren't as ready as we thought we were."

"Do you think you were too cocky? Is there something that was lacking during the off-season training this time around that was there between the 23rd and 24th Cups?"

"Yeah...I dunno, Karl. Accorzu? I don't know! I gotta go. We have a team meeting."

"Maury!...Maury?! Well, folks, he....Well, there you go...He broke the connection. It's a little too fresh right now. We'll catch up with him later. Maybe he'll want to talk to Magda more..."

So, that brings us to now. The Ibex are on the bubble and dropped down to the middle of the group and still sinking, with the Jeckland match coming up. They need to win every game here on out to keep in the running and they need a lot of the top place teams in Group B likewise to lose their next few. I will say it again, this is not where we thought we would be after last year's performance. We need all of you out there to support the team. Go Ibex! Go!...You can catch the game here on NETV Sports 7 tomorrow night and find more coverage and replays on our sister station NETV Sports 19. After the break, we go to some AVRU rugby scores and highlights..."

[Saintland]

Official Statement from King Petrus XX

Several days ago, a few hooligans from the nation of Gregoryisgodistan committed 5 counts of murder in the first degree, including the assassination of my brother Josephus, on international television. This incident took place following a World Cup of Hockey XXV match at the Minecorps Centre in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. It was an incident that shows, once again, why no decent nation recognizes the legitimacy of the current government of the so-called "Gregoryisgodistan," a nation whose very name is a blasphemy against the Creator of our multiverse.

If Gregoryisgodistan were a decent nation governed by a reasonable leader, these criminals who style themselves the "Enemy Crushers" would have been executed for their crimes. Instead, they were rewarded with the payment of massive bounties from the Treasury, while the demonically-possessed dictator of that God-forsaken land declared that I will be his next target. I can promise everybody that I will never step onto the gridiron against Gregoryisgodistan. Should any Gregoryisgodistani enemy crusher set foot in my Kingdom in the future, he will be immediately arrested and sentenced to hang from the neck until dead, whether or not he is entering the Kingdom as part of an athletic delegation of some sort.

The President of the World Cup of Hockey Federation, Gaston Tremblay-Sachs, announced, in conjunction with the President of the Quebec Hockey League, that he would be fining Gregoryisgodistan for the murder of the 2 Quebec Hockey League players, but allowing them to get away with murdering the other 3 players. Lord Gregorious Demonius has responded by stating that he will not pay the fine, unless the second game of the WCoH finals is moved to November 6th at 2 AM local time. This is an outrageous request and one that we urge the WCoHF to reject. Gregoryisgodistan presumes that they will be playing in the finals, but in doing so, they insult God by presuming to know His Will better than He does! If Mr. Tremblay-Sachs will not draw the line at this outrageous demand, then I must call for his immediate resignation as President of the WCoHF.

In fact, I have half a mind to call for his resignation for his bizarre decision to give the Gregoryisgodistanis just a slap on the wrist for their heinous criminality. It is increasingly becoming clear that Mr. Tremblay-Sachs does not take the safety of players seriously and I doubt if Mr. Jacques Lemieux cares one bit about the safety of our players either. Therefore, I have decided to request that all Sanctii hockey players return home after this World Cup of Hockey concludes and that they immediately cease their participation in the Quebec Hockey League until the Gregoryisgodistani "Enemy Crushers" responsible for this heinous attack on 5 Sanctii players are suspended by the WCoHF. If the WCoHF does not begin taking player safety more seriously, I may also need to reconsider whether I permit a Saintland National Hockey Team to participate in future editions of the World Cup of Hockey. But, I hope that such measures will ultimately prove unnecessary and that Mr. Tremblay-Sachs will eventually come to his senses and actually do something about the Gregoryisgodistani menace.

[Zenic]

“I don’t think we should be celebrating too much right now, Henri: there are still 5 more group matches to go,” said assistant coach Tawfeek.

Head coach Giehl had brought the players to a nice little bar in Sorochuk that one of the staff members in the hotel had mentioned. The mood was relaxed and festive as Zenic was undefeated in the group stage so far and hadn’t let up a goal yet either. The team was also firing on all cylinder as they were scoring tons of goals more than such a defensive-minded team should be getting. He wanted the team to remember that they could still have a bit of fun while working hard. Tawfeek seemed to disagree a bit.

Tawfeek was a bit worried that the team might have been luring itself into a false sense of security. Sure, they had upset USI by an impressive margin but they also managed to score less goals in each of their games against new nations Sudenland and Mieraskya. She felt that if anything, they should have had at least 6 goals in each of those games. Also she was worried about the list of goal-scorers in the last two games: 2 more of Jernej, 1 for Medeiros, 1 for Adele Ott and another 1 for Herut. Tawfeek noticed that they were relying a lot on Jernej for their offensive output, meaning if a team had a good defender who could cover Jernej, the team could struggle to score goals.

And Henri agreed that it was an issue that they would have to deal with; but now was not the time. “Come have a beer, Lynda. You should enjoy life once in a while: I heard it’s good for your health,” he said playfully at his partner and friend. All the players nearby agreed and motioned for Tawfeek to join their party. Tawfeek folded her arms and looked at Henri with a disapproving face. He chuckled in response. “Trust me, we can work on getting ready for Vaugania tomorrow morning. Consider this the player’s downtime for the day and that they’ll be ready for practice in the morning as usual. So, what do you say?”

As much as she wanted to get prepared for their matchup against one of the hosts, she sighed and walked over to join the party, agreeing with the others that she could use a drink or two to unwind. She, and the team, deserved at least that much.

[Vaugania]

OOC: Better late than never

The Grand Plains Hotel
Agri, Vaugania
Press Conference

Head coach, Art Rosenberg, along with Pavel Smirnov, Jurgis Streit, and Raphael Roux entered the Gold Room at the Grand Plains Hotel in Agri, the site of their 3-3 draw against Mieraskya, in order to field questions from various reporters on the subject of the National Team.

Reporter 1: "First, a question for Coach Rosenberg: Are you satisfied with the play of the national team thus far?"

Rosenberg: "I don't know if 'satisfied' is the right word. Do I wish that we had won today? Of course. Is today's game causing me to worry about our chances for qualifying to the knockout round? Absolutely not. I think we're a top notch team and there's still plenty of games left to assert ourselves over the rest of our group. In short: Not really satisfied, but not really concerned."

Reporter 2: "Mr. Roux, do you feel that your goaltending tonight was not up to par and perhaps led to tonight's result?"

Streit: "If I may interject here, no one player is wholly responsible for any given result. We can't say that if one player was perhaps not on his 'A' game, he is to blame for an unfavorably result. There were lapses elsewhere on the ice that Raphael had no control over."

Roux: "To add to that, I certainly don't feel as though I was playing the best that I could, but there isn't much we can do about it now. We picked up a point and there isn't anything that's going to change that."

Reporter 2: "Your thoughts on the matter, Mr. Smirnov?"

Smirnov: "I have nothing to add. Both Jurgis and Raphael covered it nicely."

Reporter 3: "On to a more somber subject, 5 Sanctii players were killed in Quebec by members of the delegation from Gregoryisgodistan. What are your reactions to that?"

Streit: "Fighting has been an integral part to the game of hockey for quite some time. It's a very exciting element of the sport and is a great way for players to vent some of their frustrations. However, in this case, there was no fight. This was murder, plain and simple. I am absolutely disgusted by the acts of these players and if at any point during this tournament we are slated to play Gregoryisgodistan, I will refuse to take the ice. They don't belong in the world of hockey and I refuse to recognize them as existing in such."

Smirnov: "I agree with all of what Jurgis said. This event has greatly saddened me as I have had the great privilege of playing against both Lucas Trebatius and Ioannes Bruccius. They were truly great players and people in both their commitment to hockey and commitment to God."

Roux: "I, too, played against both Trebatius and Bruccius and they were both fantastic. If we were to play these criminals masquerading as hockey players, I would join Jurgis in his protest."

Rosenberg: "I don't think that the Gregoryisgodistanis are the only villains here. The response from the World Cup of Hockey Federation and QHL have been, in my opinion, pitiful. It's pathetic, really. For them not to take a stronger stance against Gregoryisgodistan is quite honestly pathetic and they should be ashamed of themselves."

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

The news were finally in. The Sunrise Hockey League was going through changes. Again. It seems like most of the Sunrisian leagues need to be twinkled a couple of times so that they work properly. But the criteria used for it ended up punching old teams down. Mardi Capitals, Byrd Bruins, Mabel Wigglytuffs... all ended up on the Bronze tier, while teams such as the Tivoli Wild saw themselves on the Gold tier.

The first market affected by it strongly was the Matthew City-Selyne City area. Once with four teams as the Afonse Red Pidgeottos, Matthew City Senators, Matthew City Rangers and Selyne City Cavaliers skated the ice; the new season would make dozens of changes. Afonse would see the Red Pidgeottos leave town for Tigarah, Eastern Sunrise; as the team would represent the big, loud city from the land of the Umbreon at the second tier of the USHL, known as the Silver tier. The Senators and the Rangers, on a surprise move, announced they were selling the team to work on a joint new USHL side at the Gold tier, moving small-town Nankatsu Charmeleons from Notaiba to Matthew City, keeping the nickname. Foreign teams would see their changes just as much. Azerbaijan traded their respected Goffs squad to Aurora for the team to become the Sylveons, while Azerbaijan gets to host its' minor team. Chun-nan's Quaoning Greens would be the team that changed less, becoming the Quaoning Dragons, while the Xiaoyu Blades and the Hang Pning Imperials moved to Southern Sunrise as the Youngstown Maple Leafs and the Parts Unknown Giants.
Duckota's Mighty Psyducks left Duckburg for a more lucrative stint at Platform Moon, Eastern Sunrise.

A second wave of moves later in the season saw Okinawa Everblades move from Notaiba to Kobashi, Southern Sunrise; Aonx Xespiroth ditching their mess of a kit for Kickflip, Southern Sunrise, turning into the Airwalk. One of the teams presented for a change, the Matthew City Senators finally appointed their new home: Southern Sunrise's Frozen'nuck, where they adopted the nickname Nordiques. Shockingly, the team also confirmed that a farm team named the Nowhere Senators would open at the borough of Nowhere, Matthew City. The pathetic Jennarule Silverblades would be the last moving team on that month, as an offer from Danielson turned the team into the Danielson Belles, named after a touristic point named the LaBelle Lock Tower. A couple of teams would also be accepted into the league: Coal Valley Miners from Eastern Sunrise, Jesúleña Amigos from Southern Sunrise, Suzie Underground from Eastern Sunrise, Armistice Surge also from Eastern Sunrise and Exileview Magpies from Southern Sunrise. Matthew City Sens' old rival would also announce their new home as Fieldbrook, a historied city from Eastern Sunrise, under the Rangers banner. A surprise rivalry would be founded when another Bronze tier side known as the Perth Raikous announced their moving to Fieldbrook as well, going under the name of the Fieldbrook Bolts. The Mallwill Fetchers announced a move to Hamada, finding roof under the Hamada Pangoros football club. Franca-Barbara Twins would announce a new name as the Illadua Twins, representing the whole island of Illadua. New Hull Tigers would end the run of moves, moving from the small New Hull to the very confortable Rearviewmirror at Eastern Sunrise.

...And that. That was just the start.

[Super-Llamaland]

BREAKING NEWS: Watson Resigns After Short Rebellion!

NEVO ESPERANSO, PATISTANI-HICAÑAN SHARED AUTONOMOUS REGION -- ISLE BENOIT, HICAÑA --

Adam Watson's decision to stick with the nations of the Former Llamanean Union League of Nations (FLULON) has been the last straw for many a Hicañan, and amidst intense domestic pressure, Watson resigned this afternoon.

"I have always known I would not stay in power until I died," Watson said in his short press report, "and now seems like the best time to step down. I wish the best to my successor in this time of turmoil and thank the people of Hicaña, whom I love dearly." to Watson's right-wing supporters, it reeked of cop-out and abandonment. To the left-wing sect that seems likely to replace him, nothing the ex-president could have said would've dampened the day: Watson's anti-LGBT and pro-business at the sake of environment policies angered many younger voters.

Watson expressed desire that Secretary of State Silvio Rivera would succeed him, however, Congress voted in favor of a three-candidate election. The candidates nominated are Silvio Rivera of the Conservatives, Solomon Ervine of the Liberals, and Samuel Antony of the Isolationists. Election day has been scheduled for two weeks in the future, giving little time to select a candidate but less time without a leader. The election will be presided over by a five-person People's Congress Administration Team (PCAT).

Already changing the dynamic of the election, the shrewd Congressman Samuel Antony has asked Gregorysigodistan to delay military actions until the end of the election, and is quickly narrowing the gap between him and the popular Ervine, with Rivera a close third. Who wins will determine the future of Hicaña.

O'Reilly Declines: Super-Llamaland on the Brink of War!

To a sixty-one percent majority vote, just over the quota of sixty percent needed, the Llamanean Congress agreed to Jordan's Compromise, which stated that Super-Llamaland would accept the Gregoryisgodistani demands unless Gregoryisgodistan attacked any land owned by FLULON or Saintland, "especially the Island of Benoit." The 61% vote beat out 22% of the Congress, who wanted to reject the demands, and 17% who wanted to accept them.

Christopher O'Reilly accepted the compromise, conceived by its namesake Miles Jordan, and promptly sent it to Gregoryisgodistan. Only time will tell whether or not the autocratic Gregory will accept...

[Aquitayne]

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3-by-3: Third Straight Win, Third Best Team in the World

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Defender Harrison Cannard scoring the final goal against Valanora.

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Related Stories

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Aquitayne Begins International Sports Drive
Rugby Union Declares Biggest Earnings Ever
Homemade Power Converter Gets 1.12 Gigawatts

Carlton Centre, London, ANN - Aquitayne takes on the third best team in the world to secure their third straight win in the 25th World Cup of Hockey.

The Aquitaynian Men's National Hockey Team skated into the 25th World Cup of Hockey ranked 25th best team in the world. The team has proven their mettle over the past four tournaments, first competing in the 21st World Cup of Hockey, where they secured placement in the Round of 16, but were knocked out of the running by Plutoni. It is through this type of ambition and drive that has seen public interest in hockey skyrocket over 200% in Aquitayne over the past five years, and it is the Aquitaynian Men's National Team that has been the engine to this rise.

They have, so far, performed spectacularly at this 25th World Cup of Hockey, going for the first time three consecutive games without losing or drawing to another team. It is also the first time Aquitayne has started off the tournament undefeated, and it is hoped that the streak will only continue from here. This latest match against Valanora was a highly contested game, and not many sports analysts were keen on deciding a victor beforehand. Although Aquitayne was facing the third best team in the world, they had gone up against much worse odds and come out on top before, and no one doubted the resolve of a fierce Aquitaynian team.

The game started against Aquitayne's favor, with Left Winger Balafindien Lanethdal scoring the first goal within the first twenty minutes. He used speed and tactile skating to maneuver around the Aquitaynian defenders and glide the puck through the legs of Andre Badalamenti. The Valanoran defense would give the Aquitaynian team a run for their money during the second quarter, when they shut down almost every offensive play that was being tried.

---

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We wanted
them to believe
they had the game in
the bag. Let their
guard down.
That's when we
let them know who's
really in control.

The scoreboard would remain 3-2 in Tursasia's favor until the third period, where things would very intensely begin to heat up.
It was at the beginning of the third quarter that the Aquitaynian Men's National Team put their foot down. The offensive lines and defensive players had definitely gotten a pep talk in the locker room by the Coach, which has been with the team from the start. Head Coach Holden Molotsky stated at the press conference later that, "we wanted them to believe they had the game in the bag. Let their guard down. That's when we let them know who was really in control." It was a risky tactic, but it worked out marvelously. Aquitayne would come back from their goal deficit to capture two goals within ten minutes of the period. The first Aquitaynian goal was scored by Center Matthew Thakkar (A) in the 9th minute, followed by a brutal slapshot from Right Wing Aksel Ness, which sped past the Valanoran goaltender's glove before he even had time to see it in the 15th minute. With only five minutes left of play, and a victory right on the cusp, Aquitayne's defense shut the rink down.

The Valanoran offense swung into high gear, their Captain, Imenien Lithloth, attempted to lead the team to tie the match at 2 in the waning minutes of the game, but to no avail. Defenseman Andre Colen knocked Lithloth to the ice brutally at center ice as Lithloth attempted to use his agile skating ability to move around the burly 6'3", 225 pound defender. From the moment Aquitayne scored its second goal, the rink was theirs.

Though this game highlights the best of what the men's team has to offer, it does not prove us to be out of the woods quite yet. The next match Aquitayne plays is against British Grand Pacific, an Unranked team, but Coach Holden Molotsky is not considering the game a bye. He said unqueivocally that, "Although the team is unranked, we must remember our own humble beginnings. Unranked teams are, in my mind, the most dangerous, for one simple reason: we don't know their true capabilities. They're unranked, unknown, they're a variable you can't really plan for."

It waits to be seen how far and how well the Men's Team will do in this years World Cup of Hockey, but suffice to say, they're off to a grand start.

---

© ED 42 Aquitaynian National News All rights reserved.
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[Borschlandia]

A conversation between Henrick Willem (Wils) Reinhardt and Wamper Itasca, in a Montreuil, Vaugania, hospital room.

[Note: Loflinders, natives of Loflinland, are highly ironic people, and often mean the opposite of what they say]

WILS: How's the head, Whammy?
WHAM: I think I am on my last legs. I am on my way to my ancestors.
WILS: Yeah, I didn't think you were sick enough to be held out of either of those games. We killed Camerania. Did you see? I was on television. You could've seen me.
WHAM: (pointing to television above his bed) I dozed through it.
WILS: te Beer was fine, but we almost didn't need anyone in goal. They didn't put up much of a fight. They weren't even as good as a good Borschic team.
WHAM: (nods)
WILS: So how are you, Whammy? Did the doctors find anything else out?
WHAM: Doctors are a consolation of the spirit, nothing more, little brother.
WILS: They told us you're allergic to something in Vaugania.
WHAM: People are allergic to the world.
WILS: Allergic to this world, maybe? But not our home world? The world of my father?
WHAM: The only true problem is to be forever between, little brother. On the edge, and not able to go back to one or the other. Tellus or Terra, it doesn't matter. The edge is hell.
WILS: Is that really true?
WHAM: Once you have passed through the door, all is well. In between, chaos.
WILS: So what if we never passed through the door? How would you feel about that?
WHAM: (looks hard at Wils)
WILS: I mean, what if we were always in the Tellus universe? The universe of the saints, where the saints are active?
WHAM: Impossible, and never a truer word was spoken.
WILS: I've been working with a group of scientists who say it is possible. We can stop the phase shift. We can be in the Vauganian universe, with the rest of the World Cup countries, forever.
WHAM: What about your sister? In America, in university? I suppose she can fend for herself.
WILS: We won't do it now. We'll wait, till she gets back.
WHAM: Scientists are a consolation of the spirit, nothing more.
WILS: I know you don't believe that. You don't want there to be transitions. You just said you didn't.
WHAM: Ah, little brother. You work very hard, but for what? You are a mystery, I think, more than what a Loflin says.

[OOC Note from the author of the Skater books: I'm thrilled to participate in NationStates.net sports roleplaying; it helps me as I'm thinking about my third novel in the Borschland Hockey Chronicles. I may want to include the World Cup of Hockey in my next book, and so I wonder if any of the countries in this WCOH would give permission to use names, culture, etc. I'm thinking about Gyatso-Kai first and foremost, but there will be others. Keep it in mind.]

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Official Statement from Gaston Tremblay-Sachs

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to make some clarifications and further statements about latest of controversies that rotates around the theme of "love-hate relationship" between Gregoryisgodistan and Saintland.

I will start by addressing accusations held against myself and the Federation. Early this morning Petrus XX, the King of Saintland, has accused the Federation for fining Gregoryisgodistan for the murder of the 2 Quebec Hockey League players, but allowing them to get away with murdering the other 3 players. I am more than happy to state that I am fining the offenders due to "the monetary loss of 4 other players to the Sanctii delegation", with additional clause of "especially that of Ioannes Bruccius and Marcus Trebatius to Quebecois hockey community". This is to emphasise the loss of those two players to the Quebecois hockey market and the fans, but does not mean that we're ignoring the losses of 3 others as well.

Then there's demands from Gregoryisgodistan that I'll address as well. Since the qualification of Gregoryisgodistani National Team to the Playoffs, let alone semifinals, is neither clinched nor guaranteed, adjustments to the timetable won't be ensured. While I completely understand the religious significance of the Creation Day to a Gregoryisgodistani, It'd be too premature of the organisation to do so, and it's not as if the Gregoryisgodistani National Team's getting an automatic bye to Semifinals anyways. So once it's guaranteed it shall be discussed further, but in another time. This kind of arrangements, in future, will also be open for the other nations requiring such arrangements.

In addition, I and the Disciplinary Committee has decided that Gregoryisgodistani actions, regardless, were still an extreme act of violence against an opponent and therefore the five enemy crushers will be suspended for 3 matches, until the 6th matchday of the tournament, as well as additional fine of $7,000 Quebecois($21,000 NS) to Horse Beater LAL9120 for lack of control, discipline and accountability held to his players. Let's not do this again, and I hope so as well.

Lastly I would like to address his highness of Saintland and my critics that regardless of whatever that happens with the controversies I won't resign. The very aforementioned crime has happened in Quebecois soil and it'll be held under the Quebecois law, while the investigation is still ongoing and negotiations between I and the VP. In addition, I have no reason to resign and fully stand by my decision unless I revoke or change it due to whatever the reason.

Thank you and good night.

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions' Newcomers Propel Team to 3-0-0 start

Martin Granger, Staff Reporter

With the retirement of Lions hockey veterans like Kermit "The Frog" Lea, René Robinson, and the defensive pairing of Dwayne Burke and Garry Foster, among others, there was apprehension in the hockey community as to whether they could keep up the same high level of play fans had grown to expect. Would the new players mesh with the rest of the team? Could other players handle their new responsibilities? The answer so far is a resounding yes.

Through three games, the Nova Anglicana Lions have gotten off to an undefeated and untied start. Although this fast start has come against two unranked foes and 47th-ranked Patistan, a slip-up due to chemistry or inexperience could have proved fatal. The Lions' nerves were on display in their first match against unranked Arvenida. At 10:46 of the second period, they conceded their first goal, though it wasn't through lack of trying that Arvenida was held scoreless. They outshot the Lions 22-9 over the first period and a half, and only heroic efforts by veteran netminder Andrés Kelly had kept them off the board. The Lions had committed four penalties and looked extremely disorganized. Following the goal, Cecil Palmer called his timeout and lit into his players. Whatever he screamed at them seemed to work, as they came out of the timeout firing. They racked up ten shots in the last nine minutes and change, and Matt Grier hit veteran Derek Jensen with a perfect pass for a quick wrister that tied the score at 17:23. Even with the Lions playing at a high level of intensity, it wasn't until 12:28 of the third period when they finally broke through. Rookie Leif Haas banged home a rebound of an Ellis White shot for his first senior team goal. The Lions committed no penalties in the final thirty minutes and ending up outshooting Arvenida 33-31 for the game.

In their second game, the Lions took on middle-ranked Patistan, and a balanced attack allowed them to dispatch the Patistani-Quebecois team. They scored one goal in each period, but the surprise was who scored them. Troy Parker, first-line center, was no surprise, but fourth-line center and wing Gavyn Newhall and Scotty Gaston, respectively, provided a big spark from the bottom of the depth chart. Gaston's goal at 8:34 made it a 3-0 contest, and Kelly only lost the shutout due to a deflection at 18:46. The Lions outshot their foes 39-28 and committed just two penalties to Patistan's six as they coasted to the two-goal victory.

In the Lions' most recent game, they blitzed the country of Zips Nation, leading 5-0 before eventually winning 7-3. The second line, held scoreless before, exploded for four of the team's seven goals. Dallas Carlson had a pair and Jay Schwartz and Jordan Bergeron added a goal each. Young defenseman Sander van der Zeijden blasted home a slap shot at 5:44 of the second period to make it 5-0. Kelly gave up a couple of soft goals late in the second period, and was pulled for Bryan Blake in the third period. Blake would surrender one goal on nine shots, the goal coming against six attackers. Matt Grier's last-second goal in the second period gave the Lions a comfy 6-2 lead, and Ellis White added an empty-netter to provide the final margin.

The Lions face Havl next, the #2 team in the world. Havl tied with Arvenida 3-all, and so sit behind the Lions in the standings. But there will be no underestimation here. Havl clocked the Lions 6-1 in their only meeting (WCoH 23) and so they'll need to be at their best to have a chance of victory. Unfortunately, a draw's about as good as we can expect, but a point against Havl could be enough to finish top of the group.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

OOC: Gyatso-Kai's RP post is counted and graded for the marks, as it was posted while I was still reading them.

MD4- Vauganian Side

Group E
Havl 5–1 Nova Anglicana
The Fair Republic 3–1 Terre des Gaules
North Britonisea 0–5 Patistan
Arvenida 2–3 Zips Nation

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Havl                    4    3   1   0    13    4   +9     7
2 Nova Anglicana          4    3   0   1    13   10   +3     6
3 Patistan                4    2   1   1    16   10   +6     5
4 The Fair Republic       4    2   1   1    11    8   +3     5
5 Zips Nation             4    2   1   1     9   11   −2     5
6 Terre des Gaules        4    1   1   2     5    8   −3     3
7 Arvenida                4    0   1   3     9   14   −5     1
8 North Britonisea        4    0   0   4     1   12  −11     0

Group F
Gyatso-Kai 2–2 Nassau-Hessen
Equestrian States 5–1 Mapletish
Bandwagon 4–7 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland
Soviet Canuckistan 1–0 Novaya Zemlya

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Nassau-Hessen                               4    3   1   0    16    6  +10     7
2 Gyatso-Kai                                  4    2   2   0    17    7  +10     6
3 Equestrian States                           4    2   2   0    19   10   +9     6
4 Mapletish                                   4    2   0   2    11   12   −1     4
5 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland    4    2   0   2    11   14   −3     4
6 Soviet Canuckistan                          4    1   1   2     7    8   −1     3
7 Bandwagon                                   4    1   0   3     7   22  −15     2
8 Novaya Zemlya                               4    0   0   4     8   17   −9     0

Group G
Torisakia 2–2 HopNation
Estope 8–3 Semarland
Australian Council 1–3 Borschlandia
Camerania 0–2 Kazirstan

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Borschlandia            4    3   1   0    16    7   +9     7
2 Torisakia               4    2   2   0    16    5  +11     6
3 HopNation               4    2   1   1    12   11   +1     5
4 Estope                  4    1   3   0    12    7   +5     5
5 Kazirstan               4    2   1   1     9    7   +2     5
6 Semarland               4    1   0   3    10   21  −11     2
7 Australian Council      4    0   2   2     7   11   −4     2
8 Camerania               4    0   0   4     4   17  −13     0

Group H
Unified Sunrise Islands 2–1 Norrehavn
Vaugania 6–4 Zenic
Abanhfleft 6–0 Sudenland
Super-Llamaland 3–0 Mieraskya

Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vaugania                   4    2   2   0    19   12   +7     6
2 Zenic                      4    3   0   1    13    6   +7     6
3 Unified Sunrise Islands    4    2   1   1    12   11   +1     5
4 Norrehavn                  4    2   0   2    15    7   +8     4
5 Abanhfleft                 4    2   0   2    14   13   +1     4
6 Super-Llamaland            4    2   0   2    11   16   −5     4
7 Mieraskya                  4    0   2   2     6   12   −6     2
8 Sudenland                  4    0   1   3     5   18  −13     1

[Gyatso-kai]

OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
From the Archives of the National Sports Council for the Avatarian Republics of Gyatso-kai

Name and Title: Madame TIE Lian-hua [鐵蓮花 / 铁莲花 ; Tiě Liánhuā]

Country: GKI [Gyatso-kai]

Born: 20 November 1963.2, REPUBLIC CITY

Education:

• Degree in Political Relations, WanShiTong University
• Degree in Eastern Avatarian Linguistics, WanShiTong University
• Doctorate in Political Relations, Republic City State University

Career:

• Member of the Board for the SATO Automobile Company [2004.2 - 2008.3]
• Assistant Director of Hockey Operations, Si Wong Beetles (AHL) [2008.4 - 2010.1]
• Member of the National Sports Council [2010.2 - 2012.1]
• Director of Hockey Operations, Si Wong Beetles [2012.1 - 2014.1]

Sports Practiced: Meshgeroya, Hockey, Wushu

Sports Career:

• Incarnate Games Champion, Women's Ice Hockey at the XXIX Incarnate Games in Gaoling in 1978
• 1979, 1980 Gyatso-kai Championship Hockey Tournament
• Member of the 1982 Meshgeroya Women's Team at the Mandalorian Games

WCoHF History:

• Elected First Female Representative for the Avatarian Republics of Gyatso-kai [2014.1]
• Elected Head of the Avatarian Republics of Gyatso-kai Representatives [2014.1]
• Elected Vice-President of the World Cup of Hockey Federation [2014.1 - ]

Languages Spoken:

• Avatarian [Fluent]
  • Omashuese
  • Gaolingish
  • Kicha'ng
  • Standard Avatarian
• Standard [Fluent]
• Mando'a [Conversational]
• French [Conversational]
• Korean [Conversational]

Personal Life:

• Marital Status: Unmarried / Never Maried
• Number of Children: None

[Vaugania]

Matchday 4 - Quebecois Side

Group A
The United Kingdoms of Zackalantis 1–6 Free Republics
Friday Freshman 2–1 Britonisea
Gregoryisgodistan 6–1 San Jose Guayabal
Saintland 2–5 Darmen

  Group A                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Free Republics                          4   3  0  1   16   8  +8    9
2 Gregoryisgodistan                       4   3  0  1    9   2  +7    9
3 Saintland                               4   3  0  1   15  10  +5    9
4 San Jose Guayabal                       4   3  0  1   14  11  +3    9
5 Darmen                                  4   2  0  2   10  10   0    6
6 Britonisea                              4   1  0  3    7  10  −3    3
7 Friday Freshman                         4   1  0  3   13  20  −7    3
8 The United Kingdoms of Zackalantis      4   0  0  4    1  14 −13    0

Group B
Nova Terra Divinia 4–5 Miley World
United States of Devonta 3–1 Polar Islandstates
Neu Engollon 4–4 Jeckland
Hicana 2–0 Transalpine Republic

  Group B                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Hicana                                  4   3  1  0   17   5 +12   10
2 Transalpine Republic                    4   3  0  1   19   9 +10    9
3 Polar Islandstates                      4   2  1  1   13   9  +4    7
4 Jeckland                                4   2  1  1   12  12   0    7
5 Neu Engollon                            4   1  2  1   21  17  +4    5
6 Miley World                             4   1  0  3   11  18  −7    3
7 United States of Devonta                4   1  0  3    6  17 −11    3
8 Nova Terra Divinia                      4   0  1  3   14  26 −12    1

Group C
Mieraskya 3–2 Jecatria
Isula ge Ru 4–2 Narsora
Ko-oren 1–0 Mohawk Clans
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 4–2 Cosumar

  Group C                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec                 4   3  1  0   17   8  +9   10
2 Ko-oren                                 4   3  1  0    8   4  +4   10
3 Narsora                                 4   3  0  1   11   7  +4    9
4 Cosumar                                 4   2  0  2   11  10  +1    6
5 Mohawk Clans                            4   1  1  2    6   4  +2    4
6 Mieraskya                               4   1  0  3    8  13  −5    3
7 Isula ge Ru                             4   1  0  3    7  16  −9    3
8 Jecatria                                4   0  1  3    6  12  −6    1

Group D
British Grand Pacific 2–3 RPGers
Friskney Eaudike 5–1 Mizuyuki
Valanora 6–4 Esparmuran
Vilita and Turori 3–2 Aquitayne

  Group D                               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Esparmuran                              4   3  0  1   20   9 +11    9
2 Aquitayne                               4   3  0  1    7   5  +2    9
3 Vilita and Turori                       4   2  1  1   12   8  +4    7
4 Valanora                                4   2  1  1   14  12  +2    7
5 Friskney Eaudike                        4   1  1  2   11  12  −1    4
6 Mizuyuki                                4   1  1  2    9  11  −2    4
7 RPGers                                  4   1  0  3    6  17 −11    3
8 British Grand Pacific                   4   0  2  2    8  13  −5    2

[Kazirstan]

KAZIRSTANI CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY

Kazirstan Shuts Out Camerania at WCoH 25

Natalia Borishevski, KCNA

ARROWHEAD ARENA, BUESK - After a disappointing and hard-fought one-nothing defeat at the hands of HopNation, Kazirstan came back with a vengeance, and shut out Camerania two-nothing in an exciting and impressive display of skill by the Kazirstani team. The first goal came at 18:12 in the first period. Left-winger Nikolai Zoteev made a slick pass to centre Yevgeni Vladimir who scored on a one-time shot.

Kazirstani goaltender Pavel Yuldashov made several fantastic saves to keep the game at one-nothing. The second goal was scored by captain Fedor Dallman and assisted by defencemen Vladimir Husniddin and Sergei Ismailov. The goal was scored at 12:58 in the third period. Camerania pulled goaltender *blurred name* in the last minutes of the game but to no avail, Kazirstan won with a final score of 2-0.