WCoH 18 Everything Thread

[Shofercia]

Team Name: The Shofercian Eagles
Nickname: The Eagles
Country Code: SHO

Roster:

Line 1 (Torpedo):
LW Pashka Bren
C Sergei Sergeev
RW Lev Koper
D Dmitri Turchinsky
D Oleg Harding

Style of play: power forwards!

Line 2 (Rockets):
LW Frolik Aleksandrov
C Dat Pashkov
RW Afi Maksimov
D Mark Andreev
D Mark Danilov

Style of play: passing, passing, passing, GOAL!

Line 3 (Tigers):
LW Sam Ivanov
C Phil Tigrov
RW Slavik Milikov
D Ivan Markeev
D Artem Ushatik

Style of play: Start out in own zone, lure the opponent in, and counterattack!

Line 4 (Waves):
LW Cake Adamov
C Gordo Bomb
RW Charlie Shen
D Rob Smit
D Rob Kashpirski

Style of Play: tough on defense, hitting for turnovers, trying to intercept the puck, stretch passes

Goaltenders:
Victor Stolichnuy - had a 96% overall saving percentage, faced a lot of shots. Team lost in the semis, as they couldn't score
Basil Catnip - despite the humorous surname, Basil's team, the Rockets, took second place, in a large part due to Basil's 92% overall saving percentage. If Basil could play with stability, he would rival Stolichnuy, as his talent surpasses Victor's, but he's still young.
Erema Aleksandrov - Taken as a sub-goaltender, because his team, the Torpedo, won Gold. His 90% average saving percentage is not the best, and considering his defensive support, it should be better.

Head Coach: Steve Uriev
Manager/CEO: Ivan Moneybags
Domestic Clubs: Torpedo, Rockets, Tigers and Waves (Yes, there were a lot of jokes in Shofercia when Torpedo defeated Rockets in the finals.)

Style Modifier: +5

Venue for Group Stage: Shofercian National Hockey Stadium in Olympia:



Capacity: 30,000, and the crowd can get very rowdy!

If my opponent RPs first, I give them the right to:
Name my scorers Y 
Godmod scoring events Y 
Injure my players Y, but nothing serious 
Godmod injuries N
RP ejections to my players N 
Godmod other events Y, TG me first

Team Shofercia will be making their seventh World Cup of Hockey Appearance in Yesopalitha! The Team's Current record leaves much to be desired. The Shofercians failed to make the playoffs in the 17th World Cup, but rebounded during the Winter Olympic Games held in Liventia, where the Men's Ice Hockey Team went on to earn the Bronze Medal. The Shofercian Eagles played 45 total regular WCoH games, ending them with 28 wins, 12 losses and 5 ties. The Eagles scored 103 goals, and missed 67 goals. Will the 17th WCoH statistics hunt the Shofercians, or will they be able to coast through the regular games, using their Olympic Experience?

The Pessimists believe that the Shofercians will be unable to replicate their Olympic performance, whereas the Optimists believe that the Shofercian Eagles were simply amazing in the Olympics, and are bound to rock and roll the games in Yesopalitha. Who is right? Stay tuned - the first game is coming up!

[Soviet Canuckistan]

{Excerpt from a Soviet Canuckistan Sports Network Broadcast}

John:Welcome to SC Hockey Today, I'm John Seribachi and over here on my left is Jim Sudoi, so Jim, anything big today?

Jim:Well, WCoH 18 begins today with a huge match for Soviet Canuckistan against #2 ranked Valanora at home today and we have an interview with Andrew Pollock to be featured on our newscast today.

John:Sounds interesting, Jim, how do you think Soviet Canuckistan will fare?

Jim:Hard to say,Mijahkstan and Yasono are both unranked, making them hard to predict, 49th ranked Vilitia and Turori will give us a good run for our money, it'll be close, maybe a battle for third place. With Valanora and Mangolana, those will be hard matches as they're ranked 2nd and 18th respectively, and don't forget only top spot is guaranteed to qualify with second place being a wild card.

John:Interesting, hopefully our boys will do well, now lets talk to Andrew Pollock, joining us over Interchat is Soviet Canuckistan's biggest star.

*video of interview begins to stream on screen*

John:Hello, welcome to Hockey SC Today

Andrew:Hello

Jim:So, so close to the first game against Valanora, how are you feeling?

Andrew:Nervous, my first time here and against a hard team but with our fans to give us support, it'll be good, we're doing this for them.

John:So how does it feel to skate in Moscawa instead of St.Beaversburg?

Andrew:Different atmosphere, St. Beaversburg is a lot more hockey-oriented, in those northern forests.
Jim:How does it feel to be the star of the team?

Andrew:A lot of pressure, but this will surely be a boost to my career and it feels good to be the face of a team representing Soviet Canuckistan.

John:Well, that concluded the interview, good luck and bye Andrew.

Andrew:Bye
[Interview Concludes]

Jim:That was Andrew Pollock, one of the stars of Canuckistani hockey, next up the future of the IHL

{End of excerpt}

[Yesopalitha]

And with the score reports of PHI 4-3 NJ and PHO 5-3 NSH from the NHL, here is your MD1 cutoff. (Remember, Home team first)

---

Group 1
Yesopalitha 2–0 Mapletish
Cotdelapoms 3–1 Camerania
Greater Kenya 0–3 Michael VII

Group 1                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Michael VII                  1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Cotdelapoms                  1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
3 Yesopalitha                  1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
4 Camerania                    1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0
5 Mapletish                    1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
6 Greater Kenya                1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

Group 2
Filopines 1–3 Bergnovinaia
Ashley Greene 3–5 Princess Beatrice Isle
Newland-America 3–3 Cosumar

Group 2                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Princess Beatrice Isle       1    1   0   0     5    3   +2     3
2 Bergnovinaia                 1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
3 Cosumar                      1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
  Newland-America              1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
5 Ashley Greene                1    0   0   1     3    5   −2     0
6 Filopines                    1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0

Group 3
Thatius 3–3 Falconwhereveryouare
Carmadin 1–3 Mantwenic
Salchar 1–1 Gyatso-kai

Group 3                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Mantwenic                    1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
2 Falconwhereveryouare         1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
  Thatius                      1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
4 Gyatso-kai                   1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Salchar                      1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
6 Carmadin                     1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0

Group 4
Darmen 5–4 Audioslavia
Cassadaigua 6–2 Narsora
Weatherdon 1–0 Equestrian States

Group 4                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                  1    1   0   0     6    2   +4     3
2 Darmen                       1    1   0   0     5    4   +1     3
3 Weatherdon                   1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Audioslavia                  1    0   0   1     4    5   −1     0
5 Equestrian States            1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
6 Narsora                      1    0   0   1     2    6   −4     0

Group 5
Civil Citizenry 4–1 King Rankmore
Cheergirls 1–1 Shofercia
Polkopia 0–0 Orlkjestad

Group 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Civil Citizenry              1    1   0   0     4    1   +3     3
2 Cheergirls                   1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Shofercia                    1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
4 Orlkjestad                   1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
  Polkopia                     1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
6 King Rankmore                1    0   0   1     1    4   −3     0

Group 6
Mijahkstan 2–3 Yasono
Vilita and Turori 4–3 Mangolana
Soviet Canuckistan 0–4 Valanora

Group 6                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valanora                     1    1   0   0     4    0   +4     3
2 Vilita and Turori            1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
3 Yasono                       1    1   0   0     3    2   +1     3
4 Mangolana                    1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
5 Mijahkstan                   1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
6 Soviet Canuckistan           1    0   0   1     0    4   −4     0

Group 7
Camwood 0–1 Polar Islandstates
Hakkland 2–1 Byfugland
Sel Appa 1–2 THRILLEDGE

Group 7                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Hakkland                     1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
  THRILLEDGE                   1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
3 Polar Islandstates           1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Byfugland                    1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0
  Sel Appa                     1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0
6 Camwood                      1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0

Group 8
Kelssek 2–1 Western Cuba
The Icemark 2–2 Carrie Underwood
Plutoni 1–0 New Eteria

Group 8                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kelssek                      1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
2 Plutoni                      1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
3 Carrie Underwood             1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
  The Icemark                  1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
5 Western Cuba                 1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0
6 New Eteria                   1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0

Group 9
Areais 0–3 Allamunnic States
Cowardly Pacifists 5–3 Mohawk Clans
Syleruias 0–1 Homelands Our

Group 9                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Allamunnic States            1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Cowardly Pacifists           1    1   0   0     5    3   +2     3
3 Homelands Our                1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Syleruias                    1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
5 Mohawk Clans                 1    0   0   1     3    5   −2     0
6 Areais                       1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

Group 10
Qazox 6–1 TaQud
Bloodbath Generation 4–3 Torisakia
New High Charity 24 2–3 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk

Group 10                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Qazox                        1    1   0   0     6    1   +5     3
2 Bloodbath Generation         1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
3 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk       1    1   0   0     3    2   +1     3
4 Torisakia                    1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
5 New High Charity 24          1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
6 TaQud                        1    0   0   1     1    6   −5     0

[Plutoni]

hockey17.plu/desc/features/wcoh18md1

Apparently there's an award
For defenders who often have scored
In Michael VII
Named after us. Oh, my!
Our fans are quite pleased, although floored.

Today, we just beat a new side.
It was their first game. Full of pride
Their defense held strong,
Like, forty minutes long.
Through two periods we were tied.

Then Brandle Hethgard showed some speed
And gave team Plutoni the lead.
The score stayed the same
The rest of the game
(Plus, it's right above us, just read.)

By far, the best news of the day
Is that our goalie will go play
In the Civiline League.
So we will not fatigue
Of making stupid puns up. Hooray!

A forward has transferred as well.
Lawrence will go play in Ventrell.
But as far as puns go,
I'm afraid there are no
Candidates there, the sad truth to tell.

Next up is Carrie Underwood.
She probably isn't that good.
A one-player team
Or some tactical scheme
That our players have not understood?

Comments:
1. blueshiftline: Is that really how you pronounce VII?
2. midra: I prefer haiku.

[Torisakia]

The Torisakia News

Torisakia upset in final minute

Yes, it seems Torisakia screwed up again. The Ice Birds had a 3-0 lead with 7 minutes left to go in the 3rd. Somehow, they just started playing aggresive and gave up 3 goals in 4 minutes. The Ice Birds tried to regain the lead. But missed the net on all 12 tries. With 0:30 seconds to go in the game, Bloodbath Generation scored with a slap-shot to the net. Within 0:37 seconds, the Ice Birds tried desperately tried to get a goal to send the game to OT. With 0:03 seconds left, Alexei Borodin shot the puck at the right-top corner of the net. The puck bounced of

of the left net-post and the top net-post and flew out. The whole Torisakia team left the game in rage. An easy win turned into a bad loss. Bloodbath Generation scoring 4 goals in 6 minutes and 22 seconds. It was pitiful. Torisakia plays tomorrow against New High Charity 24. If the Ice Birds can't win that game, then hell surely will have frozen over. Let's cheer on our Ice Birds at Æ Arena tomorrow in Tokai. The game is at 8pm TST on TSPNU. Go Ice Birds!!!

TORISAKIA ICE BIRDS SCHEDULE:
RECORD: (0-0-1)

Saturday, April 28th - Pre-Qual Friendly - at (24)Allamunnic States L (6-5)
Sunday, April 29th - Matchday 1 - at (NR)Blodbath Generation L (4-3)
Monday, April 30th - Matchday 2 - vs (NR)New High Charity 24
Tuesday, May 1st - Matchday 3 - at (19)Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk

Alexei Borodin after Torisakia's 4-3 loss

Wednesday, May 2nd - Matchday 4 - at (NR)TaQud
Thursday, May 3rd - Matchday 5 - vs (4)Qazox
Friday, May 4th - Mid-Qual Friendly - vs (14)Darmen
Saturday, May 5th - Matchday 6 - vs (NR)Blodbath Generation
Sunday, May 6th - Matchday 7 - at (NR)New High Charity 24
Monday, May 7th - Matchday 8 - vs (19)Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
Tuesday, May 8th - Matchday 9 - vs (NR)TaQud
Wednesday, May 9th - Matchday 10 - at (4)Qazox
Thursday, May 10th - Post-Qual Friendly - (34)THRILLEDGE

For more news, scores, and analysis, go to page 3A

[Gyatso-kai]

Bisons Falter AGAIN!!! DRAW IN FIRST MATCH!!!

ONLINE EDITION

29 APRIL 2012.2

TOURNAMENT - World Cup of Hockey

---

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---

Coming into their first qualifying match of the Eighteenth World Cup of Hockey, the Ice Bisons could not get any rhythm, thus drawing with the lower-ranked Salchar Salcharians 1-1 in Salchar.

"It just wasn't good," spoke Shu Huangguo in a post-match interview. "We just could not get a single shot in, regardless of who we sent out."

Even though the Ice Bisons outshot the Salcharians 34-29, outshooting them in all three periods, they just could more than a single goal in during a lucky break in the second period. Luckily for the Ice Bisons, the only goal made by the Salcharians came in a third period powerplay on a High-Sticking penalty for Hakoda Ishii.

"It just happened. I spun around to get the puck, and my stick just went up... The ref blew the whistle before I could even adjust. They caught us all night long... Every mistake punished...I'll be glad to play back home."

With the first game down, the Ice Bisons look to improve their stock facing off against unranked Falconwhereveryouare --- a name almost as fun to say as Abcdefghijklmnoprstuk --- at their home arena. Hopefully, this game will go better than tonights...

It has to...

---

Goal Summary

First Period
**No Goals Scored**

Second Period
GKI: Ishida [Ishii, Tay'haai] (10:11)

Third Period
SCH: M. Morgan [S. Lipsonen] (07:11) [PP]

Penalty Summary

First Period
**No Penalties Awarded**

Second Period
05:40 --- GKI --- High-Sticking, 2-min --- A. Skirata
08:16 --- SCH --- Tripping, 2-min --- M. Morgan drawn by A. Skirata
14:57 --- SCH --- Elbowing, 2-min --- M. Morgan drawn by A. Skirata

Third Period
02:33 --- GKI --- Hooking, 2-min --- W. Tay'haai drawn by V. Camelbeeck
06:17 --- GKI --- High-Sticking, 2-min --- H. Ishii
10:30 --- SCH --- Slashing, 2-min --- T. Vos drawn by H. Ishii
17:01 --- SCH --- Tripping, 2-min --- J. Engelen drawn by Sato S.

Goaltending

Team	Name		SA	GA	Saves	SV%	TOI
SCH	B. STEIJLEN	34	01	33	0.971	60:20
GKI	SHU H.		29	01	28	0.965	60:18

Shots on Goal Summary

TEAM	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	FINAL
SCH	10	09	11	xx	29
GKI	11	12	11	XX	34

Injury Summary

**No Injuries Sustained**

Three Stars

**No Stars Awarded**

---

Post Match comments

We just couldn't get the lines together... I don't know...

Kad Skirata, Head Coach, Men's National Ice Hockey Team

Bad start to the World Cup. A draw against such a low-ranked team... What happened out there?

Aaron Yitsune --- ASPN Commentator

A draw!!!! WTF #bisons

Aima Yelim --- Avatarian AV Idol on RepTwitter

---

In GROUP 3

Pre-Qual Fr, 28 April at ₉Cotdelapoms --- LOSS 1-2
Matchday 01, 29 April at ₉₁Salchar --- DRAW 1-1
Matchday 02, 30 April at _NRFalconwhereveryouare
Matchday 03, 01 May vs ₂₉Mantenwic
Matchday 04, 02 May at ₃₆Thatius
Machtday 05, 03 May vs ₁₀₅Carmandin
Mid-Qual Fr, 04 May vs ₉Cotdelapoms
Matchday 06, 05 May vs ₉₁Salchar
Matchday 07, 06 May vs _NRFalconwhereveryouare
Matchday 08, 07 May at ₂₉Mantenwic
Matchday 09, 08 May vs ₃₆Thatius
Matchday 10, 09 May at ₁₀₅Carmandin
End-Qual Fr, 10 May vs/at Cotdelapoms (To Be Determined)

---

Group Three - Matchday 01

The rest of the match proved just as fruitless, save for Mantwenic, who delievered a sound beating to Carmadin in their own home stadium; a 3-1 slapping which was felt all the way in Mandalore.

Scores Around The Group
₃₆Thatius 3–3 _NRFalconwhereveryouare
₁₀₅Carmadin 1–3 ₂₉Mantwenic
₉₁Salchar 1–1 ₃Gyatso-kai

Group 3                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Mantwenic                    1    1   0   0     3    1   +2     3
2 Falconwhereveryouare         1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
  Thatius                      1    0   1   0     3    3    0     1
4 Gyatso-kai                   1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Salchar                      1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
6 Carmadin                     1    0   0   1     1    3   −2     0

The Goalscorers for Gyatso-kai

Player		Goals	Games Scores Made In
Hakoda ISHII	01	PQ
Arnook ISHIDA	01	I

---

The Next Match

Preview: Matchday 02 at _NRFalconwhereveryouare

Going up against an unranked team is never something Skirata enjoys. However, with the set up of the tournament as it is, the Ice Bisons have to face the two unranked teams of Group Three back-to-back, first away and then at home. Will the Bisons unleash the fury of a team bent on World Cup Glory? Or will they pitter-patter around the puck and hold the game to a single goal defeat...

Not to mention... The team managed three goals against Thatius. That is no easy feat...

[Michael VII]

Previewing Michael VII's hopes in WCoH 18. Wins over Carmadin and Greater Kenya help cause

Michael VII are reasonably well ranked at Hockey for some reason. We've never really done well at all in the tournament, however we have a bit of consistency with doing average in the group stage. Plus, a fair amount of ranked teams aren't coming to the party this time, which makes our 27th ranking seem even better. Hopefully that rank will increase, as we've been drawn into a group with only the Cotdelapoms Apples trumping our rank. Placed in Group One, it turns out that we do get to go to Yesopalitha this time after all regardless, due to them being placed in our qualifying group! Chea! Yeso can feel our wrath, as we may well be one of the more feared teams this time round. WCoH 18 could still be a shining beacon for Michael VII, and we should continue to improve before our goal of potentially hosting the 20th edition in a couple of years. By then we might actually have a shot at winning some games.

So let's take a look at Group One.
1. Cotdelapoms (9)
-The undisputed winners of this group. The Apples have had a great Hockey history and of recent have proven to be the team to beat. As of the pre-qualifiers, Cotdelapoms managed to edge a win over 3rd ranked Gyatso-kai, which further sustains their position as easy victors over Michael VII when they play twice these qualifiers.
2. Michael VII (27)
-So here's us, projected to make the playoffs stage in Yesopalitha, as we're ranked 2nd, and have the ability to displace 30th ranked Mapletish. Should we get this far we'll soon be out of our depth in the playoffs, quickly to be eliminated but will have enjoyed the tournament anyway. Hopefully Friedrich Zoller can lead us to that point.
3. Mapletish (30)
-The self-proclaimed Hockey Minnows are here to join our group and put together a strong case for qualification in this WC. Just ranked 3 places below us, the two matches against us will really show who will qualify alongside Cotdelapoms from Group One. Next up are the Hockey Minnows, who fell to unranked by dangerous home side Yesopalitha 2-0 today.
4. Yesopalitha (UR)
-They might have just beaten Mapletish, but playing at home in the opening game of the tournament will have helped Yesopalitha to a win over the Minnows. Its still early days yet, and them being unranked will hinder them in the long run. Still, they could yet compete for 2nd place.
5. Camerania (UR)
-We know nothing about them, but at least they put a goal on CDP today, in a valiant 3-1 losing effort.
6. Greater Kenya (UR)
-We wish that they were better to make our win over them seem better, but since they couldn't put a goal on us, let alone a stronger opposition in CDP. Then again, these unranked teams could easily swap positions through the qualifying process, so what we predict really means nothing. But as we know, Top 2 advance, so these guys won't be near that position by the midpoint.

Today in Group One
-Cotdelapoms dealt to a Cameranian side 3-1 at home, while Yesopalitha upset 30th ranked Mapletish 2-0 in the opening game, while we just happened to be able to pull off a shutout against Greater Kenya 3-0. This followed our 7-6 win in a scorefest at Carmadin the night before. In the other friendly involving Group One sides, Cotdelapoms pulled off a spectacle of a win in a 2-1 match over friendly rivals Gyatso-kai.

Michael VII's offense has really been firing as of late, but it seems that we have a bit of a weak spot in our defense, where we need to be stronger. Conceding 6 goals in one match isn't a good sign, however it was a match where Lines 1 and 2 played minimal offensive roles, while Line 4 got crucial experience. Line 4 winger, and rookie Alexei Andropov set the tone by scoring a rare hat trick on debut, netting one in each period, just adding to the superstitious Carmadin coach's beliefs that the number 7 means everything! Andropov wears number 7, on a country named after the 7th emperor, and is only SEVENteen years old. So maybe Alexei is a guy to promote, but his youthfulness could cost us for now, so he'll remain on Line 4. In the 7 goal effort, Mattheus Morkel added 2 to the tally as well, proving to everyone, as to why the Yeti aren't willing to sell him to the Citiz in their league. Samuel Ford added one, as he prepares to be in Michael VII for the last time before leaving for Civil Citizenry, while Zane Spears added the other from a rebound shot sent by Friedrich Zoller. Robert Grenky seemed rusty on the rebounds and on one-timer shots. Protected the goal well from long first up shots, but Carmadin got past easily if attacking the net from close range.

Score summary:
1-0 Michael VII (Alexei Andropov, 10.51 in 1st)
2-0 Michael VII (Mattheus Morkel, 17.19 in 1st)
2-1 Michael VII (Chay’o’t Naw’haw, PP, 2.15 in 2nd)
3-1 Michael VII (Zane Spears, 2SH, 18.47 in 2nd)
3-2 Michael VII (Ahmyah Nohval, 19.15 in 2nd)
4-2 Michael VII (Alexei Andropov, 19.57 in 2nd)
4-3 Michael VII (Ahmyah Nohval, 0.16 in 3rd)
4-4 Tied (Z’hur W’, 5.23 in 3rd)
5-4 Michael VII (Alexei Andropov, 12.37 in 3rd)
6-4 Michael VII (Mattheus Morkel, PP, 15.12 in 3rd)
6-5 Michael VII (Pahrn Fah’yun, 17.03 in 3rd)
7-5 Michael VII (Samuel Ford, EN, 19.12 in 3rd)
7-6 Michael VII (Dahniht Zuh’ch, 6-on-5, 19.52 in 3rd)
7-6 Michael VII FINAL.

Penalties Summary:
Michael VII - Lyle Davy, 2 minutes for Roughing, 5.19 in 1st
Michael VII - Derrick Nutzer, 2 minutes for Tripping, 1.57 in 2nd
Carmadin - Dahniht Zuh’ch, 2 minutes for Holding, 5.18 in 2nd
Michael VII - Lyle Davy, 5 minutes for Boarding, 16.03 in 2nd
Michael VII - Gerald Fordt, 2 minutes for Hooking, 18.35 in 2nd
Carmadin - #9 Shahk Ng’ochihz, 2 minutes for Tripping, 13.19 in 3rd

In a much less attack-oriented affair, Robert Grenky posted a shutout in the first match of group play in qualifying, at Greater Kenya. The first line played their expected 25 minutes of ice time today, and scored 2 of the 3 goals in the match, while the third line's staunch defense kept Kenya out of the game. Harold Bertman added a 40 footer from the point, Friedrich Zoller netted a goal from close in range, sniping out rebound from Bertman's shot in the slot, and Steve Barlow put the game even further out of reach, putting one away late in the 3rd by outdeking the defensemen from Kenya.

Scoring Summary:
1-0 Michael VII (Harold Bertman, 1.47 in 1st)
2-0 Michael VII (Friedrich Zoller, 19.18 in 1st)
3-0 Michael VII (Steve Barlow, 17.05 in 3rd)

Penalties Summary:
Michael VII - Ashton Marks, 2 minutes for Elbowing, 2.47 in 2nd
Michael VII - Gerald Carson, 5 minutes for Boarding, 9.27 in 3rd
Michael VII - Ashton Marks, 5 minutes for Fighting, 12.13 in 3rd
Greater Kenya - Unknown Player, 5 minutes for Fighting, 12.13 in 3rd

Schedule
@ Carmadin, W 7-6
@ Greater Kenya, W 3-0
@ Mapletish
v Camerania
@ Yesopalthia
v Cotdelapoms
v/@ Soviet Canuckistan TBA**
v Greater Kenya
v Mapletish
@ Camerania
v Yesopalitha
@ Cotdelapoms
v TaQud TBA*

*Will not be played if M7 makes Wildcard playoffs.
**Yet to be confirmed, both teams and venue.

The match against Mapletish will be important, as it opens up what should be an easy win over Camerania, before heading to the hosts, who should also roll over for us. Following that, we have been gifted with 3 consecutive home games, which will be crucial to our qualifying hopes. Should we pick up max points at home, the qualifying berth should be assured.

[The Fanboyists]

Allamunnic States Today
Special World Cup of Hockey Coverage
Set the Pace Early: Regulars shut-down Areais 3-0

The Regulars didn't exactly start off with a particularly impressive first opponent, and they managed to do exactly what was expected of them when Mike Ward punched out one player and the opposing team with a goal and an assist to complement a goal each by Theo Braanur and Haanryk Grimmur, with an assist each by Hailey Kierkegaard and Haanryk Dercyk.

The team's unexpected leading-scorer continued his streak of being more than a bit of a loose-cannon, being penalized three times during the game and fighting once (which accounted for one of the penalties). Of course, despite this utter lack of discipline from forward Mike Ward, there's not exactly a good reason to pull him when he's thus-far been the most-productive of any of the players on a team that's scored nine goals in two games and shut-out their first opponent in a group that is now looking winnable; Cowardly Pacifists pulled an upset on Mohawk Clans, and the #8-overall-ranked (and top-ranked in Group 9) team no longer looks like an insurmountable obstacle for the Regulars; it'll still be an uphill battle, but perhaps a Group 9 title isn't out of the question, even if it's still not the most-likely turn of events.

Compared even to his disposition after the friendly, coach Kyle Smart seemed quite happy with the Regulars' play against Areais, shutting out the unranked opponents to complement the three-goal effort to give the Regulars the lead in Group 9, albeit with nine of the ten games still to be played.

"They put together a very complete game," Smart said. "It was a good game we saw out of the team. They played rough, fast, and loose, playing things as loose as they needed to to keep things moving and to force the necessary points to get the win. But we've still got some tough competition ahead of us, so while this is a good sign, we shouldn't get our hopes too high yet. But we know what's attainable if we can keep up the strong level of play."

You know a defense is desperate to make up for a bad game when a team's first goal is scored by its defensive captain. As it was, after a set up by Hailey Kierkegaard, Haanryk Grimmur drilled in a blistering shot to give the Regulars the lead early in the first period. The lead was widened late in the period by Ward, who took an assist from Dercyk up the middle to smash in another scorcher to give the team a 2-0 lead going into the second period.

A rough-and-tumble defensive effort resulted in a scoreless second period, with both teams being heavily penalized and in one case with the ice devolving into an all-out brawl between the two teams; nobody was hurt from it, but there were fighting majors all around. Coming out of the rough second period, though, the Regulars' superior size, strength and endurance had them looking more-suited to capitalize on the wear on their opponents.

Sure enough, Theo Braanur put the game away, worming a goal past the Areaisan goalkeeper midway through the third period after a quick pass from the left across to the right from Ward. The Regulars managed to keep Areais from scoring for the remainder of the game to give them a 3-0 win.

The Regulars will go home to Vienna to face Homelands Our before going back on the road to face Cowardly Pacifists, who threw an upset on Mohawk Clans to make the group a little more interesting than originally-projected.

[Mapletish]

Mapletish face defeats to host, Yesopalitha

Mapletish's early defeat to host Yespalitha has definitely shook everybody,the home side's attack was not much of a threat for the Hockey Minnows' well drilled defence
and the score looks to be set a a dull 0-0 until the third period.The first and second period were filled with counterattacking blows to the host's defence.The Hockey Minnows
stayed tight in diamond as the attack came in from the sides which were seriously blocked by the defence.And there you have it,a counter attack by the defenders and forwards
shocked the home side as they have thrown all their man in front,a mistake that prove the side to attacks by Mapletish.And there comes the third period,the third period was filled with
tight emotions as Yespalitha tried to push their way into the Mapletish's diamond and their hard work paid off as they bang in two early goals in the third period as they tried to relax
and throw men forward at any time.The Hockey Minnows have definitely got lots to do after this defeat,as they try to bounce back against Michael VII which are ranked 27th,3 ranks
higher than the Hockey Minnows.It shall be played at home for the Hockey Minnows and there shall be a lot of promise.

[Cassadaigua]

Meghan’s Space

Good morning, fans! Well, I think we all have to be pretty happy with the way that the opening game of qualifying for us played out, but we know that this will need to continue for us to win a Championship. I know it will sound like a very obvious statement, but we were really excited to play this game, but for more then just the predictable reason of representing the nation, or that everyone has a fresh start. I’m not saying those are not factors, but there is more. Before practice this morning, Chase Willis had his girlfriend skate onto the ice to be beside him, and she proposed to him. It caught us all by surprise, as evidently only coach Rangen was aware that this was going to happen and we were all wondering why she was on the ice to begin with until she got on her knee and made the proposal. Chase was in tears, as the rest of his gave the ol’ stick-tap on the boards in congratulations. He accepted the offer, and was all smiles for the rest of the day. It rubbed off on the rest of us during the morning skate, and we had one hell of an awesome practice. Spirits were high and we were ready to get things going.

Coach Rangen made Chase an honorary starter on the top line with me and Rachel Cooke; taking one shift for us. We were buzzing all around the net, and a goal at 2:08 and then at 2:51 of the first period; the first by Stacie Cornett, and the second a slapper from the point by Samantha Preston, gave us the early lead and Narsora was off their game for a while. They took a couple penalties there in the first, and although we were not able to capitalize with the player advantage, we were able to continue to dictate the flow of the game. I picked up an assist at 18:37 on Danielle Martin’s goal that gave us a nice 3-0 lead after one. Shots on goal told the story: 15-3. Narsora scored in the second pretty early, but it didn’t bother us too much. And if it did, the goalscorer of the 4th goal, Chase Willis, lifted our mood again. He did a great job fighting off the defensemen holding his stick, and with a delayed penalty about to be called, he fired a shot over the goalie’s blocker to make it 4-1. Chase made sure to keep the puck, and while it won’t be as cool as the ring he received from his girlfriend in the morning, it will have its place in the memory books right beside it. A comfortable lead was made even more cozy with my goal at 5:54 of the 3rd, and the Narsora second didn’t really mean anything. Danielle Martin finished off the scoring at 16:09 of the 3rd to give us the 6-2 victory. We outshot Narsora 39-18 for the game, and were 0-for-4 on the power play. Our disciplined play never saw us have a penalty on us for this game.

The result leaves us in a good spot, and believe me when I say that Chase is still walking around with his head in the clouds after the big news. While we all want to win this Cup, there is no one right now that wants it more then Chase. I am not married, as you have heard the story many times from Cassadagan athletes about the conflicts of being a professional sportswoman and being a mother. Very few of us are able to put the careers on the back-burner to go through the trials and tribulations of pregnancy, so it’s cool to know that Chase doesn’t have to really worry about that and can just worry about making the arrangements for the wedding with his father once the Cup is over. Though now, the Cup is just beginning, and we will travel to Darmen, to face a team that also won their opener, a 5-4 decision against the Audioslavia. If you can’t make the trip to Darmen, which is suddenly much closer to us with us now being in Rushmore and all, then be sure to catch all the action on TV, a bar, or wherever.

[Qazox]

Is Upset!:
Qazox at 18 WcoH.

Is Upset! is brought to you tonight by ABC gum, for the best in pre-chewed gummie goodness, choose ABC gum.

Boris Ichanov: Welcome to IS UPSET!, I'm Boris Ichanov and joing me are Michael Valamov and Anton Markov. Today Qazox pull huge upset against the 19-time Imapean champions TaQud; winning by the score of 6 to 1. How did this upset occur Anton?

Anton Markov: The mysterious world of hockey allows anything to happen. Qazox's win today was one of those mysterious victories that cannot be explained by any rational means, save one: they cheated.

Boris: How did they cheat, Anton?

Anton: Easy, they scored 3 goals tonight while having more players on the ice than TaQud did. If that's not cheating, I don't know what the definition of cheating means.

Boris: Michael, do you concur with Anton's assessment of Qazox' cheating?

Michael Valamov: No, they won by outworking, outhustling and outhitting TaQud, giving them the mental advantage to win. Mentally, TaQud was never in the game and as we know, half the game is 90% mental.

Boris: Is time for IS OUTRAGE! IS OUTRAGE! has Anton and Michael state one outrageous thing that happened in tonight's game that affected the outcome. Michael?

Michael: Is outrage that only 8 penalties were called during the game, with seven of the eight coming in the 2nd period.

Anton: Is outrage that replay disallowed two goals tonight for TaQud in the 1st period.

Boris: Up next, Qazox will try to upset Bloodbath Generation, a team known for is use of blood-letting instruments. Goodnight.

SCORING SUMMARY

TQD  0 0 1  1
QZX  1 4 1  6

First Period:
GOAL: Qazox- Ivan Mzachinov (assisted by: Doug Morris and Coby Branch) 5:10 1-0 Qazox
Penalty: Qazox- Wayne McAdams (highsticking) 14:04
2nd period:
Penalty: TaQud- (Roughing) 3:10
GOAL: Qazox- Mark Gelan (assisted by: Nathan Holsten) PP 4:03 2-0 Qazox
Penalty: Qazox- Frank McCanvio (roughing) 5:43
Penalty: TaQud- (Cross-checking) 7:54
GOAL: Qazox- Ivan Mzachinov (2) (assisted by: Doug Morris) PP 9:11 3-0 Qazox
Penalty: Qazox- Mark Gelan (highsticking) 11:29
Penalty: TaQud- (Roughing) 12:58
GOAL: Qazox- Cam Rice (unassisted) 13:19 4-0 Qazox
GOAL: Qazox- Nathan Holsten (assisted by: Mark Gelan and David Wahl) PP 14:33 5-0 Qazox
Penalty: Qazox- Freank McCanvio (fighting) 17:11
Penalty: TaQud- (fighting) 17:11
3rd period:
GOAL: TaQud- 13:01 5-1 Qazox
GOAL: Qazox- Marco Martinez (assisted by: Lance Ozranov and Saul Fischer) 17:04 6-1 Qazox

shots on goal
TQD  6  4  7   17
QZX 11 14  8   33

GOALIES:
TaQud: G1: 16sv/21sh (pulled 14:33 2nd period) G2: 11sv/12sh
Qazox: Thomas Jekin- 16sv/17sh

TaQud: 0/3 PP (4 penalties for 11 minutes)
Qazox: 3/3 PP (4 penalties for 11 minutes)

[Soviet Canuckistan]

Ouch..not a good start for WCoH 18

Sergei Retrinev
Moscawa Times
April 29,2012

It hasn't been a good start for the 55th ranked Canuckistani mens hockey team as in their first game on home ice, they were shutout 4-0 by 2nd ranked Valanora. Inside the packed Sailfish Dome, fans were waving the red and white for Soviet Canuckistan's first home game. In the first period, the Valanorans scored a quick goal a minute into the game to make it 1-0. However, van Key got it to the net, however it was disallowed for a "supposed" foot motion. From there, the second period brought a goal mid-way through bringing in to 2-0. The third period was very exciting, in contrast to the first 2, mid-way through a line brawl almost started with a Valanoran hit on Farnsworth which sent him off the ice with a minor injury that is not disclosed at this time. Then with 2 minutes left, Oloski pulled the goalie for the extra attacker, however that was soon thwarted by a quick empty-netter with a minute and a half left and then another goal with 10 seconds remaining. Instead of the usual 10 second countdown from the fans, they were silent, stunned at such a loss, not even a goal, with Soviet Canuckistan's best, then again, they were facing last year's champions.

In an interview with Oleg Sybanski, the goalie last night, he had to say this,"It's a hard loss for us all at this time, we tried our hardest, our fans were with us, but we were overcome, a tragedy for the team and we assume for our dedicated fans last night. We will work hard against Mangolana, they'll be a tough opponent for sure and we can only try." Tomorrow, the action will rise as Soviet Canuckistan travels to Mangolana to face their 18th ranked team, to face what analysts see could be a tipping point in the series and a close match considering Vilita and Turori a team close to us in standing beat them by a slim margin of 4-3.

Scores from the Group:
Mijahkstan 2–3 Yasono
Vilita and Turori 4–3 Mangolana

[Cotdelapoms]

Joyeux Noël! Unlikely Hero Scores Again

Hands up if you had Worcester's Serge Noël as your player to watch in World Cup qualifiers this year! If you live in Worcester, you're probably too drunk to have your hands anywhere than on the cold, cold, ground where you passed out this afternoon, so I don't expect to see anyone's hands up. Yet, here we are, the Apples with a 3-1 victory over Camerania and Serge Noël has scored for the second straight national team game, this one the game winner in fairly impressive fashion.

Cotdelapoms opened the scoring at 14:18 in the first period when a blazing Benoît Cohen scored off a Camerania turnover induced by Rezzi Tzar'Kr'El. Rezzi straight up poke checked the puck off a Cameranian's stick at the blue line, and passed it off to Cohen, who burst down the right wing. The Cameranians only had one man back, and Cohen deked him at the blue line, allowing an easy one on one with the goalie. The Cameranian goalie came out to stop him, but Cohen stickhandled past him easily to put the good guys up 1-0. Cohen had one of his better international games, looking lively and leading the team with 7 hits, along with the goal. After the match, head coach Thierry Bruneau spoke positively of Cohen, saying "Ben is a fantastic player- he is like a military tank built by a sports car company. He will leave you exhilarated as you watch him fly by you, because you do not want to get in his way. It is easy to see why he is such a premier goal scorer- he fills you with such fear, you submit to his will." It's easy to see we'll have some fun with our new national team coach, no?

Camerania fired back at the end of the first period, scoring a goal at 19:11 on the power play after a foolish Anderson Strathcona interference penalty. The mood at Toussaint Forum was drunken and rowdy as ever, but was made slightly calmer with that late goal. The second period created more frustrations for the fans in Chambly, as the Apples were unable to break through against the feisty Cameranians- the Cameranian netminder stonewalling likely goals by Julien Champagne and Maxime O'Bagels. The Apples attacked in waves, and the Cameranian attack was a mere trickle, but the two teams were still knotted up at 1 after two periods of play. The third period opened up the game, however, and on an unlikely goal from an unlikely source. Not unlike against Gyatso-kai, Serge Noël scored thanks to some help from his linemates, this time Nicolas Beausoleil. At 4:51, Ludovik Labrie dumped the puck in from the point, and Beausoleil chased it down behind the net, drawing both Cameranian defencemen. Beausoleil won control of the puck and fed Noël, standing all alone in the slot with the Cameranian centre nowhere to be found. Noël's first shot went right into the goalie's right pad, but he took the rebound backhanded top shelf when the Cameranian goalie lunged forward, and the Apples took a 2-1 lead.

Cotdelapoms was able to easily hold off the Cameranians, with Julien Champagne adding an empty net goal at 19:49 to make the final score 3-1 and put the Apples at 2 points from their first match. The Apples will next travel to Yesopalitha, who earned a 2-0 victory over Mapletish, and will likely be a tough challenge, considering they will be under a lot of pressure to make the final 16 teams, as they are the host. Coach Bruneau has apparently watched the tape of their match with Mapletish, and had this to say- "For sure the Yesopalitha Flames are an interesting team that we cannot take too lightly- I get the sense that they are more than willing to get into skirmishes, I think that they are going to try to carjack us and not let us move, but what we will need to do is put a brick on the gas pedal and just go past them. I guess it'll be my job to shift the gears if the boys can just be that brick." More delightful vehicular metaphors! Yes, he'll do just fine...

[Princess Beatrice Isle]

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH...

Barriouch Baines

Welcome to the new segment where we quiz members of the PBI Corgis during the World Cup of Hockey. Every question the Corgi player gets right earns $1000 for the Rushmori Wildlife Fund!

Category: Rushmori Geography!
Q: The northern island of Terra Scotia belongs to what nation?
Baines: Uhh. I've never heard of Terra Scotia. Um, northern island? Polar Islandstates?
Host: Correct! When you were in school, I take it you were not a Polariphile?
Baines: Haha, no. I didn't know too many of them, the kids with the Bjorn & the Gladiolis shirts who would get drunk off the funny booze. I've been there though, it's a pretty country.

Category: CHL Hockey
Q: Who is the all time leader in shutouts in CHL history?
Baines: Oh no. Got to be someone from the dead puck era, right? It's not Sévigny, although I know he's the active leader. Gilles David?
Host: Oh, sorry. Incorrect, Mathieu Lemieux, who was a goaltender for the Tigers 70 years ago, so you had the right time period.
Baines: Aww, piss.

Category: Physics
Q: The unique theory of this says that the speed of light in a vacuum is a universal constant.
Baines: Uhh. I am a goalie, I suppose physics matter to me, but I have no clue on this one.
Host: The theory of relativity! Not a science geek?
Baines: Haha, nope. I am a hockey player, I like to think I'm not a moron but this one passed me by.

Category: Number words
Q: This is the first number alphabetically in roman numerals.
Baines: Oh man, you are making this really tough for me. C? What is C, 100? I'll say 100.
Host: You got this one right! Congrats, that's MM to the Rushmori Wildlife Foundation!
Baines: Man, you guys are stingy with that money, these are tough questions!
Host: Haha, sorry about that. There's still one more, I think you've got this one, though!

Category: Hockey teams better than the PBI Corgis
Q: Are Ashley Greene better than the PBI Corgis?
Baines: Haha, no way. We just took them out, 5-3 in their building. They were better than I expected them to be, but I knew the boys would rise to the occasion.
Host: Thanks! That's $3000 for the Rushmori Wildlife Foundation!

[Vilita]

Vilita & Turori upset Mangolana



The Vilita & Turori ice hockey team pulled off a fine result to open the qualifiers for the eighteenth World cup of Hockey, defeating the Mangolana team by a score line of 4-3.

--indeed it was a fine result for vilita and turori! A day to be proud of, and to remind both the national supporters and the fans and players of other nations what vilita and turori ice hockey used to be about, back in the day when we had an established domestic league and strong performances in both domestic and regional hockey tournaments.

Indeed, indeed. Vilita &Turori have re-energized themselves with a set of seeminglyever present squad that just won't seem to let anyone new break in.

-- You know, i heard a rumor that some players were being recruited by the domestic clubs in cotdelapoms, perhaps a chance for the players of the national team to practice their skills domestically for a while in between cups?

The rumors may be true, but this team, they have been together for so long, I don't see them wanting to separate off into I another country anytime soon.

__ But what if they all went together?

Well, that would be another story entirely. I think an 'exiles scheme like used to exist in the druidan league could be appealing to the players of the Vilita &Turori national team.

-- But what country domestic league would, in their right mind, invite another nations entire national team to compete as a unified club team ins their domestic league?

That's a fine question. A fine question that I have no answer to.

What about the lack of information from the front office regarding the stadiums, permissions and colors to be worn by the team this campaign?

I heard the team showed up against Mangolana wearing mahogany colored shirts with duct tape numbers on the back of them. Supposedly new uniforms are in the works, and they've just told visiting teams to transport a them selves into the capital city, Alikki-Corra, and the national hockey federatioin would bus them, and their fans, where a they need to be. They do hope to have a more professional way of preparing for matches as the tournament progresses and they can book stadiums in advance.

-- So we don't know who scored the goals in the match against Mangolana?

Not exactly. The players have been helpful but there is still one or two disputes.See the duct tape started falling off the players backs, especially after they took a spill ojn the ice or got in a Scrum along the boards, so numbers like 8 started looking like 3 and stuff like that, it was getting hard to tell.They are also asking those with I video footage to give it a shot as well food confirmation on the tricky ones.

[Weatherdon]

Two Line Pass: Early Power Play Goal Leads to Shutout Victory
By Joey Lawson, sports editor
AUBANY CITY

1st 2nd 3rd Final WMA 1 0 0 1 SMB 0 0 0 0

8:33, PPG, Deflection, McTare (1G, 0A, 1P), Michalek (0G, 1A, 1P), V. Tretiak (0G, 1A, 1P).

10:23, M. Tretiak, Interference (minor) 18:21, James, Roughing (minor) 29:10, Griffith, Delay of Game (minor) 49:01, Tretiak, Fighting (major)

Toews: 4 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 20:04 TOI, 0 Hits, 0 PIM. M. Tretiak: 2 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 20:31 TOI, 1 Hit, 2 PIM. Michalek: 1 Shot, 0G, 1A, ±0. 23:01 TOI, 0 Hits, 0 PIM. A. Thiessan: 1 Shot, 0G, 0A, ±0. 22:40 TOI, 2 Hits, 0 PIM. V. Thiessan: 0 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 20:12 TOI, 4 Hits, 0 PIM. McTare: 4 Shots, 1G, 0A, ±0. 22:47 TOI, 0 Hits, 0 PIM. Griffith: 1 Shot, 0G, 0A, ±0. 19:11 TOI, 0 Hits, 2 PIM. Carlyle: 2 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 18:13 TOI, 3 Hits, 0 PIM. V. Tretiak: 1 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 16:10 TOI, 5 Hits, 5 PIM. J. Miren: 3 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 20:11 TOI, 1 Hit, 0 PIM. James: 1 Shot, 0G, 0A, ±0. 17:09 TOI, 2 Hits, 2 PIM. Mobles: 0 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 20:18 TOI, 4 Hits, 0 PIM. C. Miren: 2 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 18:46 TOI, 3 Hits, 0 PIM. Kimo: 2 Shot, 0G, 0A, ±0. 21:10 TOI, 4 Hits, 0 PIM. Sanderson: 0 Shots, 0G, 0A, ±0. 19:37 TOI, 0 PIM. Drauch: Shots Faced: EV 19-19, PP 4-4, SH 1-1, 1.00 SV% . 59:45 TOI. 0 GAA.

First Star: Stephen Drauch, 1.00 SV% Second Star: Alistair McTare, 1G, 0A, ±0 Third Star: Brett Michalek, 0G, 1A, ±0 Hard Hat: Vladimir Tretiak, 1 Fight Won, 5 Hits, 3 Blocked Shots

From opening anthems to the final horn, both Weatherdon and the Equestrian States played a tough, physical game. Both teams took 24 shots on net, the difference coming of a deflection from Alistair McTare, that wobbled it's way into the back of the net early in the first period. The primary assist came from Brett Michalek, who flipped the puck to McTare from behind the goal line. McTare then knocked the puck out of the air and into the net. The linesmen met to discuss whether his stick blade was over the cross bar or not, and then went to video review. The crowd nearly instantly cheered as the clip was shown on the video board, showing the camera attached to the back pipe of the net. The camera showed McTare's stick blade connecting with the puck under the cross bar, making the goal count. From there on, the game got gritty, as hip-checks started to fly. Vladimir Tretiak led the team in hits with five, three of those coming in the second period, when the defense was needed most. Vladimir would later fight on what he thought was a boarding on AJ Toews, the team captain. He clearly won the fight, landing seven punches, while only getting hit once.

After the game, we caught up with McTare as he finished dressing. "I told him (Michalek) to wear his saucy mitts tonight. Obviously he did, because that was an amazing pass from the office. The rest of the game was pretty fun too, and I'd say our D-Corps took a beating tonight, blocking shots like crazy."

[Audioslavia]

In a life-time of playing the sport, Txordin Zubiondo had never really managed to get used to the rivers of sweat that poured out of you after a long game of hockey; never got over the surprise of how hot one could get while playing the game on a sheet of frozen ice. Still in his hockey gear, skates and all, he was leaning forward against the wall of the changing room, his forearm flat against the painted plaster, his forehead pressed firmly into the flesh of his arm, breathing heavily, eyes down, staring at nothing in particular. A good pint or two of sweat had leaked from his soul into his tatty old Audioslavia Betizu Izotza uniform, which clung to his skin, highlighting the contours of the thin under-armour beneath. He couldn't remember feeling quite so tired.

This rag-tag squad of Audioslavian amateurs - Ausque southerners with Hockey in the blood, young lads pullsed from the Cazarian roller-hockey teams, other guys who played the sport in their spare time and wouldn't have gotten a look-in were it not for an almighty balls-up during the official team-selection - had played a hell of a game against Darmen. Darmen the professionals, ranked in the world's top twenty, a frighteningly fast, adept team, playing the sort of hockey Txordin had only seen on television - and Audioslavia had given them a hell of a shock.

The first period of the game had seen green-shirted hosts dominate procedings, pinning the Audioslavian first string back in their own half. Txordin, acting as player-manager for the tournament, had taken himself off after just five minutes, putting in the third-string offensive line along with first-choice defenders Josi Zabala and Iker Otxoa. It had seemed a strange move at the time - Audioslavia would need their best players on the ice as often as possible - but there had been a method to the madness. The third offensive line contained wingers Matias Einblumen and Inger Schwarz, two guys who couldn't pass, couldn't shoot and could barely handle a puck, but were two of the fastest skaters Txordin had seen. He'd ordered his defenders to dump the puck into the middle of the ice if they got possession, allowing the speedy wingers the chance to beat the opposition to the loose puck and, if they were lucky, forge some kind of counter-attack.

The tactic, it had to be said, didn't work in the way Txordin had envisioned - Audioslavia couldn't even manage a shot on goal over the first fifteen minutes - but, nevertheless, did come with one advantage. Einblumen was very small for a hockey player, just five-feet-five, and his fast, awkward style meant he found it easy to draw fouls, pinching the ball away before being felled by an errant stick or boot. Darmen had managed to get themselves on the scoresheet - Suppan Clemons finishing off quick, angular passing move with a flashing shot past Gaizka Exarte - but the awkwardness of Audioslavia's attacking style coupled with a very penalty-prone Darmeni side meant the first penalty was never far away, and it came in the twelfth minute of the first period, vice-captain Brady Pittenger sent to the sin-bin for hooking at Inger Schwarz' ankles.

Audioslavia brought on the special-team - Txordin himself, flanked by Belasko and Gartxia, and during the two-minute power-play they gave a previously comfortable Darmen side something to think about. The Ausque players were amateurs, without the athleticism and skill-set of the professional Darmenis, but they had grit and desire in abundance, and five Audioslavians proved to be more than enough to cause four Darmenis some problems. The side would score the equalising goal one minute and fifty seconds into the two-minute powerplay, Txordin himself finding himself at the end of a passing triangle, and scuffing an attempted sweep into the roof of the net along the ice, rolling under the goalie's outstretched leg and into the net. It doesn't matter how they go in, as long as they go in.

1-1. Parity would remain for just two minutes, Darmen scoring almost immediately after Audioslavia subbed in their second defensive line. It was a forced change - Josi and Iker were looking exhausted after fifteen minutes of hard work.

2-1 down after one period was not a bad start at all for the Audioslavians, who were expected to be blitzed by the strong Darmen side. Words of encouragement were batted around the changing room, calls for the Ausque players to overcome the fatigue, to ignore the pain, to remember they have their nation at stake as well as their pride, that their names may well be echoed through subsequent generations. The first ever Audioslavian Ice Hockey team; they would just as well have been the first men on the moon.

Audioslavia came onto the ice for the second period and started getting a real foot-hold into the game, keeping posession longer and forcing play into the centre of the ice. Txordin found himself another opportunity, muscling past Brent Brown next to the boards, cutting inside and hitting a sharp, rasping shot straight into the gloves of Peter Roloson. Darmen were still, unquestionably, the better team, but the Audioslavians were making sure the crowd knew that two teams had the chance to take the points on the night.

The Darmenians, on the ice and in the crowd, were getting frustrated. They had, evidently, expected an easier time against the unranked amateurs of Audioslavia, and Txordin noticed whistles from the crowd whenever his team regained posession of the puck. This was it. If Audioslavia had a chance to take something from the game, they'd have to use this building tension, frustration, exhasperation.

Txordin had received the puck from Zabala, checked his speed and moved sideways, trying to evade the attentions of Darmen centre Brendan Ronning. Without a pass on, he decided to do something audacious. Continuing his lateral movement, carrying the puck on his right side, keeping his body between it and the Darmeni, he stopped the puck and flicked it behind him as he skated past it, attempting to knock it past Ronning, skate round him and pick up the puck on the other side. It would never have worked in a million years, but he succeeded in angering Ronning, who took a swipe at the Audioslavian as he tried to make his way past him. Sin-bin. Two minutes. Another chance for a power-play goal. Two minutes of attacking, then, finally, a goal, swept into roof of the net by Ibar Belasko after squeezing himself in between two defenders.

2-2. A dream. Reality was, however, just around the corner.

The Audioslavian first line could only keep fatigue at bay - by sheer force of will - for so long. Mistakes started to creep into their game, and fifteen minutes into the second period, with the score still at 2-2, the Ausque boys had to pull themselves off, gasping for water and air and allowing the super-green Cazarians a go. The difference in quality between the hockey-in-the-blood Ausques and the hockey-on-a-tuesday-night-after-work Cazarians was night and day. The Darmeni team, having worked themselves up against the talented first team, found themselves able to bully with second-stringers into submission with ease. Txordin begged the clock to count down the five minutes until end-of-period. His prayers were unanswered. Darmen rattled in two goals past a woefully out-of-their-depth Audioslavia line-up to go in 4-2 at the interval.

In the third and final period, Audioslavia tried to rally.

Their cause was helped by some clumsy tackling by the boys in green, forcing two sin-binnings in the first two minutes of the second half, giving Audioslavia a five-on-three advantage that they couldn't help but take advantage of, making the score 4-3 with a quarter of an hour to go.

The proceding ten minutes would contain some of the best hockey Txordin had ever played. He and the Audioslavian first string attacked as one, defended as one, passed and tackled, made space for each other and swept up and down the ice like pros. He'd like to think they matched the Darmen team for five of those minutes, and that the crowd had begun to really fear their team might not take full points from the game.

Any notion of an upset was crushed, realistically, on the ten-minute mark in the period. Darmen proved why their players got paid to play, and why their team had a legitimate claim to being one of the best in the world. A sweeping counter-attack - yes, Audioslavia had had the Darmenis pinned back into their own third for a time - took the puck from the Darmeni goalie to the Audioslavian goal in under seven seconds, a quick passing move ending with an audacious decoy from Trent Gaborik, bamboozling Iker Otxoa and dropping the Audioslavian on his backside, before forcing the goalie to jolt to one side with a decoy-shot before slipping the puck into the vacated net for 5-3.

The crowd and the green-shirted players seemed to relax as one. 5-3 up, ten minutes to go, surely they couldn't throw this lead away?

The Audioslavian first-string made a decent enough fist of trying to get themselves back kinto the game - again - for the next few minutes, but eventually had to resign themselves to the inevitable, changing the defensive line to give the battered, bruised and exhausted Ausque defenders a rest. The attacking lines needed to be changed a couple of minutes later, and Txordin assumed he'd be watching the rest of the game from the bench.

He hadn't reckoned on a spot of Darmeni over-confidence.

With three minutes to go, Darmen decided to change lines on the fly, despite not having posession of the puck. The puck was, to be fair, behind the Audioslavian goal with the goalie ambling to retrieve it and in no hurry to make a pass, but it still seemed like a major gaffe by the Darmen coach. Exarte saw the chance and flicked the puck around the boards to Urqhart, who managed to dig it out and play a pass to the speedy Inger Schwarz. The Darmeni change-up had completed, but no-one was going to get goal-side of the claret-shirted winger, and Schwarz bore down on goal. The guy had no decoys to use, no experence to call upon, no tricks up his sleeve, instead just skating up to goal as fast as he could and swinging his stick as hard as possible. It wasn't a great shot, or a hard one, but importantly it looked like a big hit from the Audioslavian's exuberant backswing, forcing a flinch from the goalie who quickly lost his balance, rendering him unable to stick out a leg and stop the puck from skidding into the bottom corner.

5-4. Were Audioslavia back in it? It certainly appeared so. With a couple of minutes to go, the side were a goal away from forcing sudden-death overtime. The Ausque first-string found a new source of energy, and brought themselves on for the final onslaught. 'Panic' might not have been exactly the right word to decribed the Darmeni mentality for those final minutes, but it was close enough.

The Darmen game became littered with mistakes, lost posessions and fouls until, with thirty seconds to go, Bernard Kucera found himself sin-binned for the rest of the game for a flying elbow into the side of an onrushing Ibar Belasko. A thirty-second power-play for the Audioslavians. Off came the goalie, on came Jan Polssen, the Audioslavians went for it.

They just... couldn't quite create the opportunity. There was no last-gasp slap-shot, no slow-motion footage of a puck racing towards the Darmen goal, of Audioslavians in the crowd with their mouths agape as a puck flew towards the net. They couldn't forge the chance. They didn't even get close. Darmen, despite having conceded three power-play goals in the game, knew how to defend short-handed, and closed out the game with an ease that left a bitter taste in Txordin's mouth.

Txordin, back in the dressing room, tugged his sweat-soaked shirt over his head and threw it over the bench, revealing a body pock-marked with blood and bruises. He'd given everything. Everything. And they'd lost. They'd come so close. They were second-best, undoubtedly, but the fact that they'd had the chance.

Game two saw the Equestrian States travel to Audioslavia, to the makeshift, tiny ice-rink in the Sierra Herraduran town of Hasiera. Txordin knew the Equestrian States team wll have seen this scoreline and had to look at it twice.

Audioslavia had, in losing, made an almighty statement of intent.

[Salchar]

Salchar 1-1 Gyasto-kai

Salchar started out the world cup of hockey with an tie with the ice bisons of Gyasto-kai. Gyasto-kai seemed to dominate the game, but Salchar's defense along with outstanding goaltending by
Steijlen kept Gyasto-kai at bay. A sellout occoured at the ISH dome, (not suprising for a tournament home opener in Salchar) the crowd was super charged throughout the whole game.

The first period was uneventful, no penalties and no pucks landing in any nets. Shots were almost equal and each team had their fair share of oppertunities. Salchar was holding off the third ranked team, for now. Wad'e Tay'haai, Ishii Hakoda and Sato Sorua had many oppertunities for Gyasto-kai, while Mitch and Vincent Morgan had heaps of chances for Salchar.

The second period looked grim for Salchar, Mitch Morgan seemed to get a bit angry with Gyasto-kai's A. Skirata, but no fights broke out. At 10:11 into the second period, Gyasto-kai scored. Salchar fans quieted down, but then rose up in a chorus of "let's go Salchar" to encourage their favorite team.

In the third period, Salchar got started, their goalie, Bjorn Steijlen was blocking Gyasto-kai's shots, it was up to Salchar's fowards to score their own goals. Mitch Morgan did just that, after a high sticking call on Gyasto-kai's, H. Ishii, the youngest of the Morgans by a few minutes scored Salchar's first tournament goal.

In the end, Salchar played a good hockey game, but if the game went into overtime, Salchar would of probally lost. Next game is against an unranked team,Mantenwic, after Salchar's performance against third place in the world, an 29th ranked team will be no trouble.

[Mangolana]

Mangolana Gazzette

Mangolana Domestic Hockey League in Works

The Mangolana Gazette has some exclusive news today, coming out of Arlnet, Mangolana. According to reports from an exclusive source, a domestic Hockey league is in the works for the country of Mangolana. A meeting was held today at the Arlnet Forum, with approximately 20-30 possible owners in attendance. A league format was reportedly discussed along with cost-profit analysis, and the possible destinations of teams to set up. The source also says that 10 cities in Mangolana have agreed to fund the building of the arena should such a league be set up. The major cities in the report include Mascona, Mangolana City, Arlnet, Skyline, and Narcana. There has also been speculation that many of Mangolana's national teamers will join the domestic league, to allow for playing time during the year when there is no World-Cup for Hockey or Winter Olympics.

The head of the meeting was Mangolana Millionare and former national-teamer Bobby "the Gopher" Gephort, who, if the league is formed, is expected to become the league comissioner and director of player safety. So what do you think folks. Are you excited by the prospect of a National Hockey League in Mangolana, or will this just be another thing to waste your tax dollars on.

[Falconwhereveryouare]

That's Pucky!
Falconwhereveryouare's #1 Hockey Blog

Whew, what an exciting game! Over in Thatius for our first World Cup of Hockey, our boys did on the offensive line did fine! Though our goalie was rubbish. So was theirs, to be fair. Both teams' defensive lines did great, locking the game up in the corners and only leading to five shots on target for each team. But when they got shots off, boy, did they got shots off. Seven minutes into the first period, Joseph Üntermensch cleared a puck out of our corner and Aaran Ashby received it at mid-rink. Frédéric Nielsen stopped him cold, but a quick flick of the wrist sent the puck sailing forward to be rounded up by Wilhelm von Üshter who sent a curving shot under the flailing arm of Martin Koranović. 1-0 Falc. Aleksy Knežević tied up the game with a beautiful shot that cut through our defensemen and popped Jeremy Scherzer's five-hole. 1-1 All.

In the second period, the Thatians started off with a bang. Two quick scores off the line by their second line just made Scherzer look silly. 3-1 Thatius. Our second line and second pair managed to kill the offense, and pretty much the game in general. Everything was bogged down in the center of the ice. In the 16th minute, though, Karl Woflshtag smashed Miloš Klaasen into the glass and the puck squirted onto the Thatius half. Gunter Ingelhommen took the chance and charged straight up the ice, smashing a slapshot past the surprised Thatian goalie. 3-2 Thatius.

In the third period saw the goalies actually get their game together. Both sides blocked two shots, the only two shots that didn't find the back of the net, before Kyle Bosche spun around from behind the net and flicked the puck in for the tying goal at the thirteenth minute.

So right now we're tied for second because Gyatso-Kai, who we're playing next, tied Salchar at a lower score than we tied Thatius. Come out to the Crow's Nest and support our boys in blue!

[Carmadin]

Ng’h’ch ohw Tahl sat at his desk. Papers, covered with scribbling and complex graphs and equations, were thrown haphazardly on his desk. He just couldn't understand it. He had just had the most disturbing revelation of his coaching career, and he had not the foggiest of ideas on how to handle it. Michael VII's seven factor was higher, much higher than he had thought. It was all due to Alexei Andropov, he thought. He had had the idea that the young player had looked suprisingly good, in fact, amazing, in the friendly not two days ago. Now, he knew why. He confronted his equations once more, and drew, from the splatters of ink and paper that were the norm these days, a small, ripped bit of blank paper. He took his pen from behind his ear, and began to write.

Alexi Andropov-Aa
Seven Factor-vii

But what to do now? None of his players had been able to solve his earlier equation for x, and Mantenwic's mystery had kept the Seven factor with Michael VII, allowing them to win, 3-0, while Carmadin fell, 3-1. It was cruel irony that Carmadin had now a tournament total of seven goals. But not so cruel, perhaps? The extra seven would allow him to further amplify the seven factor. Thatius, as well, had no mystery or deciet shrouding them, nothing to dull the power of seven. In fact, now he looked at the team sheet he had been given, trying to find a point or trait he could use to his advantage in the upcoming game

Team Information
Nickname: Icehawks
Head Coach: Max Jaufenthaler
Assistant Coach: Sérgio Koussevitzky

Line 1-
Goalie: Martin Koranović
Defense: Frédéric Nielsen
Defense: Sebastian Džokić
Center: Leon Kós
Right Wing: Aleksy Knežević
Left Wing: Marcel Cerevenak

Line 2-
Goalie: Justin Dohly
Defense: David Doranić
Defense: Edmund Anderson
Center: Jack Petrović
Right Wing: Miloš Klaasen
Left Wing: Jean-Philippe Cerisier

Line 3-
Goalie: Dominik Cibulkov
Defense: Konrad Aehrenthal
Defense: Guy Lefèvre
Center: Drew Fjordgaar
Right Wing: Gregory Yestri
Left Wing: Robert Miodragović

Hmmmmm......No, nothing at first glance. It seemed a normal Thatian team sheet. But wait! His eyes wavered to the top of the neatly typed paper. Icehawks. Icehawks. This was something new, something good, something big. He could use this to his advantage. Hawks were some of the most ferocious creatures there were. Could he, perhaps, be able to harness the power of the Hawk, in the same way he planned to use the strength of the bison?

Another thing caught his eye. Accents. Characters such as è, ć, š, ž, they would give the Thatian team perhaps the edge they needed to combat his secret weapon, his seven factor. The odd, unorthodox symbols could carry the same repelling ability as the mystery that shrouded Mantenwic, and would give the Thatius team the leg up on his they needed. He had to find a way to combat this new development. The unpronouncibility of his men's names wouldn't do it. He panicked for a moment, then realization dawned. He called Lohn’l’ðihn Þohch’hn into his office

---

"Yes, coach? My goodness, just what are you doing? And get some rest, you look like you've been up all night"

"I have. And Lohn’l’ðihn, how do you spell your name?"

"Uh, ehl oh aitch eh apostophe ehl apostrophe eth eye aitch en"

"You do know that's one of the oddest names anyone has ever seen?"

"Coach, all Carmadin names are ridiculous"

"Yes, I know, but yours is more, with the ð and the Þ"

"Eth and Thorn, coach"

"Yes, those. Anyway, take a look at this"

"At what?"

"This team sheet"

"That's Thatius, isn't it?"

"Right on! How could you tell"

"Easy, coach. The odd letters, è, ć, š, ž"

"Exactly!"

"Er, coach? You okay"

"Yes, yes I'm fine, fine. Do you think that your name is odder than some of those Thatian names?"

"Well, yeah, coach, who else has such a wierd name?"

"Yes!"

"Umm, whatever. Bye, coach"

That would do it. The name facotr had been solved. Now, just make sure that the magic covered up Thatius's power.

"Oh, and can you mark number seven?"

"Sure, coach, who is it?"

"No idea. But mark him"

"Alrighty, coach"

[Camwood]

A Day-Late Preview

---

Matchday One could have been worse. Definitely. It Definitely could have been a hell of a lot worse. But it flat out sucked. Polar Islandstates broke our backs on the day that we needed to get our jibe going. They scored on a play the never should have scored on. They scored on an Error. And now, that error is messing with our Mojo: big time.

Hockey 110 Class Notes
Today's Lesson: WCoH 18 Camwood Preview

• Anybody can beat us.
  
  • Whoever we face, home or away bring the A Game is absolutely necessary.
  • Bringing the B Game against an unranked team will result in a loss.
• Our forecheck will be a lot better.
  
  • After some retirements, Nick Collens and Ryan Wesbrooks will be a lot better in dump and chase schemes.
  • Collens and Wesbrooks are the two-way messiahs the national team needed.
  • Moncrief will be able to get a lot more goals since Collens and Wesbrooks will be there to pressure the opposition and fed the puck to the slot.

[Yesopalitha]

Yesopalitha Sports at Nine... with Benjamin Doren!

Benjamin Doren: "Welcome, sports fans, to Yesopalitha Sports at Nine with Benjamin Doren! Without further ado, I take you to the National Ice Hockey Headquarters, where a few Flames players are awaiting us... Hello there!"

Sergei Dorov: "Hello, Benjamin. Glad to be on the show with some of my teammates, Trent and Isaiah, after our win against Mapletish."

Benjamin Doren: "Sergei Dorov, ladies and gentlemen! You managed to contain the Mapletish attack, and didn't give up a single goal! Great job, Sergei."

Sergei Dorov: "Thanks, Ben. My defenders helped me out a lot - the Cohen twins did a great job of keeping the puck away from me. I was lucky with a few saves, but the whole team played with good energy and great focus today. It was a great way to start the campaign, and boy is it loud at The Sacred Heart. My thanks to all the rowdy Flames fans that showed up to cheer us on."

Benjamin Doren: "The defense did keep you guys in the game for the first two periods. What changed in the third, Trent?"

Trent Eckhart: "Things started to click, Ben, and Coach decided to bring in the Cohen twins for a breather. Borov did a great job sending the puck to Jack Ingall, and Jack had one hell of a slap shot that made it past the goalie. Then, we kept pushing it to them instead of laying off, and Isaiah here was able to score not two minutes after. The Mapletish side seemed dazed. It was awesome."

Isaiah Dunsten: "Trent was the one who gave me that gorgeous pass that I just managed to get past the keeper. It was a great few offensive series."

Benjamin Doren: "So, thoughts on the game coming up against Cotdelapoms?"

Trent Eckhart: "They aren't ranked in the top ten for naught. I expect to encounter the best hockey that I have seen yet. It would be great to hold them to a draw, but we'll see what we can do."

Sergei Dorov: "They're going to be tough. I will try to hold them back, but it doesn't seem like victory is likely. Won't stop us from trying, though."

Benjamin Doren: "At least you guys will be home. Hopefully the Cotdelapomis can see what a great atmosphere Yesopalitha is. Good luck to you guys in the match!"

Isaiah Dunsten: "Thanks, Ben."

Benjamin Doren: "There you have it! Do tune in to see the Flames take on the Apples in their next game at The Sacred Heart! And enjoy the game!"

[Polar Islandstates]

Team Building Diaries
Radoslav Invermuir

So, a good start then! Here at Lake Vorchov we're taking a few days off to recuperate and recharge our batteries before we head off into the City itself to play THRILLEDGE.

I was pleased to score the goal that saw off Camwood. Mistake by them or not, we've got to take all the chances we can get away from home, I think we can be confident of scoring enough in front of the passionate home fans like, its just on the road I worry. Which is why its probably a good idea of Heliokomman's to take us to all these fantastic lakes to enjoy the company of our teammates and get used to travelling.

There's also the bonus that we get to enjoy being at one with nature. You know. "To play on the ice one must be at peace with the ice..." that kind of thing.

I think some of the other guys think I'm a bit too much of a hippy. Maybe that's why Heliokomman made me his captain. Who knows.

Anyway, best get my skates one, literally.

Peace.

[Cowardly Pacifists]

The Harp Seal Sentinel

That's right, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Monday, April 30th - Shiver Valley, A.R.C.P.

---

Un-ranked Harp Seals Silence Critics with 5-3 Win over #8 Mohawk Clans

Headline: With an incredible 5-3 win over the Mohawk Clans, the Harp Seals sent a clear message to the rest of the WCoH Group 9: Rank doesn't mean much. The Harp Seals got out to a 5-0 lead before giving up three goals to the Mohawk Clans in the third period. Coach Kirchhoff blamed the late goals on sloppy play.

"We had 'em finished by the time the third period rolled around and we just got careless." Kirchhoff said after the game, "We'll work on that. These guys have a bit of an attention-span problem and I think they just felt the game was out of reach so they took their foot off the throttle. Doing that almost let the Mohawk Clans back in. Luckily there just wasn't enough time left for our sloppy third period play to undo the gains we made with our solid early play."

Kirchhoff continued: "Obviously I'd rather see the team play the whole game perfectly. But frankly, if these boys keep averaging 5 points a game I wouldn't give a damn how careless they get in the third period!"

The Harp Seals will now travel to Areais to face the an unranked, unknown Areais squad. If what we saw the Harp Seals do against the Mohawk Clans is any indication, the Areains are in for a long night.