Infosport.cdp (Cotdelapomais Sport Newswire)

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:14 am

YOUTH REPORT, PART 2

Junior Hockey

LHJMM Results

Code: Select all: - Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Hiverville Harfangs 38 22 6 10 108 90 +18 50 2 Montréal Wanderers 38 17 13 8 103 92 +11 47 3 Beauport Clippers 38 18 8 12 88 79 +9 44 4 Vannes Voyageurs 38 16 11 11 98 82 +16 43 5 Sainte-Catherine Rooster 38 14 15 9 81 72 +9 43 6 Outremont Patriotes 38 17 9 12 111 104 +7 43 7 Roberval Prédateurs 38 15 13 10 90 89 +1 43 8 Tracy Alouettes 38 16 10 12 109 94 +15 42 9 Saint-Richard Rockets 38 14 11 13 95 96 −1 39 10 Outremont Auteurs 38 12 14 12 90 85 +5 38 11 Hochelaga Maroons 38 12 14 12 88 93 −5 38 12 Cap Nordique Arctic 38 13 11 14 82 81 +1 37 13 Iberville Titan 38 15 7 16 96 103 −7 37 14 Laval Voisins 38 14 8 16 91 90 +1 36 15 Mineau-Ouest Ours Polaires 38 11 13 14 74 78 −4 35 16 Saint-Urbain Chevaliers 38 11 11 16 94 98 −4 33 17 Saint-Raphaël Loups 38 13 6 19 89 110 −21 32 18 Pont-Vendredi Bûcherons 38 8 11 19 93 107 −14 27 19 Val d'Argent Foreurs 38 9 9 20 92 113 −21 27 20 Baie-Rouge Huskies 38 9 8 21 78 94 −16 26

SHL Results:

Code: Select all: - Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Burlington Mountaineers 38 21 8 9 98 51 +47 50 2 Albionpool Oakies 38 20 8 10 81 53 +28 48 3 Arkell Thistles 38 18 11 9 84 69 +15 47 4 Windsor Wasps 38 17 12 9 72 49 +23 46 5 Cambridge Kodiaks 38 18 9 11 84 60 +24 45 6 Parkhurst Griffins 38 16 12 10 67 42 +25 44 7 Credit River Warriors 38 16 11 11 90 73 +17 43 8 Worcester IceCats 38 15 11 12 57 46 +11 41 9 Portsmouth Canalmen 38 14 13 11 67 65 +2 41 10 Dryden Gladiators 38 13 14 11 72 61 +11 40 11 Wilmington Lampreys 38 12 14 12 63 64 −1 38 12 Pembroke Explorers 38 14 9 15 72 75 −3 37 13 Bright Point Chanticleers 38 10 14 14 50 72 −22 34 14 Amherst Huskies 38 12 9 17 53 73 −20 33 15 Rouen Attak 38 11 10 17 66 74 −8 32 16 Gradiel Geese 38 13 5 20 59 81 −22 31 17 Chillicothe Jackalopes 38 12 6 20 57 75 −18 30 18 Baltimore Talons 38 11 7 20 50 98 −48 29 19 Bedford Hills Lumberjacks 38 7 13 18 56 74 −18 27 20 Powell Jaguars 38 9 6 23 41 84 −43 24

BRUNEAU CUP

This year the Bruneau Cup has expanded by allowing the regular season winners of each league into the tournament, along with the playoff winners and the host. This year's hosts are the Credit River Warriors, whose disappointing season could be salvaged by a strong Bruneau Cup. This is the tournament's first appearance in Credit River, Chênederven, and they'd love to end up as winners- especially 18 year old Tch'an Vigier, the consensus top pick in the upcoming CHL Draft.

Group Stage

Code: Select all: - Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 Burlington Mountaineers 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2 7 2 Credit River Warriors 4 1 3 0 7 6 +1 6 3 Arkell Thistles 4 1 2 1 2 2 0 5 4 Sainte-Catherine Rooster 4 0 3 1 8 9 −1 3 5 Hiverville Harfangs 4 0 3 1 7 9 −2 3

Championship Game
Burlington Mountaineers 2–2 Credit River Warriors (2–3 OT)

Tch'an Vigier showed why he is the consensus top pick in the upcoming CHL draft by scoring a Bruneau Cup winner and adding to his legend. Although the rest of the draft class is considered shallow, Vigier is a talent of the level of Maxime O'Bagels, Jean-Luc Barr, Julien Champagne or Louis Periard. Île d'Elisabeth Osprey will be delighted with him, and their turnaround could be faster than expected as a result.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Wed May 23, 2012 9:28 am

FINAL RESULTS!

ROUND 21
Saint-Urbain Guerriers 29–24 US Charlevoix
Barsteeg Albionpool 22–29 Atlético Elisabetano
Montréal Sasanachs 23–30 Montréal Pomhommes
Portsmouth Black Tails 34–30 Kingston Griffins
Outremont Kodiaks 19–29 Cap Nordique Guillemots
Worcester Rushmoréens 24–26 Cap Nordique Predateurs

ROUND 22
US Charlevoix 26–23 Worcester Rushmoréens
Cap Nordique Predateurs 24–23 Outremont Kodiaks
Cap Nordique Guillemots 27–32 Portsmouth Black Tails
Kingston Griffins 27–29 Montréal Sasanachs
Montréal Pomhommes 26–30 Barsteeg Albionpool
Atlético Elisabetano 29–27 Saint-Urbain Guerriers

STANDINGS

Code: Select all: Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts 1 US Charlevoix 22 19 1 2 630 545 +85 39 2 Atlético Elisabetano 22 14 1 7 598 563 +35 29 3 Portsmouth Black Tails 22 11 5 6 590 564 +26 27 4 Montréal Pomhommes 22 12 2 8 585 569 +16 26 5 Cap Nordique Guillemots 22 12 1 9 574 555 +19 25 6 Saint-Urbain Guerriers 22 11 2 9 591 590 +1 24 7 Montréal Sasanachs 22 10 3 9 578 572 +6 23 8 Cap Nordique Predateurs 22 9 2 11 569 580 −11 20 9 Kingston Griffins 22 9 0 13 577 584 −7 18 10 Worcester Rushmoréens 22 6 1 15 566 609 −43 13 11 Outremont Kodiaks 22 6 1 15 548 600 −52 13 12 Barsteeg Albionpool 22 3 1 18 523 598 −75 7

PLAYOFFS!
SEMI-FINAL
US Charlevoix x Atlético Elisabetano

FIRST ROUND
Portsmouth Black Tails x Saint-Urbain Guerriers
Montréal Pomhommes x Cap Nordique Guillemots

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:06 am

SUPERLIGUE PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINAL
US Charlevoix28–24 Atlético Elisabetano

FIRST ROUND
Portsmouth Black Tails 32–24 Saint-Urbain Guerriers
Montréal Pomhommes 28–29 Cap Nordique Guillemots

QUARTER FINAL:
Portsmouth Black Tails x Cap Nordique Guillemots
SEMI FINAL:
Quarter-Final Winner x Atlético Elisabetano
FINAL:
Semi-Final Winner x US Charlevoix

At the next scorination, I will be scorinating the Quarter & Semi finals.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue May 29, 2012 6:51 pm

MINOR SPORT ROUNDUP

LBÉC Baseball

Code: Select all: Pld W L Pts 1 Cap Nordique NorthStars 84 66 18 66 2 Albionpool AppleSox 84 56 28 56 3 Outremont Festivals 84 50 34 50 4 Montréal Alouettes 84 43 41 43 5 Worcester Timbers 84 39 45 39 6 Saint-Urbain National 84 34 50 34 7 Baltimore Carrier Pigeons 84 29 55 29 8 Pirates d'Hochelaga 84 19 65 19

Same four playoff teams...different order!

PLAYOFFS:
Cap Nordique NorthStars 5–4 Montréal Alouettes
Cap Nordique NorthStars 2–3 Montréal Alouettes
Montréal Alouettes 3–6 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Montréal Alouettes 4–3 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Cap Nordique NorthStars 6–0 Montréal Alouettes
(NorthStars win 3-2)

Albionpool AppleSox 4–5 Outremont Festivals
Albionpool AppleSox 10–3 Outremont Festivals
Outremont Festivals 4–0 Albionpool AppleSox
Outremont Festivals 2–3 Albionpool AppleSox
Albionpool AppleSox 6–4 Outremont Festivals
(AppleSox win 3-2)

Both first round matchups needed to go to Game 5's, with the favoured team pulling it out.

FINALS:
Cap Nordique NorthStars 6–3 Albionpool AppleSox
Cap Nordique NorthStars 4–3 Albionpool AppleSox
Albionpool AppleSox 1–0 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Albionpool AppleSox 2–1 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Albionpool AppleSox 4–3 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Cap Nordique NorthStars 2–4 Albionpool AppleSox

Albionpool AppleSox win their first Cotdelapoms Series in three tries, besting the NorthStars 4 games to 2 in the final! This year's Finals MVP is surprising Centre Fielder David Boisjoli, who went 13 for 24 with a double and a home run.

---------

BasketCotdelapoms results:

Code: Select all: Pld W L Pts 1 Cosmopolitan Albionpool 54 37 17 37 2 Worcester Jackals 54 36 18 36 3 Laval Geais Bleu 54 33 21 33 Montréal Huskies 54 33 21 33 5 Hamilton Lions 54 32 22 32 6 Portsmouth Pike 54 26 28 26 7 Gradiel Bûcherons 54 23 31 23 8 Kingston Celtics 54 20 34 20 Outremont Tours 54 20 34 20 10 Sherbrooke Armada 54 10 44 10

--------------

It was a brutal offseason for the league, as the Albionpool Rangers lost their financial backing- leaving the nation's capital without a team in the CFL for the first time ever. To make matters worse, the same problem happened to the new expansion team in Baltimore, meaning that rather than play with 10 teams as expected, the league has shrunk down to 8. As a result, with only two teams not making the playoffs, the regular season seemed meaningless.

FINAL STANDINGS:
1 Hamilton Galaxy (14-7)
2 Cap Nordique Argonauts (12-9)
3 Portsmouth Sea Dogs (12-9)
4 Outremont Aigles (12-9)
5 Kingston Roughriders (11-10)
6 Charlevoix Bataillon Vert (8-2-11)
7 Montréal Saints (7-1-13)
8 Worcester Ibex (6-1-14)

PLAYOFFS:
First Round-
Portsmouth Sea Dogs 44–8 Charlevoix Bataillon Vert
Outremont Aigles 37–48 Kingston Roughriders

Semi-Finals-
Cap Nordique Argonauts 34–29 Portsmouth Sea Dogs
Hamilton Galaxy 33–27 Kingston Roughriders

Coupe Darjeeling-
Cap Nordique Argonauts 39–23 Hamilton Galaxy

And so the two powerhouse teams of the recent CFL meet in the Coupe Darjeeling to record TV numbers despite the league having it's worst TV season in ages- the fans in Cap Nordique and Hamilton seem to be the only ones left! The Argos pulled out a 39-23 victory that seems bigger than it was- they were up only 25-23 going into the fourth quarter!

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue May 29, 2012 7:13 pm

Whaler $1 Million Challenge

If the Thistle is the most prestigious event in Cotdelapomais curling, the Whaler $1 Million Challenge is the richest, with $1 million being paid out to the winning rink!

Code: Select all: Pld W L Pts 1 Gignac Rink 15 14 1 14 2 Bergström Rink 15 13 2 13 3 Mineau Rink 15 12 3 12 4 Tacey Rink 15 10 5 10 5 Jilinikov Rink 15 8 7 8 Ljiytgoost Rink 15 8 7 8 Pagé Rink 15 8 7 8 8 Diaz Rink 15 7 8 7 9 Kachbey Rink 15 7 8 7 10 Marrero Rink 15 7 8 7 11 Déscoteaux Rink 15 6 9 6 12 Lancet Rink 15 6 9 6 13 Peroc Rink 15 5 10 5 14 Vine Rink 15 4 11 4 15 Doucet Rink 15 4 11 4 16 Ambrosini Rink 15 1 14 1

KNOCKOUT STAGES:
QUARTER FINAL-
Gignac Rink (Marianne) 6–3 Diaz Rink (Chênederven)
Bergström Rink (Cap Nordique) 9–4 Pagé Rink (Côte-Est)
Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms) 7–5 Ljiytgoost Rink (Polar Islandstates)
Tacey Rink (Darmen) 7–6 Jilinikov Rink (Lavonian Islands)

SEMI FINAL-
Gignac Rink (Marianne) 6–3 Tacey Rink (Darmen)
Bergström Rink (Cap Nordique) 3–7 Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms)

THIRD PLACE-
Bergström Rink (Cap Nordique) 5–8 Tacey Rink (Darmen)

FINAL-
Gignac Rink (Marianne) 4–7 Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms)

For $1 million, the François Mineau rink that represents us internationally shook themselves out of the slump that saw them fall to the team from Civil Citizenry at the Thistle. As a result they were the big jumpers in the current ACC Tour ladder, moving into fourth place, 5 back of the Tacey rink from Darmen, and 2 behind the Alex Gignac rink to maintain their representation of Cotdelapoms abroad.

Tacey Rink- 16
Gignac Rink- 13
Bergström Rink- 12
Mineau Rink- 11
Vine Rink- 8
Ljiytgoost Rink- 6
Jilinikov Rink- 2
Pagé Rink- 2
Diaz Rink- 1

(10 points for winning the bonspiel, 8 for finishing second, 6 for finishing third, 5 for finishing fourth, 1 for making the last 8. With 2 bonus points for finishing first in the group stage, and 1 for finishing second in the group stage.)

ACC Tour Schedule
1. The Thistle- Tacey Rink
2. Whaler $1 Million Challenge- Mineau Rink
3. St-Fortunat Bonspiel
4. Inter-Regional Bonspiel
5. Player's Bonspiel

by **Cotdelapoms** » Thu May 31, 2012 8:16 am

SUPERLIGUE PLAYOFFS

QUARTER FINAL

Portsmouth Black Tails 28–23 Cap Nordique Guillemots

SEMI FINAL

Atlético Elisabetano 22–29 Portsmouth Black Tails

BERNIER CUP FINAL
(4 June RL, Centre Valaire, Île d'Elisabeth)

US CHARLEVOIX x PORTSMOUTH BLACK TAILS

by **Cotdelapoms** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 8:10 am

CHL OFFSEASON PREVIEW

Remember when Cotdelapoms won the World Cup? If you do, you weren't really there, man...

I kid. But with the greatest thing to ever happen to this country and this sport, we've lost sight of the coming CHL transfer season and the quickly approaching regular season. Here are some of the major storylines, so you can feel prepared!

Where Will Leif Proulx End Up?- Winning 3 consecutive Dumas Cups and a World Cup is apparently not enough for Leif Proulx, who has said in no uncertain terms to the Hamilton Tigers that he'd like to be sent to another team where he can be the star. Apparently people in Hamilton pay too much attention to Jean-Luc Barr, possibly the best hockey player in the world, and not nearly enough to Leif Proulx, who is maybe top 100. Regardless, he seems to be most interested in heading to Outremont, who are a big market with a lousy team or Chambly, where he can deal with drunks who don't pay attention to the hockey games anyway. Proulx is about to become a free agent anyway, so the Tigers will likely take whatever deal comes in order to get some sort of return on Proulx, but with the amount of information that's been made public, they have little leverage. Expect him to wind up being dealt for a draft pick.

Goalie Controversies in Montreal- Both les Citoyens and the Royals have similar goaltender controversies entering this season. The Cotdelapomais are obviously committed to legendary Pascal Sévigny, who can still perform at a high level even at his age. The thing is that he can't perform at a high level for 60-plus games a season, so they will have to rely on a backup to play a certain number of games. The Cotdelapomais have no prospects coming down the pipe and even if they did would probably rather them play in the minors and get a regular workload than show up for 25-30 games a season, and with the goalie glut in the CHL, it's hard to get a goaltender who is willing to be a clear backup who is also any good. As of right now it looks like the backup will be Ryan Fernandes, but the ex-Oak Leaf is a bit of a liability for a team that wants to finish high in the playoffs.

Meanwhile across town, there's a different situation. Shu's strong World Cup performance (finishing with a bronze medal for the third time in four tournaments), has cooled some critics of the Gyatso-kai national goaltender...just in time for the Royals to sign Polarian national team backup Oyvind Asimov, who is much younger. Asimov is not expected to be the starter this season, but it's clear that he was signed with the intent of being the starter eventually, which may force Shu out. The fact that he's not exactly the most popular player with the local media means that at the first sign of weakness, the media will clamour for Asimov- Christian Bruneau has been playing the game well in telling the media Shu was his guy, but the way the media treats the Royals now is different than it was even a few years ago. With Maxime O'Bagels there's an expectation and a spotlight, Bruneau may be best off giving Asimov the job and sending Shu somewhere he'd be better suited for- preferably back home where he can be a hero.

Speaking of Gyatso-kai and Montreal...- KALMANIA! SKIRATINSANITY! The sensation of the World Cup has landed in Montreal to play for les Citoyens for a year or two before entering the AHL, in a move that has sent shockwaves all over the hockey world. It's clear Guillaume LaFrance is trying to win a Dumas Cup and a Champions League in the next year or two before some windows shut and the team may have to rebuild, so they are spending their seemingly unlimited cash to get it done. There are no confirmed reports on how much Skirata is costing the team per year, but the rumour is somewhere in the ballpark of $15million. For comparison, Maxime O'Bagels makes $12.5 million a year, and Pierre Drouin makes $16.1 million after having been the league's leading scorer for years. Skirata is expected to do a lot this season, but perhaps nothing more than spreading the Cotdelapomais brand in the Avatarian world. Local fans don't get a cut of jersey sales, though, so if he comes up short of 30 goals, expect some fallout.

Are the Brutal Musketeers Back?- The days of the Kingston Musketeers being a team that was simultaneously good at hockey and also full of jerks who will punch you in the face for looking at them wrong may be close to returning. They've signed Allamunnic defender Artie Weiss, who is both likely to be one of the most skilled defenders in the league and guaranteed to be the league's most violent player. We can't wait to see him fight Georges LaRoche!

UPDATE: In a bold move, Hamilton has sold the rights to Leif Proulx to New Athens Warriors in Camwood in exchange for Camian legend John Moncrief. Proulx is apparently set to sign a $10 million a year deal with the Warriors, and is happy after being promised his name in lights. Considering that the local fans in his new home will be upset the team dealt away their hero for him, Proulx will have to turn in an excellent performance in order to not be considered a bust. He's up to the task, unless he gets complacent with all his money. Meanwhile, Moncrief is a good player who will only make the Tigers better, certainly more than the 2nd round Draft pick and cash that Outremont were offering. A good move for Hamilton, and a potentially good move for New Athens- let's not forget that temper tantrums aside, Proulx is a good player entering his prime.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:52 am

BERNIER CUP FINAL

US Charlevoix 24–31 Portsmouth Black Tails

Congratulations to PORTSMOUTH BLACK TAILS for winning the inaugural Superligue tournament, apparently the long break hindered Charlevoix, who were clearly the best team in the regular season.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:55 pm

Apples, Ice Bison to Face Off in Pre-Season Victory Lap

One of the things that Thierry Bruneau was proudest of in his team's victory in World Cup 18 wasn't just that his team won, it was the way they managed to get wins against most of the top teams in the world in the process. Cotdelapoms earned victories over Gyatso-kai (in an exhibition in Montréal), Princess Béatrice Island, Plutoni, Valanora and Polar Islandstates. For years in the World Cup, Guy Lemaire's teams would fall to a world power like Plutoni, Qazox or Cassadaigua and use that as an excuse for their poor performance. Thierry Bruneau shows up, and in his first Cup he gets the Apples to beat them all on the way to the title.

Fans of any hockey nation aside from Cotdelapoms are forgiven if they are a little annoyed at the seemingly never-ending victory lap that we're doing over our World Cup victory- the celebrations and parades were one thing, the commemorative hats, DVDs and newspapers another, but summer is turning into fall and perhaps it's time for the sports world to discuss something, anything else. Yet here we are, about to discuss it even further as Hockey Cotdelapoms prepares to take a final victory lap before the CHL season begins when Cotdelapoms takes on Gyatso-kai this weekend in an exhibition at Oak Air Centre in Albionpool. The two teams had set up a three-game exhibition series during the World Cup qualifiers, but were only able to play two games as the third had to be post-poned for the playoff game Cotdelapoms had to play against Shofercia. Cotdelapoms are leading the series by a goal, having won in Montréal and drawn in Augnuook, both instant classics. Yet, the Apples do not feel as though they've fairly won the series without playing the third game and as such invited the Ice Bisons to take part in yet another victory lap, albeit one that shows Cotdelapoms won't rest on their laurels. They could have invited an easy opponent like Ocaterra, but they've opted for a team with whom the Apples have developed a friendly rivalry ever since they both rose to power at World Cup 15 in Cotdelapoms.

This game will hopefully put a little more CHL attention back on Cotdelapomais players. For all the love our local boys have gotten this offseason for their gold medal glory, the actual league moves have mostly centred around foreigners- Kal Skirata, the influx of Allamunnic players, the move of Alex var der Kamm, the arrival of John Moncrief, et cetera. The primary CHL news involving Cotdelapomais players was negative- Leif Proulx's decision that he'd rather be loved in Camwood than be very highly liked in Hamilton, and the retirement of Maxime Deslauriers. Only the arrival of Tch'an Vigier in Île d'Elisabeth and the interesting story of new Albionpool goalie Stephen Hunt have gotten much attention, and Vigier will be on full display in this friendly.

Gyatso-kai has been the better team since the two first met, having three times finished in third place at the World Cup. Overall the series is even, and although Gyatso-kai has finished better than Cotdelapoms in every World Cup they've both participated in but one, that one was the victory we keep celebrating, so I'm sure Gyatso-kai would trade places with us any time. They will likely be motivated to win this one, especially with the mixed reaction they will receive in Albionpool- Ishida Arnook is a beloved icon in the capital, perhaps the most popular player on the team aside from Louis Saint-Laurent. Kal Skirata, on the other hand, has yet to even play a game for les Citoyens and is almost certain to be booed endlessly by the partisans in Albionpool, certainly a taste for what he's in for in the CHL.

Thierry Bruneau will bring a combination A/B team to this game, allowing his stars and Oak Leafs to soak in the glory of winning the World Cup one last time, whilst also giving a chance to some younger players with little/no Apple experience.

LINE COMBINATIONS FOR MATCH WITH GYATSO-KAI
Jean Luc Barr-Maxime O'Bagels-Benoît Cohen
Rick Jones-Guillaume Dagenais-Julien Champagne
Marc-Antoine Parent-Sandro Antonetti-Louis Saint-Laurent
Alek Auclair-Tch'an Vigier-Mehdi Pellegrini

Alexandre Briére-Rezzi Tzar'kr'El
Thierry Johansson-Ricardo Rhéaume
Ludovic Labrie-Yoann Persson

Sacha Courcelles
Pierre Renault

by **Wight** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:39 am

by **Gyatso-kai** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:26 pm

Ice Bisons to Cotdelapoms: One More Go-Around

ONLINE EDITION

7 JUNE 2012.2

EXHIBITION - AHL

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After some well-deserved rest and relaxtion, the Ice Bisons are set to clear up some unfinished business with the World Champions Cotdelapoms Apples in an exhibition game set to occur this weekend.

After an originally planned three-game series during the 18th World Cup of Hockey turned into a two-game show, both the AHL and its Cotdelapoms counterpart --- the CHL --- have agreed to a one-game exhibition match to occur in the fabled city of Albionpool. This city, home to where Ishida Arnook plays his professional games, is renowned for their fiercly-loyal fans; during many an CHL game, Arnook has told us of cheers drowning out the horn for a goal scored.

Amazing...

With many players having shifted around during the off-season, one has to wonder who will be returning to the Ice Bisons following their third-Third Place performance. For many here in Gyatso-kai, the slogan "Perennial Third is Perfect" seems to be the new motto for the Ice Bisons. However, we need not wonder anymore, thanks to Head Coach Kad Skirata at today's practice session at the Sundari Times Forum:

"All of the ade will return for this match, even though we are re-working lines for the next World Cup. It would be unfair to bring new players into such a heated match and expect them to perform at any sort of level deemed worthy."

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

Copyright 2012.2 Avatarian Sports Programming Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.aspn.com.gk/articles/ahl/20184458
© 2012 Avatarian Sportts Programming Network

by **Cotdelapoms** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:21 pm

International Hockey Exhibition:
Cotdelapoms 1–2 Gyatso-kai

by **Cotdelapoms** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:15 pm

St-Fortunat Bonspiel

The northern resort town of St-Fortunat is up next for the rinks of the ACC Tour, and the crowd at this prestigious event is always behind the Cap Nordique rink- this year that is the Erik Bergström Rink that is just one point out from representing Cotdelapoms internationally, and 4 points behind the Darmeni rink that is currently leading the ACC Tour.

-                                         Pld    W   L   Pts 
 1 Gignac Rink                             15   14   1    14
 2 Mineau Rink                             15   13   2    13
 3 Ljiytgoost Rink                         15   10   5    10
 4 Bergström Rink                          15   10   5    10
 5 Tacey Rink                              15    9   6     9
 6 Kachbey Rink                            15    9   6     9
 7 Diaz Rink                               15    8   7     8
 8 Jilinikov Rink                          15    8   7     8
 9 Déscoteaux Rink                         15    7   8     7
10 Pagé Rink                               15    6   9     6
11 Vine Rink                               15    6   9     6
12 Doucet Rink                             15    5  10     5
13 Peroc Rink                              15    4  11     4
14 Ambrosini Rink                          15    4  11     4
15 Lancet Rink                             15    4  11     4
16 Marrero Rink                            15    3  12     3

KNOCKOUT ROUNDS
QUARTER-FINALS
Gignac Rink (Marianne) 9–10 Jilinikov Rink (Lavonian Islands)
Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms) 9–7 Diaz Rink (Chênederven)
Ljiytgoost Rink (Polar Islandstates) 4–5 Kachbey Rink (Zwangzug)
Bergström Rink (Cap Nordique) 7–8 Tacey Rink (Darmen)

Major upset in the quarter finals with the Lavonian rink upending the Alex Gignac rink in round one, which will open up the tour ladder greatly. Jilinikov's rink were down by 1 in the final end when a perfect takeout removed a Gignac corner guard and gave the Lavonian rink the two needed to win. Meanwhile, the hometown hero lost in a similar heartbreak, down 7-4 in the 8th end they were able to score three with the hammer and bring themselves all square in the final end. They peeled away guards well, but ultimately the Darmeni rink put one on the button and picked up the win.

SEMI-FINALS
Tacey Rink (Darmen) 2–4 Jilinikov Rink (Lavonian Islands)
Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms) 6–4 Kachbey Rink (Zwangzug)

A lot of blank ends in the two semi-finals, especially between the Jilinikov and Tacey Rinks- the two seemed to be going at it and leaving few stones in the house, with the game ending with the Jilinikov rink taking out their penultimate stone in the final end, leading the Darmeni rink to concede.

THIRD PLACE
Tacey Rink (Darmen) 6–7 Kachbey Rink (Zwangzug)

FINAL
Mineau Rink (Cotdelapoms) 7–6 Jilinikov Rink (Lavonian Islands)

There's a reason the François Mineau Rink represents Cotdelapoms! It was hard fought, but they were able to secure the St-Fortunat Bonspiel largely due to a tremendous 4-end in the 5th. François and his rink are certainly looking like the team to beat on the ACC Tour, now having won two events in a row without much fanfare despite being the Cotdelapomais national rink.

LADDER:
Mineau Rink- 22
Tacey Rink- 21
Gignac Rink- 16
Bergström Rink- 13
Jilinikov Rink- 10
Vine Rink- 8
Ljiytgoost Rink- 7
Kachbey Rink- 6
Pagé Rink- 2
Diaz Rink- 2

(10 points for winning the bonspiel, 8 for finishing second, 6 for finishing third, 5 for finishing fourth, 1 for making the last 8. With 2 bonus points for finishing first in the group stage, and 1 for finishing second in the group stage.)

ACC Tour Schedule
1. The Thistle- Tacey Rink
2. Whaler $1 Million Challenge- Mineau Rink
3. St-Fortunat Bonspiel- Mineau Rink
4. Inter-Regional Bonspiel
5. Player's Bonspiel

by **Cotdelapoms** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:12 pm

It was an eventful summer in the CHL, with the Apples winning the World Cup, the Tigers sending Leif Proulx to Camwood for John Moncrief, the arrival of Kal Skirata and the Osprey trying to become a top team again through trades and the draft. Preseason featured a lot of excitement with the final match of the Cotdelapoms-Gyatso kai series being a classic (albeit a classic that brought us no closure). The CHL sent teams overseas for their season openers this year too, with the Caribou defeating Xavier in ABK and the Osprey doing the Citiz fans a favour and defeating PBI in Eastern Chase. The touring teams also played clubs in each country, with the Caribou defeating the Swift Seawolves 3-1 and the Swift Polar Bears earning an upset victory over Xavier Ours Polaires 3-2. PBI and Île d'Elisabeth got wins over the Innovation and Lords respectively of the Civiline League.

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique Drakkar      25   18   6   1    65   37  +28    42
 2 Portsmouth Mallards       25   13   6   6    63   52  +11    32
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    25    9  12   4    58   49   +9    30
 4 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    25   12   5   8    38   39   −1    29
 5 Hamilton Tigers           25   11   6   8    70   63   +7    28
 6 Worcester Snowbirds       25   10   7   8    55   51   +4    27
 7 Albionpool Oak Leafs      25    9   9   7    59   60   −1    27
 8 Kingston Musketeers       25   10   6   9    47   50   −3    26
 9 Rouen Caribou             25    9   8   8    59   53   +6    26
10 Montréal Royals           25    8   8   9    50   51   −1    24
11 Charlevoix Montagnards    25    8   8   9    56   61   −5    24
12 PBI Rangers               25   11   2  12    61   64   −3    24
13 Xavier Ours Polaires      25    9   5  11    49   54   −5    23
14 Baltimore Gulls           25    7   9   9    46   41   +5    23
15 Sorel Pomhommes           25    7   9   9    44   42   +2    23
16 Côte-Est Mariners         25    7   8  10    59   63   −4    22
17 Outremont Owls            25    8   5  12    47   55   −8    21
18 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   25    7   7  11    48   56   −8    21
19 St-Fortunat Saints        25    4   6  15    44   59  −15    14
20 Chambly Brasseurs         25    4   6  15    40   58  −18    14

After two months, the big surprise of the season is obviously the Drakkar, on top of the league having lost only once (and in their third game of the season, away to Charlevoix). The Drakkar are firing on all cylinders and playing their best hockey in years largely due to tremendous special teams- their power play is 1st in the leaguge and their penalty kill is 3rd.

Also surprising at the top of the league are the 4th place Osprey, last place the previous season but this year coming into the year fortified with Tch'an Vigier and Alex var der Kamm. Many consider the Osprey to be paper tigers, though. They have a -1 goal differential and haven't been getting many draws, either winning or losing many of their games. Offensively the team is just not clicking, as var der Kamm hasn't meshed with any of the lines he's been put on, and Tch'an Vigier doesn't get much time. Defensively they've shined thusfar, though- Vladimir Kyschenko is a Roy candidate with his league leading save percentage (.929 thusfar!) and Marco Trussina has been paired with youngster Zak Binette for perhaps his best season yet.

The Royals have been a hard luck team, 10th in the standings and caught up in the goaltender controversy everyone was afraid of at the beginning of the season. Shu has the better GAA and save percentage, but Oyvind Asimov has a better record, having won 5 games in 11 starts, compared to Shu's 3 wins in 14 starts. Shu was absolutely lit up for 6 goals against PBI and lost in the first derby against les Citoyens at Centre Télépom Mobilité, which is the primary reason he's been under fire, but it seems as though Christian Bruneau may need to make a move in order to get out of the media doghouse.

Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Louis Periard- POR- 17
2. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM 16
3. Rick Jones- ALB 15
t4. Yannick Jodoc- CN 14
t4. Alexandre Falardeau- C-E 14

Three Stars of the Month
OCTOBER:
1. Yoann Persson- Cap Nordique Drakkar
2. Louis Periard- Portsmouth Mallards
3. Markos de Raek- Baltimore Gulls

NOVEMBER:
1. Alexandre Briére- Montréal Cotdelapomais
2. Jean-Luc Barr- Hamilton Tigers
3. Yannick Jodoc- Cap Nordique Drakkar

Rookie of the Month
OCTOBER:
Tch'an Vigier- Île d'Elisabeth Osprey

NOVEMBER:
Kal Skirata- Montréal Cotdelapomais

Artie Weiss Fight Watch
Artie Weiss got his first CHL suspension for a hit from behind that injured Sorel's Vikar Spencer. This got him into his best CHL fight thusfar, trading blows with the similarly enormous Wesley Tuuijkers and eventually felling the Mytanar behemoth. Weiss has also flattened the Drakkar's Thomas Roy, the Rangers' Modanig Solis and Trefor-Maxim Plourde of Charlevoix. Weiss and Georges LaRoche did not fight in Kingston's first game with les Citoyens, although LaRoche did take on Kingston's Milan Gadzic after he took a run at Sandro Antonetti.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:29 am

Bandy Série A

-                                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Outremont                        18   11   4   3    84   49  +35    37
 2 CB Charlevoix                    18   11   3   4    86   59  +27    36
 3 Renards Polaire St-Fortunat      18   10   3   5    72   62  +10    33
 4 Étoile Rouge CB                  18    7   4   7    80   84   −4    25
 5 Orioles du Nord                  18    7   2   9    90   81   +9    23
 6 Toussaint Chambly                18    7   1  10    65   96  −31    22
 7 Cousins Laval                    18    5   6   7    57   66   −9    21
 8 Cap Nordique                     18    5   6   7    56   82  −26    21
 9 Clash de Montréal                18    5   3  10    81   77   +4    18
10 Saint-Urbain CB                  18    4   4  10    61   76  −15    16

Outremont took the first Cotdelapomais Série A of bandy by one point over CB Charlevoix in a close race that was sealed up in round 17 when the two clubs played to a 2-2 draw in a tense defensive battle that saw two teams trying more not to lose than to win. Charlevoix tried valiantly in round 18, routing Chambly 13-1, but that didn't matter as Outremont defeated Orioles 8-3. Bandy is trying valiantly to get onto the Cotdelapomais sport map, and may have a shot considering our general love of winter sports and the recent struggles of football. A big star would help the sport tremendously, so the way Outremont packages leading goal scorer Andre Rivet will mean a lot for the sport in Cotdelapoms. The league is generally lacking Cotdelapomais stars- many of the best players are from the Esportivan nations of Loftetsland and Fuglamark, but Rivet is a local hero in Outremont and could be the one to get bandy on the map.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:52 pm

December was another hot month for the Cap Nordique Drakkar, although they lost three games to come back to earth just a tiny bit, but the surprise team of the season are starting to look more and more like the real deal, and fans across the country are starting to believe. The Gulls, Royals and Caribou started to play more like they were expected to, all crashing the playoff picture- which looks roughly like you would expect outside of the first place Drakkar and...

The sixth place Kingston Musketeers! How about that? The rough and tumble Musketeers are likely a unanimous choice for the team nobody wants to face- they are dirty in both the "violent, cheap, cheating" sort of way and also the "able to pull of crazy moves" sort of way- they had a seven game unbeaten streak in December that included wins over the Drakkar and Royals. They lead the league in both hits and penalty minutes, and don't look now, but they have the league's second stingiest defence, due to the excellent top two combinations- Michel Gingras/Josef Birk Rosenmeyer and Brent O'Sheaghern/Artie Weiss. They've also gotten excellent goaltending from the tandem of veteran Johann Sauvé and rookie Théo-Malik Dubois-Duhamel, who got 9 starts in December due to a groin injury for Sauvé, who has returned.

Still cruising along at second place are Portsmouth, whose Louis Periard continues to lead the scoring charts as he lights up the lamp seemingly everywhere he goes. Sacha Courcelles seems to have not been made rusty by the layoff since the World Cup, playing well when he plays- he has an under 2.00 GAA.

Meanwhile, the Osprey collected only 3 points in the month of December and saw themselves fall back down to 17th- the injuries are starting to pile up and it seems readily apparent Alex var der Kamm is not a good fit with this squad- he may be a deadline trade.

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique Drakkar      37   24   9   4    90   56  +34    57
 2 Portsmouth Mallards       37   18   9  10    96   80  +16    45
 3 Hamilton Tigers           37   18   9  10   100   87  +13    45
 4 Montréal Cotdelapomais    37   13  18   6    88   77  +11    44
 5 Rouen Caribou             37   15  11  11    90   72  +18    41
 6 Kingston Musketeers       37   15  10  12    67   68   −1    40
 7 Baltimore Gulls           37   14  11  12    81   70  +11    39
 8 Montréal Royals           37   14  11  12    75   69   +6    39
 9 Albionpool Oak Leafs      37   12  15  10    83   83    0    39
10 Charlevoix Montagnards    37   13  12  12    87   88   −1    38
11 Worcester Snowbirds       37   13  11  13    83   85   −2    37
12 Xavier Ours Polaires      37   13   9  15    82   89   −7    35
13 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   37   12  10  15    75   77   −2    34
14 PBI Rangers               37   12  10  15    82   89   −7    34
15 Sorel Pomhommes           37    9  14  14    71   77   −6    32
16 Côte-Est Mariners         37   11  10  16    91  103  −12    32
17 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    37   12   8  17    51   68  −17    32
18 Outremont Owls            37   10   9  18    69   83  −14    29
19 Chambly Brasseurs         37    9   6  22    72   91  −19    24
20 St-Fortunat Saints        37    9   6  22    65   86  −21    24

Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Louis Periard- POR- 27
2. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM- 25
3. Alexandre Falardeau- C-E- 23
4. Benoît Cohen- ROU- 22
5. Guillaume Dagenais- CHV- 21

Three Stars of the Month
DECEMBER:
1. Markos de Raek- Baltimore Gulls
2. Benoît Cohen- Rouen Caribou
3. Louis Periard- Portsmouth Mallards

Rookie of the Month
DECEMBER:
Théo-Malik Dubois-Duhamel- Kingston Musketeers

by **Cotdelapoms** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:02 pm

JANUARY saw the defending champion Hamilton Tigers pick up 7 points on first place more to do with the struggles of Cap Nordique than anything they did. The Tigers didn't notch too many big wins, earning draws with the likes of les Citoyens and the Mallards. The Tigers did get a win in Charlevoix on Hockey Night, followed it up win a win over PBI, but then got pushed around by the Musketeers. At the trade deadline they may be looking for a big body and a tough guy, especially since as of right now they would take on Rouen in round one.

The Royals have done an excellent job of protecting Shu from the goaltending controversy, and they were the hottest team in January- earning a huge win over Cap Nordique. Maxime O'Bagels started the season off slowly, but he's been on fire since January 1st, scoring a hat trick in a game with Xavier, and also netting a pair against Sorel. Defensively, the Royals have been doing a good job playing in the system that Christian Bruneau has developed to protect Shu and Oyvind Asimov.

Albionpool Oak Leafs are four points out of the playoffs with the trade deadline rapidly approaching and will have to come up with a decision fast whether or not they want to be buyers or sellers. Realistically, they should be sellers, as they are not a team that will be winning the Dumas Cup this season or any time soon, but it's hard to sell that to the fans in Albionpool. Likely Saint-Laurent would not be moving, nor would Thierry Johansson, but Mika Litmanen, Rick Jones, (the impressive) Olin Perjorsec and even Ishida Arnook could be up for dealing.

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique Drakkar      50   28  11  11   120   90  +30    67
 2 Hamilton Tigers           50   25  12  13   128  110  +18    62
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    50   18  23   9   121  106  +15    59
 4 Montréal Royals           50   23  12  15   119  100  +19    58
 5 Portsmouth Mallards       50   22  14  14   136  119  +17    58
 6 Baltimore Gulls           50   20  14  16   119   99  +20    54
 7 Rouen Caribou             50   20  14  16   127  115  +12    54
 8 Charlevoix Montagnards    50   18  16  16   117  117    0    52
 9 Worcester Snowbirds       50   19  13  18   111  111    0    51
10 Kingston Musketeers       50   16  19  15    86   90   −4    51
11 Xavier Ours Polaires      50   20  11  19   118  117   +1    51
12 Outremont Owls            50   18  12  20    97  104   −7    48
13 Albionpool Oak Leafs      50   15  18  17   113  120   −7    48
14 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   50   17  12  21   100  106   −6    46
15 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    50   16  13  21    83   98  −15    45
16 Sorel Pomhommes           50   12  20  18    93  101   −8    44
17 PBI Rangers               50   14  12  24   107  127  −20    40
18 St-Fortunat Saints        50   14  11  25    90  108  −18    39
19 Côte-Est Mariners         50   13  12  25   116  140  −24    38
20 Chambly Brasseurs         50   13   9  28    96  119  −23    35

Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Louis Periard- POR- 34
2. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM- 32
3. Maxime O'Bagels- MTL- 30
4. Benoît Cohen- ROU- 28
5. Kal Skirata- MTL- 27

Three Stars of the Month
JANUARY:
1. Maxime O'Bagels- Montréal Royals
2. Kal Skirata- Montréal Cotdelapomais
3. Jean-Luc Barr- Hamilton Tigers

Rookie of the Month
JANUARY:
Kal Skirata- Montréal Cotdelapomais

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:10 pm

FEBRUARY is the shortest month of the year, and yet it must have felt like an eternity for the Cap Nordique Drakkar, who played moderately well but got passed by the on fire Hamilton Tigers. Cap Nordique seem unlikely to crash down to earth as they are still up 16 points on 8th place with just over a month to play, but with the Gulls playing well and les Citoyens right behind them, the Drakkar may not have an easy time come the playoffs. Cap Nordique are in an interesting position at the trade deadline, as they could be buyers since they are in position for the playoffs, but with the rebuilding way ahead of schedule they do not want to be too hasty.

The Gulls had the hot month in February, with Markos de Raek turning up the Roy Award heat with an outstanding month that featured shutouts of the Oak Leafs, Osprey, Ours Polaires and Saints, and giving up 1 goal each against the Drakkar and Tigers. Baltimore are definitely a team that will be buyers at the deadline, they could definitely benefit from some bottom six sandpaper.

Albionpool tread water all month and now find themselves as the league's most average team, still just 2 points out of a playoff spot but having to decide whether they should go for it (and likely face Hamilton in round one) or just try again next year. Brian Burnham's job is likely on the line, so the smart money is on them being buyers rather than sellers, but perhaps they'll do the frustrating thing the Oak Leafs often do where they buy a piece and sell a piece simultaneously.

One team not in a good way are the PBI Rangers, who are having some major dressing room problems over politics between their two Citiz players and Mytanar winger Ilya Saiyfulemindirov. Look for the whole core of the team to be blown up at the deadline in an effort to boost team morale.

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hamilton Tigers           62   35  14  13   158  125  +33    84
 2 Cap Nordique Drakkar      62   33  14  15   147  111  +36    80
 3 Baltimore Gulls           62   28  17  17   147  118  +29    73
 4 Montréal Cotdelapomais    62   23  26  13   148  130  +18    72
 5 Montréal Royals           62   26  17  19   154  136  +18    69
 6 Charlevoix Montagnards    62   24  20  18   140  137   +3    68
 7 Portsmouth Mallards       62   26  16  20   159  143  +16    68
 8 Rouen Caribou             62   23  18  21   142  134   +8    64
 9 Worcester Snowbirds       62   24  15  23   127  123   +4    63
10 Albionpool Oak Leafs      62   21  20  21   145  145    0    62
11 Kingston Musketeers       62   20  20  22   114  120   −6    60
12 Outremont Owls            62   23  13  26   120  127   −7    59
13 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   62   22  15  25   132  140   −8    59
14 Xavier Ours Polaires      62   23  11  28   132  140   −8    57
15 PBI Rangers               62   20  14  28   139  157  −18    54
16 Sorel Pomhommes           62   15  22  25   119  133  −14    52
17 Chambly Brasseurs         62   19  13  30   132  149  −17    51
18 Côte-Est Mariners         62   18  14  30   143  174  −31    50
19 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    62   18  14  30   104  131  −27    50
20 St-Fortunat Saints        62   16  13  33   107  136  −29    45

Goal Scoring Leaders
1. Louis Periard- POR- 40
2. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM- 38
3. Maxime O'Bagels- MTLR- 36
4. Rick Jones- ALB- 34
5. Kal Skirata- MTLC- 33

Three Stars of the Month:
FEBRUARY
1. Markos de Raek- Baltimore Gulls
2. Rezzi Tzar'kr'El- Montréal Cotdelapomais
3. John Moncrief- Hamilton Tigers

Rookie of the Month:
FEBRUARY
Kal Skirata- Montréal Cotdelapomais

ALL STAR GAME
This year's CHL All-Star Game was held at Toussaint Forum in Chambly and featured a team coached by legendary defenceman Marc Berri taking on a team coached by legendary coach Jacques Carpentier.

TEAM BERRI 11-8 TEAM CARPENTIER

Team Berri goals: Barr 3, van Antonsen 2, Champagne 1, Drouin 1, Dupuis 1, Seznec 1, Tremblay 1, Jones 1
Team Carpentier goals: O'Bagels 3, Arnook 1, de Vries 1, Periard 1, Skirata 1, Briére 1

Team Berri:
LW- Jean-Luc Barr (HAM), Rick Jones (ALB), Janik Foisy (PBI), Rémy Tremblay (ST-U)
C- Guillaume Dagenais (CHV), Pierre Drouin (CHV), Jaani Lindt (XAV), Radoslav Invermuir (MTLR)
RW- Kirri van Antonsen (WOR), Julien Champagne (MTLC), Youen Seznec (SOR), Noí Molina (ST-F)
D- Isaac Gagnon (HAM), Pierre Eklund-Dupuis (OUT), Josef Birk Rosenmeyer (KNG), Brent O'Sheaghern (KNG), Wojtek Veterin (MTLR), Ludovik Labrie (PBI)
G- Sacha Courcelles (POR), Raphaël Desmarais (CN), Alexandre Labelle (ROU)

Team Carpentier:
LW- Petter de Vries (CN), Louis Periard (POR), Ngo Du (POR), Alexandre Falardeau (C-E)
C- Maxime O'Bagels (MTLR), John Moncrief (HAM), Jordan Edwards (CHM), Kyl Fradrick (ROU)
RW- Ishida Arnook (ALB), Yannick Jodoc (CN), Kal Skirata (MTLC), Benoît Cohen (ROU)
D- Thierry Johansson (ALB), Yoann Persson (CN), Marco Trussina (Îd'E), Alexandre Briére (MTLC), Rezzi Tzar'kr'El (MTLC), Anderson Strathcona (ROU)
G- Markos de Raek (BAL), José Thibodeau (CHV), Pascal Sévigny (MTLC)

by **Cotdelapoms** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:16 pm

CHL Trade Deadline Deals

Charlevoix receive: LW- Brendan Burnaby
PBI receive: 1st round draft pick, D- Filiz Gouillou, $76,150

The Montagnards receive some of the grit they need for the playoffs, the Rangers acquire a first round pick and a competent local defenceman. Burnaby is the biggest star to move on this day, and the only former Apple to be traded today. Burnaby is having his worst season in the CHL, having scored only 12 goals and added 20 assists this season, but his big body and ability to crash into anyone is just as good as ever, which will be useful if the Montagnards have to go toe to toe with a tough team like Rouen, or if they want to overpower a finesse team like either of the Montréal sides.

Montréal Royals receive: RW- Ilya Saiyfulemindirov, D- Gabriél-Pierre Lamontagne
PBI receive: RW- Neo Chénier, LW- André Bergerac, D- Maddox Aubin, D- Naël Dumoulin, $50,000

The Royals are ever the opportunists, snatching up an unhappy Saiyfuleminidirov, who goes from a locker room with two notable Citiz players to a locker room with two other notable Mytanars. The Rangers didn't have much chance of getting a solid return when Saiyfulemindirov asked to be let go, but Neo Chénier plays hard, and Maddox Aubin is at least local.

Montréal Royals receive: D- Wesley Tuuijkers
Sorel receive: 2nd round draft pick, C- Maxime Cobb

The Royals then added another Mytanar in the enormous Wesley Tuuijkers, who is not the most fleet of foot but is the best penalty killer in the league by a wide margin according to the advanced statistics that Christian Bruneau adores. In exchange, they gave up a draft pick and the underused Maxime Cobb.

Cap Nordique receive: LW- Evan Beaulieu
Saint-Urbain receive: LW- Ludovic Lee, 3rd round draft pick

The Drakkar smartly seemed to realise that they were good ahead of schedule and did not deal out the farm to improve. Evan Beaulieu is a nice player who is under contract for another season after this one, but he's not a real game changer.

Hamilton receive: C- Kaourintin Berthou
St-Fortunat receive: RW- Tryggvi Sigurdsson-Didier

A pretty minor deal, but the only one the Tigers would make on the day, showing that they seem happy with the team that won them three Dumas Cups, can you blame them. Berthou is a scrapper, as was Sigurdsson-Didier, but Berthou is a heavyweight and Sigurdsson-Didier is a welterweight at best.

Montréal Cotdelapomais receive: G- Ian Tinordi
Côte-Est receive: 1st round draft pick

...and with the shrewdest move of the day, Guillaume LaFrance gets his replacement for Pascal Sévigny (at least until they can develop another great goaltender.) Tinordi is a league average starter, but becomes one of the best backups, which will give Sévigny some rest down the stretch. Tinordi will be competent as the starter next season and the season after if Sévigny decides to retire, and whilst that first round draft pick could have been used to take a goaltender, Tinordi is more of a sure thing anyway. The Mariners benefit from this trade as well, as hording picks is their best move.

Albionpool receive: G- Théo-Malik Dubois-Duhamel, C- Boris Hajers
Kingston receive: 1st round draft pick, 2nd round draft pick, D- Remi Alexandersson, C- João Normandin

This one is a total head-scratcher, for both sides. The Musketeers apparently have total faith that Johann Sauvé will return and continue to be effective, or they don't think they will be competitive in the next year or so. Meanwhile, Brian Burnham could have just scrapped this season and gotten his goaltender in the offseason for money, rather than sacrificing two draft picks and a top prospect (Alexandersson). Hajers and Normandin are almost identical players.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:31 pm

March (and a small bit of April) aren't the playoffs, but for a lot of teams, every game became a must-win at the very tail end of the season, as by the end of the season, teams seven through ten were very very close. How close? Well, after March, with four games to go, the table looked like this-

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hamilton Tigers           72   39  16  17   189  157  +32    94
 2 Cap Nordique Drakkar      72   37  17  18   168  129  +39    91
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    72   29  27  16   182  157  +25    85
 4 Montréal Royals           72   33  18  21   187  155  +32    84
 5 Baltimore Gulls           72   30  22  20   168  140  +28    82
 6 Charlevoix Montagnards    72   30  21  21   169  163   +6    81
 7 Albionpool Oak Leafs      72   29  20  23   175  167   +8    78
 8 Worcester Snowbirds       72   31  15  26   156  144  +12    77
 9 Rouen Caribou             72   29  19  24   169  160   +9    77
10 Portsmouth Mallards       72   28  19  25   184  173  +11    75
11 Kingston Musketeers       72   25  22  25   142  145   −3    72
12 Outremont Owls            72   26  14  32   147  157  −10    66
13 Xavier Ours Polaires      72   25  15  32   150  166  −16    65
14 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   72   24  17  31   152  168  −16    65
15 Chambly Brasseurs         72   25  14  33   162  175  −13    64
16 PBI Rangers               72   21  18  33   161  185  −24    60
17 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    72   21  17  34   128  158  −30    59
18 Sorel Pomhommes           72   16  25  31   140  160  −20    57
19 Côte-Est Mariners         72   20  15  37   169  209  −40    55
20 St-Fortunat Saints        72   19  15  38   120  150  −30    53

Look at that race for the final playoff spots- hell, look at who held the last two- Albionpool and Worcester? Who would have predicted that even at the deadline, Worcester were creeping up but are old and made no moves to help their playoff cause. Albionpool threw the house at Kingston to get Théo-Malik Dubois-Duhamel...who had been excellent. Of course, nobody thought any differently, it just seemed like a foolish decision to trade away a lot of the future for this one goaltender when the Oak Leafs are so old, but Brian Burnham clearly was trading for his job.

Four games, however, was clearly a lot to play. At the beginning of April the Mallards failed to defend home ice and only managed a draw with lowly Sorel, the Oak Leafs only managed a draw away to middling Xavier, Worcester drew on the road against the Citadelles and the Caribou drew a tough assignment with the Drakkar...meaning that there were no moves after game 73, and that Portsmouth's window was shrinking- a whole win out with only 3 games to play and a tough assignment in Charlevoix coming up.

A full slate of Saturday games was next up, where the Oak Leafs and Drakkar were the Hockey Night in Cotdelapoms game and did not disappoint, playing a tight, tense matchup where the Drakkar ultimately won 1-0 on a Konstantin Koritz slap shot on a power play that may make all the difference for the Oak Leafs' season. The Snowbirds, however, failed to take advantage, getting absolutely pummeled in every way by Kingston- a brutal contest that featured four fights, and seven goals- 5 for the Musketeers and only 2 for Worcester, humiliated in their own barn.

So the Mallards had their chance to step up, but they went into the Joliat mountains and laid an absolute egg, getting shut out by José Thibodeau and the Montagnards, opening the door up for Rouen to take a playoff spot on Sunday, and they did just that- a four goal bonanza at home against the Osprey and the Caribou were now in the drivers seat for the last week of regular season hockey in the CHL this year.

After 74 games

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hamilton Tigers           74   39  17  18   198  167  +31    95
 2 Cap Nordique Drakkar      74   38  18  18   170  130  +40    94
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    74   31  27  16   189  161  +28    89
 4 Montréal Royals           74   35  18  21   192  158  +34    88
 5 Charlevoix Montagnards    74   31  22  21   171  163   +8    84
 6 Baltimore Gulls           74   30  22  22   168  143  +25    82
 7 Rouen Caribou             74   30  20  24   174  163  +11    80
 8 Albionpool Oak Leafs      74   29  21  24   177  170   +7    79
 9 Worcester Snowbirds       74   31  16  27   159  150   +9    78
10 Portsmouth Mallards       74   28  20  26   186  177   +9    76
11 Kingston Musketeers       74   26  23  25   147  147    0    75
12 Outremont Owls            74   27  15  32   153  161   −8    69
13 Xavier Ours Polaires      74   26  16  32   158  173  −15    68
14 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   74   24  19  31   158  174  −16    67
15 Chambly Brasseurs         74   25  14  35   168  183  −15    64
16 PBI Rangers               74   21  19  34   169  194  −25    61
17 Sorel Pomhommes           74   16  27  31   143  163  −20    59
18 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    74   21  17  36   133  166  −33    59
19 Côte-Est Mariners         74   21  15  38   174  215  −41    57
20 St-Fortunat Saints        74   20  16  38   125  154  −29    56

The Mallards needed to be perfect and have a lot of luck go their way, and the Snowbirds were on the outside looking in, just barely. Meanwhile, the Governor's Shield is still up for grabs, with Hamilton and Cap Nordique just separated by one point- the Drakkar seized their last opportunity against Albionpool, whilst the Tigers stumbled in a seemingly easy game against Xavier- as it stood the Tigers wanted to stay out of Rouen's way- so first place was ideal, but a stumble by the Caribou may make a Tiger stumble more palatable (not that anyone in the locker room would say so).

The Snowbirds visited Portsmouth at the beginning of the week, hoping for a victory that could help propel them towards a berth, but both goaltenders- World Cup winner Sacha Courcelles and Worcester's Barriouch Baines stopped 35+ shots a piece in a firewagon game that ended 1-1...effectively eliminating both teams barring future results. The Oak Leafs also notched a draw, this time with the Osprey, and the Caribou had rings run around them in a track meet against Côte-Est, a shock result for this part of the season. Meanwhile, the Governor's Shield had an unexpected showdown in the penultimate game of the season for Hamilton, who likely never thought their early April clash with Cap Nordique would have top seed implications, but it did, and a late John Moncrief goal put the Tigers up over the Drakkar 4-3, clinching them the shield with a game against the Osprey to spare.

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hamilton Tigers           75   40  17  18   202  170  +32    97
 2 Cap Nordique Drakkar      75   38  18  19   173  134  +39    94
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    75   32  27  16   195  166  +29    91
 4 Montréal Royals           75   35  18  22   193  160  +33    88
 5 Charlevoix Montagnards    75   32  22  21   175  166   +9    86
 6 Baltimore Gulls           75   30  23  22   168  143  +25    83
 7 Rouen Caribou             75   30  20  25   179  169  +10    80
 8 Albionpool Oak Leafs      75   29  22  24   181  174   +7    80
 9 Worcester Snowbirds       75   31  17  27   160  151   +9    79
10 Portsmouth Mallards       75   28  21  26   187  178   +9    77
11 Kingston Musketeers       75   27  23  25   149  148   +1    77
12 Outremont Owls            75   27  16  32   157  165   −8    70
13 Xavier Ours Polaires      75   26  17  32   158  173  −15    69
14 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   75   24  19  32   163  180  −17    67
15 Chambly Brasseurs         75   25  15  35   172  187  −15    65
16 PBI Rangers               75   21  19  35   170  196  −26    61
17 Sorel Pomhommes           75   17  27  31   145  164  −19    61
18 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    75   21  18  36   137  170  −33    60
19 Côte-Est Mariners         75   22  15  38   180  220  −40    59
20 St-Fortunat Saints        75   20  16  39   128  158  −30    56

THREE TEAMS. TWO PLAYOFF SPOTS. ONE DAY. It's, erm, Super Thursday! Ok, so the CHL ended the season a Thursday, which wasn't the most exciting, but it put all 20 teams in action on one day, and put together some juicy matchups with these playoff spots on the line. The Oak Leafs and Caribou faced off at oak Air Centre, and the Snowbirds faced off with last placed St-Fortunat- a much easier battle, and a series of confusing scenarios involving the Albionpool-Rouen matchup.

Rouen put two goals up on Dubois-Duhamel in the first period, and it seemed like there would be dancing in the streets of Rouen that night, and the score held- even with Ishida Arnook giving his all in a virtuoso performance that was at least rewarded with a goal in the third period. Cap Nordique Drakkar finishing second is always going to be the biggest surprise of CHL season 81, but Worcester making it into the playoffs at all has to be #2, and with a tough 3-2 win over St-Fortunat, they were able to celebrate at the GCCU Centre as well.

FINAL STANDINGS

-                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Hamilton Tigers           76   40  18  18   202  170  +32    98
 2 Cap Nordique Drakkar      76   39  18  19   177  136  +41    96
 3 Montréal Cotdelapomais    76   33  27  16   200  169  +31    93
 4 Montréal Royals           76   35  19  22   196  163  +33    89
 5 Charlevoix Montagnards    76   32  23  21   178  169   +9    87
 6 Baltimore Gulls           76   30  23  23   170  147  +23    83
 7 Rouen Caribou             76   31  20  25   181  170  +11    82
 8 Worcester Snowbirds       76   32  17  27   163  153  +10    81
 9 Albionpool Oak Leafs      76   29  22  25   182  176   +6    80
10 Portsmouth Mallards       76   29  21  26   188  178  +10    79
11 Kingston Musketeers       76   27  23  26   152  153   −1    77
12 Outremont Owls            76   27  16  33   159  170  −11    70
13 Xavier Ours Polaires      76   26  17  33   160  176  −16    69
14 Chambly Brasseurs         76   26  15  35   175  189  −14    67
15 Saint-Urbain Citadelles   76   24  19  33   166  184  −18    67
16 Sorel Pomhommes           76   18  27  31   150  166  −16    63
17 Côte-Est Mariners         76   23  15  38   184  223  −39    61
18 Île d'Elisabeth Osprey    76   21  19  36   137  170  −33    61
19 PBI Rangers               76   21  19  36   170  197  −27    61
20 St-Fortunat Saints        76   20  16  40   130  161  −31    56

Final Goal Scoring Leaders:
1. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM- 50
2. Louis Periard- POR- 48
3. Maxime O'Bagels- MTLR- 45
4. Kal Skirata- MTLC- 44
5. Benoît Cohen- ROU- 42

Three Stars of the Month:
MARCH/APRIL
1. Kirri van Antonsen- Worcester Snowbirds
2. Jean-Luc Barr- Hamilton Tigers
3. Konstantin Koritz- Cap Nordique Drakkar

Rookie of the Month:
MARCH/APRIL
Kyl Fradrik- Rouen Caribou

So, where do we go from here? The words are comin' out all weird- where are you now?

PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE MATCHUPS
#1 Hamilton Tigers vs. #8 Worcester Snowbirds
-I don't think the Tigers wanted to face a tough battering ram team in round one, so they were thankful that the Caribou finished at #7...except they then got the dirty surprise that the Snowbirds made their way into the playoffs. The Tigers should be able to handle Worcester, but they have to be feeling good about the Kaourintin Berthou trade (and to an extent, bringing in John Moncrief for Leif Proulx, too) right now. Making the playoffs are probably the Snowbirds' Dumas Cup, but don't count them out- they played well at the end of the season, which is why they're here.

#2 Cap Nordique Drakkar vs. #7 Rouen Caribou
-If you love tough, hard-hitting, shot-blocking defensive hockey, this is the series for you. Benoît Cohen is one of the stars of the league, and played his best hockey at the end of the season- he will have to be huge for the Caribou in this series. The Drakkar's excellent special teams will have to be fantastic for them to win- goad the Caribou into taking bad penalties and punish them with the power play. Then make sure that if they take a dumb penalty that they don't like the Caribou do the same.

#3 Montréal Cotdelapomais vs. #6 Baltimore Gulls
-Les Citoyens had another fine season, and Avatarian revelation Kal Skirata was one of the players of the season- but will this be Pascal Sévigny's last goodbye? If so, he'll have to start it out with a huge victory over Markos de Raek, perhaps the best goaltender in the world. The Gulls don't have one big scorer, which is sometimes a problem in the playoffs, but if they can get big performances from everyone they may be able to sneak through. A lot of people may make the Gulls their trendy pick, since the smart money upset may be Rouen.

#4 Montréal Royals vs. #5 Charlevoix Montagnards
-If you love free-wheeling hockey and want to avoid the Cap Nordique series, you'll be thankful to hear that this series has the same schedule. This is clearly the most star packed series in the quarter-finals- O'Bagels, Shu, Lajeunesse, Auclair, Invermuir vs. Dagenais, Drouin, Burnaby, Giroux, Thibodeau. Who will step up most? One of the above or a lesser light- Trefor-Maxim Plourde? Gilles Coubertin? Watch and learn!

by **Virabia** » Sat Jun 23, 2012 8:33 pm

The Vonghurst Star
Cupcakes for Mwembamba Founders Buy Étoile Rouge

ÎLE D'ELISABETH - Yesterday, Cotdelapomois club Étoile Rouge announced that it had come to a deal with a group of Virabi interests regarding the sale of the team to said Virabi interests. Today, those interests came forth and identified themselves. The group, led by 19 year old university student Xander Rojás purchased the club for an undisclosed amount of money. Rojás and his associates are better known as the founders of Cupcakes for Mwembamba, a group which continues to sell cupcakes in the hopes that the group will one day acquire enough money to purchase the sovereign nation of Mwembamba.

While the group are still a ways off from their final goal, they have said that buying a football club was another thing on their list. "Plus", Rojás said, "All the money we're making from the football team can be put into our Mwembamba fund, and football clubs make much more money than cupcakes do".

When the Cotdelapomois media found out about the group behind the purchase of Les Socialistes many laughed and some theorised that because of the group's grander plans, he won't run the football team to the best of his ability. In his press conference today, Rojás countered those claims, "While we do have grander plans, we will not sacrifice the football club to the grander mission. We will not gut the club and maximise it as a profit making entity. In fact we will do quite the opposite, doing whatever necessary to turn the club back into champions."

When asked how the group plans to turn Étoile Rouge into champions, Rojás replied "From what I've seen, the primary reason this club is not at the top of the league is because all of the focus is on flair. Now, there's no reason that attractive football can't be winning football but, you have to keep both goals in sight. Now to accomplish this, I feel like we're going to have to enter a period of rebuilding where we'll fill the squad up with young talent that can play the clubs signature brand of attractive football but, compete at the level needed to win Serié A."

The other bits of news that came out of the press conference is that, the group plans to replace the clubs current kit sponsor with Cupcakes for Mwembamba and that the ownership group were in talks with the VFA over forming a link between Virabi clubs and Étoile Rouge. However, those two things are a bit further off. For now just marvel at the fact that a group of 40 university students now own a football club.

((OOC: In Virabi English (or Anglese) Cotdelapomois is the correct demonym))
((OOC2: Yes this sucked))
((OOC3: Cupcakes for Mwembamba is based on the very real Cupcakes for Namibia. A group established by me and my friends to raise $10b by selling cupcakes so that we could buy the country of Namibia. If you want to donate, TG me!))

by **Cotdelapoms** » Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:14 pm

DUMAS CUP QUARTERFINALS

Hamilton Tigers 2–2 Worcester Snowbirds (3–2 OT)
Hamilton Tigers 2–1 Worcester Snowbirds
Worcester Snowbirds 2–5 Hamilton Tigers
Worcester Snowbirds 2–3 Hamilton Tigers
(Hamilton Tigers SWEEP 4-0)

Reports of Hamilton's struggles against bigger, badder teams are greatly exaggerated- the Tigers had one of their best playoff series since the beginning of their three-peat when they were able to sweep away the Snowbirds. Game one was a close squeeze, as the Tigers and Snowbirds traded goals until an Einar Bergsson wrister just a minute into OT put it away for the home side. Game two was not nearly as close as the scoreline indicated, as the Tigers put two on the board in the first six minutes of the game and Worcester did not score until the very end. Game three was so much of a white-washing that Snowbirds netminder Barriouch Baines got pulled after goal number four, a brutal result for the home side at the GCCU Centre, and the home fans made their disapproval known. The game ended with a considerable amount of trash being heaved on the ice by the ungrateful Worcester supporters, many of whom would have been giddy if they were told in October that they'd be hosting a playoff game- but that's hockey, and that's Worcester. Finally the Tigers put the Snowbirds out of their misery in game four with a nifty piece of skill by Maxime Jean-Baptiste to put the Tigers up 3-1 in the second, and although Marc-Étienne Drapeau scored on one of the nastiest slap shots you'll ever see in the third, it was not enough to extend their season by even a game, and the Snowbirds were done for.

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Einar Bergsson- HAM- 3 goals, 3 assists, OT game winner in game 1.
2. Jean-Luc Barr- HAM- 2 goals, 4 assists.
3. Pierre Renault- HAM- 1.75 GAA, .921 Save %

Cap Nordique Drakkar 2–2 Rouen Caribou (3-2 OT)
Cap Nordique Drakkar 0–3 Rouen Caribou
Rouen Caribou 2–3 Cap Nordique Drakkar
Rouen Caribou 0–0 Cap Nordique Drakkar (0-1 OT)
Cap Nordique Drakkar 2–1 Rouen Caribou
(Cap Nordique win 4-1)

The Drakkar were the surprise team of the season, getting off to an impossibly hot start and never quite cooling off enough to fall out of the top two- but many television talking heads decided that the Caribou were going to simply push them around and pop their bubble. Through two games it seemed as though that would be the case- the Drakkar took game one through their fantastic power play, with the often excellent Benoît Cohen taking a dumb tripping penalty in overtime that allowed the power play to win the game. It was a case of a great player making a stupid penalty, and it may have actually motivated the Caribou, who went into game two hungry and steamrolled the Drakkar- out hitting them 39 to 10, and out scoring them 3-0. Cohen especially had a great game, scoring the second goal and assisting on the third, and it was a game where Andrus Alexopopoulos was in his element, mowing people down left and right.

Cap Nordique, however, seemed to respond to this by deciding they were not about to roll over and do what the pundits thought, and managed to eke out back to back gritty, hard fought wins at the Rousseau Forum. They played the same hard-hitting game as the Caribou and played it ever so slightly better, killing off every penalty and trying to commit as few broken plays as possible. The two teams played 83 minutes of scoreless hockey in game four until the double overtime winner came from Petter de Vries, who celebrated his game winning goal as if he had had the wind knocked out of him. Returning to Cap Nordique needing a win, the Caribou then laid an egg, playing their worst hockey of the series in game 5, kept from being humiliated almost entirely by the 39 save performance from Alexandre Labelle. In the end the Drakkar advanced and earned their first ever Champions League berth.

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Raphaël Desmarais- CN- 1.60 GAA, .947 Save %
2. Yoann Persson- CN- +3, 21 hits
3. Alexandre Labelle- ROU- 1.80 GAA, .939 Save %

Montréal Cotdelapomais 2–3 Baltimore Gulls
Montréal Cotdelapomais 4–2 Baltimore Gulls
Baltimore Gulls 1–1 Montréal Cotdelapomais (1–2 OT)
Baltimore Gulls 4–2 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Montréal Cotdelapomais 1–0 Baltimore Gulls
Baltimore Gulls 4–2 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Montréal Cotdelapomais 2–0 Baltimore Gulls
(Montréal Cotdelapomais win 4-3)

This series was always going to be a cracker, and you could tell it would live up to it's pre-series hype from the beginning. The series was open and freewheeling with both teams' buildings super into it. The Gulls opened up the series with a tight 3-2 win that saw the national television coming out party of the Pierre, Björn & Jean line (PB&J line for short). The line, consisting of Björn Ryström, Jean Cazes and Pierre Belcambre had been a revelation in Baltimore this season, but got little national attention despite the team's success because they play in a smaller market. The trio, however, contributed on all three Gull goals in game one, and were the talk of the hockey media when Cazes told a Radio-Cotdelapoms reporter after the game that Montréal were "nothing to worry about".

Unfortunately for the Gulls, les Citoyens decided to dig a little deeper for game two. Kal Skirata had been invisible in game one, but showed up to play in game two- clearly motivated by Cazes' comments. Skirata came out strong, scoring early in the game- top shelf on Markos de Raek. The PB&J line then came out swinging on their own, with Ryström netting an equaliser aided by Belcambre, but that was it and les Citoyens went to work dismantling the best goalie in the CHL and eventually wound up winning 4-2, showing they were indeed something to worry about. You can't count on a second chance, and the Gulls learned that the hard way when they were again shown up, this time in their own building in overtime, with unlikely goal scorer Vitali Peunov blasting a slap shot from the point past de Raek to put les Citoyens up 2-1 in the series.

The Gulls evened it up in game four, sending the series back to Montréal all square, and each team defended home ice for games five and six, meaning it went to a decisive game seven. Usually game sevens are where the young folks take a back seat to the veterans and as such it seemed like les Citoyens' game to lose from the beginning. The PB&J line were nowhere to be seen as Montréal decided to roll the credits on the Gulls' season with two early goals by veterans Erwan Deniel and Luca Messina that left the Gulls on the outside looking in at the semi finals.

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Kal Skirata- MTL- 3 goals, 3 assists
2. Björn Rystrom- BAL- 4 goals, 2 assists
3. Rezzi Tzar'kr'El- MTL- +2, 28 hits

Montréal Royals 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Montréal Royals 2–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–4 Montréal Royals (4-5 OT)
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–1 Montréal Royals (2–1 OT)
Montréal Royals 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Charlevoix Montagnards 2–2 Montréal Royals (3-2 OT)
Montréal Royals 3–3 Charlevoix Montagnards (4–3 OT)
(Montréal Royals win 4-3)

Here was the other superstar showdown, and it did not disappoint either. Game one was a track meet, with both teams skating circles around one another in their offensive ends, generally giving both goaltenders fits. Right on cue, the local media in Montréal used it as an opportunity to rag on Shu and suggest Oyvind Asimov start game 2- and so Christian Bruneau called their bluff and played Asimov. It was a gamble that either paid off or didn't, depending on your view- Charlevoix netted three on him as well and earned a road win that moved the heat off of Shu and onto Bruneau. This may have been the perfect call, though, as Shu was able to get back into goal undisturbed- and although he wasn't perfect in game three (he let up four goals), his team got the win in overtime thanks almost directly due to him. A Brendan Burnaby dump-in was caught by Shu, who decided to cheekily dump the puck up to a waiting Milliau Gomez, who caught the Montagnards on a line change and skated on goal and potted one through José Thibodeau's legs for the fifth and final goal of the game for the Royals to give the team a 2-1 lead in the series (and Shu a 2-0 playoff record!)

Game four also went into overtime, with the Montagnards getting revenge and allowing the teams to leave Colisée CPMC with a series split- Pierre Drouin played like the legend he is, scoring the game winner despite being dragged down by Wojtek Veterin, which would have surely led to a penalty shot regardless. Upon return to Montréal the Royals won another barnburner, showing that Shu seems to do best when he just has to make enough saves to win the game rather than be the star- he seems to be motivated more by his offence scoring goals than anything else. The game five scoring summary for the Royals looks like an all-star team on its own- O'Bagels, Invermuir, Saiyfulemindirov and Milliau Gomez.

Game six was a comeback for the Montagnards, down 2-0 after one period and looking like their season was finished, they reached down deep and netted a goal in each period, due to some brilliant stickwork by Drouin and Guillaume Dagenais and then lastly by some sloppy defending from the usually splendid Simon Chapdelaine that allowed Trefor-Maxim Plourde to get through and score the game winner. Game seven was yet another track meet and yet another full team Royals effort, everyone shared the puck and pushed the tempo, deciding that was the only way to really stick it to Charlevoix. Pryzemyzr Tujenhev opened the scoring in the first, and Alek Auclair scored early in the second to give the Royals yet another 2-0 lead that caused the home fans to think the series was theirs, but the Montagnards wouldn't go down without a fight. Pierre-Luc Laflamme redirected a Dylan Klassen slapper in the second to make it 2-1, and Fredrik Kinsbergen scored from one knee to make it 2-2, and once again the Royals looked shellshocked. A strategic time-out in the second period worried the home fans, but the Royals came out refreshed and the fast-paced second period ended with the one and only Maxime O'Bagels giving the Royals yet another lead with a beautiful breakaway goal.

Charlevoix were not ready to go home after that. Brendan Burnaby was seemingly invisible for most of the series, but put in one shift in the third period that seemingly made his arrival in Charlevoix worth it on its own- he absolutely leveled Luc Dionne at centre ice, intercepted a pass and skated it down the ice and set-up a one timer to Theo Arhusburger to bring the game level once again, where the game would stay until overtime. Charlevoix had to feel good going into overtime given the way they tied the game up twice, but it was not to be- the Royals' clinched the series thanks to yet another virtuouso performance by perhaps the best player in the world. Maxime O'Bagels won the puck away from a Montagnard defender in a scrum behind the net, send a tape to tape pass to Wojtek Veterin, who had seemingly all the time in the world to set up his shot- launched a slap shot at the net that O'Bagels redirected with his stick just below the crossbar to keep it legal and the puck went behind José Thibodeau and in- Royals win!

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Maxime O'Bagels- MTL- 5 goals, 3 assists
2. Pierre Drouin- CHV- 5 goals, 2 assists
3. Radoslav Invermuir- 2 goals, 4 assists

DUMAS CUP SEMI FINALS
#1 Hamilton Tigers vs. #4 Montréal Royals
#2 Cap Nordique Drakkar vs. #3 Montréal Cotdelapomais

Do you think Radio-Cotdelapoms is salivating right now, or what? The two biggest stars in the league head to head in one series, the biggest team in the league against the big surprise in the other. No possible bad Dumas Cup final matchup- obviously the media and TV people are hoping for a Montréal derby Cup final, although I'm sure fans in every other city would rather eat a cockroach. A Hamilton vs. Montréal final would be great- although it would mean a continuation of a dynasty- once again to the chagrin of the other cities.

Hamilton seem like the favourites in their series, although picking a winner won't be as much fun as watching those two teams slug it out. The Drakkar-Citoyens' series is seemingly even according to the oddsmakers- les Citoyens are a complete team of stars, but the Drakkar play their system perfectly and are the most disciplined team around.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:27 pm

Hamilton Tigers 1–1 Montréal Royals (2–1 OT)
Hamilton Tigers 2–1 Montréal Royals
Montréal Royals 6–5 Hamilton Tigers
Montréal Royals 3–1 Hamilton Tigers
Hamilton Tigers 0–2 Montréal Royals
Montréal Royals 2–0 Hamilton Tigers
(Montréal Royals win 4-2)

From game one, we all knew this would be a fantastic series- the two best players at it once again, this time with the added demons of the Royals having bad luck against Hamilton in their previous playoff meetings. After two games, the Tigers seemed to be rolling on towards yet another Dumas Cup Final- in game one it was a John Moncrief dagger in overtime that put away the Royals, and in game two it was a pair of early goals that sunk the Royals after the first period. The Royals clearly needed something to jump start them, and apparently it may have been a throwaway comment by Tigers d-man Daniel Mathieu, who suggested that "Jean-Luc Barr is the best player Cotdelapoms has ever produced"- some idle pumping of the tires of a teammate to most, but apparently this was all the motivation that Maxime O'Bagels needed to go into beastmode, and in game three he put together one of the greatest performances in recent playoff history- scoring four goals as the Royals won 6-5 in game three, overcoming Shu's failing.

Shu, however, has spent more than enough time being considered the weak link by many media types- and seemed hellbent on doing his own disproving- and turned in three splendid goaltending performances in a row, allowing just one goal in game four, and putting up two straight shutouts to help Montréal slay the Hamilton demon and make their way into the Dumas Cup Final with a chance for Maxime O'Bagels to complete the best possible 12 months any athlete could have. If only O'Bagels and the Royals could potentially face their biggest rival in the Cup Final...?

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Shu- MTL- 1.67 GAA, .944 Save %
2. Maxime O'Bagels- MTL- 7 goals, 2 assists
3. Wesley Tuuijkers- MTL- +6, 18 hits

Cap Nordique Drakkar 2–1 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Cap Nordique Drakkar 2–3 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Montréal Cotdelapomais 4–3 Cap Nordique Drakkar
Montréal Cotdelapomais 0–3 Cap Nordique Drakkar
Cap Nordique Drakkar 2–3 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Montréal Cotdelapomais 2–2 Cap Nordique Drakkar (3–2 OT)
(Montréal Cotdelapomais win 4-2)

Game one of this series saw the Drakkar doing what they do best- killing their opponents with special teams. The Drakkar had one of their least disciplined contests of the playoffs, and yet they still didn't concede a power play goal in six attempts, eventually winning 2-1 with a power play goal of their own by Izac Ferretti. Les Citoyens did not want to return back to Montréal down 2-0 as their cross town rivals did, however, and put together a complete 60 minute effort in game two, scoring in each period and playing firewagon hockey they are famous for.

Game three was more of the same, with les Citoyens looking like a team of destiny- hoping to knock the Tigers off their throne themselves. Certainly no team should be able to break the Cotdelapomais' record of three consecutive Dumas Cups, and they would beat them themselves if they had to. They were less concerned with defending starting in game three, and although it worked at first- game four saw this tactic punished when they did not adapt, and the Drakkar shut out the hosts and put three big goals on the board, one a piece by Petteri de Vries, Axel Marsh and Yannick Jodoc.

Thus, it was a three game series- but les Citoyens were keenly aware of what was going on across town and thus, they needed to step up their game. Game five, then, they had to head up north and not commit penalties and try to outskate their opponents, and they just barely did that. For seemingly the first time all season, Kal Skirata was rendered useless, with the Drakkar opting to match lines with them at home and ensure that Loïk Guilbault was always out at the same time, and the wily centre ensured the Avatarian sensation was kept off the scoresheet through frustrating hits, poke checks and generally taking himself out of the game offensively to ensure Skirata contributed nothing. Unfortunately, this seemed to free up linemate Sandro Antonetti, who had one of his best games with a pair of goals, including the winner to put les Citoyens one game away (at home!) from potentially facing off with their all time nemesis in the Dumas Cup final.

The Drakkar didn't come this far for nothing, and shot out to a 2-0 lead in game six, but they seemed to fade away as the game went on, and their stars started to chip away at the Drakkar's lead- first up David Désilets netting a "garbage goal", stuffing the puck past Raphaël Desmarais on a wraparound in the second period. Then in the third, Alexandre Briére let loose the hardest slap shot in the game, and suddenly these two teams found themselves in overtime again. The Drakkar almost ended it after just 32 seconds of OT, Hallúr Charland hit the post- but not three minutes later the series was over thanks to a goal from the most unlikely of sources- Jari von Evenvelde, the Polarian defenceman found himself in the right place at the right time to whip the puck into the top shelf and put the greatest rivalry in Cotdelapomais sport on the biggest stage of Cotdelapomais sport.

THREE STARS OF THE SERIES:
1. Sandro Antonetti- MTL- 3 goals, 3 assists
2. Alexandre Briére- MTL- goal, +5, 30 hits
3. Petter de Vries- CN- 3 goals, 2 assists

DUMAS CUP FINAL
#3 Montréal Cotdelapomais vs. #4 Montréal Royals

What more can be said? This is the biggest rivalry in Cotdelapomais sport, and although fans outside of the city of Montréal are probably annoyed that this is the final, it's sure to draw enormous ratings. Les Citoyens haven't won the title in 4 whole seasons, and this year that half of the city has been taken over by Skirata-mania. Meanwhile, the Royals, owners of a modest 50 year Dumas Cup drought, are starving for a championship, and with Maxime O'Bagels bringing home a World Cup gold, they could go from rags to riches with a Dumas Cup. Meanwhile- there's a pair of likely retiring goaltenders battling one another, Pascal Sévigny having won everything there is to win, Shu having lost everything there is to lose- hoping to perhaps go out a winner. What more could you ask for?

by **Cotdelapoms** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 7:39 pm

DUMAS CUP FINAL

Montréal Cotdelapomais 1–2 Montréal Royals
Montréal Cotdelapomais 2–2 Montréal Royals (3–2 OT)
Montréal Royals 0–0 Montréal Cotdelapomais (0–1 OT)
Montréal Royals 3–2 Montréal Cotdelapomais
Montréal Cotdelapomais 0–0 Montréal Royals (1–0 OT)
Montréal Royals 0–1 Montréal Cotdelapomais
(Montréal Cotdelapomais win 4-2)

Allez, citoyens, allez!

Six lucky bounces, four for one side, two for the other. If even one of the lucky bounces from the first side went the other way, we could eventually be talking about the breaking of a lengthy streak of futility for one of the most storied teams in Cotdelapomais sport. We wouldn't still be harping on how one of the best goaltenders of the last 20 years is not "clutch", even though he just put up a 1.50 GAA in the Dumas Cup Final and has thrice finished in third place at the World Cup. We wouldn't still be chirping Maxime O'Bagels, the flawed but elite playmaking and goalscoring superstar and captain of the Royals- perhaps the best player in the world but unable to win a Dumas Cup.

If even one of the lucky bounces had gone the other way, the half (really, much more than half) of the city with the world's most extensive hockey history, may have tasted defeat for a rare time, rather than glory for the twenty-first time in eighty-one CHL seasons. Les citoyens have won over one fourth of all of the Dumas Cup championships ever awarded- one of only two teams to have won the title in the last seven seasons. Being a fan of les citoyens is to know almost constant sporting joy, and to be a fan of the Royals means to know almost constant sporting misery.

The lucky bounce went towards the Royals in game one, Pascal Sévigny, rarely one to make mistakes, mishandled the puck right in front of the net and Milliau Gomez made him pay and ultimately won the game by potting it right over Sévigny's outstretched pad. In game two, the luck was all in referee Jean Duplessis seeing the slash by Pryzemyzr Tujenhev on Kal Skirata and not Georges LaRoche's goading of Tujenhev. This led to a power play that evened up the game and eventually allowed les citoyens to win it in overtime. Game three, the bounce was simple- Julien Champagne scored on a rebound that bounced right towards him.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than to be good, and sometimes they say you create your own luck- and by the time game six rolled around it looked like les citoyens believed in both of these statements- even though it didn't pay off in volume of goals, they seemed to be throwing everything possible at Shu in an effort to see what stuck, and it turned out to be a winning tactic, as the final goal turned out to be a Rezzi Tzar'kr'El slap shot that would have been routine normally, but took- you guessed it- a lucky bounce right off of the blade of Simon Chapdelaine's stick.

Pascal Sévigny allowed only 7 goals all series and was thus voted the playoff most valuable player as he almost certainly retires on top. He was unquestionably the best goaltender of his generation, and can feel good knowing he can go out on top. Kal Skirata, the sensation that swept the CHL, is also faced with a difficult decision- return to Gyatso-kai or stay in Cotdelapoms? Does winning a championship make it easier for him to stay, or does it mean he has realised his Cotdelapomais goal and mean he's ready to move on already?

What do you do if you're the Royals- you've gotten about as close as possible without winning a Cup, and whilst Maxime O'Bagels is in his prime, many of the players surrounding him- Lajeunesse, Dionne, Gomez, are not. Oyvind Asimov was good in goal this last season, but is he ready to start for a team that wants to compete for a Cup? And if so- what do they actually do with Shu, who still has one more year of contract?

CHL Awards
Governor's Trophy (Most points in the regular season)- Hamilton Tigers

Lafleur Trophy (MVP)- Jean-Luc Barr, Hamilton Tigers
Also nominated: Louis Periard, Portsmouth Mallards
Maxime O'Bagels, Montréal Royals

Mme. Bolduc Trophy (Gentlemanly Play at a high level)- Petter de Vries, Cap Nordique Drakkar
Also nominated: Luc Dionne, Montréal Royals
Alexandre Falardeau, Côte-Est Mariners

Roy Trophy (Best Goaltender)- Pascal Sévigny, Montréal Cotdelapomais
Also nominated: Sacha Courcelles, Portsmouth Mallards
Markos De Raek, Baltimore Gulls

Lapointe Award (Best Rookie)- Kal Skirata, Montréal Cotdelapomais
Also nominated: Tch'an Vigier, Île d'Elisabeth Osprey
Théo-Malik Dubois-Duhamel- Albionpool Oak Leafs

Geoffroy Award (Leading scorer in the regular season)- Maxime O'Bagels, Montréal Royals

Robinson Award (Best defensive player)- Yoann Persson, Cap Nordique Drakkar
Also nominated: Alexandre Briére, Montréal Cotdelapomais
Ludovik Labrie, PBI Rangers

Carbonneau Cup (Best defensive forward)- Claude Dupuis, Worcester Snowbirds
Also nominated: Ngo Du, Portsmouth Mallards
Jaani Lindt, Xavier Ours Polaires

Naslund Award (Leading goal scorer)- Jean-Luc Barr, Hamilton Tigers

by **Cotdelapoms** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:26 pm

LBÉC Baseball

-                             Pld     W    L    Pts 
 1 Albionpool AppleSox         108    82   26     82
 2 Outremont Festivals         108    74   34     74
 3 Cap Nordique NorthStars     108    68   40     68
 4 Baltimore Carrier Pigeons   108    58   50     58
 5 Montréal Alouettes          108    57   51     57
 6 Worcester Timbers           108    57   51     57
 7 Saint-Urbain National       108    47   61     47
 8 Charlevoix Joliats          108    44   64     44
 9 Portsmouth Dreadnoughts     108    31   77     31
10 Pirates d'Hochelaga         108    22   86     22

LBÉC baseball is beginning to generate a bit of a foothold in the Cotdelapomais sport landscape, with some major help from Albionpool AppleSox, the defending BCCC Champion. The AppleSox spent the offseason picking up big name foreign stars like Saugeais' Rodney Rey and Marek Atterbury, along with Karditan's Johnny Pearseed and Yuji Kato. As a result, the AppleSox now have the league's most cosmopolitan lineup and a dynamite rotation featuring Rey, Alexandre-Étienne Papineau and Maxim Séne.

The league had some good timing, introducing two new teams- Charlevoix Joliats and Portsmouth Dreadnoughts a week after the BCCC final. Neither team had a particularly great season, although the Joliats had a brief 6 game win streak in the middle of the season that included a sweep of a series against the disappointing Alouettes- whose finish 1 game short of the playoffs could be partially blamed to that lousy series against Charlevoix.

The AppleSox had the best record for the season, losing only 26 times in 108 games. They also showed they were in it to win it, pulling off a high profile mid-season trade to bring in Benoît Larcher, probably the nation's best baseball player in exchange for a large sum of cash and some relief pitching. Right fielder Neal Auger once again had a world class season, with a .401 OBP and 12 home runs. New shortstop Yuji Kato from Karditan also had a nice season setting the table for the AppleSox with 27 stolen bases and a .385 OBP.

PLAYOFFS
SEMI FINAL
Baltimore Carrier Pigeons 4–7 Albionpool AppleSox
Baltimore Carrier Pigeons 1–14 Albionpool AppleSox
Albionpool AppleSox 2–6 Baltimore Carrier Pigeons
Albionpool AppleSox 6–1 Baltimore Carrier Pigeons
Albionpool AppleSox 6–1 Baltimore Carrier Pigeons

Cap Nordique NorthStars 0–7 Outremont Festivals
Cap Nordique NorthStars 3–6 Outremont Festivals
Outremont Festivals 5–2 Cap Nordique NorthStars
Outremont Festivals 5–0 Cap Nordique NorthStars

COTDELAPOMS SERIES
Albionpool AppleSox 9–5 Outremont Festivals
Albionpool AppleSox 7–3 Outremont Festivals
Outremont Festivals 1–5 Albionpool AppleSox
Outremont Festivals 6–9 Albionpool AppleSox

It is the AppleSox world, and we all just live in it apparently. The Sox lost just one game in the playoffs, including a very impressive sweep of the Festivals, including a game 3 pitchers duel when Rodney Rey threw a complete game 4 hitter to dismantle the Festivals, who themselves got a decent 7 inning, 2 run outing from their pitcher, Henri Dubois. With the series merely a formality in game 4, the AppleSox bats came alive, chasing Festivals pitcher David Dumas after just 3 innings when he gave up 8 runs.

BCCC Entrants
Albionpool AppleSox
Outremont Festivals
Cap Nordique NorthStars
Baltimore Carrier Pigeons

Infosport.cdp (Cotdelapomais Sport Newswire)

Poissonnier Down

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