WCoH 18 Everything Thread

[Polar Islandstates]

Team Building Diaries
Sim Gorbuchev

So, 3-1 against Byfugland. Not bad, only THRILLEDGE continue to match us on results. I was kindof expecting Camwood to beat them, I must admit. But then, maybe there was something about them I missed and they're actually a lot better than I remember. I could be wrong. I've been a bit distracted recently, what with trying to sort out this transfer to Eastern Chase Innovation.

Do I know lots about Citiz football? Well, not loads and loads and loads and loads, no. But I know enough. With apologies to the fans that will me turning out in my usual colours, this was just something that I had to do. Its a fine league. In a fine nation. And I know that I can help take the Innovation from strength to strength! And hopefully my spot in the national side will remain intact.

Speaking of the national side, it was awesome to get more game time on the ice than I usually would do against Byfugland, hopefully the same will happen against Sel Appa. Admittedly, I know even less about the Turtles, other than the fact that they're returning after a long absence from the game, but out of practise and inexperienced are two very different things, and we'll have to be on our toes to get past them. It won't be easy. And meanwhile we have to keep our finners crossed for a slip up from THRILLEDGE who remain doggedly clinging onto their wins and matching us result for result. Makes that home draw seem all the more painful, to be honest. We could have won that match, I know we could. Heliokomman knows we could as well, and the more THRILLEDGE match our results, you can tell the more it hurts him to acknowledge.

He's taken today off, in fact. It's Freidrichson leading us on the ice this afternoon. Must say I'm not sure I believe in this whole "team building on the lake" idea if the head coach isn't going to be here, but hey - mine is not to reason why. Wish us luck.

[Michael VII]

Michael VII Hockey antics continue to follow weird path. Like all national teams.

Don't you just love it when the internal regime that you overthrew a couple decades ago comes back to start their revolution again? That's right, for the past 3 days we've been trying to hold off the troops of the Royal Resistance of Jagoza, that have come back stronger against Michael Linehan and the PPD's troops.

In the middle of the WCoH too! Boy did they pick a good time to strike, as most people were interested in the playing of our highest ranked team, which were continuing to disappoint. Losing in a thrashing of a loss, 4-1 to Mapletish, before embarrassingly losing to an unranked Camerania 2-1. To a team that we don't even know who plays for them! Their identities have not been made known to us, as the officials in charge of Cameranian hockey refuse to disclose this information with us. Or anyone really.

Finally we managed to come back with a 5-2 win away from the warzone that is Frbiba, taking down the hosts, Yesopalitha, who before this match seemed largely unstoppable. Great home advantage I guess? Seeing as they're unranked too, it seems preposterous to think that they can play, but I guess they can. Just not against the Seven Factor as Carmadin's Coach would say. Alexei Andropov has really hit his stride (well at least in the last two games), and reports indicate that he may well be moved up to the second line in the second round robin, starting at home against Greater Kenya. Next up we're playing Cotdelapoms, in what is surely to be a thrashing at the hands of the Apples. I know its not a very scary nickname, BUT AT LEAST THEY HAVE ONE! CDP will be far too strong for us, and despite our best efforts, it simply won't be a good one at our home stadium tomorrow night. They haven't yet hit their stride properly yet, but nonetheless, it must be said that the #9 team must be too good to have another weird game, after only managing a draw against Mapletish.

Over the past 3 games, we've scored 7 goals, taking a look at the stats it looks a little like this...
Golden Puck
Alexei Andropov (3 goals, Mapletish, (2) Yesopalitha) 3 total
Friedrich Zoller (2 goals, Camerania, Yesopalitha) 3 total (Greater Kenya)
Orson Card (1 goal, Yesopalitha) 1 total
Mattheus Morkel (1 goal, Yesopalitha) 1 total
Harold Bertman 1 total (Greater Kenya)
Steve Barlow 1 total (Greater Kenya)

Dick of the Day Award
v Carmadin (Lyle Davy)
v Greater Kenya (Ashton Marks)
v Mapletish (Ashton Marks)
v Camerania (William Darshon)
v Yesopalitha (Gerald Carson)

So, bring on CDP! Get ready for a thrashing from the Apples!

[Plutoni]

Goalscorers:
Coud (3), Hethgard (2), Lawrence, Glean

"...okay, here's a sports trivia question."

"Ooh, bring it on!"

"So in baseball. Who's the guy in the mask thing?"

"The what?"

"You know, they wear masks like it's hockey, one of them. On their face or whatever. Who is that?"

"I don't know, I don't follow baseball."

"So go look it up."

"Uh...okay." A short, muttered conversation with the computer later, the name "Benoît Larcher" was volunteered.

"...what?"

"I dunno. Some guy from Cotdelapoms, you follow their league, right?"

"Not that closely...wait, it's just one guy, not someone on every team?"

"Do I look like I care?"

"You were the one who wanted to play trivia. Go look up Cassadaigua or someone, see how they do it."

"Are we playing trivia or are you actually curious?"

"Both."

"...curious why?"

"Hold on, let me load this up..."

hockey17.plu/desc/features/wcoh18md4
Baseball fans apologize for that thing that they did

According to a mysterious masked man, baseball fans "regret" that one thing that happened. "We know you know," he muttered from behind the bars of his headpiece, promising he would "probably mend his ways" by focusing on "this new, like, competition" where "all that stuff" would be relatively unlikely to "go down."

"I shouldn't even be here," probably, he said, twitching his head back and forth. "May have just jinxed it all. Curses."

This event comes as somewhat of a surprise, not least because Plutoni's baseball fans are not particularly numerous. The departing stranger did acknowledge the national ice hockey team, however, for "convincingly beating up on opponents" and "not letting things get close," a strategy which "takes the pressure off." He then slipped on a chest protector and disappeared into the night.

"...Um."

"I know right?"

"Okay, my turn. Next question. Steam hockey!"

"Oh, finally. Took you long enough. Let's do this..."

[Soviet Canuckistan]

Climbing the ladder

Anton Silibuski
Moscawa Times

A stunning 5-2 victory over Vilita and Turori for Soviet Canuckistan on foreign ice as they brought home their second victory in the WCoH 18 round robin. The first period began with a quick Vilitan and Turorian goal from Lance Blaki off a beautiful cross-ice pass on a 3 on 2 from Torren Filiao. The game continued with fierce corner battles from both teams in a stalemate that lasted to the end of the period. The second period however was one of quick end to end action. The scoring for Soviet Canuckistan opened up with a goal on a breakaway from star forward Andrew Pollock with a textbook pass along the boards from Sijeppe just three minutes into the period. However, Vilita and Turori soon responded with a slapshot from the point from Mike Ice which earned them a goal just 30 seconds later. The Canuckistanis however battled them back with an equalizer from Mistrenko on a one-timer from line mate Dubruch. The Canuckistanis kept the momentum going with a second goal from Pollock with a pass from goalie Oleg Sybanski to give Pollock a breakaway. With the sound of jeers from the crowd, the buzzer sounded, marking the end of the second period with the Canuckistanis leading 3-2. The third period began to a quick start with renewed energy in the home defence preventing scoring till a goal from Ioeusci off a pass from Plamondon-Piquette 10 minutes in. The play continued with more end to end action, both goalies shutting down any shot with quick reflexes. With only 2 minutes left, the Vilita and Turorians pulled their goalie which allowed for an easy shot from the red line for Pollock to earn them a final goal and a hat trick for Andrew Pollock, the first Canuckistani to ever achieve such a feat in international competition, and a tie for third place with 18th ranked Mangolana.

In an interview after the game with SCSTV, Andrew Pollock commented, "I'm happy with our teams performance, Vilita and Turori were our rivals for sure, being so close in standing with us and we prevailed. They played well, but we played smart. Our defence and goalie did an amazing job out there, allowing them only two goals. It'll be nice to be back at home tomorrow for the game against Yasono which we will be sure to try to please our fans at home."

The entire nation of Soviet Canuckistan has been watching hockey closely the past few games as Tv viewings for the games have hit a new high at 75 million people viewing the game. Predictions for the game against Yasono indicate that Canuckistan will do well and maybe secure their third place spot heading into the Mid-Qual friendlies. You can catch the game on SCSTV at 6:00 pm, on SCSports Radio throughout the nation and online at SCSports.sca.

Box Score:

Soviet Canuckistan  0 3 2  5
Vilita and Turori   1 1 0  2

Scores from the group:
Yasono 3–4 Mangolana
Mijahkstan 2–3 Valanora

[Cassadaigua]

Commentary from the Concord Heights Times,
by Hockey Expert, Dana Strawberry

Inexcusable. If you want to read Meghan Stafford’s blog and listen to her talk about Cassadaigua’s 47-26 shot advantage for the game and that they just ran into a hot goaltender, then go on and do that. For if that is what you desire, chances are I do not want to talk to you anyway.

Weatherdon, this is not about you. You have a nice team there, and your players skate hard and put it all on the line for the country. Keep it up. That’s doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for Cassadaigua to get shutout, 2-0, on home ice to a team like this. Sure, we outshot them, and Stephen Drauch was great in net, but I really don’t want to hear it. Cassadaigua has to win this game, there are no excuses for such a loss, and this means that the writing is on the wall for a massive overhaul of this inconsistent team. So where would I begin?

Step 1: Fire Courtney Rangen and staff. When inconsistency is the problem, the coaching staff is accountable. The power play was 0-for-4 against Weatherdon, meaning they have scored only one goal with the player advantage since the tournament began. That’s a problem, but you have to really wonder about the game-planning. Is it adequate? Are the practices really focusing on the needs of this team? Does this team have chemistry with one another? Sure, they say they do. But I am not convinced.

Step 2: Mix up the lines. The top line has scored 6 of the 8 goals scored by forwards for Cassadaigua in the Cup. So, you can’t really point the finger at Meghan Stafford or Danielle Martin. Those two are looking pretty good, and I do believe that Meghan’s effort is there. But where is it elsewhere. Rachel Cooke, the right wing on that line has at times been invisible, and Stacie Cornett’s debut could be going better. The solution is to not only mix up the lines, but change up who dresses for the games. There are many options watching the game from the stands that could be playing, but are scratched. When the team is ineffective, then it is time to see if these people can be the answer. Such a move is uncharacteristic of coach Rangen, which may further create the calls for her firing to become louder.

And finally, Step 3: Make the dreaded goalie change. I’m sorry to all the Stacie Dupree fans out there, but she has not been her usual self, and I believe it is time to start Kaitlyn Oakley. Whenever you make a goalie change, it will be publicized and scrutinized greatly, and can be something to tear apart a team. That’s why I don’t think this should happen yet.


Will any of this actually happen? No.

Why? Because Cassadagan Hockey is afraid to change things up.

It’s up to you, the fans, to be vocal and let them know they have no other options.

[Salchar]

Salchar 0-1 Carmadin

Salchar lost a tough, defensive, game. It seemed like nobody could score, until Carmadin got a brekaway, and scored off the third rebound. Salchar's loss caused them to drop to last in their group but Salchar is only a win behind Carmadin.

Salchar has had a rough campaign, it seemed as if they had trouble remembering to drill the shots at the opposing goaltender. The first game they got good shots and had lots of scoring chances. Salchar played at their best in their first game, and was able to tie against Gyasto'kai.

In their second game, Salchar started to lose their momentoum. Salchar was able to hold off their, Mantewic, to only one goal. Salchar didn't get as much scoring oppertunities, but stii some. Both the players and the fans sensed the change in rythym.

Salchar played an opponent that Salchar had played before, Thatius, so both teams knew each other's strtegy. This game went back and forth, with the lead changing. In the end, Thatius was victorius.

[Gyatso-kai]

Day Four SHUTOUT!!! 2-nil TO SILENCE THE ICEHAWKS!!!!

ONLINE EDITION

02 MAY 2012.2

TOURNAMENT - World Cup of Hockey

---

 Comment (51229)
 Share & Re-Post (25870)
 Lianbook
 RepTwitter
 Print

---

With the final away game of the first half of the Eighteenth World Cup of Hockey over, the Ice Bisons secured a 2-nil shutout of the Thatius Icehawks at their home arena.

"It was an amazing game for Shu," stated Head Coach Kad Skirata, "I am glad to see him record his first shutout of the tournament. I can only hope it is not his last."

Facing an impressive 31 Shots on Goal, Shu Huangguo kept every puck out, living up to his name as the "Great Wall of Shu"; it seemed as though the Thatiusi Icehawks could not get a break. Meanwhile, on the other end of the ice, Martin Koranović faced just 38 shots and allowed two in the first two periods; one on the powerplay, which is only the second time this tournament that the Ice Bisons have managed a powerplay goal; the second for Wad'e Tay'haai.

"I just saw the puck come in front, and I took the shot. Vau fed it to Ishii, but that damn ( Leon Kós ) was just in the way. He always seemed to be on Hak'ika... but when the puck bounced back to Wad'ika and it came to me... I saw that three-hole open and took the shot. I was so excited!!!"

As we all are, Tay'haai. As we all are...

---

Goal Summary

First Period
GKI: Ishii [Vau, Ito] (09:10)

Second Period
GKI: Tay'haai [Vau, Ishii] (09:21) [PP]

Third Period
**No Goals Scored**

Penalty Summary

First Period
01:25 --- TTS --- Slashing, 2-min --- L. Kós drawn by W. Tay'haai
06:21 --- GKI --- Tripping, 2-min --- Sato S. drawn by L. Kós
11:47 --- GKI --- Hooking, 2-min --- P. Ito drawn by D. Doranić
18:56 --- GKI --- High-sticking, 2-min --- Ko P. drawn by F. Nielsen

Second Period
09:11 --- TTS --- Slashing, 2-min --- D. Cibulkov drawn by K. Skirata
12:36 --- GKI --- Elbowing, 2-min --- A. Ishida drawn by S. Džokić

Third Period
02:05 --- GKI --- Tripping, 2-min --- H. Ishii drawn by E. Anderson

Goaltending

Team	Name		SA	GA	Saves	SV%	TOI
TTS	M. KORANOVIC	38	02	36	0.974        60:43
GKI	SHU H.		31	00	31	1.000	60:01

Shots on Goal Summary

TEAM	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	FINAL
TTS	12	15	14	xx	31
GKI	13	14	11	XX	38

Injury Summary

**No Injuries Sustained**

Three Stars

First Star: Hakoda Ishii (1G, 1A)
Second Star: Wad'e Tay'haai (1G, 1A)
Third Star: Kal Skirata (1G, 0A)

---

Post Match comments

A goal and an assist... I never realised I got that assist...

Wad'e Tay'haai, Men's National Ice Hockey Team

A shutout on the road!!! True form, Bisons.

Aaron Yitsune --- ASPN Commentator

GO #bisons!!!! SHUT OUT!!! #wcoh18

Aima Yelim --- Avatarian AV Idol on RepTwitter

---

In GROUP 3

Pre-Qual Fr, 28 April at ₉Cotdelapoms --- LOSS 1-2
Matchday 01, 29 April at ₉₁Salchar --- DRAW 1-1
Matchday 02, 30 April at _NRFalconwhereveryouare --- WIN 1-2
Matchday 03, 01 May vs ₂₉Mantenwic --- WIN 3-1
Matchday 04, 02 May at ₃₆Thatius --- WIN 2-0
Machtday 05, 03 May vs ₁₀₅Carmandin
Mid-Qual Fr, 04 May vs ₉Cotdelapoms
Matchday 06, 05 May vs ₉₁Salchar
Matchday 07, 06 May vs _NRFalconwhereveryouare
Matchday 08, 07 May at ₂₉Mantenwic
Matchday 09, 08 May vs ₃₆Thatius
Matchday 10, 09 May at ₁₀₅Carmandin
End-Qual Fr, 10 May vs/at Cotdelapoms (To Be Determined)

---

Group Three - Matchday 04

Matchday 04 saw all three games result in shutouts for the teams. Mantwenic bounced back to victory after the lost to the Bisons, pulling a single goal against Falconwhereveryouare. Carmadin --- our opponents tomorrow --- managed to silence Salchar with the same score. The Ice Bisons were the only team to managed multiple goals in their shutout victory... Says something...

_NRFalconwhereveryouare 0 – 1 ₂₉Mantwenic
₃₆Thatius 0 – 2 ₃Gyatso-kai
₁₀₅Carmadin 1 – 0 ₉₁Salchar

Group 3                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gyatso-kai                   4    3   1   0     8    3   +5    10
2 Mantwenic                    4    3   0   1     6    4   +2     9
3 Thatius                      4    1   2   1     9   10   −1     5
4 Falconwhereveryouare         4    1   1   2     8    9   −1     4
5 Carmadin                     4    1   1   2     8   10   −2     4
6 Salchar                      4    0   1   3     3    6   −3     1

The Goalscorers for Gyatso-kai

Player		Goals	Games Scores Made In
Hakoda ISHII	04	PQ, II, III, IV
Kal SKIRATA	02	II, III
Wad'e TAY'HAAI	02	III, IV
Arnook ISHIDA	01	I

---

The Next Match

Preview: Matchday 05 vs ₁₀₅Carmadin

The last day before the bye --- which the Ice Bisons have taken up as a chance to battle Cotdelapoms at home --- the Ice Bisons will face off against last-place Carmadin at home. Considering the way the Bisons have been playing, tomorrow morning at the Capital Centre, it will be an exciting game!

[Cotdelapoms]

Thierry Bruneau: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Fast Cars

This is the first tournament into the Cotdelapoms national team coaching tenure of Thierry Bruneau and already much has been talked about relating to how he occasionally seems insane in interviews- or at least obsessed with powerful sports cars. He coached the Oak Leafs for 6 years, and in that time we never really got a chance to hear much of this obsession- he was a little bit kooky, but was generally fairly mild mannered. He was well suited for that job since he seemed to not let the pressure get to him, although he was ultimately fired for a string of poor results.

In the year away from hockey it's safe to assume he probably bought legions of powerful, sleek cars, or at least spent hours on the couch drinking a Barsteeg and watching Alexandre Pouliot drive Rushmore Grand Prix, because every time he is approached to discuss the goings on of the team he seems to pull out a new vehicle analogy, more preposterous than the last. It is fitting then, that since he was made coach we got the senior Cotdelapoms debut of Rouen's Alexandre Labelle. Labelle, you see, is a lot like those clunky Mytanar cars, and not like a sleek Waaldish or Erathori ride. He's a great player that deserves to be an Apple, but his unconventional styling might get a few laughs along the way...

Regardless, following the 7-6 win over Greater Kenya last night, perhaps one of the oddest games in Cotdelapomais international hockey history, Bruneau pulled out a brand new gem. Maxime O'Bagels, whose three goals likely put the Apples over the edge, is well known for his tremendous vision of the ice and high hockey IQ- and in the locker room after the game O'Bagels was talking to the media, answering the usual questions about his game- "What were you thinking when the puck came for you with the wide open net on your second goal?" "What was going through your mind late in the third when it was still a close game?" et cetera, when Bruneau walked up to him, perhaps inspired by all this talk of his hockey IQ- "Thinking clearly never came as easy at it did for you! The other day I was driving this route out of town and I wished you were still around- I nearly got into an accident..." before realising he had interrupted the throng of interviewers. He shooed himself away from the group, quickly adding "Oh dear. I guess I'll run along back to the new man!" and stumbled over to late addition to the team David Désilets, who is replacing the injured Serge Noël for a few games.

Bruneau is under a lot of pressure- being national team coach is perhaps the hardest job in Cotdelapoms, but he's acquitted himself well by being so damn odd. Even after the peculiar draw with Mapletish and without having blown out any of the lower ranked opposition, Bruneau still has the general support of the national media, perhaps out of hope that he will be the best story in Cotdelapomais hockey by generally behaving like a crazy old man whose mid life crisis came 20 years too late. Let's face it- we have the same team winning the Dumas Cup every year, it's fun to have something new to discuss!

[Torisakia]

The Torisakia News

Torisakia beats (NR)TaQud

The Ice Birds win again! This time, offense does the magic and gets a 4-2 win over (NR)TaQud. 2 goals came from LW Dimitri Robberazzi who glided down the ice and scored with a quick wrist-shot to the net. The other two goals were scored by RW Alexei Borodin. Who made 2 swift shots from the offensive zone to get the score. However, there were a few penalties along the way. The Ice Birds played a much better offense this time. Their defense was moderately good, But could have used some work in this game. If the Ice Birds use both their offensive talent from this game and their defensive talent from the other games, they can get the upset win over Qazox. Even if the Ice Birds beat Qazox, more than likely they'll stay in 2nd place in Group 10. Unless the Ice Birds score 14 points and holds Qazox to under 2 points. However, that has a 1 and 420 chance of happening. But remember, the battle still rages on! The race to 1st place in Group 10 is at stake. And only Torisakia controls its own destiny. The game against Qazox is at 8:00pm on TSPN. Let's support our Ice Birds! GO ICE BIRDS!!! The game summary is as follows:

1ST PERIOD:
Penalty: Torisakia-Jake Gaisdui-Tripping(2 minute penalty) 18:57
Torisakia-Dimitri Roberazzi-LWF 15:27
TaQud-LW#2-LWF 6:54
END OF 1ST TaQud: 1 Torisakia: 1


2ND PERIOD: 
Torisakia-Dimitri Roberazzi-LWF 4:57
Penalty: TaQud-RDM #16-Fighting(5 minute major penalty) 14:21
Penalty: Torisakia-Dimitri Robberazzi-Fighting(5 minute major penalty) 14:21
TaQud-RW#7-RWF 11:05
END OF 2ND TaQud: 2 Torisakia: 2


3RD PERIOD:
Torisakia-Alexei Borodin-RWF 10:11
Penalty: TaQud-RDM #16-Interference(2 minute minor penalty) 18:04
Torisakia-Alexei Borodin-RWF 19:49
END OF 3RD TaQud: 2 Torisakia: 4

TORISAKIA ICE BIRDS SCHEDULE:
RECORD: (2-0-1)

Saturday, April 28th - Pre-Qual Friendly - at (24)Allamunnic States L (6-5)
Sunday, April 29th - Matchday 1 - at (NR)Blodbath Generation L (4-3)
Monday, April 30th - Matchday 2 - vs (68)New High Charity 24 W (1-0)
Tuesday, May 1st - Matchday 3 - at (19)Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk W (1-0)
Wednesday, May 2nd - Matchday 4 - at (NR)TaQud W (4-2)
Thursday, May 3rd - Matchday 5 - vs (4)Qazox
Friday, May 4th - Mid-Qual Friendly - vs (14)Darmen
Saturday, May 5th - Matchday 6 - vs (NR)Blodbath Generation
Sunday, May 6th - Matchday 7 - at (NR)New High Charity 24
Monday, May 7th - Matchday 8 - vs (19)Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
Tuesday, May 8th - Matchday 9 - vs (NR)TaQud
Wednesday, May 9th - Matchday 10 - at (4)Qazox
Thursday, May 10th - Post-Qual Friendly - (34)THRILLEDGE

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

[Yesopalitha]

Sergei Dorov sat in the locker room after the 2-5 loss to Michael VII. He would not be talking to Stephanie tonight... He had too many things in his head. For three games, he had defended the goal for the Flames with honor. He had given up one goal, and that had been to Cotdelapoms, and to their best player. He was in a groove... Until tonight.

People wanted to blame the Cohen twins for not helping him defend, but he knew better. In a game like hockey, the goaltender is expected to face twenty to thirty, if not forty shots in a single game. It is up to the goaltender to stop them. It is not a defender's job, not anyone else's. And he had failed this day.

Michael VII, ironically, had been the first nation to figure out his frog stance. Maybe it was because there was tape on him from the last three games and how he'd reacted to certain angles... Maybe it was because he had been sloppy that night. But for whatever reason... He had given up five goals in one game... And that was not okay.

To close out the first half, they'd face Camerania. They needed this win to go into the break with nine points. So that the team could have at least an outside chance of making it to the playoffs. They were unranked, sure, but the tournament part was to be held in their own nation. They needed to show the fans that they had tried...

He picked himself off the bench, and started heading out. He'd go clear his head... Erase this from his memory, hopefully... Perform better...

It was far from over.

[Byfugland]

A hard-fought game ended in disappointment for the Byfugland Jets, as the Polar Islandstates Firs took a 2-1 victory.

The Jets have been struggling to get the first goal of the game, and that usually is what comes back to haunt them in the end. The Firs leapt out to 1-0 lead midway through the first period, as team captain Radoslav Invermuir fired one over the glove hand of Ryan Underhill for an unassisted goal. During the remainder of the period, Underhill was remarkable, stopping 11 of 12 shots. Marko de Raek, the Firs goaltender, was a wall, though he had to face very few scoring chances in the first two periods.

The second period was frustrating for the Jets, especially in that the third and fourth lines became very agitated by the discipline of the Polar Islandstates. The Firs had little to no interest in fighting or encouraging agitators like Albert Turziano or Cliff Soricelli. The two of them combined drew 4 penalties in the second period, though the Firs couldn't capitalize on the power play, again, thanks to the stellar play of Underhill and his shot-blocking defensemen. The drive to take control of the game physically was gone, and the Jets offense suffered greatly because of it.

In the third period, with the Jets frantically switching to an all-out attack, the Firs got a bouncing puck down the ice to turn into a breakaway for Niko Sampson, one that he converted for a goal, putting his team on top 2-0. Late in the third, the Jets pulled Underhill and, with a man advantage, finally put one past de Raek. Matt Byrant, assisted by Jarret Backman and Vyacheslav Dostoyevski, scored on a snapshot between the face-off circles. That would be all the Jets would be able to get, though, and the game wound up 2-1.

"I'm very disappointed in the outcome," coach Hank Boudreau, Minister of Sports and Athletics in Byfugland, said after the game. "We didn't play the kind of hockey I know we can play. When we can't be physical and we can't fight our way into their zone, we become ineffective. We can't let that happen."

Ryan Underhill wound up stopping 36 of 38 shots, while de Raek, who faced significantly fewer shots, stopped 22 of 23.

"We've gotta snap this losing streak," Boudreau added. "I want to get Byfugland a win so we know we can compete at this level."

He then gave a wry smile to the press and said, "I want a win so we have the momentum to beat THRILLEDGE."

Goals:
Invermuir (Firs), unassisted, 1st period.
Sampson (Firs), unassisted, 3rd period.
M. Byrant (Jets), Dostoyevski & Backman, 3rd period.

[Karditan]

Pretend this was posted by Falconwhereveryouare.

The Eagle's Eye
Falconwhereveryouare's premier printed news source!
SPORTS
Can't beat what you can't see

By Booker Purvis

That was... odd, to say the least. The Mantwenic squad-and their fans- didn't even bother to show up to the game in their own stadium. Or so we thought. Our players were just skating around the rink for two periods, not wanting to take a shot because it just felt wrong to take advantage of a poor empty net like that. About halfway through the third period Ingelhommen figured we'd have to score at some point if we didn't want to draw a team of no-shows, so he casually skated up to the opposing goal with the puck, brought his stick back, and- was knocked flat on his ass. A powerful gust of wind blew through the stadium riffling up the pennants and jerseys strewn about the rafters to commemorate Mantwenic's great players of old, and a faint mist seemed to drift down on the ice. At first the Falconian players just figured it was dust from the tops of the rafters, but then something distinctly paranormal happened. And by paranormal I mean the puck started moving down the ice seemingly by itself. But if one looked closely, it was clear that it was being handled by an invisible hockey player- it's movements indicated that it was being manipulated by some ghostly hockey stick.

Now, the Falconians weren't ready to just give up the ghost to a bunch of ghosts. Schott skated at the apparition behind the puck and slammed into 'it' full force; he did feel an impact, but also felt like he was passing through a thin mist of gelatin, and the puck only momentarily paused in it's forward motion. Jones went to try and wrastle the puck away, but a quick pass to another spirit further down the ice struck fear into the hearts of the Falconian players. How can they hope to defend from a team when they can't even cover the pass? Scherzer did admirably, since it wasn't too hard to tell where shots were coming from due to the visible nature of the puck, but is nevertheless a rather average goalie and these ghosts were apparently the ghosts of hockey greats. The tenth shot on goal by the ghasts of Mantewic found its way under Scherzer's pad for the only score of the game, as the Falconians never got a chance to counterattack.

There will be a small break in action soon as we reach the midpoint of the group stage. After that we will be playing Thatius again, and I'll make sure to bring a Poltergeist 3000 next time.

[Yesopalitha]

Final cutoff for the first leg! Who takes the lead?

---

Group 1
Greater Kenya 3–3 Mapletish
Michael VII 4–3 Cotdelapoms
Camerania 2–4 Yesopalitha

Group 1                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cotdelapoms                  5    3   1   1    17   14   +3    10
2 Michael VII                  5    3   0   2    14   11   +3     9
3 Yesopalitha                  5    3   0   2     9    8   +1     9
4 Mapletish                    5    2   2   1    16   10   +6     8
5 Greater Kenya                5    1   1   3    12   14   −2     4
6 Camerania                    5    1   0   4     6   17  −11     3

Group 2
Newland-America 0–0 Bergnovinaia
Cosumar 3–1 Ashley Greene
Princess Beatrice Isle 2–0 Filopines

Group 2                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Princess Beatrice Isle       5    5   0   0    15    6   +9    15
2 Filopines                    5    3   0   2     4    5   −1     9
3 Cosumar                      5    2   1   2     7    8   −1     7
4 Bergnovinaia                 5    1   2   2     4    4    0     5
5 Newland-America              5    1   2   2     6    7   −1     5
6 Ashley Greene                5    0   1   4     4   10   −6     1

Group 3
Salchar 0–1 Falconwhereveryouare
Gyatso-kai 5–2 Carmadin
Mantwenic 1–2 Thatius

Group 3                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gyatso-kai                   5    4   1   0    13    5   +8    13
2 Mantwenic                    5    3   0   2     7    6   +1     9
3 Thatius                      5    2   2   1    11   11    0     8
4 Falconwhereveryouare         5    2   1   2     9    9    0     7
5 Carmadin                     5    1   1   3    10   15   −5     4
6 Salchar                      5    0   1   4     3    7   −4     1

Group 4
Weatherdon 3–4 Audioslavia
Equestrian States 5–4 Cassadaigua
Narsora 0–0 Darmen

Group 4                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Darmen                       5    3   1   1    16   10   +6    10
2 Weatherdon                   5    3   0   2    11   10   +1     9
3 Audioslavia                  5    2   1   2    13   13    0     7
4 Cassadaigua                  5    2   0   3    14   14    0     6
5 Equestrian States            5    2   0   3     8   12   −4     6
6 Narsora                      5    1   2   2     6    9   −3     5

Group 5
Polkopia 0–0 King Rankmore
Orlkjestad 2–2 Cheergirls
Shofercia 3–6 Civil Citizenry

Group 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Civil Citizenry              5    5   0   0    21   11  +10    15
2 King Rankmore                5    2   1   2     5    7   −2     7
3 Orlkjestad                   5    1   2   2    13   15   −2     5
4 Shofercia                    5    1   2   2    11   14   −3     5
5 Polkopia                     5    0   4   1     2    3   −1     4
6 Cheergirls                   5    0   3   2     4    6   −2     3

Group 6
Soviet Canuckistan 0–0 Yasono
Valanora 4–1 Vilita and Turori
Mangolana 1–0 Mijahkstan

Group 6                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Valanora                     5    5   0   0    15    4  +11    15
2 Mangolana                    5    3   0   2    13   12   +1     9
3 Vilita and Turori            5    3   0   2    14   16   −2     9
4 Soviet Canuckistan           5    2   1   2     9   10   −1     7
5 Yasono                       5    1   1   3     9   12   −3     4
6 Mijahkstan                   5    0   0   5     5   11   −6     0

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

Group 7                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Polar Islandstates           5    3   2   0    10    6   +4    11
2 THRILLEDGE                   5    3   1   1    12    9   +3    10
3 Hakkland                     5    3   0   2     7    9   −2     9
4 Camwood                      5    2   0   3     9    8   +1     6
5 Byfugland                    5    1   1   3     4    7   −3     4
6 Sel Appa                     5    0   2   3     2    5   −3     2

Group 8
Plutoni 0–1 Western Cuba
New Eteria 1–0 The Icemark
Carrie Underwood 1–3 Kelssek

Group 8                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Plutoni                      5    4   0   1    20    9  +11    12
2 Kelssek                      5    4   0   1    13    9   +4    12
3 Western Cuba                 5    3   1   1    13    7   +6    10
4 Carrie Underwood             5    1   2   2    10   15   −5     5
5 New Eteria                   5    1   0   4     3   11   −8     3
6 The Icemark                  5    0   1   4     5   13   −8     1

Group 9
Syleruias 1–5 Allamunnic States
Homelands Our 0–0 Cowardly Pacifists
Mohawk Clans 6–4 Areais

Group 9                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Allamunnic States            5    3   2   0    16    6  +10    11
2 Mohawk Clans                 5    2   2   1    14   12   +2     8
3 Cowardly Pacifists           5    1   3   1    10    9   +1     6
4 Syleruias                    5    2   0   3     7   12   −5     6
5 Homelands Our                5    1   2   2     4    8   −4     5
6 Areais                       5    1   1   3    10   14   −4     4

Group 10
New High Charity 24 1–0 TaQud
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 1–0 Bloodbath Generation
Torisakia 4–4 Qazox

Group 10                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Qazox                        5    4   1   0    26   12  +14    13
2 Torisakia                    5    3   1   1    13   10   +3    10
3 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk       5    3   0   2     8    6   +2     9
4 Bloodbath Generation         5    3   0   2    12   15   −3     9
5 New High Charity 24          5    1   0   4     8   13   −5     3
6 TaQud                        5    0   0   5     5   16  −11     0

[Qazox]

Is Upset!:
Qazox at 18 WcoH.

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

Boris Ichanov: Welcome to IS UPSET!, I'm Boris Ichanov and joing me are Michael Valamov and Anton Markov. Today Qazox failed to pull off upest as they tied Torisakia 4-4. Anton, your thoguhts on the game?

Anton Markov: Qazox cheated again at the end of the game or am I wrong in knowing that there is supposed to be 5 skaters and 1 goalie on the ice? So why did Qazox have 6 skaters on the ice for the final minute of the game, and the extra skater scored the goal that tied the game up at 4-all.

Boris: You do know that having an extra skater after pulling the goalie is legal, right?

Anton: Doesn't matter. They cheated and they prevented themselves from losing by doing so. They should be ashamed.

Boris: Ok then. Michael, what did you take from this game?

Michael Valamov: Once again, Qazox escaped after playing down to their opponents and only a timely play kept them from losing.

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

Michael: Is outrage that Qazox pulled Thomas Jekin so soon. If the defense didn't beat Jake Gaisdui back to the red line after Rice's turnover on the offensive end, while Jekin was skating to the bench, Qazox would've lost.

Anton: Is outrage that you can change the rules to suit you if you need to have an extra player. IS BIG OUTRAGE!

Boris: Up next, Qazox will head to 0-0-5 TaQud, who are UPSET that they don't have a win yet!

SCORING SUMMARY

QZX    2 1 1  4
TRS    1 2 1  4

First Period:
GOAL: Torisakia- Jake Gaisdui (assisted by: Dimitri Roberazzi and Alexei Borodin) 4:14 0-1 Torisakia
GOAL: Qazox- Ryan Eanch (assisted by: Brian Castro) 9:45 1-1
GOAL: Qazox- Ivan Mzachinov (6) (unassisted) 18:13 2-1 Qazox
2nd period:
GOAL: Torisakia- Jake Gaisdui (assisted by: Dimitri Roberazzi and Alexei Borodin) 9:53 2-2
GOAL: Torisakia- Alexei Borodin (assisted by: Dimitri Roberazzi and Jake Gaisdui) 13:48 3-2 Torisakia
GOAL: Qazox- Mark Gelan (3) (assisted by: Nathan Holsten and Marco Martinez) 15:35 3-3
3rd period:
GOAL: Torisakia- Dimitri Roberazzi (assisted by: Alexei Borodin and Jake Gaisdui) 16:12 4-3 Torisakia
GOAL: Qazox- Ivan Mzachinov (7) (assisted by: Peter Stepaki and Cam Rice) Extra Skater 19:36 4-4

shots on goal
QZX   12   9 10  31
TRS    8  12  8  28

GOALIES:
Torisakia: Kevin Hautifi- 27sv/31sh
Qazox: Thomas Jekin- 24sv/28sh

Torisakia: 0/0 PP (0 penalties for 0 minutes)
Qazox: 0/0 PP (0 penalties for 0 minutes)

[Falconwhereveryouare]

The Eagle's Eye
Falconwhereveryouare's top broadsheet!
SPORTS
Off the ball, on the puck

By Booker Purvis

Woops! Looks like I made an error in my last article. We actually had another game before the mid-group break. I got home this morning and my girlfriend inquired as to why I was not at the game, and I responded with an intelligent "oh crap" and booked it to the airport. I just barely made it to the I.S.H. dome in Salchar for the first faceoff, but I might as well have missed the entire first period. Both teams looked ready for the break as lackluster performance was the theme; advances into enemy territory were flimsly, shots were winged, and passes were sloppy. It was 0-0 at the end of the first and didn't promise much excitement. In the second, however, Wolfshtag got tired of being tired and tore down the ice to slide one past Bjorn Steijlen to give the Falcons the only point of the game. After that the Falconians just dropped back and played some strong D, knowing the unmotivated Salcharian team would only take a single goal to beat. This rang true as Scherzer only need to block two shots on goal in the third period.

Now we have the break in action. After that we will be hosting Thatius, hoping to steal a win from them so we can get into striking position for second place!

[Audioslavia]

"This is f***ing ridiculous. Absolutely f***ing ridiculous" muttered Txordin, through his teeth. He'd have spat on the ice near the referee if only he hadn't been wearing a hockey mask. He watched as Danny Urqhart drifted towards the penalty box, entered it and slammed the door behind him in disgust, before slumping down on the bench next to Kasper Gartxia. Two minutes to go in the game, and Audioslavia were short-handed; they'd need to defend for their lives against the Weatherdon attacks with a two-skater disadvantage. He, Josi Zabala and Iker Otxoa took to the right-hand penalty circle in their third, slammed their sticks on the ground and waited for the Weatherdon special team to arrive to the put-in.

The Audioslavian Ice-Bulls had played a hell of a game, so far. They'd raced into a two-goal lead in the opening period, Zubiondo and Gartxia both getting on the scoresheet before a Alistair McTare spied a long-range opportunity just before the interval, scooping a shot between two Audioslavian defenders and beyond an unsighted Gaizka Exarte and into the Audioslavian net. Weatherdon - sitting pretty in second place in the table after notable wins against group favourites Darmen and Cassadaigua - had taken control of the game in the second period, threatening to draw level a number of times before, against the run of play, Audioslavia took the lead with a break-away goal that had silenced the home crowd in this brand-new, state-of-the-art stadium. The setback upset Weatherdon's concentration at a vital time, and the frustrated home-side made matters worse for themselves by conceding a stupid penalty before the end of the third period, giving Audioslavia a dangerous two-minute powerplay right at the end of the half - Phillip Mobles clumsily hacking at Ibar Belasko's shins during an Audioslavian attack. Audioslavia would only need twenty seconds of the powerplay, the side creating an immediate opportunity for Zubiondo to slap a mean shot past Steven Drauch for 4-1, and what should have been the killer strike.

Audioslavia, to their credit, hadn't really let up during the third period. .Weatherdon had simply come out of the dressing room and blitzed them.

The Weatherdon side had obviously been given a scare by the management team - a few younger players coming out of the changing rooms looking decidedly pale - and the team-talk appeared to have worked. Weatherdon equalised almost immediately after the re-start, scoring for 4-2; a confidence building goal and one that got the crowd back on their side yet again. Roared on by the Weatherdon faithful, the black-and-blue jerseys swarmed on the Audioslavian net, adding a third goal with fourteen minutes still to play in the period.

With that, Audioslavia had abandoned any ideas they might have had of attacking or countering the Weatherdon threat; the tired team's defensive shell collapsing further and further towards their own goal, sometimes acting only as barricades for the multitude of shots struck towards their goal. The tactic had appeared to be working, for a time, until Kasper Gartxia lost his temper at Weatherdon enforcer Phillip Mobles, aiming two or three wild haymaker at the big Weatherdonian after what he had claimed to be an unfairly heavy check into the boards. Two of the punches connected with number 82 Mobles, but you wouldn't know it to look at him; the generously built Mobles towering a good four inches over Gartxia, and probably weighing a good forty pounds heavier. Mobles retained his composure, blocking two more swings from the Audioslavian before the referee interjected, sending the Audioslavian to the sin-bin to serve out the remainder of the game. Four minutes had passed - four painfully slow minutes - before Danny Urqhart was ordered to join his compatriot in the penalty box. Gartxia deserved to be there, but Urqhart? Well, his apparent 'hook' on the ankles of Al Toews had apparently been eaten by the television cameras at the game, such was the difficulty for the live broadcasts and stadium cam to find the foul. Urqhart may well have simply fallen foul of being compared to the comparitively volatile Gartxia, and Audioslavia would serve out the last minute of the game with a big disadvantage.

Wait. Make that a huge disadvantage. Txordin Zubiondo bit his tongue to hold back a swearword or two as he watched goalie Stephen Dracuh leave the ice, being replaced by skater McTare. Six skaters versus three? Six on three?

Perkele.

Face-off. Weatherdon came away with the puck. Txordin had barely won one all match. Here we go then.

The Audioslavians immediately retreated to their own area, forming a touch semi-circle around the goal, trying to push out as far as possible to keep their opponents at bay, perhaps force an offside or something, or anything. Griffifths to Toews, back to Griffiths, a deke, a pass through the middle of two Audioslavian defenders to where Miven was arriving on the blind-side, right in front of goal, a shot, saved. Unbelievably. Txordin doubted Exarte knew much about it, merely throwing himself to the ground and spreading his arms in random directions, hoping for any kind of contact with the puck. The puck ran loose, Otxoa competed for it but lost out to Griffifths, who rounded him and the goal, stopping behind it. Audioslavia couldn't even afford to send a man to get him out of that danger zone for fear of him exploiting the acres of open ice they'd leave behind. Griffifth's new-found position robbed him of space to play a straight pass, and though lesser players would have gone for a pass around the boards - to which two attackers had stationed themselves, waiting for such a pass - Griffifths went for a shot on goal, flicking the ball onto the palm of his stick and attempting to carry it into the goal from behind, like a train-driver trying to feed coal into his engine while stood on the locomotive's plough. Griffifths' execution was perfect, but Exarte's blind panic averted the danger, diving towards the looping stick and knocking it out of the attacker's outstretched hands. Otxoa went to retrieve the puck. again, and this time succeeded. He didn't even have space to turn around before two Weatherdon players put pressure on him. He skated behind the goal, knowing Griffifths would need time to collect his stick from the ground, but ran into trouble in the form of a pincer of three attacking players. He heard his captain, Txordin, yell something at him. It sounded like a barrage of Ausque expletives, but he distinctly heard the phrase 'just sodding hit it', yelled at around three-hundred decibels. Whether it had come from his captain or a particularly agitated Audioslavian in the crowd, he wasn't sure, but he heeded the advice, hitting the puck as hard as he could around the boards. Toews graciously picked it up on the left hand side, before it'd even crossed the blue-line, and the Weatherdon player asessed the situation. He deked, he passed, he saw his pass collected by Alekai Thiessen, who laid the puck on for the sharp-shooter Mikhail Tretiak. A first-time shot evaded Zabala's desperate lunge but ricocheted off the post with a loud *ping*, drawing further gasps of exasperation from crowd and bench. Again, Audioslavia got lucky with the rebound. Otxoa again, and this time he had a modicum of space. Txordin barely had time to shout 'sodding hit it' at him before Otxoa let fly, off balance, his skates leaving the ice and elbow hitting the ice at the same time as the puck, thankfully, finally, left their third of the ice.

Otxoa and Zabala, both prone on the ground, watched as the puck travelled up towards the opposition goal. Zubiondo, who should really have chased the puck, simply put his hands on his knees and got himself ready to pass the blue-line in an attempt to stop the home side's easy progression into the Audioslavian third. The puck drifted a good four inches past the right hand post. Weatherdon collected the puck, played it forward, and sped towards the Audioslavian goal. Txordin barely had the energy to stand, let along defend. Were he a religious man, he would have prayed for the buzzer right then.

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

Well thank f**k for that

[Thatius]

Pummeled by the Puck
Thatius shut out at the hands of Gyatso-kai

The newly-built USS-Klarija Stadium (built by the United Slavijica States Corporation) featured an interesting match-up of Gyatso-kai versus Thatius. The 36^th ranked Thatian Icehawks faced the 3^rd ranked Gyatso-kai Ice Bisons, who so far have been dominating the group, going 4-1-0. Both teams had well over thirty shots on goal, and thanks to Gyatso-kai's amazing goalie, Shu Huangguo, the Ice Bisons were able to prevent the puck from going into the back of the net.

USS-Klarija Stadium, opened April 2012

However, hope still lurks for the Icehawks, as they beat 29^th ranked Mantwenic in a tight 2-1 match. Both Leon Kós and Aleksy Knežević scored one goal apiece early in the first quarter, while Goalie Martin Koranović only let one goal in late in the second quarter.

Now the Icehawks loom in third place, only one point behind second place Mantwenic. Next they face Falconwhereeveryouare, who also has a chance to steal the second-to-the-top spot in the group. It'll be a tough match, especially since Falconwhereeveryouare scored three goals on Thatius the first match-up.

[Byfugland]

Coming off a frustrating loss to the Polar Islandstates, the Byfugland Jets were determined to get their first win in international play. They got it against the Camwood Blue Soldiers in a chippy, fast-paced 1-0 game.

The game was scoreless after the first period, with both goalies on the top of their game. Colin Chapman, goalie for Camwood, stopped nine shots in the first period, including a tremendous desperation save robbing Cliff Soricelli of his first goal of the tournament. Ryan Underhill stopped the eight shots he faced. The main focus of the game was how would two of the best offensive players in the group, Vyacheslav Dostoyevski and John Moncrief, do when up against each other for the first time. Moncrief first made his presence felt late in the first after Jets defenseman Ryan Linderhagen put a late hit on Ryan Westbrooks that wasn't called. Moncrief and Linderhagen dropped the gloves, and though Linderhagen is a menacing 6'10", Moncrief managed to wrestle him to the ice, sticking up for his teammate.

Midway through the second period, the deadlock was broken, as the Jets managed to shove one past Chapman after 15 shots saved. Vyacheslav Dostoyevki scored on an odd man rush, as Camwood was caught mid-change. Ruler and captain Justin Byfuglien through the puck up the ice to Garret O'Sears, who passed it to Dostoyevski who put it into the open net. There was little Chapman could do on this 2-on-1, and Byfugland picked up the lead it would not relinquish. Though Camwood pulled Chapman with a minute left in play, the Blue Soldiers could not get one through the defense of shutdown pair Forrest Mackins and Jarret Backman.

Ryan Underhill, who had been stellar of late only allowing 4 goals in the past 100 shots he's faced heading into the game, pitched a shutout, stopping all 30 shots that came his way. Underhill has been the only thing keeping Byfugland in contention in these recent games.

"He's been nothing short of amazing, hasn't he?" said coach Hank Boudreau after the game. "He's really stepped it up when we've needed him. Hopefully he can keep this up and we can come out of here with a few more wins going forward."

"[Underwood] has been clutch," team captain and Glorious Ruler of Byfugland Justin Byfuglien said of his teammate. "The offense will need to get him the goal support he needs. He's standing on his head."

Byfuglien and his Jets are now 1-1-3 in group play. Now that the team has the monkey off its back, perhaps the momentum will shift in their favor, especially heading into round two of the Battle of Zollnando coming up later in the second half of the round robin. Whether or not Byfugland still has a chance to compete for a playoff spot remains to be seen, as they would likely have to win the majority of their games and rely on poor play from Thrilledge and the Polar Islandstates. Either way, now that Byfugland has their first World Cup of Hockey win, they can begin establishing themselves as the force to be reckoned with that Byfuglians everywhere know they can be.

Goals:
Vyacheslav Dostoyevski (Jets), Justin Byfuglien & Garret O'Sears, 2nd period.

[Camwood]

Compolis' Spectacular Trade

When Moncrief got traded from Compolis to New Athens, everybody thought that general manager Jacob Reilly fell off his rocker hard. Sure they got Mark Portillo, but for the John Moncrief? There had to be a catch. There was.

New Athens was beginning their era of success, starting with a Champions' Hockey League Finals Appearance. The club was netting money like no tomorrow. Compolis, on the other hand, was losing their shine. They were consistently failing to reach the playoffs, and each season was getting worse. Moncrief was frustrated; he wanted to win a championship, but there was next to no hope of doing to with the Cats. Moncrief was traded to New Athens in exchange for Mark Portillo and $12 Million. However, only select members of either club's administration, knew about "The Token Scheme".

The Token Scheme was basically drawn up so that as long as New Athens continued to place highly overall, they'd never lose a draft pick. The Scheme entailed that Compolis would receive New Athens' draft whenever they wanted. So, after the trade, Compolis had a ten year window which Camwood could cash in to receive New Athens' draft pick for that year. However, this detail was never published, and was kept a secret between the organizations until now.

New Athens recently made a transaction with the St. Edward Bears. New Athens traded away some substantial minor league prospects in exchange for St. Edward's first round draft pick. Compolis pounced. They cashed in before the New Athens transfer department realized what happened. It was too late. Compolis now has the first overall draft pick at the perfect time.

Andrew Baker is a star center for Nanford University. He's studying Nuclear Physics and is set to graduate by the end of the month. Analysts from across the BarFin Premiership, rate Baker as one of the better prospects since the start of the Modern Era (Season 2). Some believe Baker has the potential to be better than John Moncrief himself. Baker's entering the draft. Compolis has the first pick. GM Jacob Reilly is a smart man. Why? Isn't this just luck? No it isn't. Reilly saw this coming when Baker graduated high school. Reilly beat the warriors in their own game.

Given Baker will need one or two years to develop, he won't be a impact right off the bat. But Baker definitely has the power and the potential to make the Cats a dynasty. A dynasty to rule all others.

[Soviet Canuckistan]

The end of the first leg

The end of the first leg of the WCoH came to an end today with 2 wins, 1 tie, and 2 losses with the last game a 0-0 tie against Yasono. The Sailfish Dome was filled with Canuckistani chants and red and white as Soviet Canuckistan faced off against Yasono. The first period began physically with many a player littering the ice. However, both teams defences played well resulting with no scoring for the first 20 minutes. The second period began with a sombre tone, with defence man Alexander Langdon being carried off the ice with a sprained ankle, however he is expected to return for the beginning of the next leg. Again the defence held their ground with another scoreless period. The third period was no different than the other two, no scoring again with fans leaving early for their vehicles in the third period. However, events turned bizarre in the last minute as fans began to throw drinks at Quebexican coach John Smith, causing him to leave prematurely.

We interviewed Coach John Smith after the game to see his thoughts on the game, "Well, I see the ethnic tension is at a new high in Soviet Canuckistan, and I have heard that Soviet Quebexico will have another team for the WCoH 19. The game wasn't very fast-paced, however it was beautiful on the defensive end, both teams allowing nothing into the net. I look forward to our next friendly and the beginning of the next leg so we can take on the teams that defeated us again."

Analysts are predicting for a good show against Micheal VII who are second in their group with 9 points in what appears to be a hard group. They're ranked 27th in the world which won't be the hardest Soviet Canuckistan has faced but will be close to it. Join us at 6:00pm on SCSBC at 2:00pm, on SCSports Radio and online at SCSports.sca.

Scores from the group:
Valanora 4–1 Vilita and Turori
Mangolana 1–0 Mijahkstan

[Salchar]

Salchar 0-1 Falconwhereveveryouare

Salchar lost by the margain of one ine their latest game against a country who has trouble finding there birds. They can't find a falcon but it seems as if they can find the few gaps in the net that Salchar goalie, Bjorn Steiljnen, tried to cover up.

This is Salchar's fifth game where the final score was decided by the last period, four of those games have been losses, one a tie. After the first leg, Salchar has still never won, every person and narglatch in Salchar dosent want to come out of the world cup of hockey 18 saying, "oh yeah, our team did great, we tied against third in the world, and then lost all the rest of our games".

Salchar isn't playing their best, what Salchar has to do is they have to take more shots, good shots, bad shots, in between shots, hard shots, soft shots, slapshots, wristshots, backhand shots, forehand shots, every player on the Salchar national has to take more shots.

[Michael VII]

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! M7 edges Cotdelapoms in 4-3 thriller!

I don't think anyone expected that. Its one of those results where you want it to come true, but never does. It seemed preposterous even, for the 27th best in the world to take out the 9th seed! On every front the Apples seemed too strong, despite their weak performance so far in the competition, but the odds were heavily stacked against us. An unlikely win for us would be insane. Every report prior to the competition was suggesting a Cotdelapomais team going 10-0, and a cluster of teams fighting it out for 2nd place to qualify for the competition proper. So this game was just as surprising as the Meshkete Royals' run to the Freedom Cup finals last season! Mattheus Morkel can tell you how crazy hockey can be, seeing as it was his favoured Yeti team that was the last team to fall to the Royals. Speaking of the Morkel himself, it was his showing at home that made the game the way it was. 2 goals and an assist, and an efficiency of +4 was unmatched in this game, stealing some of Andropov's thunder in the process.

The Apples led early, and were never behind until the 3rd period, where Michael VII relayed from 3-1 down to fire 3 quick goals in 10 minutes to take a game-winning 4-3 lead. Jean-Luc Barr opened the scoring early in the first, scoring a backhand goal on the powerplay against Robert Grenky to silence the home fans quickly. Julien Champagne added to the tally late in the period pouncing on a breakaway opportunity putting the Apples up on a seemingly unstoppable 2-0 lead going into the break. Midway through the second period, Michael VII added some hopes to the chance with William Darshon feeding the puck to Alexei Andropov for another score this qualifying. Jean-Luc answered right back with just 34 seconds left in the 2nd period to get one right in the corner of the net, again proving to the M7 fans why the apples are too good for us. At least for 40 minutes.

The third period started off largely like the first two, with the Cotdelapomais keeping us off the puck and continuing to dominate the stats. The momentum began to shift when the 3rd liners made a few huge hits on Jean-Luc and O'Bagels that got the home crowd into it. Followed up by a goal just a few minutes later, as the legend himself, Mattheus Morkel got the puck right into the back of the net to cut the lead in half at 3-2. Still a long way to go, with just 12 minutes left, and down by one, but it was the momentum that swung our way and helped us get in front. A second goal five minutes later to even up the score with 7 to go, (funny that aye Carmadin?), from Gerald Carson, proved too much for the Apples to bear. The third goal was the most spectacular, Mattheus Morkel dancing around defenders from deep in the defensive zone, before unloading it to Carson, who chucked the puck between the legs of Sacha Courcelles, from a spin move. And another five minutes later, Morkel was credited with the game winning goal, scoring from way back at the point to take our first, and only lead of the game.

Cotdelapoms' pulling of the goalie failed to work, blanking the Apples out in the final minute despite constant defensive pressure to take the unlikely and confidence boosting win.

This was the first of four consecutive home games this season during the qualifiers. Michael VII hosting Soviet Canuckistan tomorrow in a friendly match, in what is expected to be an extremely physical and hotly-contested affair. Following that, the second round robin begins, with M7 hosting Greater Kenya and Mapletish to end the home stand, and hopefully be well on the way to a ticket to Yesopalitha later this month.

Dick of the Day Award
v Cotdelapoms
-Zane Spears
Got blanked all day in the major stats. Failed to really hit or dispossess anyone and had a -2 efficiency...Didn't do too much noteworthy to be the dick of the day, but it was what he didn't do that got him this award, and a pint of lager from the glass of shame.

Michael VII Qualifying so far...
@ Carmadin 7-6 W Friendly
@ Greater Kenya 3-0 W
@ Mapletish 1-4 L
v Camerania 1-2 L
@ Yesopalitha 5-2 W
v Cotdelapoms 4-3 W
Yet to come...
v Soviet Canuckistan (SOLD OUT) Friendly
v Greater Kenya
v Mapletish (SOLD OUT)
@ Camerania
v Yesopalitha
@ Cotdelapoms
v TaQud (If necessary) Friendly

*Should Michael VII qualify for the Wildcard playoff round, this match will not be played.

Can we beat Soviet Canuckistan?
YES 84%
NO 15%
Screw Osarius! 1%

[Yesopalitha]

Since I made it so that RP points don't count in friendlies, I think I'll take the liberty to cutoff the Mid-Qual Friendlies a bit early. Reminder that cutoff will be four hours earlier tomorrow.

---

Mid-Qual Friendlies
Torisakia 1–4 Darmen
Michael VII 2–4 Soviet Canuckistan
Allamunnic States 2–1 THRILLEDGE
Gyatso-kai 3–3 Cotdelapoms

[Qazox]

Is Upset!:
Qazox at 18 WcoH.

Is Upset! is brought to you tonight by Ganja Vodka. Life getting you down, then get high with Ganja Vodka, now availible in Cherry, Lime and Nacho flavors.

Boris Ichanov: Welcome to IS UPSET!, I'm Boris Ichanov this is review show, so no Michael Valamov or Anton Markov. Qazox go 4-0-1 in first half of qualifying, only tying Torisakia in 5th game to prevent a perfect start. On offensive side of puck, Qazox is best team in tourney!

TOP 6 OFFENSES
#1 QAZOX            26GF--5.20GPG
#2 Civil Citizenry  21GF--4.20GPG
#3 Plutoni          20GF--4.00GPG
#4 Cotdelapoms      17GF--3.40GPG
#5t Darmen          16GF--3.20GPG
Allamunnic States   16GF--3.20GPG

Boris: But on flippyside, the defense has not been as good, as Qazox is tied for 39th of 60 teams in goals allowed so far.

TOP 6 DEFENSES
#1  Polkopia  3GA--0.60GAA
#2t Valanora  4GA--0.80GAA
Bergnovinaia  4GA--0.80GAA
#4t Filopines 5GA--1.00GAA
Gyatso-kai    5GA--1.00GAA
Sel Appa      5GA--1.00GAA

Boris: Here is how Qazox team has done individually so far:
Sorted by: Points, Goals, Fewest PIM.

NAME              G  A  Pts  PIM
Ivan Mzachinov    7  2   9   0
Mark Gelan        3  3   6   4
Cam Rice          3  2   5   2
Saul Fischer      1  4   5   0
Doug Morris       1  4   5   0
David Wahl        2  2   4   0
Lance Ozranov     1  3   4   0
Nathan Holsten    1  2   3   0
Harold Ulster     1  2   3   0
Marco Martinez    1  2   3   2
Coby Branch       1  2   3   4
Peter Stepaki     0  3   3   7
Greg Monroe       1  0   1   0
Wayne McAdams     1  0   1   2
Ryan Eanch        1  0   1   5
Travis Coples     1  0   1   5
Brian Castro      0  1   1   4
Tobias Richardson 0  1   1   4
Frank McCanvio    0  1   1   7

GOALIES

NAME          GA   SV   SV%  GAA  Min
Thomas Jekin  12  138  .920  2.39 299

[Cassadaigua]

Hockey Team Finding New Lows, Rangen feeling the heat,
by Christina Bennett, Intern @ Concord Heights Times


It was painful to watch the Dagans lose 5-4 to Equestrian States. True, we might be on the verge of one of Cassadaigua’s biggest horse races this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that we wanted to prepare ourselves for that by a loss. We watch these games, and we ponder, how can a team with all of this talent now be 2-3? It’s like when you are on campus and you get back to your dorm room, and you’re roommate Margaret is just being a complete and total bitch. She yells at you for having the TV on too loud, or for leaving the bathroom light on; yet she forgot about the time she accidentally knocked down the picture that was next to your computer to remind you about the wonderful prom date that you had back in high school, but perhaps the better after-prom memories. So you do your best to appease Margaret. You keep the TV volume down. You don’t listen to music she hates when she’s around, and you turn off the lights. You think to yourself, Margaret, what more do I have to do? But she looks at you. Straight in the face, eye to eye, not even blinking to make you think she some witch from another reality. She grins, but doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t have to, for you know what she has in mind. Margaret has chosen you, and there is no way out. Part of you would just like to take a match, and set all of her possessions on fire as a way to get her back.

But that’s not a smart idea. Firing Courtney Rangen though, probably is. There is nothing good to write about the 5-4 loss other then somehow we found the net four times and went 2-for-5 on the power play. The Horses (my adopted nickname for the Equestrian States), broke open an early 1-1 game with two late goals in the first period, and then scored on a softie at 2:55 of the 2nd period to take a 4-1 lead. Leading up to this game, Stacie Dupree had been shaky at best in net, so you would think that this poor display would lead to her being pulled, but Rangen would not make that change. You could almost see assistant coach Melanie Roy, a former goalie, after the 4th Horses goal, behind the bench trying to convince Rangen to make a goaltending change. But Courtney stood firm, and left Dupree in the game. I’m not really sure why. Some credit should be given to the offense for trying to make a game of it, and they did just that with two second-period power plays goals, both by Stacie Cornett (thanks for waking up Stacie, sorry it took you five games to do it!), and it was 4-3 after two. We had some momentum, and then what happens? Dupree gets caught out of net trying to clear a puck behind it, but doesn’t clear it well at all, and it lands right on Horses stick, and the player dumped it in pretty much an empty net as Dupree scrambled back, but didn’t really get there in time. All the effort to close the deficit, ruined, as the team was back down by two. Bridget Ashford got us within one again with four minutes left, but we could get no closer, and so ends a frustrating game.

It is halfway, and this would be a good time to make changes. But none seen coming. At the very least, maybe my roommate Margaret is going to make some things up to me as we go forward.