And so, through the most unpredictable path imaginable, the Dragonflies will travel to New Capetown to take on Siovanija & Teusland, the team that entered the tournament with a mission: ranked first, title holders, and hell bent to repeat the feat. They came into the knockouts as the second seed behind perennial overperformers Cassadaigua - Ko-oren was the seventh seed out of 16 before losing the first game against Gyatso-Kai and setting themselves up for a back-against-the-wall, got-nothing-to-lose, adrenaline-filled stretch of some six games that all had to be won in order to finally crack that final four. The quarterfinals were charted territory by now (but not that well charted) but the semifinals forever looked like that El Dorado (mythical, as in, not existing) and look at us now!
This will be Ko-oren's first World Cup of Hockey final and it's put ice hockey firmly in the spotlight. Even between the violence of so many national teams doing alright for themselves at the moment, the public was very receptive to the new kid on the block. Viewership was as expected for the group stage (a little over a million or so for the good games, versus about half a million for the games against unknown teams), but rose sharply since. The initial loss did kick the next knockout game back a bit, but since then, the WCOH has attracted new fans from all over the archipelago.
Ko-oren 2-0 Taeshan - 1.1 million
Cassadaigua 3–5 Ko-oren - 2.9 million
Ko-oren 3–2 HUElavia - 2.8 million
Equestria 0–0 Ko-oren (0–1 OT) - 2.7 million
Mercedini 2–4 Ko-oren - 2.9 million
Savojarna 3–7 Ko-oren - 3.1 million
The final game obviously being an all-time high audience for the national team in ice hockey. It's obvious which teams pull people towards their TV's: the inevitable Cassadaigua, while Equestria was mostly on the radar of football fans. Mercedini is another nation that pops up whenever it's least convenient in various sports. And of course, a team that especially the ice hockey fans are looking up to is Savojarna. What kind of numbers will the first final pull?
The players try to concentrate as much as possible without all the ceremony going on around them. "We're here to win a trophy... or at least make the final take two games," a nervous captain said. "We've played 17 games now, and we're making it 19." He doesn't exactly exude confidence, and even his fiercer teammates were visibly impressed by the ambiance. Nobody could ever get used to the press moments, the fans, millions looking forward to this one (or two) event(s), and even the Siovanijans and Teuslanders have to find their footing a bit. However, between the fewer games played and the experience of the 40th WCOH final, it's easy to see that the Goldhorns are a better fit with the atmosphere.
Fans at home have found that the Dragonflies have overstayed their Taeshani welcome for three or four games by now - so why not be the uninvited guest for a little longer? Every single game should have been the end to the campaign, and they're still here.
Savojarna 3-7 Ko-oren
First period
1-0 Bryzhnev (Malinsson)
1-1 Eriren (Aiamalod, Nedergard)
2-1 Falborg (unassisted, powerplay)
Second period
2-2 Aone (Aorifi, Alacia, powerplay)
2-3 Aone (Buck)
2-4 Eriren (Autibel)
3-4 Hejman (own goal Ailane)
3-5 Ailane (powerplay)
Third period
3-6 Eriren (Haarstad, Nedergard)
3-7 Aone (Buck, powerplay)
Ko-oren: scores 8 goals in 10 games
Also Ko-oren: scores 7 goals in one semifinal
Also also Ko-oren: allows 1 goal in 10 games
Also also also Ko-oren: allows 3 goals in one semifinal and still win
