World Cup of Hockey 43 - Everything thread

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglicana faces #1 team, leaves with predictable result

It always feels like Nova Anglicana should be better than they are at ice hockey. There's been reasonable success in the World Junior Hockey Championship, with back-to-back third-place finishes in the last two tournaments, and ice hockey is embedded in every age group. The NAHL reports strong viewership figures, and youth hockey participation is steady. Yes, the Lions took a long time off before re-entering the WCoH in the 41st edition, but it's not like they'd forgotten how to play hockey in the interim. Still, they fell just short of the playoffs in Taeshan, losing to Vilita and Turori, and then in WCoH 42 in Græntfjall, a shootout loss to Le Choix allowed Fluvannia to sneak into the playoffs instead of them. These were encouraging signs coming into the 43rd edition of this venerable hockey tournament.

But the #1 ranked Goldhorns of Siovanija and Teusland reminded the Lions why they still aren't there yet, easily dispatching them 3-0 in the opening game of the tournament in Burnaby, Kelssek. The reigning WCoH champions scored a goal in each period, quietly overwhelming the Lions. If you watched the game, you never got the sense that Nova Anglicana was being blown out, as they only trailed by one, and then by two. Those were deficits that could be overcome, right? Wrong. Robert Schock, the newly-installed first-team goaltender after some controversy in WCoH 42, stopped all 26 Nova Anglican shots with relative ease. Hulking S&T defensemen blocked several more, preventing the Lions from really getting a chance to threaten the Goldhorns' lead. It was a bit like being suffocated by a pillow; slow, but relentless. Aleksej Knejz, Leon Goss, and Timo Schlager scored as S&T got contributions from all three of their top lines.

Up next for the Lions is a matchup in the Jardins de Carée-Boudoin, located in Laneux. According to the official tourist guide, it's a bit of a slow town, with most people bypassing it to head to the hot springs in the Rempart Mountains. Perhaps it's perfect that the Lions take on Placely Placington, a cipher if ever there was one. Fitting that a dull team would play the Lions in a dull city. Hopefully the game won't be too dull. Placely Placington lost in a shootout to Behetij in their first game, so maybe there will be some excitement. At least both sides have to take the Velocit train from Burnaby and won't be disadvantaged in terms of travel. This one's important for the Lions to bounce back and get a little momentum going, especially considering that they'll be headed back to Burnaby to take on 15th-ranked Sarzonia in the following game.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Hockey Today Magazine

Siovanija & Teusland’s Top Hockey News Source!

The History of Hockey in Siovanija & Teusland - Part I: Origins

Hockey Today is proud to bring a new feature this World Cup of Hockey season - a look back on the history of the game itself in Siovanija & Teusland, and how it developed into the biggest sport in the country. In our first edition, let’s look back at the origins of the game…

Something that is so beloved by so many people is always going to have many people or places claiming that they were the ones who came up with it first. And so, of course, in Siovanija & Teusland, the debate over how hockey came about is eternal, long-lasting and in many cases a battle of civic pride.

Here’s what we do know: hockey came to Teusland before Siovanija, and was then spread in both countries in the 1860s-80s. While cricket had been the most popular sport in Teusland, and football in Siovanija, hockey was able to overtake both by the eve of the Great War. But where did hockey truly come from in our country?

First, we have to consider the context of the times. Many countries around the world can surely claim that they developed the game of hockey, and many of their timelines may date back long before the first official organized game, in Stelburg in 1870. The possibility is very real that hockey was spread to our shores from abroad - especially given this nation’s historical links with countries like Savojarna and Quebec & Shingoryeo. But in 1870, the Teus Empire was still a force, facing down a growing rivalry with the Siovanijan Republic next door as well as with its fellow imperial rivals around the world. With how quickly hockey rose, the Empire was quick to declare it as “our game,” especially compared to cricket and football, both of which had been introduced from abroad. So while there has been discussion at the academic level as to the possibility of hockey in fact coming from abroad, within Teusland at the time, this was unheard of. “This beautiful sport… clearly represents our Teus values and characteristics,” claimed the Stelburger Zeitung the day following the first organized game. And since the backstory is still quite murky, it’s easy for even modern-day public opinion to believe we developed it ourselves.

So, to throw it back to 1885 for a second, let’s ignore the idea of outside influence. No fewer than 17 towns in Siovanija & Teusland claim some part of the heritage of hockey - they range in strength from ‘the first organized game was played here’ to ‘someone walked on the ice once, and may have had a stick with them.’ Sorry, little Bad Herzig, but that’s just ridiculous. We’ve identified 4 cities and towns that have perhaps the best claims. Let’s take a moment to analyse them.

Rotmunde, Teusland

Rotmunde’s claim is centred around the fact that the city used to be a major port of the Imperial Teus Navy. And perhaps that is why, during the Teus Empire, the theory that the game developed here was often refuted - it implies foreign involvement. The claim here is that Navy soldiers used hockey as a way of keeping physically fit in the winter when they were not sailing. But the explanation offers no backstory of the game itself, simply that sailors may have been playing it in Rotmunde in the mid-1850s. With no written recollections or diaries, it’s difficult to prove this is true. What makes this claim strong then? A hockey stick found in the Rotmunde area dates back to the 1860s, and is one of the oldest items in the National Hockey Hall of Fame’s collection, and proves that the city was at least one of the earlier adoptees of the game. Probably not the first, as they claim, but still a long history.

Marlesee, Teusland

Marlesee is known as Teusland’s coldest city, so it makes sense that it’s associated with the birth of ice hockey in this country. In the winter, the bay and river in Marlesee both freeze over. It’s a factor that hurt the city historically - passed over for the #1 Nordsee port for the Navy by Felsenkirchen, and Marzig being the major trade link in the northwest - but helps boost its claim here. Marlesee citizens love to tell everyone they meet that the game of hockey was born on the River Werden, with local schoolboys fashioning their own sticks (a puck that is in various accounts a lump of coal from nearby mines, or a piece of wood carved into a circle) and skates and competing against each other. An entry in the town newspaper from 1859 claims that “the action was fierce on the Werden last Saturday as the local hockey players were in action,” about as clear as you will get. Marlesee’s claim is probably about as strong as it gets for this matter.

Launitz, Teusland

When you enter the campus of the University of Launitz, you see listed the names of the school’s 14 Stelburg Prize winners in various disciplines such as mathematics, science as well as literature. And, on the bottom of the plaque in gold, reads ‘Birthplace of Teus Hockey.’ The University of Launitz, located on the northern edge of the Teufelswald about 100km south of Stelburg, is one of the largest and oldest universities in the country, and it claims that hockey was played here in the 1850s. The campus’ many ponds do freeze over in the winter, and it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine the students creating a new sport in the winter. The issue for Launitz is, many of their students were not local - in the mid-1850s, the University was arguably Teusland’s most prestigious. They would have come from places like Stelburg and Marlesee, perhaps bringing a game they grew up playing. So while the University of Launitz does have a strong role in the development of the game - they were home to one of the first organized hockey clubs in the country, in 1871 - it’s unlikely they are the true birthplace of the game.

Stelburg, Teusland

Stelburg’s claim is the best-known, and probably most popular - but that doesn’t necessarily make it correct. Similar to Marlesee’s claim, the idea here is that the game was born on the Stelburg Canal running through the middle of the city that connects the River Drai with the River Mals south of the city. There is actually a drawing of the canal done in 1854 that depicts a group of boys seemingly playing hockey on the ice in the winter, although their sticks are much more curved than what would be seen in the modern game. Stelburg’s claim as the national birthplace of hockey is strengthened by the events of December 1870. We clearly know that hockey was played on the canals at least by this point, no matter how it first came to be - and that year, the Imperial Stelburg Cricket Club organized a official game played with a written rulebook for the first time in the country.

There is clearly a long and complicated path leading us to December 7, 1870 and the first organized game. Often, the answer of ‘where was Teus hockey born’ depends on which part of the country you come from. The cities of Stelburg and Marlesee each seem to have the best claims, and each will fiercely defend their civic pride in this matter. In the end, what matters is, that by December 1870, the new game has taken off across the country, and the organized game only sets in stone the rise that, looking back, appeared inevitable. Next time, we’ll explore the reasons why.

World Cup of Hockey 43 Matchday 1
Nova Anglicana vs Siovanija & Teusland
@ Newham Wharf, Burnaby, Kelssek

Scoring Summary

First Period

9:40: Goldhorns goal scored by Aleksej Knejz, assisted by Ranger, Schiele (0-1)

Second Period

2:55: Goldhorns goal scored by Leon Goss, assisted by Keric, Lasker (0-2)

Third Period

10:09: Goldhorns goal scored by Timo Schlager (PP), assisted by Heider, Mihelic

End of Game: Nova Anglicana 0-3 Siovanija & Teusland

Next Game: Kelssek vs Siovanija & Teusland, @ Bantam Yards, Latrobe, Kelssek

[Kelssek]

Four lines firing as Kelssek wins opening match

KELSSEK 6
Machouf (Charron, Malley) 4:02 1st
Stewart (Betand) 8:29 1st PP
Hesselboe (Charron) 15:29 2nd
Easley (Roord, Hakemi) 19:11 2nd
Betand (Saranack) 1:47 3rd
Lee (Carter-Jenkins, Malley) 17:25 3rd PP
SQUORNSHELAN REM. STS. 2
Kelley (Lang) 18:02 1st
Poplawski (Wyrzik) 11:16 3rd

Contributions throughout the lineup were key as Kelssek eased to a 6-2 win against the Squornshelan Remnant States in their opening match of the 43rd World Cup of Hockey in a match that saw six different players ripple the twine for Kelssek. While the win was expected against an unranked team, it's not always clear which Kelssek will show up for international tournaments and this performance will be reassuring for supporters.

"We played to our level and that's what I ask for from the players. This is a good win to get started and it's something to build on," said head coach Peter Dalton after the match. "It's all well looking at rankings and saying we should win this but you have to get the job done on the ice and full credit to the players for doing that."

An early goal off a 3-on-2 rush from Pierre Machouf got Kelssek on the board, and was followed up with some effective perimeter passing on a powerplay to set up Justin Stewart for a hard wrister from the faceoff dot. That gave Kelssek a 2-0 lead with 11:31 remaining in the first period. SRS drew back a goal with just under two minutes left in the first to keep Kelssek's feet to the fire.

But as the match wore on Kelssek's better conditioning and skill level began to tell and although the second period was more even, Kelssek were being patient and came out with two goals in the last five minutes to send them into the second intermission leading 4-1. Kirk Betand was credited with a goal from the point that made it through heavy traffic early in the third period and while SRS pulled a goal back midway through the final period, it was merely a reminder for Kelssek to keep the guard up and a later powerplay allowed Jordan Lee to get the sixth goal from a sharp angle shot that caught out the SRS goalie at the near post.

[Valanora]

The Calcuttas opened up their campaign with a nervy victory over Neu Engollon, as the Calcuttas have been put into what is a very difficult group to try and find their way out of with the old rivals of the Icy Elephants of Elejamie in the group, as well as familar names such as Gyatso-Kai, Banija, and Chromatika. In addition there is Nephara, whose athletes are notoriously ultra competitive regardless of the sport that they are competing in, see their accomplishments in the gridiron championships for examples of their ability to compete outside of football, as well as the ever growing sporting power of Græntfjall, with a few others teams that no doubt will be able to spring an upset or two if the Calcuttas are not careful in this very stacked and deep group. Luckily the format will allow the top four teams from each group to be able to advance out of the group, yet the team will need to be on their toes all the same if they look to once again reach the Championship and have another go at upsetting the current domination of the sport by the United Republics of Siovanija and Teusland. The threepeat holders easily won in their opening group stage game and look to do what no other team has done and win four tournaments in a row, it is them against the field and the Calcuttas believe they have the best chance at being the team to topple the dynasty of their regional rivals.

The first period was all in favor of the "Ibex" as they looked to try and hustle the Calcuttas out of possession and keep them hemmed in in their own half of the rink with a good forecheck that led to them dominating the possession as well as shots tally in the first period, ten to six for Neu Engollon, and they would score on two of those shots with Maurice Terfram and Mario Schneider scoring for the Ibex, although the Calcuttas would be able to only go into the first intermission only down one thanks to a goal by Aleksander Olsen, just sixty-five seconds before the period was set to end. Hitting a perfect one time shot from the slot after a slick pass from Eva Strömberg let the Calcuttas get a bit of a morale victory and shift the growing tide of the momentum back towards their favor before the end of the period and likely made Zelda Hellström's talk during the intermission a bit less feracious, needing only a single goal to get back into the game. However the team really needed to bring themselves together to assert more control over the game and not let the Ibex dominate the edge of the rink like they had been allowed to in the first period.

Whatever was said during the intermission really seemed to take hold with the Calcuttas tipping the rink the other way to start the second half and and early power play for delay of game gave the team and early chance to bring the game level. Eva Strömberg would turn scorer on the powerplay, tipping in a shot from Dino Håkansson, to slip it through the five hole of Calvino Bassati. The superstarlet from Raynor City would score again just short of the halfway mark of the second period, as she was able to put a slapshot past the gloveside of Bassati and sent the Calcuttas ahead for the first time in the game and looking good for their lead with how well the team had responded in the second period. It was the sort of efficient performance that had allowed the team to march their way into the championship against the United Republics in the previous tournament and with as difficult as the Ibex had made the first period, was going to need to be the standard from which they continued if they were going to make it out of the group. Weakness was not an option in a group that definitely had plenty of talented opposition in it.

The Ibex made that very clear as four minute and sixteen seconds into the third, they brought the game back to level with Thierry Sameaux able to get a deflection to get a goal past Noel Norberg. While the side was disappointed, they did not let their heads fall and continued to press against the Ibex as both teams were now looking for what was likely going to be a winning goals in the waning moments of the regulation period. Kasper Nielsen would be the unexpected hero, using a good poke check to dispossess Bojan Gavnic and get in on a breakaway. Juking to the left, he fooled the netminder into committing before lifting the puck up and over and into the net, giving the Vanorians their fourth and ultimately the game winning goal. The close affair definitely looks to be a warning shot for the Calcuttas but also a good showing to show that they are able to take the best punch that the opposition can give to them and still find a way back into the game and ultimately come out the victors. While skill will do a lot towards getting the side out of the group, a bit of tenacity wont hurt either and they showed they had that in the tense opening affair.

[Elejamie]

Two minutes left and Alex Sorenson was already dreading the worst. While his side were fortunate to hold off the superior Gyatso-kai squad to only a handful of goals, they were still 2-1 down. While they were defying the odds, they were still being outshot 31-16. And while their defence was still as solid as ever, he was still considering taking off goaltender Ricardo Bejerano and instead putting on Lucas Madgwick as an extra attacker. A loss was not something to be displeased by, given that they had already held themselves so well so far, but he was more worried about the opposition adding some extras while his boys were tired and ill-prepared. He wasn't going to let that happen, so he called for a break.

The match had started off fairly well, as they had managed to keep their opposition scoreless throughout the entire first period. A potential opening goal from Kaede Kobushi with 12:17 left on the clock was caught by Bejerano, where the standing goalie managed to just catch it in between his fingers before it would've went in through his five hole. Although his defenceman in Diego Pinto was wide open, he still elected to freeze the puck and force a face-off. There were a few more close calls, including a shot that Lupe managed to block with 1:17 left, but they weren't anything to be scared of. Just some fluffs and a number of hard shots that ended up coming nowhere close. There was the odd save but they weren't anything that Bejerano was to be afraid of.

The only downside was that Elejamie were unable to score during that first period either. Stacy Saunders came close with a shot in with 15:09 left but it bounced off the post and into the path of defenceman Deniigi Kuang. While he was able to intercept a few seconds later, his shot was easily saved by Shu Pianhuo who managed to get a glove to it and force a face-off. Later on, a potential shot from Lucas Madgwick sailed over the bar and was cleared before any of his teammates could help set up a second chance. And James Han was hooked by Torvik Hed just as he was about to shoot; Saunders' penalty shot was saved by Shu, Torvik easily sat out his two minute penalty knowing that his side could easily kill off the penalty and, despite plenty of back and forths between both sides, the first period ended 0-0.

The downside for the Ice Bisons was that they let one in early in the second. With 19:30 left on the clock to be precise. A slap shot from the point by Bill Harrison, which line-mate Cerin Meloten and defenceman Adam Keane assisted, to be even more precise. After all, when you're likely to miss due to how tight the opposing team's defence is and how you're likely to turn the puck over should you try and get in closer, you might as well try from far out and see if that would work. And work it did, as he was able to get a clear shot at the net and Shu was too slow to get a glove to the speeding puck, which scraped the post but landed on the right side of the line. The light went off, the team celebrated and the fans cheered. Things seemed good.

But that ended up inspiring the Ice Bisons more than it did the newly-christened Ice-a-phants. They came close to equalising with 14:02 left on the clock but it had to be ruled out due to Tho-An Relicyc being offside when the shot was taken. As the period went on they fired more and more shots at the Elejamian net until they eventually got lucky with 4:28 left, with a shot from captain Unatoq Song just sliding past Bejerano, who was unable to get a skate to it to deflect it. It wasn't an unassisted attempt either, as Kobushi and Hed helped Song out. The score ended 1-1 at the end of the second but it didn't last that way for long as, with 17:14 left at the end of the third, Gyatso-Kai pushed themselves ahead with an unassisted shot from Sepi Cheung, who managed to get a stick to a pass from Carlos Sierra before the puck was fired into the back of the net. Gyatso-Kai took things a bit slow here but they were quick to close down and stop any attempts from their opponents to equalise.

As a result, he called a time-out near the end. It may not have been the right circumstance for it and Elejamian coaches very rarely call for time-outs but it still felt like a moment where a quick word. It wasn't anything majorly interesting, just a switch-up in tactics and a few positive words. There was a criticism or two given out but they were given an idea of how they could fix that. Not to mention that it was a nice well-deserved break, where they could just get a breather and some time to focus on what they had to do. Alex quickly summarised what they had to do towards the end and, once the minute was off, gave them all nods of approval as they returned to their positions. Bejerano grabbed a quick glug of water before he went back to defending his net.

The time-out seemed to have worked. The Elejamian squad seemed to be more focused. Their passing was laser-precise and they seemed to favour a quick passing game to throw off the opposition. They always waited for the right opportunity to attempt a goal rather than fire it and see if the rebound would work. And they still played a defensive game, with the two defencemen choosing to stay on their side of the line while the offensive line instead concentrated on being up front and only coming back when the other team had the puck. It wasn't really something that was supposed to work but somehow all the gears aligned properly and they managed to produce something.

Elejamie's equaliser came with 1:15 left. Meloten had won the face-off and passed it to Harrison, who skated around the back of the next to try and catch Shu unaware. While the Ice Bisons' goalie managed to block the shot, what no one on the other team expected was for Saunders to swoop in and take advantage of the loose puck. With a well-timed snap shot, he sent it flying into Gyatso-Kai's net just before Shu could get a stick to it. The goal gave the Ice-a-phants some breathing room. A draw would've been satisfactory enough but it clear that they wanted more. And they did get more. With 7.3 seconds left in the match, Ethan Swinburne (who had arrived in Edgebaston alongside Bejerano as a free agent) was able to get it into the back of the net off of a clever deke that saw the puck go through Shu's left-hand side. He didn't take all of the credit, though as the Barajas twins were both given points for setting him up. Their fate now sealed, they just spent whatever little time they had just burning off the clock to make absolutely doubly sure they don't lose their lead.

When the klaxon went off to signify an away win at the end of the match, Alex breathed a sigh of relief and his team celebrated accordingly. Not necessarily acting as if they won it all but they were still fist-bumping each other and giving themselves high-fives. It wasn't necessarily a repeat of their famous World Cup of Hockey rematch against Havl where they pulled off a 6-5 win in the 27th edition but it was still a momentous occasion that maybe, just maybe, things are starting to look up. Of course they had another match the following day, one against Græntfjall who were coming off of a 3-1 win over Bollonic, but they had home ice advantage and they had that high from coming off of a massive win. Maybe it could lead to something good, maybe they'll come crashing back down to earth. Either way, it was time to thank the opposition for providing such a great game and wish them the best of their next one. Afterwards, Alex needed to work on some game plans for tomorrow and maybe squeeze in some extra training tomorrow. Maybe they'll be able to wipe away the painful memories of long ago...

[Kelssek]

Announcement: For the rest of this tournament, I invite any participant to contact me privately for information about their current RP bonus, where it ranks among participants, and/or feedback on their RPs.

Group A
Malandrin 4–4 Banija (1–0 SO)
Valanora 0–0 Chromatika (1–2 SO)
Bollonich 4–3 Neu Engollon
Elejamie 2–1 Græntfjall
Snow and Ice Caps 3–10 Gyatso-kai
Nephara 1–1 Lorenthia (1–2 OT)

   Group A                                   Pld    W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Elejamie                                    2    2  0  0  0     5    3   +2     6
 2 Banija                                      2    1  0  1  0     5    5    0     4
 3 Valanora                                    2    1  0  1  0     4    4    0     4
 4 Nephara                                     2    1  0  1  0     5    4   +1     4
 5 Gyatso-kai                                  2    1  0  0  1    12    6   +6     3
 6 Græntfjall                                  2    1  0  0  1     4    3   +1     3
 7 Bollonich                                   2    1  0  0  1     5    6   −1     3
 8 Snow and Ice Caps                           2    1  0  0  1     9   13   −4     3
 9 Chromatika                                  2    0  1  0  1     1    1    0     2
10 Malandrin                                   2    0  1  0  1     7    8   −1     2
11 Lorenthia                                   2    0  1  0  1     5    7   −2     2
12 Neu Engollon                                2    0  0  0  2     6    8   −2     0

Group B
Eshialand 5–7 Delaclava
The Jovannic 0–2 Cassadaigua
Lisander 4–6 Srednjaci
Fluvannia 2–5 Mercedini
Vilita and Turori 2–1 TJUN-ia
Abanhfleft 3–2 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland

   Group B                                   Pld    W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Mercedini                                   2    2  0  0  0     9    2   +7     6
 2 Abanhfleft                                  2    2  0  0  0    11    6   +5     6
 3 Delaclava                                   2    2  0  0  0    10    7   +3     6
 4 Vilita and Turori                           2    2  0  0  0     5    2   +3     6
 5 Srednjaci                                   2    1  0  1  0     7    6   +1     4
 6 Cassadaigua                                 2    1  0  0  1     4    3   +1     3
 8 Fluvannia                                   2    1  0  0  1     3    5   −2     3
 7 The Jovannic                                2    0  1  0  1     2    3   −1     2
 9 TJUN-ia                                     2    0  0  0  2     1    3   −2     0
10 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland    2    0  0  0  2     3    6   −3     0
11 Eshialand                                   2    0  0  0  2     9   15   −6     0
12 Lisander                                    2    0  0  0  2     4   10   −6     0

Group C
Kelssek 5–5 Siovanija and Teusland (5–6 OT)
Placely Placington 3–13 Nova Anglicana
Sarzonia 5–2 Behetij
Sannyamathland 2–4 Savojarna
Magnecia 1–6 Ranoria
Squornshelan Remnant States 2–3 Reçueçn

   Group C                                   Pld    W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Savojarna                                   2    2  0  0  0    10    4   +6     6
 2 Reçueçn                                     2    2  0  0  0     5    2   +3     6
 3 Siovanija and Teusland                      2    1  1  0  0     9    5   +4     5
 4 Ranoria                                     2    1  0  1  0     8    3   +5     4
 5 Kelssek                                     2    1  0  1  0    11    8   +3     4
 6 Nova Anglicana                              2    1  0  0  1    13    6   +7     3
 7 Sarzonia                                    2    1  0  0  1     7    8   −1     3
 8 Sannyamathland                              2    0  1  0  1     4    6   −2     2
 9 Behetij                                     2    0  1  0  1     4    7   −3     2
10 Placely Placington                          2    0  0  1  1     5   15  −10     1
11 Squornshelan Remnant States                 2    0  0  0  2     4    9   −5     0
12 Magnecia                                    2    0  0  0  2     1    8   −7     0

Group D
Quebec & Shingoryeo 5–8 Huelavia
Equestria 0–1 Ko-oren
Le Choix 3–0 United States of Devonta
Atheara 2–0 Raspotochje
Poafmersia 4–4 Brentboro (1–2 SO)
Gergary 3–2 Gatchingerrak Union

   Group D                                   Pld    W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Le Choix                                    2    2  0  0  0     6    1   +5     6
 2 Gergary                                     2    2  0  0  0    10    6   +4     6
 3 Brentboro                                   2    1  1  0  0     6    4   +2     5
 4 Ko-oren                                     2    1  1  0  0     3    1   +2     5
 5 Huelavia                                    2    1  0  1  0     9    7   +2     4
 6 Poafmersia                                  2    1  0  1  0     8    7   +1     4
 7 Atheara                                     2    1  0  0  1     2    1   +1     3
 8 United States of Devonta                    2    1  0  0  1     4    5   −1     3
 9 Gatchingerrak Union                         2    0  0  0  2     4    7   −3     0
10 Equestria                                   2    0  0  0  2     2    5   −3     0
11 Raspotochje                                 2    0  0  0  2     1    5   −4     0
12 Quebec & Shingoryeo                         2    0  0  0  2     9   15   −6     0

[Eshialand]

Purgatory
Eshialand 5-7 Delaclava

"What's wrong Jonas?" Coach Maran would ask the star of the championship-winning U-20 team.
"Nothing's wrong, Coach..."
"Look, something's wrong, I can clearly tell. What is it?"
"Well... it just seems like we're stuck, you know? No matter what we do, we just get outdone..."

He was right, you know. Eshialand had scored more goals than all but two teams in Group B, 9 in just two games, but those goals didn't translate to results. They had 0 points to show for their lamp-lighting abilities, with 15 goals being put past them in those two games, tied for the most in the entire tournament.

Their skaters had no problems, clearly. They didn't need any help making the game their own, but the goalies were absolute garbage, weighing the rest of the team down with them. Coach Maran knew that he had to turn them around, but how?

"Look, Jonas... I'll try to do what I can. I'll talk to the goalies, and try to get them into shape. Until then, just hold your head up high. Our next game is against Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland, so if you can just try to win that..."

"But what if we don't?? What if we can't?? What if we aren't the team that you think we are?? What if the World Juniors were--"

"Don't think like that! We can win, but not if you don't have the right attitude! Focus on the next game, and everything will be okay!"

Jonas took a deep breath and walked back to the team's hotel, leaving Coach Maran thinking about the rest of the team. If Jonas was going through so much anger and doubt on his own, what about the rest of the team?

One difficult conversation down, twenty to go.

[Atheara]

Juniors, We Rise Now!

Type: Game Review
Time: After MD 2

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FULL TIME RESULTS
Atheara 2 - 0 Raspotochje
(1st, 18') Michael Harris
(3rd, 5') Erik Gledden

Atheara defeats Raspotochje in their encounter on matchday 2 in the 43rd World Cup of Hockey! In the game, the Junior line were able to play out a steep, grindy, and defensive type of game. The third line was playing the entire match, just to give the first and second lines an evaluation of their current skill. And to say, everyone was satisfied. Tohan lead the team well, Richofen kept the net guarded, and most importantly, everyone did their job properly. Two goals sealed the deal of this match.

Just before the end of the first period, Michael scored an incredible goal, with him shooting the puck from the center of the rink. It was magnificent, he lifted up the puck with his stick, and shot the puck with such velocity it hit the small ne't crossbar and slammed itself in. The second period was filled with penalties and many defensive manuevers for Atheara, and Raspotochje trying to take one back. Erik finished the job in the third period, where he scored a "slingshot" to give Atheara 2 - 0.

I just hope Atheara won't mess up again next time. We need to keep winning to ensure a good position even if we don't go through to the next round. Prepare for whoever comes next, i suppose.

[Chromatika]

World Cup of Hocky 43 Matchday 2: Valanora 0–0 Chromatika (1–2 SO)

Dorothy Belmont took a deep breath. Chromatika had just gone up 2-1 in the shooutout after she blocked the second shot by Aleksander Olsen. Their Captain, Eva Strömberg, had been too much for her in the first one; thankfully, both Blanc and Basalter had hit the puck true.

Out came Kristian Simonsen, the second-line Winger. He skated directly at Belmont, whipped around, and aimed a shot low to the bottom right.

Belmont's feet weren't fast enough. Thankfully, her stick was.

The puck ricocheted off the edge of the stick, and it was over. Her teammates rushed onto the rink as Chromatika knocked off one of the highest ranked teams in the group.

Next, it's unranked Bollonich. The Ice Storm will try to make sure they don't lose any momentum.

[Le Choix]

Key Moments of the Game, WCoH MD2, Le Choix 3-0 United States of Devonta

Moment 1: 17:33 1st Period, Le Choix 0-0 United States of Devonta
It's an early power play conceded to Devonta, as Cécile Lamar headed out of the game after a particularly harsh foul. There comes Devonta with the shot, and it's saved by Matthias Adnet! What a save! The young netminder uses his left glove to snag the puck out of the air, and Le Choix avoids having a second game in a row with an early deficit. He's been brilliant in these early games for La Lumière.

Moment 2: 03:29 1st Period, Le Choix 1-0 United States of Devonta
Prewitt Forton is unbelievable! A breakaway slicing through three defenders, and the goalkeeper has no chance! That is how Le Choix goes ahead!

Moment 3: 17:33 2nd Period, Le Choix 2-0 United States of Devonta
Prewitt Forton is really on this game, this time catching a rebound off the initial shot from Heloise Tourigny and hammering it home. Will La Lumière improve to 2-0?

Moment 4: 07:28 3rd Period, Le Choix 2-0 United States of Devonta
Another rudimentary, routine, yet spectacular save by Adnet! That was the best opportunity that Devonta has had since the first period!

Moment 5: 04:01 3rd Period, Le Choix 3-0 United States of Devonta
And there's the goal to put it all away. It's Tourigny with her first goal of the competition so far in this World Cup of Hockey, on a midrange shot. Total domination by Le Choix in this second match, despite facing a higher ranked opponent.

Next Opponent: Ko-oren (2)
Ko-oren has one win and one overtime win so far, and will be a very tough opponent. They've only conceded one goal, just like the Chosen.

[Ranoria]

"Yeah, Magnecia isn't exactly the cream of the crop in the greater scheme of things," Frederick Vrabel slurred through the admission before taking a swig of an unmarked bottle after the contest, "But a win's a win. We're not going to make excuses for uh," he scratched his beard a bit, "Uh yeah, winning. And winning big, yeah."

"Mr. Vrabel, is that rum?" a younger reporter couldn't help but ask the obvious with a cringe on her face.

"Good eye!" His frown turned upside down in split second, pointing the bottle towards her, and some liquid sloshing out in the process. "Or nose? You can't smell it can you?"

She ignored his question and continued to press, "Do you think that being publicly intoxicated after a contest is the best example for your teammates, or a constructive way to represent Ranoria internationally?"

Vrabel, mid sip, snorted, some of the liquid coming back up. "Ma'am, I could not possibly care less. I just scored three goals. Now, if you'll excuse me," he stood up. Hell, judging by how much of the bottle had been spent, he had an impressive tolerance for his liquor. "I'm gonna go celebrate. Go Krauts! Or something!"

The perennial all star stumbled off stage left, and turned just before leaving., rum once again sloshing out of his bottle in the process "Could I get your name?"

The poor reporter deadpanned young Frederick at that point, and he shrugged off the rejection...before gracefully tripping on the doorway in front of him and promptly collapsing.

[TJUN-ia]

After a tight, 1-goal defeat to Fluvannia kicked off our 5th WCoH campaign, the Ice Jaguars of Ølson Rasmussen certainly could take positives from their performance despite the obvious negative of losing. They played the 14th ranked team pretty tightly over the 3 periods and they certainly were threatening to score on multiple occasions, but they had to learn to use their opportunities wisely if they were planning to make back-to-back playoff appearances in this sport. Their road trip across Kelssek took them to the Eolienne Dome in Mazinaw as the Eel Cat Things of #25 Vilita and Turori awaited us in round 2.

The good news for the neutrals is that, unlike the first game, Game 2 featured more goals to enjoy but other than that, it was another tight TJUN-ian hockey game. Each of the 3 periods would see only a single goal but the 1st 2 belonged to the Eel Cats as they took a 2-0 lead after exceptional play throughout their lineup. Julian Visipils did give us something to cheer in the 3rd, scoring our first goal of the tournament, but that wouldn't be enough to avoid become only 1 of 4 teams to fall to 0-2 in Group B.

Many will use the miracle of last time out to avoid ringing the alarm bells just yet, but this is still not the best way to start a WCoH. We now head to the Jardins de Carée-Boudoin in Laneux to face Abanhfleft, who's both ranked 10th and has started 2-0 so far. There certainly is a real threat of this team stating this campaign at 0-3 but if we want any hope of advancing, we need to win games and fast. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group B, all matches in Kelssek)
MD1: vs Fluvannia (14) - Great Northern Coliseum, Ulyanof L 0-1 (9th)
MD2: vs Vilita and Turori (25) - Eolienne Dome, Mazinaw L 1-2 (9th)
MD3: vs Abanhfleft (10) - Jardins de Carée-Boudoin, Laneux
MD4: vs Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (UR) - Eolienne Dome, Mazinaw
MD5: vs Eshialand (UR) - Jardins de Carée-Boudoin, Laneux
MD6: vs Mercedini (5) - Eolienne Dome, Mazinaw
MD7: vs Srednjaci (44) - Jardins de Carée-Boudoin, Laneux
MD8: vs Cassadaigua (4) - Eolienne Dome, Mazinaw
MD9: vs Delaclava (28) - Great Northern Coliseum, Ulyanof
MD10: vs The Jovannic (71) - Great Northern Coliseum, Ulyanof
MD11: vs Lisander (UR) - Great Northern Coliseum, Ulyanof

[Sarzonia]

Paul Bremerton felt his decision to start Jacob Parsons in the second match of qualifying for the 43rd edition of the World Cup of Hockey was going to be important.

The Sarzonian national ice hockey team were shell-shocked after their crushing defeat to Savorjarna in the opening match of qualifying. The young players on the Stars generally didn't play particularly well, although the fact they were facing the eighth ranked team in the hockey-playing multiverse certainly did the Stars no favours.

Bremerton was right. Parsons responded to his poor outing against the Savorjars with a 32-save performance, Brett Tanguay, Jr. found the back of the net twice and notched an assist to Alyssa Hannigan on a power play goal, and the Stars rebounded nicely with a 5-2 victory over Behetij. The victory improve the Stars to 1-0-0-1 and give them three badly-needed points in the Group C table with Nova Anglicana up next. That team demolished Placely Placington 13-3 in their match to even their own record to 1-0-0-1 after they lost their opener to Siovanija and Teusland 3-0.

"It just means we're both going to be jockeying for position before the break," Tanguay said of the match against Nova Anglicana. "For this match, we felt we had to skate with a sense of urgency and finish our forechecks and be crisp with our passing. Those were important factors."

So, too was Parsons, who perhaps made up for a shaky defence in front of him with his effort. Sarzonia fired 25 shots to Behjetij's 34 but managed to put five goals past the opposing goalie. Meanwhile, defenceman Chris Walton praised Parsons for "standing on his head" and for keeping his head.

"Jake's still battling a lot of the internal demons he'd faced in his first World Cup," Walton said, making a quick point to let the media know he'd cleared discussing Parsons's mental health with the goalie before divulging. "We made sure his depression medication was on the approved substances list before we boarded the flight for Kelssek. Since it was, we figured we'd have a better chance of getting him the help he needs if he needs to."

Bremerton said he would give young backup goalie Owen Franks the start against Nova Anglicana with No. 1 Siovanija and Teusland up immediately following the break.

"We know S&T are going to be a huge test for us," said team captain and centre Nate Barnes. "We hope that we're going to be able to build some momentum heading into that match."

[Bollonich]

A thrilling game as we come out victorious against Neu Engollon
After what could be called nothing less than a regional derby we were up against Neu Engollon on the second match day of the World Cup of Hockey. The match against Græntfjall had been both mentally as well as physically draining but we didn’t have much time to ponder over our loss as our next match against Neu Engollon was very soon.
Neu Engollon had suffered a close defeat to Valanora in what was a thrilling encounter giving us reason to be cautious against them. But with the beginning of the game it was clear that we were going to be the aggressors. Sigrún Ármannsson had formulated a clear plan of going on the offensive. And the plan was working as we took the lead early in the game as Collin Isbel put us ahead in the early minutes of the first quarter. Neu Engollon goalie, Calvino Bassati was left clueless by Collin Isbel’s beautiful strike. And building upon our proactive and aggressive play we doubled our lead in the first quarter itself with this time Rakel Tómasdóttir of the second line scoring the goal. The Neu Engollon defense just could not cope with the quick passing of Bollonich. And finishing the first quarter we had a comfortable lead of 2-0.
Starting the second quarter it was the Neu Engollons who took the front foot cutting down our lead by one with a goal from Nils Telhoffen. We were taken aback by this sudden goal but didn’t let it stop us as we continued attacking Neu Engollon in search of more goals and that’s a department in which we did not disappoint as we capped off the second quarter with a goal from Brenton Anneka restoring our two goal cushion. The score read 3-1 as we headed to the third quarter which was the most interesting one. Continuing to pick up where we left off we scored again, adding onto the misery of the Neu Engollon players. They however did not give up as they attempted a comeback with 10 minutes left on the clock. This comeback was partially successful as they scored two quick fire goals but failed to equalise with us running away with the match 4-3.
The game against Neu Engollon was a tight one with both teams putting up a good fight with us only coming out on top due to our aggressive approach towards the beginning of the match. This win would important heading into match day 3 providing us with vital confidence as we face Chromatika next.

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Hockey

Phoenixes avenge WJHC defeat in thriller

It wasn't the dominant performance that Ted Malone predicted, but a win like this has to be satisfaction enough.

For the second consecutive game, the 21-year-old winger scored twice, including the game-winner, and Delaclava survived a back-and-forth contest with Eshialand to defeat the Owls 7-5 in Laneux, Kelssek, improving to 2-0 at the World Cup of Hockey.

Just weeks ago, the junior Owls denied the Ashlings a gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship, and that motivator was fresh on the minds. Among the WJHC players who suffered the defeat, defenseman Bohdan Kirilenko contributed two key third-period assists, while Zoltan Bondra and Peter Požgaj contributed assists on Calum Dunn's second-period score.

Delaclava took a 2-0 lead in the first 7:28 of the game and never trailed, but Eshialand turned the game's momentum completely around midway through the first period. Edan Bullard had scored on a power-play, tipping a shot from Antoine Clement to give the Phoenixes the 2-0 lead, and when Jonas Degle was assessed a tripping penalty, Delaclava fully intended to convert again on the powerplay and finish the game early - but this time Andrej Heperuda managed to knock down a shot from Clement, then sent it up the ice to the speedy Devon St. John, who beat Tom Sutton on the breakaway to reverse a golden opportunity for the Phoenixes.

Eshialand managed to tie the game at 2-2 and again at 4-4 in a wild six-goal second period that saw both Delaclava's Tom Sutton and Eshialand's Carter Buisa chased from the game. The Owls didn't even seem daunted when Dunn and Logan Wynne scored 32 seconds apart, with Mason Mentee benefiting from a skillful pass from brother Jason to snipe a goal 51 seconds after the Wynne goal, and Lukas Johansson tied the score less than two minutes with a shot that bounced off Sutton's glove and in. Arthur Lemaire opted to pull Sutton for the first time in his international career, allowing Bradley Konta to make his senior debut. Konta, on the ice for Ted Malone's game winner, would eventually be credited with the win, stopping 12 of 13 shots. Four minutes later, Eshialand coach Alexander Maran - the mastermind of the Eshian WJHC title - removed Buisa following Jehiel Abreu's first goal of the tournament. 18-year-old Dustin Banks would stop 13 of 15 shots but concede two third-period goals and earn the loss.

The third period was considerably tighter and more constrained, with the captain Abreu explaining, "We saw what they could do offensively. With a lead, we had to make a concerted effort to stop it, not just keep running wild." The Phoenixes successfully maintained more prolonged possession, aided by an interference penalty by Logan Barrow that Malone eventually turned into a power play goal, cleaning up the rebound from Evan Sexton's shot from the point. Although a confusion on a defensive assignment allowed St. John to again blast into the Delaclava zone and make a move to beat Konta, Delaclava got an insurance goal one more time on a powerful shot from Cäsar Schlesinger, and the Phoenixes held firm for the final 10 minutes.

Abreu said of the game as a whole, "I'm sure we gave some people heart attacks today, and I'll be the first to admit, that's now how we want a game like that to go. Even if we're going quickly, we need to control the tempo better, control what's coming the other way. I think we made really good adjustments to close out the win, and hopefully we play complete games that are smarter as the tournament goes on."

Malone, who previously gained increased notoriety after boldly - and correctly - predicted his team's win over Cassadaigua, had called for a "shutdown" of Eshialand, but credited the Owls for their performance - kind of. "I have to admit, they really were strong. Even though we were ready for them, they came in and played really well and hung with us - well, mostly hung with us. They're quick and move the puck and shoot pretty well. It was a good try by them."

Malone didn't have any similarly inciting words regarding the Phoenixes' next opponent, The Jovannic, who are allegedly neighbors of Delaclava but don't really seem to exist. His reasoning: "I'm not a bully. I don't talk shit about teams or players who are beneath me. We're going to go play a hard sixty and walk out with three points, and that's it."

Eshialand    1 - 3 - 1 -- 5
Delaclava    2 - 3 - 2 -- 7

1️⃣ Jehiel Abreu (DEL) - 1 goal, 3 assists
2️⃣ Ted Malone (DEL) - 2 goals
3️⃣ Devon St. John (ESH) - 2 goals, 1 assist

1st Period
DEL, Malone (Bullard, Abreu) 3:45.
DEL, Bullard (Clement, Abreu) (pp) 7:28.
ESH, St. John (Heperuda) (sh) 10:47.
2nd Period
ESH, Lambeau (Heperuda, M. Mentee) 3:42.
DEL, Dunn (Z. Bondra, Požgaj) 8:02.
DEL, Wynne (Sexton) 8:34.
ESH, M. Mentee (J. Mentee, St. John) 9:25.
ESH, Johansson (Degle, Kausy) 11:06.
DEL, Abreu (Bullard, Clement) 15:33.
3rd Period
DEL, Malone (Sexton, Kirilenko) (pp) 4:21.
ESH, St. John (Lambeau) 6:59.
DEL, Schlesinger (Kirilenko, Abreu) 9:41.

Saves: DEL, Sutton 7-6-0--13, Konta 0-4-8--12. ESH, Busa 10-6-0--16, Banks 0-2-11--13.

[Mercedini]

World Cup of Hockey XLIII
Group B: Great Start To A Long Journey Ahead
@ Great Northern Coliseum - Ulyanof, Kelssek

World Cup Of Hockey: Double Delight

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FINAL

WCOH | MD2

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FLUVANNIA 2
MERCEDINI 5

(0-1) (2-2) (0-2)

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Ulyanof, Kelssek

Good evening everyone, welcome to Mercedini Sports Daily, and welcome to our coverage of the 43rd World Cup of Hockey, bought to you this time from Kelssek. from ty of scalps for the second seeds to claim, and now they have assured qualification, meaning their sights can now be set on a higher seeding for the knockouts. Last time round Mercedini secured another knockout round berth, but their run was cut short in the Round of 16 by Quebec, with Siovanija & Teusland securing their grip in the World Cup of Hockey by winning their second edition in a row. Now, the baton is passed from Graentfjall to Kelssek for the 43rd edition, with Mercedini's team looking to put their development to good use and finally break their duck when it comes to World Cup of Hockey titles. This time round, they enter the tournament as a Pot 2 side, despite being the fifth best side in the multiverse.

It will be another long and gruelling group stage campaign in Kelssek with twelve teams contesting four qualifying spots in each group, with Mercedini playing all of their games in Kelssek, so at least there isn't the extra fatigue of home and away fixtures. Nevertheless, Mercedini will have to contend with teams up and down the world rankings, but will still need to play a team better than them on paper due to the fact that they are a Pot 2 side. In the group draw, that turned out to be Cassadaigua which turned out to be the best possible draw for the Kingfishers, with the black and pinks only a single rank above them. Abanhfleft, and V&T also feature in the group, which will likely perk up the locals' attention with the prospect of seeing two top-notch teams in their back yard. long with the usual high flyers, we have teams which Dini have played quite regularly at these tournaments, with Lisander and Fluvannia (who beat us last edition) also present in the group of twelve. So far, Mercedini have played two games of their eleven thus far, so let's see how they are getting on as we join the action in the 43rd World Cup of Hockey!

It's quite wierd to say this, but just by the two games Dini have played so far, they are the best team in the tournament so far. With a 4-0 win versus Lisander on opening night, couples with their most recent 5-2 win over Fluvannia, their sit with six points out of six at the top of the table with a +7 goal differential from those two games. The closest nation to matching that is Savojarna, who have won both of their games with a +6 goal difference in Group C. We might be getting carried away with ourselves, especially considering we still have the toughest teams still to face, but the good performances from the Kingfishers has set out a statement for the rest of the tournament.

It wouldn't be too harsh on Lisander to say that the draw gods were on the Kingfishers' side as the two teams faced each other for their opening games. It always seems to be the case that Mercedini and Lisander face each other in the early stages of tournaments, as the World #5 faced off against the Unranked team. Two goals in the opening period but the game out of reached of Lisander very early on in proceedings, which gave Selignsky the chance to rest some of his key players and cruise throughout the second and third period. IT was perhaps foolhardy for the manager to begin resting players in their first game, but it game the younger and less experienced players a chance to show off their skills on the ice. A goal in both the second and third periods kept the score ticking over, with the team seeing out a professional performance to open their account with a 4-0 win.

For their second game in Ulyanof, it was back to the first lines for the team, with Fluvannia proving that they could beat Mercedini if everything went right for them on the night. Mercedini, having been beaten by Fluvannia in the group stages of last edition, were wary of the threat they could pose and took no chances with the future power. The first period proved to be a hard-fought stalemate, but Vranida got hold of the puck following a scrappy piece of play in front of goal, the Shebchetsik player lifted the puck above the glove of the Fluvannia goaltender for the opening goal.

If the first period was a bit lacklustre, it was made up for in the second period with both teams netting twice in a frantic twenty minutes in the Northern Coliseum. The Kingfishers initially doubled their lead within the opening five minutes of play through Bernard Santo and his winding play, before Fluvannia hit back immediately from the face-off. Dini then lost the lead through a deflected slapshot which nestled in the top right corner of the net, it was all feeling a lot like last edition. However, Vranida was back on the scoresheet as Santo muscled past his marker before flicking the puck back to Vranida for his second and Dini's third of the night. Going into the final twenty minutes, it was a tense occasion as both teams seemed up for it, with the goals and the general quality of hockey proving that to those watching on. Ultimately, Dini ran away with it in the end with two goals from second linemen Paulo Merlo and Mario Supsai to cap off another good performance from the Mercedinians to begin their tournament. With two wins out of two, nine goals for and two goals against, it is the best start for any team at this tournament.

Next up for Mercedini is the their most difficult match so far, and another match against the multi-sport bogey team for Mercedini in Vilita & Turori. We can't seem to beat them in the football, and we find it difficult to beat them in the hockey too. We will play them tomorrow where one of these teams will lose their 100% record (maybe both if it goes to overtime). We hope you will join us for that, as Selignsky and the Kingfishers continue their journey throughout Kelssek. Goodnight!

[Nova Anglicana]

You probably noticed that Nova Anglicana's national hockey team put on quite a show in the sleepy little town of Laneux yesterday against Placely Placington, scoring an incredible 13 goals en route to a 10-goal victory. Now, rather than rehash every single goal, or dwell on why exactly the Lions conceded three goals against a team they were capable of scoring 13 against, we're going to focus on...the top 5 people who could have scored a goal against Placely Placington, because, let's face it, just about anyone could have done that yesterday.

(All right, all right, if you really want to know who scored yesterday it was Glen Gray (2), Brady Dowell (2), Gaston Fortin (2), Quinn Baird (2), Sammy Jensen (1), Robbie Reid (1), Rene Kelly (1), Jason Gross (1), and Philippe Laurent (1))

The top 5 people who could have scored a goal against Placely Placington

5. Zorbo the Clown - Good old Zorbo. Always tripping and falling all over himself on Saturday mornings. But even this master of slapstick could have found his way to a goal against Placely Placington. Matter of fact, you probably could have put one foot in a bucket and he could still have hopped his way to a goal.

4. Flopsy, my pet bunny rabbit growing up - God rest her soul. She didn't really know how to skate, but she was super fast. She zoomed around the house a lot for a little bunny, and I think she probably would have zoomed her way past the Placely Placington d-men. I miss her a lot, but probably the only way she could come back would be some kind of Bunnicula situation, and that's more trouble than it's worth.

3. Your drunk uncle - you know, the one who claims he could fire a slap shot through them mountains when he was younger. His dreams of glory on the ice have always been fiction, but he probably could have potted one against the Placely Placington defense (even skating while impaired).

2. My grandmother - my grandmother is 88 years old and is one of about seven people in her congregation in the small outport community she lives in. She's got the Newfoundland accent and everything. I love her very very much. Anyway, she had to have a hip replacement a few months ago and is still in bed, but even she could have scored yesterday.

1. Former Prime Minister Michael Ramsey - yes, that Michael Ramsey. The one who tripped over his skates in a live-streamed video trying to prove his masculinity for his new right-wing buddies? If he could have stayed upright, I think he would have been able to find the net against Placely Placington. Well, at least after they pulled the goaltender.

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

Pucks to the (inter)Net
Salwan Mynhier

Bit of a change from my usual fare here on the blog, welcome to the World Cup of Hockey here in beautiful Kelssek. I can tell you though, that interviewing hockey players is probably the most difficult thing I've done on this sports journalism racket. Take the opener, yeah playing the hosts in your country's first international hockey game is a tall task, but getting blasted six to two? Footballers would have something to say about it, something specific, and emotional reaction maybe. Not here. "We didn't play a full 60 minutes." "Gotta get more pucks to the net." "Didn't work hard enough in the dirty areas." Yeah, no shit. That's called playing hockey. Give me something to work with here, my editor's on my ass about all these damn cliches. The effort against Reçueçn was considerably better, but the quotes were all the same. "Not enough effort in those key moments." "Needed a little bit of puck luck." If this is all I have to look forward to at this tournament I'm going to just start inventing anonymous quotes:

"I think Pinter couldn't captain her way out of a paper bag."

"Devine's the tallest pylon I've ever seen in my life."

"Sure Kelley can score, but she's never even heard the word backcheck before."

C'mon, you all know you want to say stuff like this, just let it out next time.

I'm sure that won't get me in trouble with anyone, right?

MD01 - SRS 2-6 Kelssek
MD02 - SRS 2-3 Reçueçn
MD03 - Ranoria  v  SRS
MD04 - SRS  v  Savojarna
MD05 - Behetij  v  SRS
MD06 - SRS  v  Nova Anglicana
MD07 - Siovanija & Teusland  v  SRS
MD08 - SRS  v  Placely Placington
MD09 - Sarzonia  v  SRS
MD10 - SRS  v  Sannyamathland
MD11 - Magnecia  v  SRS

[Valanora]

"Why can't the dominance that the Vanorian teams show in the Hockey Champions' League be replicated in the World Cup of Hockey? Despite being the most dominant domestic hockey league since the Champions' League was reinstated all those years ago, that instead of having seen better performances from the players on the national team level, they have seemingly fallen behind. It is a very weird dichotomy as other leagues have rose and fallen, their national teams have gotten significantly better while the inverse seems to be true for the Empire."

"Well, Vilita seems to have a growing sense of purpose in the HCL and yet seems almost stagnant in the World Cup of Hockey, so I do not really know if there is a correlation that one can make between the domestic leagues and the caliber of player that is being pulled into the various national teams. While a better league is going to obviously going to have better chances of producing those high quality players, it is not always the case, nor is it a case that those who are that skilled at the domestic league are they able to perform the same way with national teams. History is littered with plenty of players who have completely dominated their way through the domestic scene but then absolutely floundered when it came to representing their country in numerous sports."

"It is not as if the Calcuttas are bad either, they did make it to the Championship game last tournament and were able to give the United Republics a good game of it, but they are lacking something and it is frustrating to watch. I had thought last tournament that perhaps it was a case of too many young and untested players at the national team level and yet the team is hardly looking like the same sort of team that is expected to contend with that dynasty of Siovanija and Teusland through their first two games. First Neu Engollon absolutely gave them more than they were expecting in the opening game, which was expected given that they have been a competitive team, but then to lose to Chromatika is completely unexpected. Chromatika is not a former championship level contender and it really makes you worried when you consider the strength and depth of this group that the Calcuttas have found themselves in this tournament."

"I propose that the team needs a better amount of time to really come together and relearn each others tendencies, what their respective weaknesses and strengths are so that they are able to overcomes such difficulties moving forward. When the Calcuttas were at the top of their game and winning titles as if it was simply another task for the team to do, it was because the team that had been formed had amazing chemistry with one another and could almost anticipate each others moves and decisions. This team definitely has the sort of caliber of player that is able to do the same but with the deep runs that the Vanorian clubs did have in the HCL and the lack of friendlies the team plays has definitely hampered that ability to start out the tournament. It may be that the team will growing stronger and better as the tournament goes on and these sort of games are the growing pains that they have to endure to come out the stronger on the other side."

"If that is the case, the sooner the better, there are on paper no easy games for the team in the group and with even the best teams in the rankings having shown weaknesses across the board through the first two games in this tournament, the side can ill afford any more upsets. Games against Banija, Gyatso-Kai, and Elejamie to name a few are going to be difficult, as difficult as the games the team had during the AOlympics. Another potential reason as to why the side is faltering out of the gate, having pressed hard into that tournament to have made the medal rounds. These are wake up calls and I can only hope that the team takes them to heart and builds that rapport or starts to show their professional shine, whatever it is that they are lacking moving forward."

[Gyatso-kai]

An ASPN Production, Brought to you on ASPN.co.gki

KELSSEK --- Aaron Yitsune

Ice Bisons PUMMEL Snow & Ice Caps! Largest Margin In History!

After a single goal defeat at the hands of Elejamie on our first matchday of the Forty-Third World Cup of Hockey, the Ice Bisons came out in glorious fashion, taking a 2-nil lead in the first period, having the lead taken mid-second, then bringing an unprecedented eight goals in the final twenty-eight minutes of the game to hand the Snow & Ice Caps the largest margin of defeat in Gyatso-kai history.

”It was an impressive game,” spoke Degour Niyan, in his second cap of his career, and contributor of two goals this evening. ”The (Snow & Ice) Caps came out strong, pushed us close to a draw, but we were able to regroup and push back with incredible skill. The second line especially did great things for the team, and I cannot wait to see how the tournament progresses.”

Previously, the largest margin of victory in Ice Bison history belong to the Ice Bisons of World Cup XXIII back in 2014.3, in which Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland fell by a score of 7-2 to the future Champions of the Tournament.

Now the record books must be altered…

Of course, what also must be included in the record books are the sheer number of players who scored during this game: with Degour gaining two goals (Goal #5 and Goal #8), the remaining eight were scored by six different players:

• Ero’ki Nacer --- Goal #1
• Hed Torvik --- Goal #2
• Cheung Sepi --- Goal #3
• Song Unataq --- Goal #4, Goal #9
• Wang Torsti – Goal #7, Goal #10

As previously stated, the second line was key in the victory tonight over the Snow & Ice Caps, contributing three of the eight goals and being on the ice for nearly twenty-seven minutes; while for most teams, the first line is the more-offensively driven line, usually stocked with your fastest and best puck-tossers, it is the second line of the Ice Bisons this tournament that are more offensively driven. Head Coach Ishii Hakoda has said that one of the major changes this tournament compared to previous is how he intends to use players differently. Even now, there are talks of switching up lines and pairings to better adapt the team to keeping defensive pressure up on the more-goal-driven teams in the group, such as Neu Engollon, Valanora, while still being able to put offensive pressure on defensive powerhouse Chromatik, as well as other more-defence-minded teams like Græntfjall, Banija, and Nephara.

Well, you know what they say… ‘a jack of all trades and a master of none.”

---

---

Copyright 2021.3 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/26210432
© 2020 Avatarian Sports Programming Network

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Hockey Today Magazine

Siovanija & Teusland’s Top Hockey News Source!

The History of Hockey in Siovanija & Teusland - Part II: Growth

So, now that we’ve established that hockey was invented in Rot- no, sorry, Launit- we mean Marlesee, right? Maybe Stelburg. Anyways, all of the bickering and feuding over where the game was born culminates on a cold winter day in 1870, when the Stelburger Zeitung published an advertisement inviting the public to come down to the Canal to watch the Imperial Stelburg Cricket Club play “a game of hockey according to the Stelburg rules.”

Those rules were a little bit different than modern-day hockey - they included a 6th skater on the ice, termed the ‘rover,’ no forward passing was involved, and play was run through a continuous clock. Equipment was also different - no helmets, and the sticks were much more curved than in the modern day. It doesn’t sound like the first organized game was particularly exciting - the ISCC defeated a group of soldiers 2-0, and the Zeitung says these were 2 of only 10 total shots on goal in the ninety-minute game.

After the game, the Stelburg rules were revised further - from ninety minutes to sixty, and changes on stoppages. The first “Rules of Hockey” book was published by the ISCC in early 1871, and it quickly spread throughout the Teus Empire. The rules were published in newspapers and the book sold across the country, and soon enough almost the entire country was playing by the Stelburg rules. The University of Launitz Hockey Club was founded in February 1871, and in many places, cricket clubs began to play hockey as well as a full-time winter sport.

The sporting landscape of the Teus Empire at the time was much different than today. Cricket, which had been introduced to the country by Teus Navy sailors who returned from trips abroad playing the game, had been by far the most popular sport. The national club championship was a marquee event marked by a state ball in Stelburg, with the game played on the grounds of the Imperial Palace itself - the Imperial Oval still stands as the country’s best known cricket venue. The best known cricketers of the day had some level of celebrity. Football had only recently been introduced to Teusland, and Siovanija as well, and while it was growing in popularity it hadn’t quite caught up to cricket yet.

The nation was, however, crying out for a winter sport to call its own. Winters in Siovanija & Teusland are cold, and snowy, and it’s a fact of life that the people here take pride in. But in the winter, you could not play much cricket - and in many places football too was difficult to organize. Once hockey arrived, however - that was now 5 months of the year entirely dedicated to one sport, and as arenas started to be built around the country, the game could be played year-round. The fact that the sport required a great deal of physical fitness made it popular in the military, which organized competitions between divisions as a way of keeping soldiers fit.

Throughout the 1870s, the game of hockey continued to spread in the Teus Empire. It also expanded to Siovanija, too - while there are similar stories as to which area had the game first, we know that it was in Borograd where the first hockey game was played, with the Olympia Athletic Club hosting a game on the Ljublanica river. That was in 1872, and by 1874, clubs had been founded in major Siovanijan cities like Borograd, Pomorie and Vlaikograd. In Siovanija, cricket had never been popular - hockey was only competing with football, which had been introduced a few years before.

Hockey was quickly able to become the number one sport on both sides of the border. Cricket in Teusland was viewed as an upper-class game, and the middle and lower classes had not fully embraced football yet for hockey to face significant challenges. The cultural fit of the game in the Empire - as well as a government who was eager to promote a home-grown sport that would, in the worlds of Kronprinz Heinrich (later Kaiser Heinrich II), “promote the values of good sportsmanship as well as strength in the youth of the Empire.” In the first all-Teusland hockey championship, in 1877, the Imperial Stelburg Cricket & Hockey Club (renamed in 1874) were victorious.

In the Teus colonies too, the game began to spread - to a degree. In Prinz-Eugens-Land, an arena was built in Kapstadt - the tropical climate very much unsuited to the game on the pond. And while the local clubs were popular amongst the Teus population of the city, it was almost impossible for a similar hockey culture to be found - you simply could not play the game recreationally in the city. The ease of football, as well as cricket, was too much to overcome. Similarly, the native population of the colony preferred its own ball games, which would later be adapted to fit the rules of modern rugby. In Sankt Konrad, the Kolonial Athletic Club had a hockey division, and an arena was built in Wilhelmstadt - but the Teus population here was mostly contract workers rotating in and out of the harsh climate of the island, and the native population much preferred their own games, similar to handball. As a result, hockey was present in the colonies, but not much of a force as it was in Siovanija & Teusland.

Perhaps the biggest moment in the fate of the rise of hockey would come in 1884. Hockey had become certainly the most popular spectator sport in both the Siovanijan Republic and the Teus Empire by this point, and clubs were beginning to make money off of having fans in their arenas to support the team. The Imperial Stelburg Cricket & Hockey Club had recognized that hockey had overtaken cricket, and started to put more and more of its resources into the winter game. The directors of the club, however, were much more old-school and opposed this change. In 1884, at a closed vote only by the directors, it was decided that funds from hockey revenue would instead go to support the expansion of the Imperial Oval instead of renewing the club’s lease of a local arena, meaning the team were without a home. Much of the membership revolted, and former the Stelburg Hockey Club, splitting from their old group. They received patronage of the Kaiser in 1886, becoming the Imperial Stelburg Hockey Club - which was on its birth immediately richer than its cricketing counterpart.

Hockey continued to grow at an exponential rate, and it seemed nothing would be capable of slowing it down - until 1888, of course, when the Siovanijan Republic and the Teus Empire went to war. In the next edition of our series, we’ll cover how the game’s growth was affected by the war, and where sports stood in the post-war era after the birth of the United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland.

World Cup of Hockey 43 Matchday 2
Kelssek vs Siovanija & Teusland
@ Bantam Yards, Latrobe, Kelssek

Scoring Summary

First Period

3:46: Goldhorns goal scored by Timo Schalger, assisted by Heider, Mihelic (0-1)
11:50: Goldhorns goal scored by Edwin Ranger (PP), assisted by Mihelic (0-2)
15:24: Kelssek goal scored by Jordan Lee, assisted by Betand, Stewart (1-2)

Second Period

6:33: Goldhorns goal scored by Evgeni Tomic, assisted by Heider (1-3)
15:51: Kelssek goal scored by Sean Duneasler (PP), assisted by Hesselboe, Charron (2-3)
16:15: Kelssek goal scored by Ryan Carter-Jenkins (PP), assisted by Lee (3-3)

Third Period

5:40: Kelssek goal scored by Dylan Saranack, assisted by Torrhen (4-3)
10:01: Goldhorns goal scored by Erhard Lasker, assisted by Keric, Hlavac (4-4)
14:12: Goldhorns goal scored by Vitomir Glaskov, assisted by Ranger (4-5)
17:24: Kelssek goal scored by Riley Hesselboe, assisted by Machouf, Ostend (5-5)

Overtime

2:07: Goldhorns goal scored by Razvigor Tsvetanov, assisted by Schlager, Heider (5-6)

End of Game: Kelssek 5-6 Siovanija & Teusland

[i]Next Game: Siovanija & Teusland vs Placely Placington, @ Newham Wharf, Burnaby, Kelssek

[Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland]

Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (SWR) National Eiskrappentanzhockey Team
[img]hugeunnecessarylogo.jpg[/img]

Coach: Friedrich Riederer
Experienced domestic coach with limited international experience, charged with the unenviable role of bringing the Blue Men back to WCoH standards. A gruff disciplinarian rather than a tactical mastermind.

GK: Ben Frankenberger
GK: Laurin Bischoffshausen
GK: Theodor Amstutz

Line 1
D: Anton Zippe
D: Sebastian Resnik
LW: Frenk Ledinek
RW: Radomir Perko
C: Luka Nalder

Line 2
D: Danko Fišer
D: Noel Abel
LW: Tai Krajnik
RW: Torsten Heim
C: Flori Rathenau

Line 3
D: Tristan Kregar
D: Christoph Ransmayr
LW: Jakob Buber
RW: Emil Schuster
C: Jörn Sprecher

Line 4
D: Željko Jurca
D: Ben Ehn
LW: Matthias Hausle
RW: Alexander Frankenberger
C: Samuel Harrer

The team's kits are Schutzenphalian blue with gold trim and helmets; the alternate kit is reversed.

Style modifier: 0

Pick scorers and assign stats: Y
RP injuries, ejections, and other things: Y
Kill players, invade my country, ridiculous godmoding: N
Anything else: Probably, but ask

[Kelssek]

Group A
Lorenthia 5–5 Malandrin (2–0 SO)
Gyatso-kai 6–1 Nephara
Græntfjall 1–0 Snow and Ice Caps
Neu Engollon 5–3 Elejamie
Chromatika 1–3 Bollonich
Banija 2–5 Valanora

   Group A                                   Pld   W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valanora                                    3   2  0  1  0     9    6   +3     7
 2 Gyatso-kai                                  3   2  0  0  1    18    7  +11     6
 3 Græntfjall                                  3   2  0  0  1     5    3   +2     6
 4 Bollonich                                   3   2  0  0  1     8    7   +1     6
 5 Elejamie                                    3   2  0  0  1     8    8    0     6
 6 Lorenthia                                   3   0  2  0  1    11   12   −1     4
 7 Banija                                      3   1  0  1  1     7   10   −3     4
 8 Nephara                                     3   1  0  1  1     6   10   −4     4
 9 Neu Engollon                                3   1  0  0  2    11   11    0     3
10 Malandrin                                   3   0  1  1  1    12   14   −2     3
11 Snow and Ice Caps                           3   1  0  0  2     9   14   −5     3
12 Chromatika                                  3   0  1  0  2     2    4   −2     2

Group B
Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland 2–4 Eshialand
TJUN-ia 4–3 Abanhfleft
Mercedini 4–4 Vilita and Turori (5–4 OT)
Srednjaci 2–3 Fluvannia
Cassadaigua 2–1 Lisander
Delaclava 2–2 The Jovannic (2–3 SO)

   Group B                                   Pld   W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mercedini                                   3   2  1  0  0    14    6   +8     8
 2 Delaclava                                   3   2  0  1  0    12   10   +2     7
 3 Vilita and Turori                           3   2  0  1  0     9    7   +2     7
 4 Abanhfleft                                  3   2  0  0  1    14   10   +4     6
 5 Cassadaigua                                 3   2  0  0  1     6    4   +2     6
 6 Fluvannia                                   3   2  0  0  1     6    7   −1     6
 7 Srednjaci                                   3   1  0  1  1     9    9    0     4
 8 The Jovannic                                3   0  2  0  1     5    5    0     4
 9 TJUN-ia                                     3   1  0  0  2     5    6   −1     3
10 Eshialand                                   3   1  0  0  2    13   17   −4     3
11 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland    3   0  0  0  3     5   10   −5     0
12 Lisander                                    3   0  0  0  3     5   12   −7     0

Group C
Reçueçn 1–1 Kelssek (3–2 SO)
Ranoria 1–2 Squornshelan Remnant States
Savojarna 7–1 Magnecia
Behetij 0–1 Sannyamathland
Nova Anglicana 3–4 Sarzonia
Siovanija and Teusland 8–6 Placely Placington

   Group C                                   Pld   W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Savojarna                                   3   3  0  0  0    17    5  +12     9
 2 Siovanija and Teusland                      3   2  1  0  0    17   11   +6     8
 3 Reçueçn                                     3   2  1  0  0     7    3   +4     8
 4 Sarzonia                                    3   2  0  0  1    11   11    0     6
 5 Kelssek                                     3   1  0  2  0    12   10   +2     5
 6 Sannyamathland                              3   1  1  0  1     5    6   −1     5
 7 Ranoria                                     3   1  0  1  2     9    5   +4     4
 8 Nova Anglicana                              3   1  0  0  2    16   10   +6     3
 9 Squornshelan Remnant States                 3   1  0  0  2     6   10   −4     3
10 Behetij                                     3   0  1  0  2     4    8   −4     2
11 Placely Placington                          3   0  0  1  2    11   23  −12     1
12 Magnecia                                    3   0  0  0  3     2   15  −13     0

Group D
Gatchingerrak Union 2–11 Quebec & Shingoryeo
Brentboro 0–1 Gergary
Raspotochje 3–3 Poafmersia (0–1 SO)
United States of Devonta 2–0 Atheara
Ko-oren 1–0 Le Choix
Huelavia 6–3 Equestria

   Group D                                   Pld   W OW OL  L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Gergary                                     3   3  0  0  0    11    6   +5     9
 2 Ko-oren                                     3   2  1  0  0     4    1   +3     8
 3 Huelavia                                    3   1  1  1  1    15   10   +5     6
 4 Le Choix                                    3   2  0  0  1     6    2   +4     6
 5 Poafmersia                                  3   1  1  1  0    12   10   +2     6
 6 United States of Devonta                    3   2  0  0  1     6    5   +1     6
 7 Brentboro                                   3   1  1  0  1     6    5   +1     5
 8 Quebec & Shingoryeo                         3   1  0  0  2    20   17   +3     3
 9 Atheara                                     3   1  0  0  2     2    3   −1     3
10 Raspotochje                                 3   0  0  1  2     4    9   −5     1
11 Equestria                                   3   0  0  0  3     5   11   −6     0
12 Gatchingerrak Union                         3   0  0  0  3     6   18  −12     0

Reminder, tomorrow is an off day.

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Hockey

Phoenixes lose to The Jovannic in bizarre fashion

It all started with Delaclava losing their shit. It ended with them losing their shit too.

Delaclava lost to The Jovannic 3-2 in a shootout in Mazinaw, Kelssek at the World Cup of Hockey, a game in which the Phoenixes suffered with a teamwide bout of food poisoning and then refused to contest the shootout altogether.

While no one on the team was able to positively identify the cause of the team's illness, several theorized that they might have had a contaminated batch of beer in Laneux following the team's 7-5 victory over Eshialand. Regardless, several players began coming down with the illness during the morning practice in Mazinaw, and only thirteen players were healthy enough to even show up to Jardins de Carée-Boudoin. Four of those, whom coach Arthur Lemaire refused to identity, "really could not get off the toilet long enough to get ready to play. I had to send them back to the hotel too."

That left forwards Jehiel Abreu, Ted Malone, Logan Wynne, Brody Callaghan, Vadim Milekhin; defensemen Bohdan Kirilenko, Cäsar Schlesinger, Max Devane; and a lone goaltender, David Hauser. Abreu said of the squad, "We had quality players still going on to the ice. And we don't know who was on the other team, and frankly neither do they. I thought maybe we could win with eight skaters, but it was always a tough ask."

The Phoenixes took a 2-0 in the first ten minutes of the game on goals from Malone and Milekhin, but fatigue quickly set in with many players already racking up a game's worth of action within the first period. The Jovannic scored goals in the second and third periods. Lemaire had been complaining for the entire game that The Jovannic was only wearing burlap sacks with no identifying information to help his defense mark their players, and increased his pleading with the referees on both goals, but to no avail.

With the game still tied 2-2 after overtime, the small group of Phoenixes began to file off, presumably under the belief that the game was over. However, the referees beckoned to the Phoenixes to stay on the ice, leading to a prolonged conversation between Arthur Lemaire and the head referee in which Lemaire seems to grow increasingly more incensed. Lemaire admitted after the game that he and his team had not been apprised of the rule before making the trip to Kelssek. He went on to say, "That's the dumbest rule change I've ever heard. Excuse me, but that is not how games are won. We would rather tie than win by that backyard rink bullshit. I thought this was a hockey tournament, not a magic show." Lemaire also said that he had wanted to pull his team off the ice entirely, but the referee strongly intimated that severe sanctions would result from a forfeit from any sort.

Lemaire then instructed David Hauser to allow the still-unnamed Jovannic players unobstructed shots at the net, and for Abreu, Malone, and Milekhin to dump the puck in from the center spot. The anticlimactic proceedings resulted in The Jovannic winning the shootout 3-2, with Jovannic's goalie still ineptly allowing in two of the three softballs sent down his way.

Abreu said of the contest as a whole, "Things definitely didn't come out the way we wanted them to, but we've got to put it behind us. Flush things away and start over."

Thankfully for the Phoenixes, the strange result still leaves them in second place in Group B. Of the other three teams with 2-0 records, Mercedini and Vilita & Turori squared off with Mercedini winning 5-4 in overtime, while Abanhfleft suffered a 4-3 loss to a resurgent TJUN-ia. Delaclava will hope to recover against unranked Lisander, who are still seeking their first win after a 2-1 loss to Cassadaigua.

[Sarzonia]

Thirty seconds remained in the third period of a level match between Sarzonia's national ice hockey team and Nova Anglicana.

Owen Franks had made 19 saves, but he was soundly beaten on three of the last four shots he faced. He looked forlornly at the players bench, half expecting Paul Bremerton to send on Jacob Parsons, but Bremerton wasn't even looking out at his young goaltender. Franks and the media would later find out that was by design.

"You got this, kid," Bremerton said was the message he'd intended to send his young netminder. He hunched over anticipating the faceoff in his own end after an icing call.

Play by play guy Teemu Mäkinen will provide the call:

"Here's the faceoff, won by Stephens back to the point, Ziegler sends the buck along the boards where Bannister wins possession, he'll likely send it up ice for a line change and ... Tanguay gets it! He skates in one-on-two and fires ... HE SCORES! Nineteen seconds left! IT'S BRETT TANGUAY, JR. WITH THE LATE GOAL AND IT'S NOW 4-3 STARS!"

The Sarzonia players on the ice mobbed Tanguay, who was working this particular shift with the second line as he had begun double-shifting with three minutes remaining in the third period after the Nova Anglicanans drew the match level through a Julian Stephens goal that beat Franks through the five-hole on a power play. Tanguay then led the procession and fist-bumped the players bench, including an elated Bremerton, who was now sending on his fourth checking line to preserve the sudden one-goal lead. Starting goalie Brett McQueen watched the puck roll into the Sarzonia end and skated off the ice for a sixth attacker. Fortunately for him and his team, defenceman Chris Walton was content to hold the puck and pass it to his defence partner Jill Sanders, then to team captain Nate Barnes, who himself was content to just launch the puck in the direction of the net. The puck went wide right, as the final horn sounded, and Sarzonia earned a critical 4-3 victory to improve to 2-0-0-1 before the break.

The Stars will start Parsons against No. 1 Siovanija and Teusland after the break. The top-ranked team in the hockey multiverse defeated unranked Placely Placington in a wild 8-6 affair, which means either the Stars have an opportunity to make a major statement with an upset or will get absolutely slaughtered by a team wary of Sarzonia as the 15th ranked team. Either way, Bremerton advised his charges to enjoy the victory tonight.

"We fought hard in what we considered a must-win match," he said. "I said 'we have a night off, so let's savor it tonight'. We need to be ready, but let's enjoy this one while we can."