World Cup of Hockey 47 || Everything Thread

by **St Saratoga** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 2:23 pm

Rogerbei Times - Sports
"The most reliable news source in Saratoga."

Saints Embarrassed in 6-1 Loss

Cost: K$ 1.50

LutenBank Arena, Lutenblag -- The St Saratoga Saints took one of their worst losses in club history with a 6-1 defeat to #1 ranked Elejamie.

The World Cup of Hockey 47th has started off as a disappointment for the Saints. The club, after a large absence from the tournament, returns to the World Cup of Hockey with a brand new coaching staff and roster. The club underwent a audit that included a complete clearing out of the teams front office and coaching staff. SGA Sports, the parent company of the National Club, said in a press statement, "After a series of interviews with front office staff, coaches, and players we've come to the conclusion that a complete restructure of the club is necessary. The club is in need of new leadership and a more encouraging culture if we expect to have any success in tournament play. This will include some growing pains but these pains are necessary to produce the best on-ice product our fans expect from us." Shortly afterwards, SGA sports announce the establishment of the Saratogan Hockey League which involved two conferences with four divisions and 24 teams.

Months after this announcement, SGA Sports President Jon Sampson announced the newly rebuilt national team club with which included newly appointed President Simon Martinsen, CFO Gabriel Hagerup, General Manager Patrick Uphill among other staff. The new coaching staff consisted of Joseph Andersen as Head Coach, current Head Coach of the Rogerbei Fighting Saints, as well as Irwin Hides (Holmsstrom Lakers) as Associate Coach, Frank Spratt (Greycotts Warriors) as Assistant Coach of the Offense, Art Partin (Bergen Swamp Foxes) as Assistant Coach of the Defense, and Brad Corrigan (Whitewood Yetis) as Goalie Coach. The press conference also expanded on a brand new roster of players.

Looking at World Cup of Hockey 47, the Saints got placed into a tough group headlined by No. 1 ranked Elejamie followed up by No. 14 Lisander then No. 22 Hauyramarca, No. 30 Delaclava and No. 75 Placey Placington. Ile de Richelieu, Arctic Hockey Association, and St Saratoga are all unranked going into this tournament. During the pre-tournament press conference Head Coach, Joseph Andersen talked about the Saint's place in Group F, "This is a tough group, we have some very strong team we will be playing against however I see this as a good opportunity for the team [St Saratoga] to establish itself and for us as coaches to get an idea of where our level of international play is at." When asked about what his expectations of the Saints will be going into the tournament Andersen stated, "Mid-table, I think we can compete to qualify for the knockout stage if we apply everything the team has worked on so far."

Now sitting winless at 0-3 and coming off of a scolding by top-ranked Elejamie the Saints are on the brink of elimination. The Saints cannot lose another match in the group stage and even if they win out the Saints entry into the group stage hinges on teams like No. 14 ranked Lisander, Placely Placeington, Delaclava having a poor ending to the tournament. Basically, the St Saratoga Fighting Saints do not control their own future which is a scary place for any team looking to break out into the knockout stages. The benefit for the Saint's quest to break out of the group stage is that they have a relatively easy schedule remaining with the most difficult opponent being 30th-ranked Delaclava, a match that might not even matter depending on how the rest of the group plays out.

When asked about the next few games, Defenseman Jimy Mercer stated "We gotta start fighting, everyone but our goaltending are not trying hard enough. Liam [Lester] was left fighting for his life those last few games and Elejamie took advantage of that fact. We are letting too many pucks get to Liam [Lester] and he can only do so much before they get in. We are making to easy to score." Starting Goalie Liam Lester followed up with "We had two close games, the boys played hard but its mistakes up front that are making it too easy for our opponents to get to the net. We need to start supporting each other, we are going to keep losing if we don't come together as a team."

Looking to match day four, the Saints are set to take on struggling Ile de Richelieu who are also sitting winless in Group F. Ile de Richelieu opened the tournament with a high-scoring loss to Placely Placeington at 3-5. That was followed up by another close yet high-scoring loss to 30th-ranked Delaclava with a final score of 4-5. Ile de Richelieu heads into match day four coming off an absolute heartbreaker of a shootout loss to 22nd-ranked Huayramarca, what an upset that would have been. The Saints feel some optimism going into its match against Ile de Richelieu who have allowed 13 goals in this tournament. Prior to match day 3, the Saints have allowed only four goals compared to their opponent's then in the same time span.

"We need to play better in order to give ourselves a chance of making it out of the group stage. We need to retake control of our own fate and we can start doing it by playing as a team today." said Jackup Zoltak during the pre-match presser. "Jackup is correct, we've been working on our communication, we had a long meeting about it yesterday and things felt better at practice. The team is ready to put the beginning of the tournament behind us and start correcting the course." Tanner Klein followed up with. Andersen reaffirmed what the players said later in the conference, "They looked better, they were skating better and the team seemed to be in a better place. The meeting was a players only so I don't know what was all said but clearly there are some leaders emerging." when asked if the coaching staff is ready to name a captain, Andersen responded with "Not yet."

Looking around Group F the top of the group is looking to be very competitive. Leading the Group as expected is 1st-ranked Elejamie at 3-0-0-0 with 22th-ranked Huayramarca nipping at their heels. Battling for third is 14th-ranked Lisander with 75th-ranked Placely Placeington shocking the group by having to defend third place followed up with 30th-ranked Delaclava within striking range at 5th place. The bottom three teams are battling to get their first win and to try to sneak into the knockout stage or a chance at being the one of the four best 5th place teams.

Beyond Group F, 2nd-ranked Cordia is currently sitting in third place in Group D after goal scorers heaven of a 6-9 loss to 26th-ranked Cassadaigua. 3rd-ranked Gyatso-kai reclaimed the top spot in Group A after confident rebound against The Greater Onvares. 6th-ranked Nova Anglicana faced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament yet after losing to unranked Saperetia in a close 2-3 match. Cross-sport rival, 10th-ranked Banija sits in 5th place in Group E as they look to claw themselves back into the knockout stage qualification against Madrinpoor.

*OOC: Please feel free to check out my line chart that I made from scratch, pretty proud of it but obviously needs some cleaning up.

Group F
Elejamie 6–1 St Saratoga
Placely Placington 1–5 Lisander
Delaclava 0–0 Arctic Hockey Association (1–0 OT)
Huayramarca 3–3 Ile de Richelieu (2–1 SO)
Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Elejamie                      3   3  0  0   0   18   2 +16    9
2 Huayramarca                   3   2  0  1   0   12   8  +4    8
3 Placely Placington            3   2  1  0   0   14  13  +1    6
4 Lisander                      3   2  1  0   0    8   7  +1    6
5 Delaclava                     3   1  1  1   0    9   9   0    5
6 Ile de Richelieu              3   0  2  0   1   10  14  −4    1
7 Arctic Hockey Association     3   0  2  0   1    5  16 −11    1
8 St Saratoga                   3   0  3  0   0    4  11  −7    0
Remaining Group Stage Schedule:
MD1: Saints 1 - 2 (14) Lisander
MD2: Saints 2 - 3 (22) Huayramarca
MD3: Saints 1 - 6 (1) Elejamie
MD4: Saints vs (UR) Ile de Richelieu
MD5: Saints at (75) Placely Placeington
MD6: Saints at (UR) Artic Hockey Association 
MD7: Saints vs (30) Delaclava
Jim Halpert
Senior Reporter
Rogerbei Times - Sports

by **Trolleborg** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:18 pm

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV from SRS, where our lads just ended their pre-match training routine and go to their locker room to have their last instructions from the coach. Previous game was – as almost no one predicted before tournament, but everyone predicted after first rounds of group stage – very difficult. Golyna team, or “Purple Braves”, as fans and pundits on the tournament christened team after performances in first two games, preaches fast and (sometimes) reckless hockey, scores a lot of goals, but also conceded a lot. In addition, what aroused particular interest of our fans, one of the team coaches was AI, so there was clearly a certain sympathy for Golyna, due to the prevalence of AI’s in our country, almost equated to people with rights and very popular due to their helpfulness, which was especially visible after our country opens to the world and era of massive external tourism was began, give people materiel to compare life in Trolleborg and everywhere. For us to achieve at least some success, it took a national leader at the head of the team with his greatest experience of several centuries of managing a wide variety of endeavours and solving diverse problems, and there is nothing surprising in the emergence of artificial intelligence as part of the team in general. And, unfortunately, it was our team that was responsible for the dismissal of AI Blue Sun from his responsible post. The editors of TTV call on the Trolleborg Ministry of AI to provide Blue Sun with opportunities to improve his skills and appeal to our hockey leaders to provide him an internship in the Trolleborg league.

Golyna hockey players took to the field in a brand new uniform and did their best to make this day a festive one for their fans. But, fortunately, our lads did not flinch under pressure, the defense acted reliably and dexterously, the players moved clearly and confidently and distributed the areas of responsibility precisely as needed. Many assumed that the head coach would give the second goalkeeper Torfinn Gronquist a chance to prove himself in this game, but Vladimir Finn considered it best to use the services of his number one, and he did not let the coach down, leaving his net intact for the second time in the championship. But the attack looked very anemic, overly cautious and sometimes tend not very logically dispose the puck - and did this in any combination of forwards. Perhaps something is missing in the preparation of the players, but we will see this in the future, maybe even today. In the end, it’s opponents' mistake that brought victory – carried away by the (seemingly successful) attack, the whole five of Golyna hockey players move try to finish off the puck into the goal, and then Trond Kleft managed to make an accurate forward pass, Jorgen Finne rushed like lightning, moved out one on one with the goalkeeper and managed to beat him in close combat. The last minutes of the match were difficult for our team, as Axel McDrummond replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth field player, and his players went on a uniform assault, sometimes on the verge of siege, of our net - however, fortunately for the throng of our fans, they did not achieve success.

In other matches of our group suprising run of Texas Jaguarundi was stopped by Juvencus, and The Greater Onvares was lost to Gyatso-kai. Unfortunately, the brave and strong Canadian Dominion team, which is still the last in the group, has not yet recovered from the failure in the duel with our hockey players.

by **Canadian Dominion** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 6:56 pm

The penalty handling caused Canadian Dominion to fall to a losing streak of three. Many players on the CD side filled the penalty box with players from Canadian Dominion due to messy poke-checks and undisciplined checking from the CD players. Canadian Dominion hockey board looks to fire head coach Charles Bishop after the failure of a WCoH run.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 7:08 pm

The Cordasfjord Daily – Sports

Stats Corner: WCOH Group D Power Rankings

Well, we’re nearly halfway through the World Cup of Hockey group stage, and for once, we’ve got a quite an interesting article for you today. It’s all about statistics – with power rankings, too.

Essentially, we’ve made a rankings/prediction model to analyze teams’ performances in the World Cup of Hockey group stage and attempt to determine the next winners.

The first half of the model is based on each team’s average goal differential. Simply, take the number of goals for, subtract goals against, and divide the difference by the number of games played – so far, three. The second half is schedule. For each team, we average the rating of the teams they’ve played to determine the difficulty of their schedule. Average goal differential is added to the schedule to get a team’s rating. This makes a cyclical function, but it works out through some sort of spreadsheet magic we don’t entirely understand. Round down two decimals and subtract a number to put things on a scale of 100, and you’ve got yourself a rather clean ranking.

Aside from simply providing power rankings based on performance and strength of schedule – which is fun in itself – because the model uses average goal differential, you can compare two teams that haven’t played and estimate the difference in score between those two teams. For example, a team rated 99 playing a team rated 97 would be expected to win by two goals. This can also be used to figure out whether a team overperformed or underperformed in a given game. For example, let’s say that the 99-rated team faces the 97, but only wins by one goal. In that case, they have underperformed.

Now that the model’s been explained, let’s look at the actual rankings:

1	TJUN-ia	                       100.29
2	Cordia	                        98.28
3	Jedinsto	                98.25
4	Cassadaigua	                98.18
5	Lorenthia	                96.61
6	Darkmania	                96.36
7	Kimi-Suomi	                95.46
8	United Penguin Commonwealth	94.75

TJUN-ia is in first of course, with a win over Cordia helping them massively. The Cordians sit in second with Jedinsto and Cassadaigua not far behind. Jedinsto have surprised massively in their World Cup of Hockey debut and currently sit atop the group, though a date with TJUN-ia tomorrow might change that. After Cassadaigua there’s a 1.5-point drop to Lorenthia and Darkmania, then Kimi-Suomi, and UPC in last.

The drop from the top four to bottom four indicates a very significant difference between top four and bottom four, which is huge because only the top four are guaranteed a spot in the knockout rounds. With that, it looks like there’s a clear top four teams that can get to the knockout rounds.

Lorenthia’s ranking may come as a surprise to many. After all, Lorenthia have zero points and sit last in the group with UPC. Yet they’ve faced some of the hardest competition in the group – TJUN-ia and Cassadaigua are both good, and Kimi-Suomi are hardly slackers – and haven’t come off that much worse for it, sporting a goal differential of only -5, which is good enough to rank them fifth in a group.

Now, let’s look at what the model thinks of tomorrow’s games. We’ve got Jedinsto against TJUN-ia, Cassadaigua against Kimi-Suomi, Darkmania-Lorenthia, and Cordia-UPC.

TJUN-ia is expected to beat Jedinsto by 2.04 goals – of course, that’s not certain, but gives a strong advantage to TJUN-ia that indicates that they have a very good chance to take down Jedinsto and become group leaders. In Cassadaigua vs. Kimi-Suomi, the difference is big – 2.72 expected goal difference. That’s a good chance of a three-goal win for Cassadaigua, though Kimi-Suomi could make up some ground. Then Darkmania vs. Lorenthia looks to be the most competitive game of the day, with Lorenthia expected to win by a quarter of a goal – which means a very good chance of overtime, and with that, perhaps Lorenthia’s first points of the tournament. Then, in the last and most lopsided game of the day – as projections go – Cordia is expected to take down the UPC by a whopping 3.5 goals.

While these are cool numbers to look at, it’s important to know that they’re not perfect. Hockey is a random game by nature, and bounces can go either team’s way. It’s also a miniscule sample size – three games are enough for an okay estimate, but as the sample size increases, the model will get far more reliable. In similar models we’ve used elsewhere, it takes ten games at least for a team’s rating to be truly accurate.

OOC: Idea and format credit goes to MyHockey. They run national youth, junior, and college hockey rankings in the US and that’s where the data on sample size needed comes from.

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:02 pm

Interview with Wislava Rinne
Aglu Cherrykark, ARKINTOOFLE
Interview with Wislava Rinne is what I would like to title this article, however, the Black-and-Reds goalkeeper, through team representatives, declined to speak to the press.

Goalkeepers are an odd sort sometimes, and hockey players and teams can become particularly odd around a goalie on a hot streak, as Rinne currently is. In the opening three games of the World Cup of Hockey, she's allowed just one goal across nine regulation and two overtime periods, and made the only save of the shootout against Banija. Suffice it to say, she has singlehandedly been able to steal points for the team that the anemic offense would not otherwise have been able to earn. To be sure, she's had some help from the team, which has done a solid job of limiting high danger chances in front of her, but Rinne has been fantastic so far, and has to be in conversation for best keeper of the tournament so far as we near the halfway point of the group stage. Perhaps she'll give an interview if this run of good form ends, but no one really wants that to happen. Not even me.

by **Graintfjall** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:10 pm

Posted on In Brief section of the winter sports blog Icy Dead People.

Ice Wolves survive late Soviet comeback to hold on for win

The front page of græpædia, the online encyclopedia about all things Græntfjall, before MD4.

From today’s featured article
The Kangasdorf Jomsvikings are an ice hockey team in Græntfjall, currently playing in the Pavolan Hockey League. The team is the modern franchise continuation of Kangasdorf MSK’s hockey division, one of Græntfjall’s most successful teams in the defunct Græntfjaller Hockey League. Kangasdorf has supplied many notable players to the Ice Wolves, Græntfjall’s national hockey team, including Florian Sigurfinnursson, the first man to lead Græntfjall in international hockey in their debut at World Cup of 40 in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, and Jack Jokulsson, who holds the Snow Wolves’ all time goal scoring record. Current Snow Wolves players contracted to the Jomsvikings include Kyrri Árgeirsson, former captain of the national junior team the Ice Pups, and Ríó Ferdinandsson, the first person of color to represent the White Winter Queendom in international hockey.
Recently featured: Kijani giant grasshopper · Laafjörður Stormknights · Tálknanir province

In the news
Græntfjall announces a resumption of strikes on el-Masri Network terror targets. (Pictured, the GK Óviðráðanlegt launching a missile.)
Archbishop Tístran Snælaugsson is arrested for historic sexual abuse, the highest ranking member of the Græntfjaller Catholic Church to be charged with such offenses.
Jabal Akhdar hailed for their progress in human rights for sentencing pro-democracy activists to life imprisonment (rather than executing them).
Salome Valtýsdóttir is awarded the Raknarsson Medal for Literature for her controversial neo-krakenist poem Winterstorm.
Græntfjall announces repatriation to Berdeng Bundok of priceless artifacts looted during the colonial era.
Ongoing: Rugby World Cup · Copa Rushmori
Recent deaths: Finnvarður Franklinsson

DID U NO…
… that Virginía Laufarsdóttir was the most famed actress of the Græntfjaller 18th century and was the mistress to Bótólfur Snæbjartsson, generally considered Græntfjall’s first Prime Minister?
… that Jaktok Trutt was inspired by his Kamdyr heritage in creating his large installation artworks, now featured in the Háttmark Stock Exchange building?
… that many Græntfjaller trade unions have a tradition of Advent carolling to support membership hardship funds?
… that Elsý Hildarsdóttir is a Græntfjaller national champion in both summer (para-rowing) and winter (sit-skiing) sports?
… that the ‘Græntfjaller leopard’ is actually a microscopic worm so named for the pattern of spots it leaves as it burrows into Frozen Sea clams?
… that medical pioneer and anatomist Cæsar Blævarsson, the first person to dissect a kraken, is immortalized in the stained glass windows of the Estdal Cathedral (pictured)?

On this day
Independence Day (West Xambia); Coronation Day (Berdeng Bundok)
1347 – Jörfi Sturrason became the first King of Græntfjall to hail from House Grænt, though owing to Græntfjall’s system of elective succession another member of House Grænt would not sit the throne for 131 years.
1633 – The town of Þórslækur was burned to the ground as Græntfjaller Wars of Religion intensified.
1872 – Hannes Sigbergsson routed the Eagle Children at the Battle of the Smelly Claw.
1951 – The modern Guild Agreement of the Hannasean Federation was agreed.
2031 – The largest protest march against the Græntfjaller War on Terrorism was held in Altendalur, drawing a crowd of almost eight people.

Today’s featured picture
The mad honking goose, also known as the even-toed kraken-eater, is the largest waterfowl native to Græntfjall. Once so plentiful that the geese were credited with driving the kraken back into their sea-depth retreats, mad honking geese numbers have sharply declined in the 21st century as coastal erosion on the Græntfjaller Headland destroys their breeding grounds. Kaija Michaelsdóttir has hailed the mad honking goose as an example of a species whose transnational migratory patterns will require transnational solutions, though her attempted photo op with a nesting mad honking goose to promote CORN-COB 33, a planned environmental conference in Græntfjall, went slightly awry when the goose lived up to its name and shat all over her husband
Recently featured: Háttmark skyline · Bílduvík prison tower · 1 króna coin design

by **Independent Athletes from Quebec** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:27 pm

OOC: Slowly resuming the next parts of the TWGS. Not a complete part, but the remaining parts should be done under the Lodge and, of course, this nation. Should the Lodge and IAQ fail to progress at some point, however, remainder will be written on the WBC and other tournaments whenever possible.

Jang Joon-Gweon was now levitating.

Okay, more like after several struggles.

It had taken approximately two failed take-offs and twenty minutes, one that was fairly expected for our young hero, for Joon-Gweon, for him to take off with the right energy, motion and everything else needed to fly into the air to fight.

Not to mention what had happened earlier where the necessity of adjusting time-realities where the previously-mentioned Isabel Jurado, who had long gotten used to the acclimatised self of her more-experienced student Hannah Moran, did not take account into Joon-Gweon’s inability to sustain longer, more concentrated doses of energy to fly. This problem would eventually come to heads when Joon-Gweon kept finding himself losing control, crashing out after a strong start to the take-off, causing the sea monster to notice the movement of a challenger and sniff around. But the monster, as expected from one of that size, moved slowly and without success, and would go back to standing clumsily several kilometres away from the harbour.

‘You said that you did not know how to fly, right?’ asked Isabel, as she came to quickly think about the unexpected situation. ‘I will say that I did not expect the crash, my apologies.’

‘No, professor. I do not,’ answered Joon-Gweon, as a light layer of dust settled between them following the second crash. ‘If I had known, I would be the one to fight that monster on the very moment possible, wouldn’t I?’

Fuck, was all that she said on the inside. It was there where Isabel realised that she did not calculate it correctly. As expected, this error in judgment was crucial, for there was no mistake in Joon-Gweon’s intent to enter the world of the Portals. But for all that, she had spent honing her craft, and figuring it out on the domains of Tamarindia, Wight and eventually Quebec, she did not exactly have the success of procuring enough of newer students, whose tutelage was considered to be difficult in nature. Even Hannah, only one of about four to five pupils who had managed to stay past a year under her guardianhip, already had minor degrees of familiarity and success controlling her abilities, something rather at the opposite end of spectrum in comparison to the seventeen-year-old lad.

This error would result in a pair of awkward crashes or near-crashes that, no matter Joon-Gweon’s innate abilities or Isabel’s ability to freeze and manipulate tiniest factors in past-time by seconds, were all too apparent. In that, the instructional error, not by design but by incorrectly applying it to someone not fit for it, was at fault. Eventually, the Professor, whose actual field of academic specialities had lied in Confusionism, had to apologise, before devising a new plan, one that would involve crashing the dimensional chambers, flicking the switches of the decisive orbits, and then having the water, a material that he seems to have a good hold of, push him forward.

‘Let’s try this,’ said Isabel, as she snapped her fingers into two. With Joon-Gweon’s hands both wet with the sensation of the water, Isabel was now able to play out the split-second decision to trigger the material's rationalisation into a force. This was more than enough to give a push, and after several seconds of previously-existing doubt, he was well on the course, and barring an awkward bug or two that had affected his earlier attempts, was safely on the course of levitating.

On course, though time is naturally slower when you are on the narrative course of take-off and settling yourself to the right altitude for the battle, thought he, as he would reach the fifty-metre mark. Five...ten...fifteen...thirty...fifty.

It was quite hard to see the sky when you were flying. When on flight, under such high speed and trajectory that would be better advised for machineries, it becomes difficult to see clearly, whether straight or on peripheral vision. Only your determination serves as a device that could guide your flight from falling apart. Jang Joon-Gweon was under no exception, for the teenager had the drive to defeat the sea monster, and his shaking head and eyes, pulled backwards almost in the peeling manner, were feeling the tension of it all.

That of the entrance into life and the journey of pain and fear, starting by facing 'The Creator's Creation'.

by **Squornshelan Remnant States** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 9:44 pm

Matchday 4 RP Cutoff

Tonight, I want to share a song from the recent album by one of my favorite artists.

Group A
Juvencus 0–3 Trolleborg
The Greater Onvares 2–5 Golyna
Abanhfleft 0–3 Gyatso-kai
Texas Jaguarundi 6–8 Canadian Dominion

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Gyatso-kai                    4   3  0  1   0   16   4 +12   11
2 Trolleborg                    4   3  0  0   1    7   2  +5   10
3 Golyna                        4   2  2  0   0   12  11  +1    6
  Abanhfleft                    4   2  2  0   0   11  12  -1    6
  Texas Jaguarundi              4   2  2  0   0   13  16  -3    6
6 Canadian Dominion             4   1  3  0   0   17  19  −2    3
  Juvencus                      4   1  3  0   0    9  13  −4    3
  The Greater Onvares           4   1  3  0   0    9  16  -7    3

*Neither tie can currently be broken

Group B
Medzhumoramia 2–2 Katterimunk (2–3 OT)
Valanora 7–4 Patriotlandia
Lacfroid 3–2 Zelena Planina
Caribbia 1–2 Ko-oren

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ko-oren                       4   3  0  1   0    7   2  +5   11
2 Valanora                      4   3  0  0   1   16  11  +5   10
3 Patriotlandia                 4   3  1  0   0   24  21  +3    9
4 Medzhumoramia                 4   2  1  0   1   11  13  -2    7
5 Lacfroid                      4   2  2  0   0    9  12  -1    6
6 Katterimunk                   4   1  2  1   0    9  10  -1    5
7 Caribbia                      4   0  4  0   0    5   9  −4    0
8 Zelena Planina                4   0  4  0   0   14  19  −5    0

Group C
Atheara 0–0 Huron League (0–2 SO)
C.D. Karegnondi Lodge 1–2 Vilita and Turori
Nova Anglicana 6–3 HUElavia
Arjunnagar 2–2 Saperetia (2–3 OT)

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                4   3  1  0   0   15   8  +7    9
2 C.D. Karegnondi Lodge         4   2  1  1   0    9   5  +4    8
  Huron League                  4   2  1  1   0   11   7  +4    8
4 Atheara                       4   1  1  1   1    5   4  +1    6
5 HUElavia                      4   2  2  0   0   13  17  -4    6
6 Saperetia                     4   1  2  1   0    6   7  −1    5
7 Vilita and Turori             4   1  2  0   1    9  12  −3    4
8 Arjunnagar                    4   0  2  0   2    7  14  -7    2

Group D
Jedinsto 1–3 TJUN-ia
Cassadaigua 1–2 Kimi-Suomi
Darkmania 5–3 Lorenthia
United Penguin Commonwealth 1–6 Cordia

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                       4   3  0  1   0   20  12  +8   11
2 Cordia                        4   3  0  0   1   23  14  +9   10
3 Jedinsto                      4   3  1  0   0    8   5  +3    9
4 Darkmania                     4   2  2  0   0   12  10  +2    6
5 Kimi-Suomi                    4   2  2  0   0   11  13  -2    6
6 Cassadaigua                   4   2  2  0   0   19  19   0    6
7 Lorenthia                     4   0  4  0   0   15  22  −7    0
8 United Penguin Commonwealth   4   0  4  0   0    6  18 −12    0

*Kimi-Suomi ahead of Cassadaigua on H2H, Darkmania ahead of Kimi-Suomi on GD

Group E
Evinea 4–4 New Folgore (4–5 OT)
Squornshelan R.S. 5–5 Mercedini (1–4 SO) (scorinated by Chromatika)
Eden and Cambersey 2–1 I.A. Quebec
Madrinpoor 2–5 Banija

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mercedini                     4   3  0  1   0   22   8 +14   11
2 Eden and Cambersey            4   3  0  0   1   22  13  +9   10
3 Squornshelan R.S.             4   1  0  2   1    9   7  +2    8
4 Banija                        4   2  1  0   1   17  12  +5    7
5 Madrinpoor                    4   1  1  1   1   14  16  -2    6
6 I.A. Quebec                   4   1  3  0   0    4   6  -2    3
7 New Folgore                   4   0  3  1   0    8  20 −12    2
8 Evinea                        4   0  3  0   1   11  24 −13    1

Group F
St Saratoga 2–2 Ile de Richelieu (2–1 SO)
Arctic Hockey Association 3–4 Huayramarca
Lisander 4–7 Delaclava
Elejamie 3–0 Placely Placington

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Elejamie                      4   4  0  0   0   21   2 +19   12
2 Huayramarca                   4   3  0  1   0   16  11  +5   11
3 Delaclava                     4   2  1  1   0   16  13  +3    8
4 Lisander                      4   2  2  0   0   12  14  -2    6
5 Placely Placington            4   2  2  0   0   14  16  -2    6
6 St Saratoga                   4   0  3  1   0    7  13  −6    2
7 Ile de Richelieu              4   0  2  0   2   12  17  −5    2
8 Arctic Hockey Association     4   0  3  0   1    8  20 −12    1

*Lisander ahead of Placely Placington and St Saratoga ahead of Ile de Richelieu on H2H

Group G
Græntfjall 6–4 Dod Rava
Kelssek 4–5 Oursberg
Tjorl 6–5 Depivik
Sannyamathland 2–1 Furilisca

Pos                           Pld   W  L OTW OTL  GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kelssek                       4   3  1  0   0   19  10  +9    9
2 Tjorl                         4   3  1  0   0   13  11  +2    9
3 Græntfjall                    4   3  1  0   0   18  12  +6    9
4 Sannyamathland                4   2  2  0   0    7  10  −3    6
  Oursberg                      4   1  1  1   1   16  19  −3    6
6 Dod Rava                      4   1  1  0   2   11  11   0    5
7 Furilisca                     4   0  3  1   0    3   7  -4    2
  Depivik                       4   0  3  1   0   16  22  -6    2

*Tjorl ahead of Græntfjall on H2H, Kelssek ahead of Tjorl on GD

by **Medzhumoramia** » Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:54 pm

КЧС Спорт

Hockey Game Breaks Out During Fight, Katteri Victory Rendered Partial and Pyrrhic

Tonight's hockey game between Medzhumoramia and Katterimunk began under a cloud of tension. Medzhumoramian hockey fans had been assigning a patriotic anti-communist significance to the game from the start of the tournament, owing to recent atrocious events in Medzhumoramia’s own region.

The Medzhumoramian team itself greeted the playing of the Katteri National Anthem before the game with the expected sportsmanlike decorum to avoid bringing scandal or penalty upon the team, but the majority of Medzhumoramian fans in the stands turned their backs to the ice, made crude hand gestures or lifted “Better Dead than Red” signs to any camera within sight.

Once the game got under way, it did not take long for tensions to escalate, in the middle of the first period, Ravi Khan executed a rough body check that smashed Peters Petersons against the glass, took possession of the puck, and then passed it to Roger Stannis, who quickly scored a goal. Much to the chagrin of the Medzhumoramians, Ravi Khan’s check was not ruled a penalty.

At his next appearance on the ice, Ravi Khan found Chofym Dzhornau, known to his team in the FFMG, Ndigo Odesa, as an “enforcer,” squaring up against him, stick and gloves dropped, for a bare-knuckle brawl. When the dust settled, both players had a fresh bruise on their face, both faced major penalties, and Dzhornau was ejected from the game for initiating the fight. During the mutual penalty kill that ensued, Medzhumoramia scored their first goal, courtesy of Antanas Petersons, Peters’ brother.

While no outright fighting occurred again, the defensive play of both teams was rougher than elsewhere in their tournament performances, and each team dealt with a certain number of minor penalties and one more major penalty each. Medzhumoramia scored their second goal with a long slap shot from Krystian Kask just before the end of the third period, sending the grueling and bitter game into overtime.

The overtime saw an abundance of shots and face-offs from both sides. Ultimately, it was the Katteri captain, Uemo Akira, who scored the game-winning goal for Katterimunk.

Despite the loss, many Medzhumoramian fans seem satisfied with the defiance and tenacity exhibited by the team. Ndigo Odesa’s fan web-shop sold out of Dzornau jerseys before the OT had even started. Team members and coaches were not available for comment immediately after the match.

Despite the loss, Medzhumoramia stays ahead of Katterimunk and in the top 4 of group B in the standings, at least for now, courtesy of the WCoH's points system for OT wins and losses. The teams faced in the next two games, Ko-Oren and Valanora, are the most experienced in the Group, and Medzhumoramia’s hockey players will likely want to clear their heads of the debacles of tonight’s game before they face off against such prolific opponents.

by **Lacfroid** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 7:49 am

Ema’s parents were amused, but understanding after she talked Lucia out of scaling her way down the deck and crossing the frozen lake on skates. Her father, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a peacoat that looked like it cost several months’ rent, favored her with a smile that mirrored Ema’s and asked if she’d like to stay for dinner. Lucia hoped silently that they didn’t have too expensive of taste in restaurants, but she needn’t have worried; the next person through the door was Ema’s family’s governess, a harried-looking woman Lucia’s age who regarded her with tired eyes as she dragged a cooler into the kitchen.

The cooler proved to contain butchered venison from a buck which Ema’s father, Louie, had shot on a hunting trip to New Gesem that fall. He regaled Lucia with the story of its demise while the governess, Natalie, started the long process of cooking it and Marcie, the blonde woman in her thirties who’d followed Natalie through the door, got the “other” children settled upstairs. Lucia’s confusion must have shown, because Louie explained the dynamic almost eagerly; Ema was his only child by his first wife, while Marcie was his present wife and the younger children were theirs. Thomas and Jean-Pierre were twelve and thirteen, “Mytanar twins” as Louie explained it, while Sylvia was nine.

“Wait, are you Lucia Boutin?” asked Thomas over dinner, earning a dire look from JP and an uneasy smile from Louie (it seemed the family had a smile for every occasion).

“Do you know her?” asked Marcie, seeming concerned. Of everyone present, she seemed the least at ease with Lucia’s presence. Natalie and Sylvia seemed relatively unperturbed, while JP had turned her into an object of fascination, staring at her with the same wide, blue eyes as Ema.

“She plays for Croises,” Thomas said confidently. “She’s a defensewoman. And she’s in the gendarmerie.”

That got Sylvia’s attention. The little girl sat rapt, leaning forward slightly, as if hoping it were true but unwilling to commit to a reaction.

“Is that true?” Marcie prompted, looking at Lucia.

“Yes, madame,” Lucia answered as humbly as she could. “I’m a helicopter pilot, and I do play hockey.”

“That’s incredible,” said Marcie earnestly. “You must be so happy to have a break.”

“Very much so,” Lucia agreed.

by **Madrinpoor** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:16 am

BOX SCORE MD3

MADRINPOOR        2    1    3    -- 6
EVINIA            2    1    1    -- 4

MADRINPOOR DOMINATES EVINIA IN HOCKEY
6-4 VICTORY PROPELS CHANCES

First Period

1. MAD: Seo (1) (Kanada (3)) 6:04
2. EVI: Parteh (2) (Fakoly (1) Boateng (0)) 6:45
3. EVI: Ndur (1) (Parteh (2)) 9:13
4. MAD: Kanada (1) 14:43
Pen- Kanada MAD (boarding) 3:02; [-----] EVI (hooking) 9:31; Yuno MAD (spearing) 11:00

Second Period

5. EVI: Fakoly (0) (Parteh (2)) 8:16
6. MAD: Yuno (2) (Kanada (3) Masato (0)) 19:04
Pen- Bench EVI (too many men - Bench) 4:14; Yuno MAD (cross-checking) 9:34; Masato MAD (roughing) 18:56

Third Period

7. EVI: Amoussou (0) (Ndur (0) Olatunji (0)) 2:00
8. MAD: Handa (0) (Kanada (3) Koichi (0)) (pp) 8:20
9. MAD: Sergeyev (0) (Yanagi (1)) 15:50 
10. MAD: Sazama (1) (Ryota (1) Imada (0)) (en) 18:33
Pen- [-----] EVI (cross-checking) 8:09; Shigomoto MAD (hooking)

_{NEWSLETTER EDITION | 日本語 | | ENG | | 中文 | 한국어}

MADRINPOOR HOCKEY LOSES 2-5 TO BANIJA

ARKINTOOFLE — Madrinpoor's scrappy underdog hockey team's hopes were CRUSHED in a sickening 2-5 loss against Banija. The Blue Fire (note: nickname not endorsed by the Madrinpoor Ministry of Sport and Culture or the Madrinpoor National Hockey Team) was on a roll after an overtime defeat to the hosts in the first round; we had DOMINATED Evinia last week, and WIPED OUT Eden and Cambersey in a penalty shootout the week before. Unfortunately, this week the Fire was doused by the highly ranked (no. 10!) hockey federation from a country without snow. RIDICULOUS by any measure!

Kanada Aoi, the captain of Madrinpoor's team and leading assister, was sent off the court in only the first seven minutes of the game — an EGREGIOUS cross-check by a Banijan defender sent him sprawling on the floor, and Mr. Kanada landed awkwardly on his wrist. Madrinpoor coach Luc Beauséjour expects him to miss at least the next game against the I.A. Quebec, and possibly multiple after — the offensive lines have been tweaked so that Yanagi Kazuhiko will start in the center. However, Mr. Yanagi may be able to earn his spot — he scored one of Madrinpoor's two goals and assisted the other. Nevertheless, the offense very visibly faltered in the face of the Banijan defense, and without Mr. Kanada. We played sloppy and rushed — the fourth line had to be brought in three times to rest the other attackers.

ShotCloc™

PLAYERGAP
KANADA268
YANAGI134
YUNO303
SERGEYEV202
SEO202

Banija's first goal came just after Mr. Kanada's injury — Shimada Tadashi of the fourth line was substituted for Yuno Rishi, a hulking enforcer whose presence made the Banijans QUAKE in their skates. Mr. Shimada TORE into Esau Kayange of Banija before he was dragged off by the referees — at a press conference after the game, Kayange sported a busted lip and a black eye, neither of which are debilitating or game-ending injuries, unfortunately — but they will surely him not to mess with Madrinpoor unless he can back himself up in a fight! Unfortunately, the resulting power play awarded Banija a goal, the first of the match.

The second of the match was also for Banija, from Okeli Uwaezuoke while our goalie was accidentally behind the net; but we tied it up by the end of the second quarter, with goals from Mr. Yanagi (0) and Oleg Sergeyev (1). Sergeyev's goal was the result of a defensive error from Banija; Kebba Marong tangled himself up in front of the goal, and the puck slipped out — Mr. Yanagi sliced it to Mr. Sergeyev at a better angle, who then popped it into the net.

The rest of Madrinpoor's performance, especially that of its defense, was disappointing, to say the LEAST. The defensive lines were uncoordinated and not cautious enough; their style of building attacks up to the front did not work with the chaos and confusion exhibited by the offensive lines in this match. The puck was turned over dozens of times, and often the defenders were too far up to be much help to the goalie, Soga Hideo, who did an admirable job defending against the barrage of attacks from Banija. Soga was subbed out in the third quarter after two Banija goals, in favor of an extra attacker to tie the match up; they couldn't, and the final goal from Banija was from half-rink on an empty net. •

_{READ ALSO: • City Council Approves Metro Extension... • Madrinpoor Musician DJ Retasu Interview Exclus... • Crime Rate in Centre-City Up 14% From Last Year... • Pickleball Popularity Surging... •}

by **Golyna** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 12:28 pm

Golyna Hits it Big! 5-2 Win

After a 1-0 loss to Trollberg, Golyna was demoralized. "We thought we wouldn't make it past the group stages" McDrummond said. "But perhaps we could make it to the group stages now." Debuting their purple jerseys, Golyna's fans have decided to start a tradition, the rubber chicken toss. Before the start of the game, a few Golynan fans tossed rubber chickens on the ice, one of which was fired back into the stands by left winger Bob Illyous. "I thought it was a cute joke," said Illyous, "Little did I know a sporting tradition had begun."

Right off the puck drop, Golyna was dominate. Shalahaw won the opening draw and somehow dodged all five men on the ice before firing a shot five-hole. Shalahaw was stopped. After the goalie gloved the puck, McDrummond switched the forward line to put Illyous on the ice, along with Helichuck and Barber. Captain Barber won the draw, and faked a shot before sending a drop pass back to Illyous. Illyous took a wrist shot, putting the biscuit in the bag. Excited Golyna fans threw more rubber chickens on the ice, and Illyous took one and shot it into the stands. Some might think it's a one off thing, but just hours later during a game between the Richterville Hatters and Callahan Eagles, an Eagles player shot a rubber chicken into the stands, and shortly after scored the first goal of the game. "I guess the beginning of a sporting tradition happened last night," said Illyous on Twitler, "The Callahan Eagles did what I just did last night." Aside from the rubber chicken toss, the rest of the game was quite interesting. The Greater Onvares somehow managed to take the lead quite quickly, scoring two goals in the first. "I cannot believe how I let those two softies in" said Kris Cronwall. "Those were way to light to let through."

The 2nd period was kind to Golyna, with Liam Carpenter tying the game at two right off the draw. "He was way to far out to protect the net." said Carpenter. "I deked him out and got a clean shot off." After the tying goal, another goal was scored by the Golynans. After the go ahead goal, the Golynas kept pressing the net, and let the lamp again. "I just shot it" said Harrison Fields, the goal scorer. "It just went in."

In the third period, The Greater Onvares players were getting more desperate. Cheap hits, dump shots, and calling an off-sides call on the final goal of the game. When the goal was declared good, Greater Onvares fans didn't take it too kindly and booed. "We didn't care" said newly appointed assistant coach Alex Childers. "I just wanted to double down on defense and turtle in." Her strategy worked, as another goal wasn't scored the whole game.

by **Canadian Goose Republic** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:15 pm

Canadian Dominion bounces back with extreme style as they put Texas Jaguarundi to bed with a score of 8-6, this brings back a small hope for the CD but if they lose once more it could knock them out of a possible Ro32 appearance. This game against Juvencus could be the downfall of the current CD Hockey team.

by **Eden and Cambersey** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:22 pm

Goaltending heroics see Eden and Cambersey through against hardy IAQ side
First star performance from Anthony Everett lays foundation for upset win over the Independent Athletes from Quebec
Natalie Bowen (@NHBowenUP)
^{Sports | Pompey, Eden and Cambersey}

^{SHARE THIS:}

#PLAYER
19Francis Brekespear
1Anthony Everett
42Archie Frost
92Tristan Halley
96Julian MacQueen
8Adrian Rosewarne
#GOALTENDER
1Anthony Everett

#PLAYER
15Marina Belmondo
13Lionel Drews-Clark
26Gracie Kramer

XXX
#GOALTENDER
40Kim Yeong-Ook

GAP
101
011
011
101
011
011
SASVSV%
5150.980
GAP
101
011
011

XXX
SASVSV%
2624.923

E&C 2 — 1 IAQ
Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle

ARKINTOOFLE, SQUORNSHELAN REMNANT STATES — Eden and Cambersey's Mist Knights made it back-to-back upset victories with a narrow win over an Independent Athletes from Quebec team ranked 18th in the hockey world — and the shock victory comes just two days after a famous 4—8 win over a Banijan side ranked 10th globally. With 10 points from a 3—0—0—1 record, the Mist Knights now sit 2nd in Group E behind first-seed Mercedini, and, with the most points of any unranked team so far in the tournament, have perhaps quietly pushed themselves into the discussion for qualification to the knockout stages. That could prove to be a tall order though: Eden and Cambersey have yet to face tournament contenders Mercedini (ranked 5th globally) or the Squornshelan Remnant States (ranked 33rd globally), the latter of whom will be playing on home ice.

The game against the IAQ was a taut and cagey affair, at least for the Edenocambrians — a normally explosive offensive core that had tormented the defenses of Group E was uncharacteristically quiet for long stretches of the game, with even the fearsome Adrian Rosewarne putting in a largely anonymous performance, his offensive prowess effectively suppressed by a well-drilled Québécois blueline and solid goaltending from Kim Yeong-Ook. Following disallowed goals from both Eden and Cambersey's Axel Begbie as well as the IAQ's Hélène Soucy, it would be the Skate4Love Team who took the lead with 5 minutes left in the 1st after an excellent shift from the Québécois third line culminated in a goal from center Marina Belmondo.

With the Mist Knights' forwards still not clicking following the resumption of play for the 2nd period, it would be goaltender Anthony Everett who would have to carry Eden and Cambersey's hopes on his shoulders, making a string of highlight-reel saves to rebuke the IAQ's attempts to double their lead. As the Québécois side appeared to grow increasingly frustrated at the Edenocambrians' defensive resilience, momentum began to shift in favour of the Mist Knights, who came close on numerous occasions to tying the game with rush chances on the counterattack, all of which were denied only by more excellent netminding, albeit from Kim Yeong-Ook. It wasn't until early in the third that Eden and Cambersey was able to spoil Kim's clean sheet: a sustained offensive spell finally resulted in a laserlike pass from Julian MacQueen that cut across the width of the ice, zipping across the blue paint behind the Québécois goaltender before finding Tristan Halley's stick and, subsequently, the back of the net.

The two sides were toe-to-toe for the remainder of the proceedings, with the game at last opening up and constant back-and-forth offensive spells replacing the guardedness and caution of the 45 preceding minutes. The Mist Knights came very close to conceding a potential game-winning goal on multiple occasions, with more inspired goaltending from Everett causing Québécois star Geraldine Otter-Gormley to exit the game goalless when she would have easily had a double to her name on another night. The Edenocambrian goaltender would end the night with an incredible 50 saves out of a possible 51. As the clock winded down and the crowd at the Synesoft Center became increasingly convinced an overtime period was in order, the Mist Knights broke through at the last and put the game-winning goal past the Québécois goaltender with just 11.2 seconds left on the clock — and who else but Anthony Everett to bag himself an assist by starting the play that won it for the Edenocambrians?

Exiting the crease to retrieve a cleared puck, Everett sent a long pass along the boards to a surging Adrian Rosewarne, but the Edenocambrian captain was unable to get past Québécois defenseman Denan Rogers-Ogunbowale. As Rosewarne turned back to play it across the Québécois defensive zone, the puck took a bounce off a Québécois stick and sailed 20 feet in the air before a waiting Francis Brekespear, from just inside the zone, unleashed a powerful golf swing of a slapshot to rocket the puck past Kim from 35 feet out and seal a victory for the Mist Knights. Eden and Cambersey will next be facing their greatest challenge yet in their first World Cup of Hockey campaign, as they take on group polesitters Mercedini — ranked 5th in the world — on Tuesday evening. While the Mist Knights have played well and pulled off multiple upsets so far, the clash against the Mercedinians will all but surely prove to be a bridge too far — the side finished 4th overall in the previous edition of the tournament and are a much stronger team than even the Banijan side Eden and Cambersey defeated on matchday 2, and that victory was considered a massive surprise itself.

World Cup of Hockey 47 — Eden and Cambersey

Schedule
MD1: Eden and Cambersey 6—2 Evinea @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD2: Eden and Cambersey 6—6 Madrinpoor (0—3 SO) @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD3: Banija 4—8 Eden and Cambersey @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD4: Eden and Cambersey 2—1 I.A. Quebec @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD5: Mercedini vs Eden and Cambersey @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD6: Eden and Cambersey vs New Folgore @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle
MD7: Squornshelan R.S. vs Eden and Cambersey @Synesoft Center, Arkintoofle

XXX

Goals
Adrian Rosewarne - 8
Francis Brekespear - 5
Tristan Halley - 3
Axel Begbie - 1
Caspar Begbie - 1
Archie Frost - 1
Julian MacQueen - 1
Timothy Pascoe - 1
Jude Scarlett - 1

XXX

Assists
Caspar Begbie - 10
Adrian Rosewarne - 9
Axel Begbie - 4
Tristan Halley - 4
Archie Frost - 4
Francis Brekespear - 2
Leo Castledine - 2
Moses Byfield - 1
Anthony Everett - 1
Julian MacQueen - 1

XXX

Points
Adrian Rosewarne - 17
Caspar Begbie - 11
Francis Brekespear - 7
Tristan Halley - 7
Axel Begbie - 5
Archie Frost - 5
Leo Castledine - 2
Julian MacQueen - 2
Moses Byfield - 1
Anthony Everett - 1
Timothy Pascoe - 1
Jude Scarlett - 1

by **Atheara** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:03 pm

Middle School on the Ice
And thus we come to the next part of this insight. Throughout every level and academic stage, there are always schools and institutions that have dreamed big in one part of extracurricular sports, or maybe even another part of what the school participates in (Barring amateur clubs, considering they are actual sport clubs). Middle school is the first academic level where extracurricular sports can be introduced, and there are a wild variety of sports for students to choose from for when it comes to Athearan schools. The experience and love for one sport tends to stick until college or university, maybe even sticks forever. Ice hockey is one of these sports, and many have even ended up loving both Standard and Athearan Rules. But for middle school, not many have dreamed big of starting their victories at such a young age. But before we talk about those who did dream big, how does the education system work in AHR?

Kindergarden (4 - 6 years old, optional) - Grade School (6 - 10 years old) - Middle School (10 - 12 years old) - High School (12 - 16 years old) - College (16 - 18 years old, optional) - University (16 - 18/19/20 years old, depending on courses; 18 - 20/21/22 years old, if you took college and depending on courses)

Middle school generally starts when students hit the age of 10 and end once most reach 12 years old, meaning students only have around three years or so to make a name for themselves within any extracurricular sport for the potential acceptance into highschool. As for the grades in general, Kindergarden starts students from Pre-1st up to Pre-3rd grade, and Grade School puts you into 1st or 2nd Grade depending on how much a student develops during their time in Kindergarden. However, many fall into the former for their starting year in Grade School. It reaches up towards 5th grade, when they graduate and head towards Middle School. Within Middle School, students head towards 6th and up to 8th grade and most students usually pick up an extracurricular sport around 7th grade, however few are in fact early or late bloomers. It depends from student to student.

High School picks up towards 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th grade. 13th Grade is arguably not even a grade as it mostly consists of academic revisioning and examinations before heading towards either college or university, of which both are different things. College is attended by students who aren't good enough to make the immediate jump towards university, while the latter is intended for students who excel good enough to make the immediate leap. University is a mandatory institution, meaning all students are required to attend it until their degree is complete. And that brings us back towards 6th - 8th grade. Remember how I said that not many have dreamed big of starting their victories at such a young age? Well, we'll now be taking a look at 3 different schools that decided they want to start dreaming big at so little.

Corrothair Reverre Middle School
Corrothair Reverre Middle School is based within the capital of the country, Astena, within the Corrothair Reverre district. Originally focused within football, Corrothair Reverre has it's power constantly shifting from sport to sport, and it even ends up being the best in certain academic subjects within academic olympiads at times. They've rarely found a balance within extracurricular activities until now. Ice hockey has become their primary focus, consistently ranking within the top middle schools when it comes to ice hockey and even winning tournaments from time to time. Corrothair Reverre mainly focus on defense when it comes to general strategy, and they excel in Athearan Rules Ice Hockey more than Standard Ice Hockey, but still a formidable team in either which is proven with their consistent results time and time again.

Harindar National Academy
Harindar National Academy, as the name suggests, is based within the city of Harindar. Unlike most academic institutions, HNA is a complete academic institution. Meaning it has all levels of academic education except for university. While Harindar National Academy has it's high school and college levels focus on the same sport (That being either football or basketball), it's middle school counterpart has always for the longest time thrived in ice hockey when it first got into the sport. They are also known to have some of, if not the best facilities for extracurricular activities as they have their own to use. Meaning that they use their funds for development rather than using a part of it to rent a place to use.

Ceyna Oris Middle School
Ceyna Oris was a historical figure for The Kingdom of Nordcalia - Gestova who played a pivotal role in creating what would have been known as modern Nordcalia - Gestova society, before the nation would even be considered a spacefaring nation. And this middle school is one of the few things that were created in dedication to those of the past. Ceyna Oris Middle School is never the strongest team in any tournament, but they way they play their hockey proves that they are a strong contender in all but name. For an Athearan team of origin, they play quite offensively, which makes it difficult to play against them at times. They also have been known to have grit, especially their players for such a young age. Overall, this team was able to claim their spot at the top by mostly hard work and the ridiculous effort from everyone involved.

And that is all the middle schools can offer. We come to the high schools next.

by **Golyna** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:48 pm

This Golyna Federal Sports newsreel is marred in tragedy, despite the big win and debut of new colored jerseys, the one thing on the mind of many is the massive stadium crush of Riverside. Due to the popularity of the sport, many who couldn't attend the game in person gather outside in "viewing parties" to watch the game in public outside. One such party took place in Riverside's Pointe-DeGlasse Stadium, and it got ugly. After the game, as fans began to exit the stadium, a cry by the Entryway A (police callsign "Sallyport Alpha") was heard, with the unknown voice screaming "he has a gun!" Soon after, the crowd began pushing towards the exit, causing a deadly crowd crush. Seconds after the call was heard, a crowd control police officer put out the call "Bullrun Bullrun Bullrun! Sallyport Alpha comprised, assistance needed, casualties likely!" Bullrun was the police code for an impending or active crowd crush, enacted after a similar disaster in Riverside. "We tried our best to control the crowd," said Riverside Police spokesperson Lieutenant Victoria Lebanc. "But we just couldn't do enough." After the call was made, dozens of ambulances rushed to Pointe-DeGlasse Stadium, expecting severe injuries. There were police inside the stadium, and their response was to relive pressure on the gate by opening two "overflow" doors that lead to the upper decks of the stadium. Site security attempted to prevent more people from entering Gate A, and were mostly successful. After thirty minutes, the pressure in the gate let up, ending with 119 injuries and 33 deaths. The Golyna Federal Police have begun investigation into what happened here. "What a tragedy after such a great game" said coach Axel McDrummond on Twitler. "It's hard to be happy for the win after hearing what happened on Riverside." Others on the team share their sentiment. "I'm just shocked at what happened in Riverside last night," said Oscar Sykes-McDrumont, a Riverside native. "In my hometown nonetheless, truly tragic."

by **The Cordian Isles** » Mon Dec 19, 2022 7:22 pm

The Cordasfjord Daily – Sports

WCOH: North Stars Deliver A Shellacking To UPC

It was a good day for the Cordians yesterday at the World Cup of Hockey. In the morning game, TJUN-ia defeated Jedinsto 3-1 to send the former group leaders down to second and gave the North Stars the ability to take that spot with a win. Then, Kimi-Suomi’s upset of Cassadaigua resulted in several teams being tied at six, below the North Stars’ seven and well below the potential of ten the COrdians could reach if they beat the UPC. Lastly, they didn’t only beat the UPC – they brutalized the UPC. A 6-1 victory is a good win for any team, even against an unranked debutant.

The scoring opened just over two minutes into the first period. Alicia Sorensen sent a breakout pass over the Cordian blue line to a hustling Signy MacLeod. MacLeod drove all the way to the net, then got away with a cute cross-crease pass to Sorensen, who fired into the empty net to put the Cordians up 1-0, as a strong North Stars contingent cheered wildly. Less than a minute later, Verna Fredriksson crushed the UPC’s Niloslaz Tarodi into the boards to take the puck. She whipped a pass to Tryggve Eriksson in the slot, who only needed one touch to fire the puck into the back of the net. Less than three minutes into the game, and it was 2-0 for the Cordians. The next goal of what would be a four-goal period came with just over eleven minutes to go in the period, as Martin Kordsen beat a defenseman down the boards, drove to the inside, and roofed the puck short-side. With that, the Cordians took a commanding 3-0 lead.

After that goal, Kress Thomassen elected to give more playing time to the third and fourth lines, who had already proven themselves productive. Haakon Haraldsen added a goal late in the first – with three and a half minutes to go – firing the hard shot characteristic of Cordian defensemen and taking advantage of a highly effective screen by the Cordian fourth line to put the Cordians up by four goals. The first intermission came and went, and a noticeably smaller number of fans were present – many considered the outcome of this game foregone – but many also stayed in order to witness what was expected to be a showcase of the Cordian ability on offense. That offense, by the way, has generated the second-most goals in the tournament, behind only Patriotlandia.

The second period was much less active than the first on account of the first two lines and first D-pairing for the most part taking a much-deserved rest. However, on the first penalty of what was a rather clean game – Olafsen recording a two-minute penalty for roughing – the Cordian penalty kill went to work and obliterated the UPC power play. Later in the penalty kill, Justin Perreau blocked a shot and turned it into a breakaway. Faking to the forehand and pulling the puck to his backhand, he put his shot right over the UPC goalie’s pad to put the Cordians up five. The Cordian celebration was brief, though. The UPC, with thirty seconds to go on their power play, managed to set up and get the puck into the hands of one Udert Zespa in the slot against a goal-drunk Cordian PK. Zespa scored an incredible goal, going bardown over Olaf Smith’s shoulder to bring the Cordian lead back down to five. Despite strong Cordian pressure the rest of the period, the North Stars managed no more goals.

The last goal of a very high-scoring game was one of the tournament’s oddest. Rurik Dirsson, on for one of the second line’s few third-period shifts, beat the UPC defense to a puck below the goal line in their zone. Intent on getting a cross-crease pass to Jennifer Vosun, he sent his pass out almost without thinking – only for the puck to hit the stick of the UPC goalie and bounce into the goal for the Cordians’ sixth goal of the game. The game ended without much more fanfare – a couple quality shots from the Cordians were turned aside, while the UPC struggled to generate offense – and the North Stars secured a result they could be proud of.

Up next for the Cordians is Jedinsto. The up-and-coming side has clawed their way to third in the group after holding first since very early on. Yet a 2-goal loss to TJUN-ia indicates that, while strong, this team is still unranked and still very much beatable. If the Cordians can simply play up to their usual standards, they will be perfectly fine. However, should the Cordians lose or the game go to overtime, the Cordians will find themselves struggling to remain in the race for a top two spot, and almost completely out of the race for first in the group.

by **TJUN-ia** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 8:47 am

After winning the 1st Ice War, the Ice Jagaurs of TJUN-ia were now 3-0 and certainly in the hunt to reach the knockout phase of this WCoH. That performance against Kimi-Suomi was as good as it needed to be and Ølson Rasmussen liked how that game played out overall...but he also knew that the job certainly wasn't done yet and the next 4 games would certainly be critical for the playoff quest.

Game 4 would be up against a surprisingly undefeated debutant by the name of Jedinsto, who has been taking names since day 1 as one of this WC's surprise packages. Peter Price has certainly got this team rolling in their first shot of this competition, so we weren't going to underestimate them in our Black and Orange third jerseys (they wear Cyan and Orange, what did you expect?). They even took the lead thanks to a nice shot from Kaeden Thatcher within the first 2 minutes, a shot that was only countered at the start of the 2nd period through Captain Chris Jeeves. After that, the rest of this game was tight as both teams struggled to crack the renewed defences in front of both Chulalonnkorn "Chula" Shinawatra and Jefferey Woods...but it would, finally, take until the 3rd for things to finally open up in our favour as fatigue set in and a brace from Fatma Alhaddad would seal the game. This was a hard-fought win overall and Jedinsto deserves all the credit for making it so...but our win now means we're top of this group with 3 to play.

Up next is Cassadaigua, the first-ever meeting with a Dagan team since the National Reawakening, and many within the hockey circles still get goosebumps when talking about this team. It was way back in WCoH42 that the Dagans blew us to pieces, smashing us by 14-2 in one of the biggest demolition jobs we had ever paid witness to - and while we put up a better performance 2 years later, that was still a 1-0 defeat. We have never fully exorcised the demons of 14-2...and considering their ranking of #26, this might be the best chance we get of finally beating them. Can we, in fact, beat the Dagans? I guess we will find out soon enough. GO ICE JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group D, all games @Scolaidh Arena, Han Dold, Squornshelan Remnant States)
MD1: vs The Cordian Isles (2) W 5-5 [2-1 SO] (4th)
MD2: vs Lorenthia (82) W 5-3 (2nd)
MD3: vs Kimi-Suomi (41) W 6-3 (2nd)
MD4: vs Jedinsto (UR) W 3-1 (1st)
MD5: vs Cassadaigua (26)
MD6: vs Darkmania (53)
MD7: vs United Penguin Commonwealth (UR)

by **Jedinsto** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 9:17 am

Frustrated from their first loss, the Jedin team returned to the locker room furious. After being thoroughly humbled by the events of the third period, the Jedin team was assigned a total of three minor penalties and nearly got into several fights. Coach Hunter gave the following speech in the locker room in an attempt to raise morale:

"We may have lost the battle but we still may win the war. If, by some odds, we meet this team again, I am confident we can win. So far we've already made a mark on the ice hockey scene worldwide with our performance here so far. We've still got plenty of hockey left to play, and who says we're out of it? Anybody in this room that wants to think like that is in the wrong room. I will not sit here and watch you all let one loss turn into two. We will beat Cordia, I believe it. If you all do too, it will be so. We're not giving up yet, boys, not even close. Three more games, let's make 'em count. If you alcoholic fucks manage to beat Cordia, maybe I'll get wasted with you boys that night. Go play your fucking hearts out next game and prove the whole world wrong. Get some sleep tonight boys. We need everyone at their best coming into Tuesday's game. No drinking tonight for you all, though, especially you, Austin. Good night fellas."

by **Trolleborg** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 1:53 pm

Greetings, compatriots!
It’s TTV from SRS, where next game of group tournament of the World Hockey Cup was about to begin. Tournament is just moved to the second part of group stage, and our national team right now sits on the second place in the group due to the victory over Juvencus. While we waited for the game to begins, let’s relive highlights of how things are developed.

Juvencus masters of ice lost first two games of the tournament and then put an end to the debutant’s Texas Jaguarundi team surprising winning streak, and have a much on the stake in a game with our lads – victory give them a good chances to qualify without any preconditions. Vladimir Finn, as always, prefer to shuffle his players and keep every option open, and no one apart from him can talk surely about what he aimed to do and what to change if compared with lineup of previous game, but he give a post number one to the Torfinn Gronquist, who was widely perceived as a backup for the Peter Shelburn. While many also murmured, that in the light of later’s advanced age and fact that former is just two years younger than him, it will be much better to have someone much younger as understudy, but national leader have his own reasons.

Our team was again played prudently and with reasonable caution, moved quickly albeit confidently. In the first period, Vidar Riseth opened the scoring by coming out from behind the gate and made a sniper’s shot into the near corner past the goalkeeper, who was disoriented by the struggle between our two forwards and two Juvencus defenders started next to him. But then for quite a long time it was not possible to develop success, and it seemed to many that the matter could again end at best in victory with a minimal score. As you know, appetite sometimes comes with food, and our fans, who so recently hoped for at least one more victory, are now dissatisfied that even though the balance of victories and defeats of the national team is getting closer and closer to equal, and the head coach himself has already won more than lost, but our team does not win everyone in a row, regardless of the titles and ranks. Although Vladimir Finn probably wouldn't put it so bluntly, it's time for them to tame their dreams and stop getting on the team's nerves with their sky-high expectations. Especially in this game, where hockey players have achieved more significant success than the minimal victory. In the last period, with a difference of two minutes, Torben Garlok scored, finishing the combination of his comrades with a well-aimed throw over the goalkeeper's shoulder, and Torben Ronnefjord, who successfully picked up the puck that was beaten off far away by the opponents' goalkeeper, and sent it past all the obstacles into the net. 3-0 victory, but almost half of the group stage is still ahead...

...Oh, game was about to begins, our team already filled bench. Almost forgot – players of Trolleborg national hockey team take a black armands for this game out of respect for the victims of recent deadly stampede in Golyna.

by **Kimi-Suomi** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 2:01 pm

After Jääsota I didn't go in our favour at all, the Leijonat of Kimi-Suomi were now in a hole at 1-2 and in desperate need of any points they can muster from this WCoH campaign. Asiat eivät näyttäneet hyvältä...mutta meillä oli silti toivoa. Hannes Lehtonen still had hope that with more than half of the group stage left for this team, a turnaround and a push for the playoffs was still possible. All this team had to do was believe and anything was possible...but was it really?

Today's opponent would undoubtedly be a familiar one in former 2-time champs Cassadaigua, who we certainly have experience with via the wacky world of NSSCRA. The Ice Hockey team, coached by Maddie Tiriano, are still in the midst of its rebuild post-exile but is still considered a very serious threat no matter what. This match was actually pretty close, as two teams looking for a good win fought it out in a very entertaining contest. The Dagans would strike first thanks to an excellent strike from Kelsey Carver just before the end of the 1st period and from there on, the Leijonat was just trying and trying their best to get back into the game, one way or another. Tyler Sherman was certainly very tough to try and beat tonight...but when Erik Ekman-Larsson found a way through in the 2nd, you could feel the tension pick up a gear. The 3rd period was an all-out war as both sides absolutely did not want to settle for the two points tonight...and with 1 minute to go, Felizia Bouveng found her way through to take the lead - causing wild celebrations on the KS bench. That last minute was just intense as all hell, with everyone just giving it their all to let the result stand...and when the final siren sounded, we certainly celebrated that one. Kimi-Suomi had knocked off a 2-time champion. Back at 2-2, but feeling helvetin loistava at the same time!

Was that the jolt this team needed? Who knows...but with only GD separating us from the Top 4, things certainly aren't over just yet. Up next will be that 4th place team - Pimeämaninen (Darkmania), with this game set to act as a tiebreaker unless Jedinsto absolutely collapses. This has turned into a big game...and we will certainly fight if we must. NOSTA KUIN LEIJONAT!

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (Group D, all games @Scolaidh Arena, Han Dold, Squornshelan Jäännösvaltiot [Squornshelan Remnant States])
MD1: vs Lorenthinen [Lorenthia] (82) W 5-4 (3rd)
MD2: vs Jedinsto (UR) L 0-1 (5th)
MD3: vs JYK-inen [TJUN-ia] (13) L 3-6 (5th)
MD4: vs Cassadaigua (26) W 2-1 (5th)
MD5: vs Pimeämaninen [Darkmania] (53)
MD6: vs Yhdistyneiden Pingviinien Kansainyhteisö [United Penguin Commonwealth] (UR)
MD7: vs Cordianin Saaret [The Cordian Isles] (2)

by **Saperetia** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 3:01 pm

Overtime win re-ignites knockout hopes
Arjunnagar 3-3 (2-3 OT) Saperetia

A win against unranked Arjunnagar has reignited the hopes in Saperetia of the team qualifying themselves for the knockout stage. Currently, the team sits one point behind 5th and 4th, so if luck plays into it, the possiblilty is very real. But the matches ahead might be some of the tougest yet. So far, Saperetia has played two Unranked teams, a 6th ranked team and a 45th ranked team. Left are the teams ranked 12th, 27th and 32nd. Low comparatively for their pots but still, established in the game beating the experienced teams will require all skill and luck to be utilized.

The game saw Evered, Jovanović and Peton all getting their first goals in international games in regular time. Evered scored early into the 1st period, before Arjunnagar equalised. In the second period, Arjunnagar got off to a better start, scoring two goals in the first half before Jovanović and Peton managed to score two goals in quick succession to tie the game. Both sides attempted desperatly to score in the 3rd period but neither managed to do it, as both sides' defences proved too strong to overpower. Multiple times confusion arose as the puck was brought close to goal and then hit around for a pinball-like style and then away. But the regular time ended with the score tied at 3-3, sneding Saperetia into it's first overtime period.

The overtime period saw one goal by Banister assisted by Morin. The men looked exhausted after the game, but they smiled as they withdrew from the field. "Two points, better than the 0 were had in the first two games combined." proclaimed Blanchard. "The men were definetly happy. We hope that we can use this momentum against Atheara and try to jump into the top half of the group."

Speaking of 32nd-ranked Atheara, the nation sits 4th, one point above us with a +1 GD, meaning that an OT win would put us ahead of them on count of H2H (we think, at least) into at least 5th, at best 4th, if Vilita and Turori don't win 3-0 or better, what would mean we would be in a spot to advance into the knockouts. However, losing the match would put us in a procarious position, with everything depending on our matches against the 12th ranked HUElavia and 27th ranked Vilita and Turori.

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 3:11 pm

Keep on winning, Dragonflies! You're no doubt wondering when it'll start going wrong. Well, the last time we went out in the group stage was in WCOH 36, after a 5 win-5 loss campaign. Every time since then, the wins have outnumbered the losses very heavily, and with four wins in four games, and three left to play, we've ensured a winning group stage record for the 11th consecutive tournament. The only other streak worth mentioning is the WCOH 22-30 nine time straight winning records. Interestingly, in the first of those (WCOH 22), we still went out in the groups - just not with a bad record.

The 2-1 over Caribbia helped us add another notch to an impressive streak, but where you'd expect a formulaic, defensive win: this new generation of players turn out to have some tricks up their sleeve. The team is still built on solidity at the back, but Winterhaag can find open lanes down the ice easily, Akinaga is remarkably confident and technical in deceiving wingers to launch a counterattack, while the Loenaren brothers are probably the biggest thing in Ko-orenite ice hockey since that very WCOH 22. The team is definitely built on a philosophy that you'd rather wait and find a better shot than take an early chance at goal, translating to low shot stats for the Dragonflies, but in fact we're keeping the puck with us, which means that we decide when to substitute, and it means that we force them to stay out on the ice for longer than advised. Going from a defensive, passive team to a dominant, passing team in about two World Cups is not what we expected but it's very welcome indeed.

Against Caribbia, it was all the third line. Aone Aenec - older brother of Aedeti - found Aorifi behind the net, who wrapped it around for Aurtinia to finish. It wasn't a very impressive finish, but it beat the goalie to the post so it was enough. On the second goal, Nammagun shot from distance with Aurtinia obscuring the view, and Aorifi easily found the loose puck as it was batted down by the Caribbia defence: 2-0. One in each period to start the game, and the 2-1 was scored early in the third.

We're not sure what the deal is with these brother tandems - Aenec and Loenaren first and foremost - but we're all for it. There's a few more active in the league, with Aidira Aelora playing for the Storm and twin brother Aidame briefly active for the same team, before getting traded to the Hunters as that team was set up, and then pushed to Noordrug before appearing in the second tier now. There's the Anevure brothers, with younger Auloo playing centre for Egevea and realistically making an NT appearance once he's a little more well-rounded, in more than one way, and older Aigoe playing winger for Noordrug. House Aomecara also supplies two: one each for the rival Scouts and Wanderers - Aodeo might one day make it to the Dragonflies but with the amount of talent coming through a fantastically improved second tier, it's hard to say if his day will come. He's a winger, at just 20 years old, among an unprecedented generation of talent, after all. The Aubimes supply two defenders, a rarity where every duo so far play vastly different roles. And eventually you'll run into the first trio of the same family: Aurtinia. Aelocu is playing amazing hockey for the Northerners, while brother Ausugo is the starting goalie for the Storm. The third is not a brother, but a cousin by the same last name: Aesfu has a harder time adapting to the level of the top division, but is sticking around for the Explorers-Mariners.

Up to this point they've all been Aerelleners. The mainland produces far fewer hockey families, but the IJzerkroon (and obviously Loenaren) brothers are good examples. Gerwin and Reinier Reigervlier are the only other occurrance in our database, both playing backup roles at northeastern mainland clubs.

Yes, after entering the age of professionalisation, a second tier, and free agents, we still see that Aerelleners stick to their clubs and mainlanders stick to theirs.

by **Graintfjall** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 6:44 pm

Posted on the In Brief section of the winter sports blog Icy Dead People.

Brown-Hahm encourages senior players to step up

by **Elejamie** » Tue Dec 20, 2022 7:38 pm

It turned out that his fears were completely unfounded.

He had worried that Placely Placington would score a whole bunch of goals and ruin their near-perfect goal differential. He was worried about the possibility of a loss, as strange as that sounded. After all, this was a vaunted offence who had scored thirteen goals in their opening two games. This was a team who were miraculously in the running for an elimination stage spot despite being ranked so low that if they made it there they'd get stomped. And this was a country who repeatedly gave them five points whenever the two competed in the WorldVision Song Contest, although since Elejamie's withdrawal from the contest for reasons we won't go into they've had to soldier on alone. So naturally this could be a bit of an issue and a surprising nail-biter.

But, as previously mentioned, it turned out to be completely unfounded. Not only did his side make it to the halfway point with their fourth win out of four but it was a shut-out win too. Not as action-packed as the first three games, instead being a 3-0 affair, but it was still a decent affair. Going into the match, Alex decided that the best plan would be to just score a few goals to have a massive cushion and then park the bus when they've got a good enough cushion just to make sure they won't have to worry about an avalanche of goals ruining their decent run so far. Boring? Yes. Lazy? Also yes. But it should hopefully pay off when they make it to the next round as one of the highest seeds.

The first period was pretty much where the goals were. The first goal came with 16:11 left in the period with a well-timed snap shot from Ethan Swinburne, which managed to make between Test Subject 1's legs and into the back of the net. Normally that wouldn't be super interesting in and of itself but the Barajas brothers played a passing game to try and make the Test Subjects crash into each other and make mistakes. Their plan worked as the Test Subjects just kept crashing into things like the boards, their teammates, their sticks and the air. All that was left for elder brother Danilo to do was to pass it to Swinburne, who got into a better position, took aim and fired it in. It was a good start but now they needed more.

The second came with 12:33 left. Cerin Meloten won the face-off in his team's side of the ice and passed it over to Stacy Saunders. Saunders would then pass it over to Lupe who, in turn, would pass it over to Bill Harrison. Harrison then proceeded to make his way up the ice. He spectacularly dodged every single Test Subject that came his way, even going as far as to have one of them crash into its bench. He then passed it over to Saunders who tried to fire it in off the one-timer. No such luck, the puck hit the post. His second attempt, however, was much more on target. As in, it literally went through the goalie and into the back of the net. Such a thing would scar you for life if it weren't for the fact that a) they were playing a team that could be cloned back to life no matter what freak accidents may happen and b) such an occasion has already happened in the past so everyone was quite used to it.

And the third came with 9:02 left. With Rafinho and Neil Cuevas hanging back just in case Placely Placington somehow managed to get the puck and launch and attack, although considering how play had to stop for a little while when Test Subjects 4 and 5 fused together after they collided into each other and had to have new selves cloned back to life it might not have been worth it in the end, Rafael Espinosa fired the puck all the way up to James Han. Han fired a slap shot from the point, only for it to sail over the cross bar and hit the glass behind the goal. Fortunately, there were no Test Subjects nearby to clear the way and Test Subject 1 wasn't even bothering to retrieve the puck to clear it. As a result Lucas Madgwick swooped over and passed it to Han, whose shot hit the crossbar on its way in and caused the goal itself to rattle. The crossbar may have flung forward and left us with two pieces of Test Subject 1, resulting in the Clonomat being dragged out again to clone another player, but the goal still stood.

Apart from that, there really wasn't much to talk about in this match. It could've easily have been 20-0 by the halfway point of the first period and the final score would've either resulted in an overflow, the score being read as something like "D9" or the scoreboard would suddenly be able to fit three digits on there. However, if they did that then a) it wouldn't have been sporting and b) Placely would've gotten a goal or twenty of their own. Besides, they were already top of the group and they were already shaping up to be the best team of the tournament so there was no need to go into overkill. So instead Alex just called a time-out after that third goal and told his team to just simply defend and don't worry about not scoring any more. They didn't have to go full on Gijón mode, they had to at least convincingly try to miss and if their attempts at missing went in regardless then that'd be a massive bonus. But all they had to do was hang back and stop Placely from even considering putting the puck into the back of the net.

Did this lead to a dull match? Yes, undisputably. Even if you ignore the Ice-a-phants turning into an arguably unnecessary defensive slog, the Test Subjects But They're On Ice constantly dying kept forcing the clock to stop, making a drone metal song seem like grindcore and a gridiron game seem like rugby sevens in comparison. Were the fans disappointed? Yes, or at the very least the Elejamian fans were as they could've easily gotten 8 or 9-0 out of this, per period too. Placely Placington's fans, however, were clearly not people given 50 cents and told to cheer every minute and a half, that would be silly. But were the Ice-a-phants still top of their group? Yes. There'd have to be a massive collapse for them to not make it out at this stage but they'd have to really tempt fate for such an event to start happening. Luckily Alex wasn't one of those people who'd do that, although he did have to face a slightly tough press conference where he had to face a head of questions like why he had his team play that way, if they were worried about seeming complacent, if they've kind of set a bad example and how they think the rest of the group stage would go. However, he was asked what it was like to play Placely:

"The first time you check someone so hard their head pops off, it can be quite a traumatic and harrowing event. The second time it happens, especially if it's to the same person or even a regenerated clone of them, it can still be quite disturbing. The fifteenth time it happens, it's all "botheration" and "most inconvenient". You can't even pretend to entertain the thought of being disturbed by it. And the less said about how the time play had to stop for a few minutes because a player somehow trapped themselves under the ice, the better. This was one of the strangest matches I've ever had to play and one of the strangest opponents I've ever had to face. We must've caught them on a bad day or our top not defending must've really put them off."

No matter, after a touch press-facing it was time to relax on the bus back to the hotel and get ready for training tomorrow. Game plan? He could formulate small bubbles of ideas in his head and work on them when he gets back to his room. Maybe watch clips of his next opponents too, just to see how they play, how they're doing and how he could stop them from making it too far against his side. It probably helped that his team's game was the last Group F game for that day so he decided to have a quick look at the group so far to see How his side were doing so far. Unsurprisingly, they were not only top of their group but they were also the only team in the tournament to win all of their games in regulation time. They'll get a loss or an OT win at some point but they might as well ride this wave while they still have the chance. And with a goal differential of +19, coming from 21 scored and 2 conceded, they couldn't afford not to.

Two of their next opponents occupied second and third respectively, with their next opponent being the latter and the one after being the former. Lisander dropped down to fourth place with a 2-0-0-2 record. Placely Placington now also had the same record but were down in fifth place because of the 5-1 loss to the Irises earlier in the group. St. Saratoga had finally managed to get their first win of the tournament, even if it was a 2-1 shoot-out win after a 2-2 draw, which saw them shoot up to 6th place; their opponents, the Île de Richelieu, slipped down to 7th place although given their next opponents they might finally get their first win of the tournament no matter if it's in regulation or overtime. Those next opponents? The Arctic Hockey Association who are all the way down in dead last with four losses so far, three of them in regulation. At least the OT loss meant they still had a point.

Who were those next opponents, the ones sitting down in third? None other than Delaclava. Despite him being unable to find a roster of their team, they were still doing an amicable job having just torn apart Lisander's defence in a 7-4 slugfest. Before that, there were 5-4 wins over the aforementioned Risilu Iyil and the 1-0 OT win against the AHA after both teams were unable to score in regulation. There was also the 5-3 defeat to the now-second placed team, Huayramanca, on the opening day which could give him a vague idea of what to do offence-wise and see if his forwards can replicate what had happened there. Or at the very least put their own spin on things. Maybe have the defence keep on high alert just to make sure that his side would keep having the joint best goals conceded record, something they shared with Ko-oren (unsurprisingly) and Trolleborg. But how could he best get that across to his team? What could he say to sum up what he wanted to do. And, as he looked down and saw some dingus on their phone when they were supposed to be driving, that gave him an idea of what he could say to precede the pre-game speech he was starting to make in his head:

"Just keep your eyes on the road."

World Cup of Hockey 47 || Everything Thread

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WCoH 47 MD4

MDJ 2 - 2 KTM (2 - 3 in OT)

WCoH 47 — MD4 RP

Newsreel: WCoH 47, #3

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WHAT A BOUNCEBACK WIN!

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