World Cup of Hockey 13 everything thread

[Kelssek]

Semifinals
Sorthern Northland 1–1 Toyur (1–2 OT)
Kelssek 2–2 Plutoni (3–2 OT) - scorinated by Septentrionia

Third-place playoff
Sorthern Northland vs. Plutoni (Great Bear Arena, Latrobe)

Final
Toyur vs. Kelssek (Federation Arena, Neorvins)

[Kelssek]

Crawford's OT winner vaults Kelssek into final
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2010 | SPORTS | by Simon Horchkiss

After years of frustration and failure, Kelssek has made it to the final of the World Cup of Hockey just when fans least expected it. As fans at the False Creek Arena and across the country gnawed their fingernails, and then went into raptures as Sydney Crawford scored the overtime winner with 8:19 left to put Kelssek further in the World Cup than it has ever gone before.

The common wisdom was that the team was in a rebuilding phase with the departure of head coach Craig Gilbert as well as legends Brian Duborny and Neville Keanes. But they have blown all that out of the water now. Going into the tournament ranked 8th in the world and as the hosts, decent progress into the knockout rounds was always anticipated, but the road seemed set to end as Kelssek came up against the number 1 ranked defending champions Plutoni.

But Plutoni have not been firing on all cylinders this tournament, and barely made it into the knockout rounds as they needed an extra play-off stage after finishing a dismal third in their group. In some ways this was an upset waiting to happen. Kelssek got the all-important first goal with 48 seconds left in the first period as Kevin Sheridan put a laser of a wrist shot from the point over the shoulder of Karkin Fassly. Plutoni pulled it back in the second and went ahead with Mack Chase showing good hand-eye coordination to put his robotic teammates to shame and the puck in the net. Marko Russlund then illustrated the importance of not dallying too long at the concession stand as he tied it 22 seconds into the third period.

Head coach Gareth Fremlin admitted he didn't expect to get this far either.

"It's still quite astonishing, to me. To be honest I'd have been satisfied if we had lost today, and then looked to how we'd get to the next stage next time. But it seems the future is now. I don't expect the lads will have any trouble motivating themselves for this."

It's already been a year of sporting euphoria in this sports-mad nation, what with hosting the Summer Olympics and the men's water polo gold medal win at those Olympics. Toyur are certainly no pushovers and stand every chance of mercilessly disappointing the home fans. Few dare to believe that a long-awaited triumph at the World Cup of Hockey is possible, but now it certainly is. And the fans in Neorvins are all set to erupt in joy.

[Plutoni]

Plutoni ice hockey blog: WCoH 13, Semifinals
Open commenting period

1. seb: Hey, believe it, Plutoni have been superior in our last matchups with Kelssek. 3-2 in overtime, then 5-3, in the quarterfinals of WCoH10.
...
19. jrgiant: Goal from...I don't even know who that is. Announcer might have said Sheridon? Wow. Not what you're looking for momentum-wise.
20. seb: Sheridan, Kevin. Yeah he's not one of their first choices. Doesn't matter now, hoo boy.
...
27. Psycho_Monroe: Goal Plutoni! Tie game! Didn't see that go in but I think it was Mack Chase.
28. icebaby: ...you think it was Mack Chase? He sort of stands out.
...
34. jrgiant: ok, that wsa definitely Mack CHase
...
49. jrgiant: ARGH guys, momentum. Boo.
50. Psycho_Monroe: Goal for Marko Russlund, that is. Man, these guys come out of nowhere.
51. icebaby: Again, I invite you to look at the replay. He's sort of hard to miss.
52. tertiary_watson: Okay, come on. I agree that this is bad for our momentum, but that has to mean that the first one wasn't. We were going for a break anyway.
53. seb: It's cool, guys. We blew a lead in WCoH 10 when we won in overtime, we'll be fine.
...
68. jrgiant: ...grr.
69. icebaby: One word about how this is good for the tournament or whatever, and I shall unleash the caps lock on you.

[Kelssek]

Third-place playoff
Sorthern Northland 1–3 Plutoni

[Plutoni]

hockey17.plu/desc/features/wcoh133ppo
A SCALE!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important are third-place playoffs? Really?
Linda, the West: Third-place playoffs, plural, in general? Like two. This one that we were in? Like eight.

On a scale of 1 to 13, how much has Sorthern ice hockey developed?
Bill, the Northeast: I have literally never seen them play before. I'd guess quite a lot, but to be honest, I really couldn't tell you.

On a scale of 1 to 19.683, how likely are Kelssek to win tomorrow?
Adam, Char: Uhhh 12. They'll have the home crowd behind them, but I don't think that could make them any more excited. Toyur have been there before but who knows.

On a scale of 1 to 17, how much did the opening goal scare you?
Gene, Uptown: 17/3. Significantly less than what would have happened had the center scored instead of assisted.

On a scale, does Marty Plough weigh more or less than the media guide suggests?
Doug, the Exurbs: Less, I think.

(Goalscorers: Mosquera 5:09 into the first, Flurian 17:13 into the first, Atzin 3:20 into the second, Chase 18:54 into the third)

[Toyur]

Toyurska Sportnyhet

SECOND TIME LUCKY?
Grizzlies prepare for second consectutive final
by Sven Magnusson

NEORVINS, KELSSEK (TP) - Toyur will make a second finals appearance in as many World Cups as they got past Southern Northland 2-1 in what is increasingly becoming a Toyuri special - overtime.

Mattias Nylen thrust the dagger into Snorthian hearts with an early overtime goal, one so early that many of the fans were not yet back in their seats after visiting the concession after the third period intermission. 35 seconds was all it took for the returning finalists. After a poor pinch at the blue line from youngster Matty Joyce, Petr Rasmussen put the puck on the stick of Nylen, who raced down the ice and stuffed a shot through the legs of Bélair after opening him up with a nice deke to the backhand.

Jakob Hjerstedt was the other goal scorer for the Grizzlies, scoring midway through the second, equalising the game after Amber Harding gave Southern Northland the lead earlier in that frame.

Toyur now must play the role of spoiler as they move into the final to take on host Kelssek. Kelssek had what will sure to be remembered as a famous win over world number 1 and defending champion Plutoni, and will have all the momentum going into the final. Toyur have experience as finalists, and will be hoping that they can go the extra mile and win in this year's final. Two hours of pre-game festivities will be shown live on TSTV1, followed by the final itself.

Code: Select all

TOYUR vs Southern Northland
Scoring Summary

First Period

No Scoring

Shots on Goal: Toyur 9 (9), Southern Northland 8 (8)

Second Period

SNO A. Harding (Mosquera, Thérriault) 4:28
TOY J. Hjerstedt (7) (Jansson, Knutsson) 11:33

Shots on Goal: Toyur 9 (18), Southern Northland 11 (19)

Third Period

No Scoring

Shots on Goal: Toyur 10 (28), Southern Northland 10 (29)

Overtime

TOY M. Nylen (3) (Rasmussen) 0:38

Shots on Goal: Toyur 1 (29), Southern Northland 1 (30)

Three Stars
1. Mattias Nylen (Toyur)
2. Amber Harding (Southern Northland)
3. Thibaut Bélair (Southern Northland)


[Kelssek]

Final (scorinated by Septentrionia)
Toyur 3–2 Kelssek

[Toyur]

Toyurska Sportnyhet

VICTORY! (IN HOSTILE TERRITORY)
Grizzlies overcome crowd noise, opposition to win World Cup of Hockey
by Sven Magnusson

NEORVINS, KELSSEK (TP) - Federation Arena was loud and proud that host nation Kelssek had reached the finals of the World Cup of Hockey. The team had dispatched Plutoni in a famous win for the nation, and were riding a wave of momentum going into the finals, where Toyur was waiting, hoping to win the tournament that they were so close to winning last time out.

The Grizzlies, for their part, had got to the finals playing almost the equivalent of a full extra period than their opponents. Toyur had gone to overtime more than any other team in the World Cup of Hockey, and had reached the finals with yet another overtime victory in the semi-finals, this time against Southern Northland. The team had shown that they could play when they needed it most, though there was a nagging feeling from the Toyuri fans that had made the trip to Kelssek that if you go to the well too often, it eventually runs dry. At this level, the breaks always even out, and Toyur seemed destined to lose an OT game at some ponit.

Two contrasting mindsets met at Federation Arena, with many Kelssek fans I spoke with outside feeling that, if they were being truthful, they were not expecting to get past Plutoni and felt that their place in the final was something that should be taken advantage of. Who knows when a team will get back to a major final again? For Toyur, two straight appearances meant that the odds would likely mean they would face an extremely tough path to another final in the next tournament - the team would be marked and many teams would play to beat a top team.

The Federation Arena was firmly in the Kelssek camp, as one would expect, with a tiny green-clad Toyur minority sitting behind the Grizzlies' bench. Ironically, Toyur were the home team by virtue of being the higher ranked side. The home team (on the scoreboard, not in the crowd) opened the scoring with a powerplay goal from Stefan Jansson, who deflected Jonas Holmberg's shot from the point past Gorges in the Kelssek goal. 1-0 was how the first period ended.

Kelssek opened their account within the first two minutes of the second period, with Laurent Oberforsky setting up Sydney Crawford with a quick, accurate pass from behind the goal. Kelssek pressed hard in the second period to take the lead, but Patrik Dahlin sparkled in the Toyur goal, stopping 13 shots of the 14 he faced in the middle stanza. Toyur paid their goalie back with a goal with less than 12 minutes remaining, with Anders Mjallby finding the back of the net to restore Toyur's lead. They scored again with just under 5 minutes remaining, with all-time scoring leader Jakob Hjerstedt seeming to seal up the championship for the Grizzlies. Gary Bavarillo gave Kelssek a lifeline with a goal with 53 seconds remaining, but the Grizzlies held on for their first ever World Cup of Hockey championship.

The TIF would like to thank Kelssek for all the hospitality and professionalism in hosting the tournament, and the fans who came out to all the games. Ice hockey is growing worldwide, and it feels good to be on top of the growing pile!

Code: Select all

TOYUR vs Kelssek
Scoring Summary

First Period

TOY S. Jansson (6) (Holmberg, Linderoth) 8:19 PP

Shots on Goal: Toyur 10 (10), Kelssek 9 (9)

Second Period

KEL S. Crawford (Oberforsky) 1:54

Shots on Goal: Toyur 8 (18), Kelssek 14 (23)

Third Period

TOY A. Mjallby (3) (Nylen, Knutsson) 8:33
TOY J. Hjerstedt (8) (Jansson, Aspelin) 15:37
KEL G. Bavarillo (White, Calderwood) 19:07

Shots on Goal: Toyur 11 (29), Kelssek 8 (31)

Three Stars
1. Stefan Jansson (Toyur)
2. Patrik Dahlin (Toyur)
3. Jean-Claude Gorges (Kelssek)