World Cup of Hockey 37 - Everything Thread

[Abanhfleft]

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ABANHFLEFT
NATIONAL MEN'S ICE HOCKEY TEAM

This will be Abanhfleft's nth time participating in the World Cup of Hockey. Abanhfleft is going through a bad patch of form sports-wise so no one really expects much from this team this time around. Hockey has also experienced a bit of a decline in popularity so that also means that less people would be watching the national hockey team this time around. The ice hockey craze bubble has burst, and Fleftic ice hockey fans aren't taking it too well so they'll support the team no matter what but even they aren't getting their hopes up. That's how far expectations have fallen for this team. It's kind of sad, really. And then they went to the final of WCoH 35 where they lost to Elejamie so apparently interest in hockey has been revived.

BASIC INFORMATION
Nation name: Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft
Demonym: Fleftic
Team colors: Blue, orange, and green
Style modifier: +2.25
Head coach: Harris Bunsen (USA, 62 y/o)

STARTERS
Goaltender: Jeremy Gonzalez (25 y/o, male)

1st Defensive Pair:
Francis Griffith (29 y/o, male)
Ruben Arnold (29 y/o, male)

2nd Defensive Pair:
Teddy Langenfeld (32 y/o, male)
Kelly Hughes (29 y/o, male)

3rd Defensive Pair:
Hassan McNichol (24 y/o, male, defense)
Willard Feder (26 y/o, male, defense)

1st Offensive Line:
RW: Ted Kawakami (31 y/o, male. captain)
C: Brandon Weyandt (25 y/o, male, offense)
LW: Cristobal Rosenberg (31 y/o, male)

2nd Offensive Line:
RW: Tatiana Vinogradova (26 y/o, non-binary)
C: Gjorgij Tymowski (26 y/o, male)
LW: Lino Mable (32 y/o, male)

3rd Offensive Line:
RW: Doug Chavez (30 y/o, male)
C: Jacques Ruston (29 y/o, male)
LW: Nicolas DiPaolo (32 y/o, male)

4th Offensive Line:
RW: Benjamin Elsasser (30 y/o, male)
C: Mark Housman (29 y/o, male)
LW: Lewis Dejulio (29 y/o, male)

RESERVES
Neil Imperato (33 y/o, male, goaltender)
Billy Ryan (23 y/o, male, goaltender)
Terrance Batura (31 y/o, male, defense)
Isaiah Moulder (32 y/o, male, defense)
Reggie Karg (30 y/o, male, defense)
Venkata Phadanis (23 y/o, male, defense)
Nuri Hamina (22 y/o, male, defense)
George Holden (28 y/o, male, offense)
Ronald Coleman (25 y/o, male, offense)
Keith Wee (31 y/o, male, offense)
Jordan Pursley (24 y/o, male, offense)
Patrick Lewis (24 y/o, male, offense)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Anything except killing is fair game.

[Udmurt]

Udmurtian National Men's Hockey Team

Team Information
Team name: Udmurtian National Men's Hockey Team
Nickname: Eagles
Team colours: White, Black and Gold
Syle modifier: +2.1
Head coach: Jonas Kuppeling
Assistant coach: Christian Buchwald

Roster
Goalies
Ulrich Hofmann
Klaus Rodl

Defenders
Kilian Erlbaum
Elmo Windisch
Eggert Gaertner
Antonin Linhart
Krystof Mrazek
Ilya Ulanov
Andris Jaungailis
Fabio Weide

Wingers
Manuel Kollek
Michael Reiter
Oscar Hansch
Radim Havlicek
Artyom Razyanov
Oto Mach
Martins Stepins
Oliver Beran
Alexander Yulanov
Patrik Boeckmann

Centers
Jaroslaw Wazny
Dietrich Tilgner
Vlastimil Prusik
Jannik Webern
Andrey Sharipov

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes
Godmod Injuries to My Players: No
RP Penalties for My Players: Yes
RP Ejections for My Players: No
Godmod Other Events: Yes

[Vangaziland]

The way the Vangaziland Geese chose to celebrate after the last practice before the WCoH shows the difference between them and some of Vangaziland's top international teams. Most of the Geese went from the training grounds to a pub in the heart of Emeros. The tavern wasn't far from Vannish Motors Arena where they'd play their home games.

'The Wayward Frigate' is a pub known for wood-fired pizza and a ship motif. The inside of the bar was decorated similar to an old sailing vessel. Of course it wasn't historically accurate. A live performer currently played the flute. Others had played music throughout the night, from accordians to harmonicas. The occasional music gave the restaurant an airy vibe.

Since the drinking age in Vangaziland was 18, most of the team wouldn't have problems coming here. Forward Lee Harmony was too young. Lee was mostly on the team to support his friend James Bankersson. The two both go to Prince F. Vang Academy. The secondary school is known for winning an international sailing trophy in an Esportivan competition.

Many think James Bankersson will grow to be the best player on this team. The Vannish delegation signed him as soon as he became an eligible. They even signed his friend Lee on a waver. James was put right into the starting center spot. Some might wonder why such a young player would have preference over veterans.

Banksson grew up overseas far east on a frozen satellite of Russia. He trained in their very strict and technical youth program. Some of the leagues he played in from ages 14-16 were more competitive than most Vannish ones.

Now Banksson sat near keeper Tim Goldkeld and Sarah Daganson. The keeper and female forward were both 19 year old college students. They both thought James was cool, though he seemed quiet. Tim had been trying to get Sarah's attention. She was too into Banksson to have time for the portly keeper. That didn't stop Tim from trying. He was laying low, but letting his sense of humor shine. It could be hard to make Sarah laugh, but there were ways.

Rik Sullkap and Daron Flake were both getting carried away. The starting defensemen decided to play a drinking game. They had a few shots lined up, along with their phones out. The other team was gathered around. Khristian Duffy was reading a Vannish article from his phone. They were playing the Vannish Media edition of a drinking game.

The defenseman would take a shot for typical Vannish writing. For example, when Jessica Franssen is randomly inserted into another sport's article, you take a drink. Take a second drink if the article mentions her world championships. One can also take a drink if a Vannish athlete tries to be disarmingly humble in an interview. Relationship drama is worth a drink. Talk of the Mainland or the Colonies is also worth a point.

As Duffy read off the article, both defenseman struggled to take the shots quickly enough. Duffy and Skullkap were close in age, at 26 and 24 respectively. Daron Flake was 20 and even more raucous. Rik played for a team called the Ratsharks, located in the small market town of East Austerbrook.

Wilmer Wahlgren of the Red River Rattlepigs was focused more on the pizza than socializing. He joked with Kenneth Lindeman. Wahlgren kept telling the junior college student that his big day was coming. He kept asking Ken how he planned to spend his big future hockey contract. This was sarcastic, since the sport didn't really pay well in Vangaziland.

"I wish hockey would be that big here", Lindeman replied. "I bet we'd train harder."

"We train plenty hard", said Wilmer. "There'd just be better players than us on the national team." The 6'3 defenseman laughed as he spoke. "We'd never get time on the ice."

One player who chose not to come to the pub was Evelyn Annardottir. The dark-haired Overglade University student didn't like the idea of drinking relatively close to their first game. She always felt like it hung around in her stomach. Overglade is known to be Vangaziland's most prestigious university. She kind of saw herself as a babysitter to James Banksson, even though James was an adult.

She knew his school was also prestigious. She didn't want him to get caught up in the bar scene with people like Duffy and the Rattlepig. He wasn't just supposed to be a good hockey player. He was likely one of the Empire's future business leaders She couldn't help but be responsible for grooming him. This attitude came because Evelyn was the president of OU's Student Business Association.

James didn't care much for Evelyn's advice. She came off as controlling. He felt so free and downright happy that she wasn't around. The flutist approached the tables occupied by the hockey players. He didn't recognize any of them, especially not in the dark light. He started playing the tune of an old Vannish sailing song. This was a tune Vannish mariners sang when they shunted slave traders in the 1700s. The song was taught early in a Vangazi's life. It becomes a drinkng song later in life.

As the musician played the tune, the Vangazi raised their glass mugs and sang the words. They sang of 'cold water and a bunker fire's ire'. They mentioned finding sunken treasure and sending their enemies to the heavens. The flute had an eerie note, especially in the style it was being played.

The rest of the bar soon joined in with the song. The defensemen were finished with their Vannish media drinking game and were in good spirits. Their table locked arms and rocked as they sung.

"It's going to be a long night", said Adam Forestbranch with a grin.

[Lorenthia]

Lorenthia National Hockey Team


Modifier: +1.2

Coaching Staff

Coach: Bernt Silje
Assistant Coach: Eoin Leonardsen
Video Assistant: Arias Christensen
Team Doctor: Konrad Rowe
Apparel manager: Dan Oliversen

---

Roster

#	Pos	Name
1	G	Altis Magnussen
2	D	Felix Lundsen
4	D	August Hummel
23	RW	Stian Jacobsen
19	C	Kasper Holgersen
26	LW	Lasse Albertsen
34	G	Anders Anthonsen
39	D	Arthur Naess
12	D	Hanne Amundsen
43	RW	Tor Wolff
10	C	Alv Lister
9	LW	Axel Spillum
29	G	Christopher Voll
52	D	Herman Simonsen
40	D	Arvid Kinnaid
15	RW	Gregor Christensen
8	C	Jonas Studwick
36	LW	Nils Faulkner
5	D	Amund Mortensen
3	D	Svante Lund
91	RW	Scott Lisk
72	C	Magne Lundsen
26	LW	Otto Lyne

Special Teams

Power Play
Felix Lundsen, Hanne Amundsen; Stian Jacobsen, Alv Lister, Lasse Albertsen

---

Penalty Kill
Felix Lundsen, Svante Lund; Gregor Christensen, Kasper Holgersen, Nils Faulkner

RP Permissions

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: No
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes
Godmod Injuries to My Players: No
RP Penalties for My Players: Yes
RP Ejections for My Players: Yes
Godmod Other Events: No

Other RP Info

Out of Character note: Lorenthia and Lisander have a strong rivalry. But Lorenthia is a stronger team, so I'll be RPing this one. Eventual references to Lisander will come. Maybe.

[Equestrian States]

The Pony Principality of Equestrian States
National Ice Hockey Team - World Cup of Hockey 37

All-Time Stats
World Ranking: 21st (9.83 pts.)
Style Modifier: +5.0
Nickname: The Windigos
Record*: 72-14-28 (9-4-3 at WCoH 37)
Achievements*: Third Place (WCoH 27); Quarterfinals (WCoH 37); Round of 16 (WCoH 21, WCoH 23, WCoH 24, WCoH 25, WCoH 26); Host Nation (WCoH 21, WCoH 37)

Group 1
#7 - [VAL] Valanora (18.67 pts.)
#19 - [BNJ] Banija (10.57 pts.)
#21 - Equestrian States (9.83 pts.)
#46 - [BJR] Bjørnøya Republic (1.71 pts.)
UR - [BSN] Bysantia (0.00 pts.)
UR - [MYT] Mytanija (0.00 pts.)

Tournament Schedule

Group Play - Group 1
Schedule TBD

Roster
Ice hockey isn't exactly the most popular sport in the Equestrian States. In fact, it's not even in the top ten for the largest attendance draws (falling even behind the perpetually pathetic Handball League). To assemble their national team roster, the EIHF again looked to the Equestrian Ice Hockey League for players. The EIHL includes some of the most non-equine players of any sport league in the Equestrian States, and the roster of the national team reflects this well.

Forwards
LW - #49 - Wrister (Earth Pony - Male) - 37 - Appleloosa Juggernauts
LW - #10 - Twist (Changeling - Female) - 39 - Goose Bay Flames (QUE)
LW - #20 - Peter Diruch (Human - Male) - 29 - Trottingham Bulls
LW - #2 - Slapshot (Pegasus - Female) - 33 - Everfree Fire - -C-
C - #13 - Harry Kinson (Human - Male) - 41 - Trottawa Parliament
C - #27 - Angela Epstein (Human - Female) - 30 - Fairflanks North Stars
C - #8 - Icefire (Unicorn - Male) - 35 - Canterlot Ice
C - #50 - Benjamin Everdeen (Human - Female) - 28 - Everfree Fire
C - #19 - Crimson Sky (Griffon - Female) - 38 - Moncton Blades (QUE) - -A-
C - #11 - Thunderblaze (Pegasus - Male) - 31 - Canterlot Ice
RW - #1 - Brynne Alexander (Human - Female) - 30 - Stalliongrad Summits
RW - #24 - Iceflow (Earth Pony - Male) - 37 - Fairflanks North Stars
RW - #57 - Stephen Petrovich (Human - Male) - 36 - Fairflanks North Stars
RW - #4 - Hotshot (Pegasus - Female) - 30 - Canterlot Ice

Defenders
D - #38 - Terrorsky (Griffon - Female) - 42 - Everfree Fire
D - #12 - Alexander Kemp (Human - Male) - 40 - Quebec Nordiques (QUE)
D - #29 - Boarder (Earth Pony - Male) - 34 - Montreal Canadiens (QUE)
D - #16 - Grant Richardson (Human - Male) - 35 - Stalliongrad Peaks
D - #48 - Natalya Summers (Human - Female) - 36 - Fairflanks North Stars - -A-
D - #32 - Bloodfire (Griffon - Male) - 30 - Quebec Nordiques (QUE)
D - #3 - Instastop (Manticore - Female) - 44 - Everfree Fire
D - #43 - Overture (Unicorn - Female) - 33 - Canterlot Ice

Goaltenders
G - #45 - William Young (Human - Male) - 37 - Fairflanks North Stars
G - #5 - Shotcrusher (Manticore - Male) - 36 - Trottawa Parliament
G - #91 - Brick Wall (Earth Pony - Male) - 32 - Canterlot Ice

-C- - Team Captain
-A- - Alternate Team Captain

Strategy & Lines
Teams in the EIHL generally are more focused on finesse and speed than others, but with several major exceptions. Thus, the Equestrian States national team will play a more attacking style than their competitors. The defense will look to pass the puck forward and keep it out of the Equestrian zone to minimize the chances opponents will get. Goaltending isn't exactly a strong suit for the Equestrian States, so keeping the shots against to a lower number is a definite priority.

First Line
Slapshot (LW, #2); Angela Epstein (C, #27); Stephen Petrovich (RW, #57)

Second Line
Peter Durich (LW, #20); Crimson Sky (C, #19); Brynne Alexander (RW, #1)

Third Line
Wrister (LW, #49); Thunderblaze (C, #11); Iceflow (RW, #24)

Fourth Line
Twist (LW, #10); Icefire (C, #8); Hotshot (RW, #4)

First Pair
Natalya Summers (D, #48); Overture (D, #43)

Second Pair
Alexander Kemp (D, #12); Bloodfire (D, #32)

Third Pair
Instastop (D, #3); Grant Richardson (D, #16)

Fourth Pair
Boarder (D, #29); Terrorsky (D, #38)

First Power Play
Slapshot (LW, #2); Crimson Sky (C, #19); Brynne Alexander (RW, #1); Natalya Summers (D, #48); Overture (D, #43)

Second Power Play
Peter Durich (LW, #20); Thunderblaze (C, #11); Hotshot (RW, #4); Alexander Kemp (D, #12); Grant Richardson (D, #16)

First Penalty Kill
Angela Epstein (C, #27); Icefire (C, #8); Bloodfire (D, #32); Overture (D, #43)

Second Penalty Kill
Iceflow (RW, #24); Crimson Sky (C, #19); Natalya Summers (D, #48); Grant Richardson (D, #16)

Team Staff
The Head Coach's job remains firmly in the hands of Nate Long, the first human to earn such a position on an Equestrian national team for any sport. Long earned his job through repeatedly dominating his rival (Bruiser) in "Coach of the Year" awards voting. But that's probably because the award is voted upon by the players, and Bruiser certainly has a personality to match his name, being an EIHL Hall of Fame defensepony.

Head Coach - Nate Long (Human - Male) - 58 - Fairflanks North Stars (Head Coach)
Assistant Coach - Bruiser (Earth Pony - Male) - 55 - Everfree Fire (Head Coach)
Assistant Coach - Laura Sisko (Human - Female) - 61 - Canterlot Ice (Head Coach)

RP Permissions

If my opponent RPs first, I give them the right to...
Choose My Scorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP Injuries to My Players: Yes - Only that the player was injured, not the type or severity
Godmod Injuries to My Players: Yes - See above for restrictions
RP Penalties for My Players: Yes - Generally, the Equestrians play a very clean game, so fewer penalties
RP Ejections for My Players: No - TG me if you really want to
Godmod Other Events: Yes - Just don't do anything stupid, ridiculously weird, or something that would likely irritate me (like portraying my team as being unintelligent non-sapient barnyard animals instead of sapient beings).

* - Historical Note: From WCoH 18-20, the Equestrian States was represented by an unofficial team of changelings (shapeshifters) who competed illegally. That team's all-time record was 18 wins, 1 overtime loss, and 11 losses in regulation. They won their group in WCoH 19 and reached the round of 16 in that tournament and at WCoH 20. As that team competed illegally, the Equestrian States does not recognize those results as official for the current national team.

[Elejamie]

---

The TDS Quick and Easy Guide to the 37th World Cup of Hockey

Let's not talk about last time, shall we. I mean, yes we had a fairly decent group stage run, with two high-scoring shut-outs against Ko-oren (more on them later), the joint fewest goals allowed when we and Novaya Zemlya only let 11 in, we achieved yet another top spot finish and it was smooth sailing from there on in. The only downside was that 1-1 draw in our first game against Neo-Romanum in a game that we could've done better in. After that came a 4-2 win over Kita-Hinode and then a hard-fought 4-3 OT win against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. I would talk about more but I don't want to open up old wounds or upset the wrong people.

So here we are again, trying to avenge that devastating performance in the last one. It's a new tournament, the gang's returned, it's a double round robin with the Round of 16 onwards being in the Equestrian States whereas the group stage games are home and away in different nations and, best of all, the home team's listed first which'll make it easier for ETV to cover. However, there'll be a few changes in the coming tournaments according to the EIHL. Michael Madgwick is to retire from his second stint as head coach after this tournament, though there hasn't been anything about a potential successor. George Lincoln will retire from ice hockey at the end of next season, both internationally and domestically. And I wouldn't be surprised if Anatoly Kasputin ends up handing over the C to a different player, though if he does it's just a question of who that will be. But let's not worry about that for know, let's worry about who we'll be facing in both legs of Group 4. I have no idea who'll be playing who and when but here are our groupmates:

Michael Madgwick, seen here early on in his coaching
career, will retire from the national team after this
tournament. Rumour has it that he'll be concentrating
on coaching the Dockers full time, but no one knows
for sure.

The first team for me to bring up is Rezmaeristan. As they're new to the competition, there's not a whole lot to say about them. Especially since I couldn't find any information about how ice hockey is in their nation, let alone their players, their leagues, anything like that. Your obligatory "one-tourney team", dear readers. Nothing much else I can say about them.

Afterwards, it's the United States of Devonta. Unlike Rezmaeristan they were at the last World Cup of Hockey, where they were in Group 8. They didn't do so hot, as they finished fourth in their group, winning only four game: both times against Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnlad (5-1 on the final day and 3-2 half-way through the group stage) and both time against Maryloupe (3-2 and 5-0). They lost their other matches, including an 8-4 dismantling at the hands of the Royal Kingdom of Quebec and a 5-0 shut-out by Novaya Zemlya, so it's just a question of whether or not Sim Dank (if he's still coaching) can turn things around for his team.

After that, it's Ko-oren. They were in our group last time, which makes it easy for me to recount what they did, and they'll be in our group this time. Not to mention they didn't do so badly last time, winning five games: 3-0 and 4-0, both against Kilaguni; 5-0 and 7-1 against Neo-Romanum; and 4-0 against Tobiasia as revenge for that defeat on the opening day. But they also lost five games as well: 1-0 against Tobiasia on the opening day; 5-0 and 7-0 against us; and 2-0 and 3-1, both times against the Alpine Union. And, as a result, they also finished fourth in the group and also missed out on a spot in the next round. So, naturally, they want to avenge that shameful display and make it to the Equestrian States.

Next up is Qasden. They were also at the last World Cup of Hockey in Anthor but the difference is that they finished third in their group instead of fourth. Indeed, they were pretty much eliminated after their penultimate game (a 3-1 loss to Razenthuria), as they needed a miraculous win in their final game, coupled with Savojarna being shut out, to get through to the Round of 16; as you probably guessed, that didn't happen. Still their six wins, one draw (3-3 to Savojarna on the opening day) and three losses (1-0 to Krenorus, 6-1 to Savojarna and the aforementioned 3-1 defeat to Razenthuria) isn't something to be sniffed at.

And, finally, we've got the Federation of Spokane. They're also new to the tournament and, though I have no idea what they're like or the status of ice hockey in their nation, I've got a vague idea that we'll find out some more information about them soon. However, I have no idea of whether or not they'll be a one-tourney team, though hopefully they'll make a return in the next one, if not the one after. I hope to see them in a future competition is what I'm saying.

Now I know we're going to go through to the next round, there's no denying that. After all, we're the number one team here despite recent fortunes and I think we'll still be a top five team for tourneys to come. However, it's just a question of who'll be joining us. And I think it'll be Ko-oren, for the simple reason that they've got some actual talent there and kind of need to bounce back from the last one. Presumably one of many. That being said, Qasden also stands a good chance of qualifying for the Round of 16

So any other big names in the tournament? The hosts are in Group 1 alongside Valanora who, many moons ago, was our biggest rival in the world but now seems to be a shadow of their former selves, as evidenced by our 9-1 demolition of them in the 35th edition, though it's just a question of whether or not it's just a temporary setback and they'll win yet another tournament in the near future. Group 2 seems to be a Group of Death of sorts, as evidenced by the presence of Novaya Zemlya, South Covello (aka The Country Formerly Known as Gregoryisgodistan, who won two World Cups of Hockey and finished runners-up in a couple of tournaments) and Nova Anglicana all playing each other to see who'll be making it through to the next round. Group 3 has Abanhfleft (runners-up at the 35th World Cup of Hockey), as well as Kita-Hinode and one of our rugby rivals in Lisander. Group 5 has Mercedini but also our old rivals in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, a rivalry that seems to have fallen to the wayside. Group 6 has 34th edition hosts Savojarna, Siovanija and Teusland (who I think are destined for ice hockey greatness), the Free Republics and Kaboomlandia, as well as newcomers Tiiwark and Pachenstein. Group 7 sees 34th edition champions Vilita and Turori face off against last time runners-up Alpine Union, Lisander's main ice hockey rival in Lorenthia, Cassadaigua and a couple of other countries. And, finally, Group 8 not only has Neu Engollon (who are more well-known for their rugby prowess than their skills on the ice) and Cosumar who were surprise winners of the 33rd World Cup of Hockey but also Omerica, a late addition to the competition after original entrants Flekkefjord pulled out for unknown reasons. Of course that's not the entire list of teams but I don't want to bore everyone.

Any big names missing from the tournament? Yes, Anthor. The reigning champions are absent from the tournament, meaning that they won't be defending their crown. Cosneolta, another top ten team, also won't be making an appearance here. Razenthuria will also be skipping the tournament and so is Tobiasia. There are a whole load more teams I could mention but, in all honesty, that would just take me all evening. For now I'm going to shut up, get this humble blog post posted and sit back and, hopefully, not watch some quality ice hockey through my hands. I suggest you all do the same.

[Mytanija]

THE ON ICE REPORT
by Izedin Mehmedovic

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS IN HOCKEY GOVERNANCE
The Mytanar national team are on the eve of their first World Cup in a very long time, but the domestic game remains a fractured and fraught environment. Teams generally struggle financially unless they come under the umbrella of a sports team with a strong football section and the sport’s governing body continue to refuse to investigate potential expansion opportunities into cities that may well be able to support a SHLM Liga team. In this day and age it’s truly scandalous that we still don’t have a top level ice hockey team in Visoravna, Rauchnya or Nasto and Avnalia.

In the past this could be explained away: these places simply were not traditional ice hockey environments, they didn’t have the weather, the sport was historically played outdoors and there wasn’t the same passion for the game that there is in small town hockey hotbeds like Hajerek or Zavolja. It’s hard to imagine what somebody from Ebor would have thought of an ice hockey team in their city with the sun baking down on them 50 years ago. Nowadays, with the technology we have we are able to keep indoor rinks perfect year-round. The governing body should be looking to expand into cities like Ebor, where the money is, so that the sport can grow and can appeal to new fans.

This piece should not be misunderstood as an attack on the SHLM’s methods, the governing body are doing some things right. Their aggressive negotiating of improved terms for the sale of television rights’ packages is to be admired and they have signed some outstanding domestic commercial partnerships too. The money from these is being pumped back into the league and it has meant in recent seasons that those teams that have struggled financially have had less of a precarious existence.

But they’re being too conservative with a matter that will only benefit the game, expansion doesn’t really risk anything if it is done properly. The SHLM should indicate that they’re interested in expanding into – for example – Ebor, Severyan, Arsika and either Zvornik or Uchenik for a singular Avnali team. They should try to negotiate deals with local businesses to invest in the teams in order to raise the funds necessary for the expansion teams to set-up, something which has been ignored as an option with the suits at the SHLM repeatedly complaining that they would have to fritter away SHLM funds on expansion, money which they feel could be better spent on helping current teams. That assessment would be correct, but it’s not mutually exclusive to the option of allowing commercial investment in expansion teams.

Sure, we have to respect the traditions of Mytanar ice hockey, with the sport’s amateur heritage only being deviated from very recently. The jump from that amateur background to expansion teams being created purely off the back of commercial investment is hard to stomach for some, but in this modern day the SHLM needs to think of new ways to generate revenue and by ignoring two of the country’s most affluent cities in the form of Ebor and Arsika, as well as two entire regions (Rauchnya and Avnalia), they’re missing out on some really significant markets. Things will have to change eventually.

OUTLOOK FOR THE WORLD CUP
The national team is dominated players from the top four sides from the last SHLM Liga season: Hajerek, Zavolja, HK Prizren and Zeljeznicar. Fifteen of the twenty-three man squad come from the top four and five of the six that are expected to start on the ice in the opening game away to the Bjørnøya Republic come from those sides. It perhaps isn’t a surprise that the most successful domestic teams produce the players for the national team but it does say a little bit about the strength in depth in our domestic league.

We’ve been drawn into Group 1 with the hosts Equestrian States, ranked 21st in the world. The group is quite tough: Valanora (#7), Banija (#19) and the aforementioned Bjørnøya Republic (#46) are the other ranked teams in the group and this should make for a stern test in the Mytanar national team’s first entry into the World Cup for a long time.

Ivica Takac, the team’s head coach has set no firm targets in terms of final group position ahead of the tournament. He named a relatively young squad and made ‘gaining experience’ the team’s number one objective instead. This is a fairly unusual approach for a Mytanar coach to take, given the domestic media’s penchant for putting pressure on our teams to succeed straight away. However, in ice hockey, this approach can be respected. We haven’t competed at the top-level for a long time and therefore it is necessary to first work out exactly where our team stands in relation to the rest of the multiverse. Finishing 4th is probably the minimum target behind the scenes, ahead of fellow unranked Bysantia, with some feeling that we should be able to give it a good go to finish ahead of the Bjørnøya Republic too.

Many will be excited to see how some of our more talented young players will do against elite opposition: Elvedin Grbic, Davor Sliskovic and Sergej Gisic are expected to impress and may well find themselves the subject of some serious contract offers from the more prestigious leagues from around the multiverse should they do so.

I’m picking Nikola Radljevic to be the real breakout star though, we all know everything about Grbic, Sliskovic and Gisic but Radljevic has gone under the radar a little for the less fashionable HK Miago and this will be the perfect opportunity for him to show off his outstanding defensive talent, along with his underrated creative ability and occasional sniper-like shooting.

The team will look to turn the NacZat Arena into a stronghold, as it usually is for indoor sports. The atmosphere that can be generated by 12,500 people is particularly intimidating for those not used to Mytanar fans and the ice hockey team will inevitably introduce a few to our way of supporting our lads. We were perhaps a little unfortunate to draw Valanora, Banija and the Equestrian States in our group though, all three have experienced the fanaticism of our fans in other sports and therefore we may enjoy a little bit less of an advantage as we might have done against those uninitiated in our ultras groups’ approach to partisan home support.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung

Sports

World Cup of Hockey Preparations Underway for Goldhorns

Super Series a Success

It’s time now again for the World Cup of Hockey, and the Siovanija and Teusland national team looks to continue their rise on the international stage. We’ll take a look back at the Goldhorns’ preparation for the tournament, and preview what we can expect from the group stage of World Cup of Hockey 37.

Preparation for this World Cup involved the Goldhorns facing off against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec in a four-game exhibition set. “Quebec is the team we’ve faced the most often at the international level, the first team we ever faced in fact. They’ve obviously got a brilliant reputation in world hockey, and I think this series will be great experience for us,” commented coach Aaron Kuhn. Captain Gunter Pfenning added that the series would allow the Goldhorns to get a few games under their belt before beginning the World Cup of Hockey itself, invaluable for the team.

The series got underway at the Ledarena in Borograd in front of a packed house. The Goldhorns were in the retro green jerseys, calling back to the very first jerseys ever produced by Hockey Siovanija and Teusland. An unfamiliar site for the fans, surely, but most reviews from the supporters were positive. After a pre-game ceremony welcoming the Quebec players to Borograd, a ceremonial puck-drop from President Joachim Fleiss, and the anthems, it was time to get underway.

Game 1 was very much a shoot-out between these two great teams. It was great work by the fourth line for Siovanija and Teusland that got the scoring started early in the first period. Strong forecheck from Christian Hasselberger won the puck back in the offensive zone, and the Pinguine Ternau winger made a great play to get the puck to his centreman Edgar Seckbach. Seckbach faked the shot before finding Kosyo Varbanov, whose one-time effort beat the Quebec goalie to the top left corner.

It wasn’t all smiles for the Goldhorns early on, however, and penalty trouble in the first period gave Quebec a great opportunity to put their power-play to work. Two goals came for Quebec on the special teams advantage, and they would add another late in the period to make the score 3-1. Not the way Siovanija and Teusland wanted the first period to go, and Gunter Pfenning said as much at the intermission: “We need to improve in, well, all aspects of our game tonight. That’s not the hockey we want to play.”

The second period saw a much more inspired Goldhorns team storm out of the gate, playing the fast, physical hockey they have been known for. A big hit from Koloman Schwarzmann put a lot of energy back into the crowd and the bench, and just a shift later it was Razvigor Tsvetanov scoring to bring the score to 3-2. A great assist from Gunter Pfenning with just 30 seconds remaining in the second period would see Tsvetanov score again to equalize for the Goldhorns, and the teams entered the third period tied 3-3.

The third saw a back and forth contest between the teams, Quebec finding the back of the net first. Ruslan Ivanov made a brilliant stop to deny the centreman, but couldn’t control the rebound and Quebec were back in front 4-3. Minutes later, Timo Schlager used some of his incredible speed to get past the defenceman and get in on a breakaway. The crowd rose in anticipation, and Schlager’s shot was perfect, beating the goalie to the top right corner. 4-4 now with just 10 minutes remaining in the third period.

The Royal Kingdom of Quebec would take the lead again, with 6:03 on the clock, having set up in the Goldhorns’ zone and hemming them in for what seemed like an eternity. The tired Goldhorns defended admirably, but couldn’t clear the puck well. Finally, a booming shot from the point found its way through traffic before beating Ivanov to his far post. Quebec led again, and the Goldhorns would have to dig deep to recover in the final few minutes. Thankfully, Frank Heider came to the rescue. Receiving a great pass from Timo Schlager, Heider took some time to make his move before firing a wrist shot past the glove of the Quebec goalie. 5-5, and as an exhibition series with no overtime, that was how the match would end. A brilliant offensive and overall hockey display by both teams, the 18,500 fans surely went home happy.

The series shifted to Stelburg and the home ice of the Eispalast for game 2. However, it was not the home display the Goldhorns hoped to provide. Frankly, Siovanija and Teusland fell flat in game 2. It’s fair to say Volker Seiden didn’t have the greatest game in goal, not appearing to control his rebounds well and his glove hand seemed a little late all game. Quebec led 3-0 after the first period and 5-1 after the second, with 2 powerplay goals amongst their tally. A common theme of the series so far had been that Siovanija and Teusland made too many undisciplined trips to the penalty box, and it was clearly costing them in game 2.

The third period provided a bit more inspiration for the Goldhorns and their fans. Gunter Pfenning, who had managed to keep his cool despite the carnage around him so far, beat his defender one on one and fired a wrist shot past the goalie to ease some suffering. This seemed to put a bit of life back into the Goldhorns, and a goal from Veselin Filipov moments later made the score 5-3. Quebec would put the game out of reach, however, with a great goal coming from a 3-on-2 following a poor turnover by the Goldhorns in the neutral zone. Timo Schlager made the score 6-4 with just 2:30 on the clock, and Quebec would add an empty net goal to make the final 7-4. Certainly, Quebec looked much stronger on the day, and the Goldhorns had some work to do to get back up to speed for games 3 and 4.

The series shifted over to Quebec for the final two games, with a short break cutting the series in half. The Goldhorns travelled to Quebec early, using their break time to get as much practice as possible in the new environment. “I think we know what some of our problems were in those first two games, and the hope is to fix them. Obviously, this is exhibition and the time to get yourselves ready for the big games to come. We need to be more disciplined. Another area we’ve been taking a long look at is defensively. Yes, game 1 was very exciting, but to give up 12 goals in 2 games is unacceptable,” commented coach Aaron Kuhn. The parade to the penalty box had to stop, claimed Jorg Gottschall, for the Goldhorns to stand any chance of success in the series.

Game 3 saw a much tighter, less open battle between the two teams. It was clear that the hard work in practice had paid off, and the Goldhorns had a bit more of an edge to them in game 3. Bojidar Ivankov in particular put in some great defensive work for the team, and the threatening Quebec offense was held in the game. David Wagner, getting his first start of the series in goal, also put in a good game, including making an excellent dive to stop a Quebecois winger on a 2-on-1.

The game was quite the opposite of the free-flowing offensive contests seen in games 1 and 2, and it was thus fitting that the only goal of the game came through an excellent showing of grit and determination from the Goldhorns’ fourth line. Christian Hasselberger won the puck after a long battle along the boards, finding Edgar Seckbach in the slot. Seckbach wouldn’t miss from such great positioning, and that gave the Goldhorns a 1-0 lead with 12 minutes to play in the third period. Siovanija and Teusland hung on, earning their first win of the series with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

The series that had drawn much fan attention back home was thus destined to conclude in game 4. Game 4 was much alike game 3, another defensive battle being fought out in front of the spectators. Jorg Gottschall’s physical presence on the blue line was a key factor in the Goldhorns staying in the game, against a Quebec offense that threatened to score at any time. The Goldhorns were in fact heavily outshot in the first period, but the tide started to turn after a power-play in the middle stage of the second period saw Siovanija and Teusland come as close to scoring as is possible without actually getting on the board.

The third period saw chances come and go for both teams, with each team looking equally likely to find a winning goal. Timo Schlager hitting the crossbar brought the Goldhorns close first, and a few shifts later David Wagner was called into action to make a great stop on a Quebec breakaway. With just minutes remaining, the time called for a hero on either side. Luckily for the Goldhorns, it came in the form of Wolfram Spiegel. The Stelburg Kaisers winger hadn’t yet scored in the series, but came up big when needed. Spiegel and Schlager broke in on a 2 on 1, and after Schlager managed a pass that was inches higher than the outstretched stick of the defenceman, Spiegel rifled a shot into the top right corner with 1:45 on the clock. That goal gave Siovanija and Teusland the 1-0 win in game 4 of the series.

“I think it was successful, yeah. You look back on the hockey played over these 4 games, and I think both teams have a right to be very proud of themselves. We come away with 2 wins that showed our character and how we can play, and a loss and tie that gives us some things to look at and continue to focus on. I think both teams will be better for it, and I wish them the best of luck at the World Cup of Hockey,” commented the captain Gunter Pfenning post game. A 2-1-1 record for the Goldhorns in the Super Series, a very strong display from the team as they prepare for the World Cup of Hockey

World Cup Groups Drawn

The group draw for the World Cup of Hockey has been completed, and sees the Goldhorns in Group 6. Siovanija and Teusland are now ranked 15th amongst the hockey-playing nations of the multiverse, after 2 strong tournaments, and that earned them a placement in pot 2 of the draw.

Group 6 will see Siovanija and Teusland face-off against number 10 Savojarna, number 24 the Free Republics, number 44 Kaboomlandia, and the unranked Tiiwark and Pachenstein. It’s an interesting group, and one that has the potential for several interesting matchups.

Savojarna will certainly be the biggest challenge of the group stage, with the number 10 team in the world boasting a runners-up medal from World Cup of Hockey 34, which was also hosted by the nation. The Free Republics, who played host to the memorable World Cup of Hockey 35, will also be a strong opponent for the Goldhorns, who will definitely be in tough against the 24th ranked nation. Kaboomlandia will surely be looking to pull off an upset, and the Goldhorns will need to be at their best to stop any hope of that. In unranked Tiiwark and Pachenstein, the Goldhorns would be foolish to underestimate either team: after all, it was Siovanija and Teusland that progressed to the Quarterfinals of this tournament as an unranked nation.

The full schedule for the group stage of the tournament has also been released, and is as follows:

Game 1: Siovanija and Teusland vs Kaboomlandia, Olimpski-Ledarena, Borograd (19,000)
Game 2: Savojarna vs Siovanija and Teusland
Game 3: Siovanija and Teusland vs Tiiwark, Olimpski-Ledarena, Borograd (19,000)
Game 4: Free Republics vs Siovanija and Teusland
Game 5: Siovanija and Teusland vs Pachenstein, Stelburg Eispalast, Stelburg (24,500)
Game 6: Kaboomlandia vs Siovanija and Teusland
Game 7: Siovanija and Teusland vs Savojarna, Stelburg Eispalast, Stelburg (24,500)
Game 8: Tiiwark vs Siovanija and Teusland
Game 9: Siovanija and Teusland vs Free Republics, Stelburg Eispalast, Stelburg (24,500)
Game 10: Pachenstein vs Siovanija and Teusland

With the tournament getting underway shortly, we’ll be covering all the action, as the Goldhorns hope to continue their rise on the international ice hockey stage with a successful tournament at the 37th World Cup of Hockey!

[Mercedini]

Pre-World Cup of Hockey Friendly Review
Mercedini vs Cosneolta
@ Shebnatsiya Ice Palace - Shebchesik, Mercedini


Shebnatsiya Ice Palace - hosting all Mercedinian home group matches

A Fitting Send-off

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FINAL

WCOH | MD0

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MERCEDINI 6
COSNEOLTA 3

(2-1) (1-0) (3-2)

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Shebchetsik, Mercedini

The Kingfishers opened their account before the World Cup of Hockey in style with a win in front of their home crowd in Shebchetsik, as they over game a fightback from advanced minnow juggernauts Cosneolta to beat last editions quarter-finalists by six goals to three. It was a statement of intent from the national team who enter the World Cup of Hockey as a first seed for the second successive time in their group, following their Round of 16 finish in the Anthor at the 36th edition. Before the match the coaching staff said that they wanted to make a statement with their opening match in Shebchetsik, and they did exactly that with their six goal haul in front of a capacity crowd in the Ice Palace.

It was a chilly night in Shebchetsik, with locals jubilant over the MHF's decision to host all World Cup of Hockey group stage matches in the northern city which has been home to some of the greats when it comes to Mercedinian hockey. The locals turned out in their thousands to finally see the national hockey team in action, rather than travelling hundreds of miles to see them in Zoloroni, giving the arena it's signature hostile atmosphere that nearly all visiting teams will experience when travelling to Shebchetsik for their sporting competitions. Indeed the match got underway with the roar of the crowd spurring on the players as the World Cup of Hockey frenzy officially got underway in Mercedini.

Action was fast and frantic as ice hockey generally is, with Mercedini and Cosneolta going back and forth against each other, exchanging attacking moves and shots as the teams felt each other out in the opening exchanges of the game. The Kingfishers had the first big opening chance of the game when Max Morton found himself in space and had the time to release a quick slap shot towards the net in the first meaningful attack from either team. The Morton shot was parried away by the goalkeeper but Ayal Ismaat was there to scoop up the puck and take a second bite of the cherry. The puck bounced awkwardly against the puck as Ismaat swung his stick, resulting in a weak flick which flew over the net and around for an easy Cosneoltan clearance. Indeed, the visitors used that getaway to construct a deadly counter attack and a two-on-two towards the Mercedinian net. Peter Pollock lost his marker which allowed Magreta Kandikova to skate through and slot the puck low into the net for a surprising opener from Cosneolta. The Ice Palace was silenced momentarily with several thousand visiting fans making the trip to Mercedini for the friendly, resulting in unsettlingly large celebrations from the visitors in the stands. This only spurred on the Mercedinians who wanted to put on a show for their fans, and they started heating up from the face off.

Five minutes were all that were left on the clock in the first period and Mercedini were piling on the pressure to try and find an equaliser in the first period, the fans were getting frustrated as the fact that the front line were only taking half chances at the goal, rather than biding their time and acting on a more dangerous opportunity. The chance finally came when Ismaat weaved in and out of the opposition players, keeping the puck stuck to his stick as he glided closer to the goal, he was ultimately double teamed and stripped of possession but the clearance deflected off the skate of Ismaat and into the path of the arriving Morton who made no mistake with a simple slap shot into the roof of the net to send the Ice Palace into ecstasy. That was the lift they needed to get the fans onside, with waves of blue and black circling the patch of white in the centre of the arena. The fans were still cheering when the game turned on it's head in the space of a minute with Cosneolta coming forward after winning the face-off. A tame shot was smothered well by Carshavington before he quickly released it to Zach Arthur who was skating down the wing as it was being released, there were shades of offside as both the player and the puck looked to have entered the final third at the same time, but the referee let play continue with Arthur cutting back inside and flicking the puck past the oncoming goaltender for a second Mercedinian goal in a minute. It was a great way to wake up a calming half for the home side, with Mercedini a goal to the good after the first period.

Mercedini made good on their comeback in the second period as they extended their lead to two clear goals with second line attacker Oliver Ansellini getting on the scoresheet. The young Mercedinian plays his hockey in Neu Engollon settled in with his first goal of the new cycle, it was proving to be quite the goal fest to kickstart the campaign for both of these teams, even if Cosneolta were taking a year out to focus on new projects. At the end of the second interval, half-time entertainment was shown to the fans inside the stadium with flags waving high, it was turning out to be a good return to form for the national team who experienced a bit of a lull following their surprise loss to Quebec last edition, but that allowed them to regroup and start again in the multiverse's biggest hockey tournament.

Following that break, the teams were back at it and it was more of the same when it came to goals and action. Cosneolta added their own spice of drama to the mix as two quick goals at the beginning of the half bought them back level in what was turning out to be a tense and drawn out affair between the two teams, Cosneolta certainly looked like a team on the up with the potential to snatch a draw and maybe more from Mercedini to spoil the party for the Kingfishers. That put a dampener on what was a good night for the fans in Shebchetsik, seeing their team capitulate on opening night certainly wasn't on the cards. Frankly, it was an altogether leaky performance from Mercedini, but they had the talent to get through the pickle they were in, they just had to use it. Max Morton came back onto the ice for the third quarter as an emergency replacement to try and bag some goals. Mercedini's fourth came from a face-off near the Cosneolta goal when Ian Pollock's quick pass found it's way to Morton who blasted ball past the goaltender and into the net. That was added on when Arthur broke free again and slid the puck over to a waiting Morton who tapped it into the open net for a fifth. Finally, the route was completed when Ismaat netted a goal of his own, with a vicious shot from the edge of the area couldn't be stopped by the goaltender, who could only tip the puck off the post and in for a sixth, minutes ago Mercedini only had half the goals on the board. Twenty minutes which ignited the campaign and give Mercedini their first victory of the new cycle, which sets them up well for their away trip to Austrakia. The final horn sounded around the arena and Mercedini had lift off before their big test at the World Cup of Hockey. They were made to work for it but they came through multiple scares in the end, it finished Mercedini 6, Cosneolta 3.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

World Cup of Hockey 37 preview

Dobravlje, Republic of Carniola - (NAP) The World Cup of Hockey 37 is about to start without the defending champions, Anthor, who ceased to exists. And guess who was the runner up in the last edition? Us. That means despite our rank (11th), the Alpine Union is one of the team to beat in this edition along with the top ranked teams - Elejamie, Abanhfleft and Vilita & Turori. The Bisons has been placed in group 7 with Vilita & Turori, one of the top ranked team, making it hard for the Alpine Union to repeat last edition's run and making it hard for other teams in the group to qualify for the playoffs.

The Alpine Union only made the playoffs once in 5 WCoHs before the last one in Anthor. In the WCoH 36, the Bisons finished 2nd in group 2 behind Elejamie with a 6-1-3 record. The Alpine Union beat some high ranked teams in the playoffs - let's not brag too much about it cuz they will make us pay next time we play against them - and lost 1-0 against Anthor in the final. It's unlikely the Alpine Union will repeat this run but they will certainly finish 2nd in group 7 and make the playoffs.

Our biggest rival in group 7 will be Vilita & Turori (ranked 3rd). We recieve them on matchday 4 in Harwich and we visit them on matchday 9. Vilita & Turori was the 2nd ranked team at the start of the WCoH 36 and finished 1st in their group with a 10-0-0 record. In the round of 16 they lost 4-3 in overtime against the Alpine Union, which ended their tournament prematurely. They will surely seek for revenge in this World Cup and top group 7.

Cassadaigua (ranked 30th) is a team who'se gonna push for the playoffs, we visit them on matchday 5 and we recieve them in Braddock on matchday 10. Despite their low rank they have a good hockey program in their nation and the Bisons can't take them too lightly. At the WCoH 36, Cassadaigua finished 4th in group 3 behind Abanhfleft, Kita-Hinode and South Covello and they don't want to finish 4th again. They will surely finish 3rd this time, behind Vilita & Turori and us.

Lorenthia (ranked 35th) makes a good rival for Cassadaigua as both will fight for the 3rd place. We visit them on matchday 3 and we recieve them in Ozorkow on matchday 8. They didn't participated in the last three WCoHs but they're ranked 35th. Maybe they changed their nation name at some point. We have a lot of faith in Cassadaigua's team that we can't see Lorenthia finishing higher than the 4th place.

Xanneria (Unranked) is an intriguing team. They're new to the NS sports scene but they will make a name of themselves really soon. They're actually participating in the XIII Olympiad in the Free Republics and the WBC 45 hosted by Cassadaigua. We receive them in Dobravlje on matchday 1 and we visit them on matchday 6. We predict them a 5th place in group 7.

The last one is Competitive Solitaire (Unranked), this weird named nation is unknown to us. We receive them in Ähtari on matchday 2 and visit them on matchday 7. Unfortunately for them, they will finish last in group 7.

[Savojarna]

Media Kit for Journalists: Savojar Hockey National Team

Savojarna plays a game that is mostly depending on tactical discipline and puck possession. While the Savojars do value a good deflection or rebound goal, and certainly have many players who can do such things, they usually prefer a pass to a shot from a desperate position hoping for a lucky bounce. Their players think fast rather than move exceptionally fast (but they are not slow either!), with a few exceptions on the attack since the coaching changed and the team is a bit more aggressive. While they don't have to hide from anyone, they are usually not physically superior.

In terms of tactics, they play an aggressive forechecking with one or two men, trying to force puck losses, and drop back to their own blue line once the opponent has reached the neutral zone. They attempt to keep the opponent away from their own side, and defend usually quite solid. On the attack, Savojarna's top lines work with a lot of passing and cycling the puck to find an open lane while the third and fourth line play deeper and with more drive to the net. Especially the fourth line often crowds the slot, while the third is more likely to go deep and play behind the net. Usually, the Savojars play with 13 forwards and 7 defenders. The women's team employs significantly more offensive tactics and relies more on passing the puck around due to the less physical nature of women's hockey.

Style Mod: +1.25

Coach: Fridtjof Ragnarsson (55)
Assistant coaches: Denis Patrishin (44), Alexander Litmanen (39)
Medical and physio staff: Dr. Pyotr Alexandrov (65), Dr. Valtteri Naumanen (48), Lisa Andersson (37), Kari Litmanen (35)
Press representative: Carl Törmänen (36) - please note that apart from mixed zone interviews and WCoH press conferences, only Törmänen is authorised to speak to foreign media.

Savojar National Team
Pos	Nr.	Name                	Age	Club                          	Style
GK	30	Niklas Hoyman   	30	CASK Thorsborg                  BFY
GK	35	Andrey Strakhov        	35	International Pawlograd     	HYB
GK	70	Ville Kerjanen   	24	Savojars Vinge Virkaja       	HYB
1st LINE
D	22	Erik Kristiansen  	29	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn           	OFD
D	13	Vyacheslav Glukov       32	RHK Savojagrad          	TWD
LW	40	Ville Stefansson 	31	Metallurg Matochkingrad (NZE)   SNP
C	18	Mikko Simonen   	31	RHK Savojagrad                  PLM
RW	14	Pavel Rasnikov - C   	33	Dynamo St. Andrei             	PWF
2nd LINE
D	20	Alexey Yarchenko - A	33	RHK Savojagrad                 	TWD
D	21	Soren Falborg    	27	Exton Islanders (MRC)        	OFD
LW	17	Johan Bryzhnev         	23	Torpedo Belushya Guba (NZE)	SNP
C	52	Anders Hjalmarsson   	28	HK Metall Jarnstad             	PLM
RW	41	Jonas Gulbrandsson	25	Partizan Belushya Guba (NZE)    PLM
3rd LINE
D	 8	Mikael Ingerman        	23	CASK Thorsborg           	DFD
D	85	Gustaf Jarnström	31	Energie Thorsborg              	OFD
LW	34	Mikael Söderberg - A    31  	CASK Thorsborg                 	SNP
C	47	Eythor Malinsson        21	ESK Storevik                    PLM
RW	19	Tuomas Jaskinen       	29	PT Hovikkära             	TWA
4th LINE
D	12	Antti Toranen    	30	CASK Thorsborg                 	OFD
RW	10	Juha Neronen    	29	Savojars Vinge Virkaja          TWA
LW	55	Dominik Gränlund	28	CASK Thorsborg                 	GRN
C	33	Jacob Andersson         25	Orga MC (MRC)                   PWF
RW	53	Yuri Elyagin       	24	Dynamo St. Andrei             	PWF
RESERVES
D	 2	Johan Morland        	30	Thorsborgs Technik           	DFD
D	27	Petteri Juranen 	24	Savojars Vinge Virkaja          TWD
RW	37	Perttu Jovinen   	30      Savojars Vinge Virkaja          TWA
C	15	Frans Djurberg          27	Dynamo Sjoedrhavn               PWF
D	75	Victor Troels	26	Dynamo St. Andrei	TWD

Goalkeeper order: Hoyman - Kerjanen - Strakhov, unless indicated otherwise.

Special Teams:
The Savojar team plays a powerplay focused mainly on shooting from the point and the circle. The two defenders play both in the area between the blue line and the top of the circle, but occasionally advance to the circle. The winger on the side of the puck moves to the circle to be open and get a shot off, the other winger moves towards the goal to assist the center in screening and opening shooting lanes. The center remains in front of the goal. In penalty killing, Savojarna lets the opponent play around the boards, but intervenes quickly if the puck moves inside the box. They play a PK with relatively little pressure.

PP1: Kristiansen - Toranen - Stefansson - Andersson - Bryzhnev
PP2: Falborg - Jarnström - Söderberg - Zagulin - Jaskinen
PK1: Asgeirsson - Falborg - Andersson - Jaskinen
PK2: Yarchenko - Glukov - Rasnikov - Neronen

Style codes:
HYB = Hybrid goaltender. Uses a sensible mixture of butterfly and standup styles. Average likelihood of rebounds.
BFY = Butterfly goaltender. Quickly drops into butterfly stance to make saves. Will concede more rebounds, but is harder to beat low.
DFD = Defensive defender. Sticks to the blue line and works a lot in backchecking. Blocks shots, checks and is hard to get past.
TWD = Two-way defender. Dangerous from the point and the top of the circle, but focuses on backchecking. Also good at breakouts.
OFD = Offensive defender. Usually a good shooter and passer, and will more frequently move deep in offensive play. Still is a defender though.
TWA = Two-way attacker. A forward who will be quick to fall back if the team loses the puck, and prevents odd-man rush opportunities.
PWF = Power forward. A forward who plays with strength in everything he does, but also relies on skill. The most allround forwards on the team.
SNP = Sniper. A forward who will score more goals than assists. His job is simply to put the puck in the back of the net from every position.
PLM = Playmaker. A forward who has good overview and passing, and will score more assists than goals. His job is to create chances for the team.
GRN = Grinder. A forward using his body to annoy the opponent, get or keep the puck and push it into the goal. Especially good at forechecking.

Who will...
Score goals? Rasnikov, Bryzhnev, Simonen and Stefansson are top league scorers. From the defenders, all OFD as well as Glukov may score. Glukov is a good shooter, and will use that skill regularly. The OFD may also move forward and shoot from the circle occasionally.

Amaze us all? If skill explosions and wonderful dekes are your thing, have an eye on Bryzhnev and Gulbrandsson. That brilliant cross-crease pass that leaves the teammate with an open net? Hjalmarsson and to a lesser extent Simonen got you covered. Finally, Hoyman guarantees spectacle in net.

Get into a brawl? Savojars are somewhat opposed to one-on-one brawls due to their huge sense of community. While the warrior culture is strong among the team, chances are that you'll get jumped by three at once if you hurt someone. All of the team know how to shove, push and wrestle you down (and also punch, if needed) shall you hurt their linemates. Gränlund is known to be a somewhat aggressive, physical player with a great likelihood to provoke goalkeepers with late slashes, push around opponents after the whistle and knows most dirty tricks in front of the goal.

Knock you out? Heavyweights of the team are Asgeirsson (197 cm/105 kg) and Yarchenko (194 cm/99 kg). Despite his size, Toranen (183 cm/80 kg) is known for his spectacular hip checks that sent many Savojar wingers to the ice face first. In the front, Juha Neronen is known for occasionally grinding people into the boards, and Jacob Andersson has pushed many defenders off balance in front of the net.

Miss curfew? Savojars love a good drink, and while they have stopped doing the tradition of sacrificial mead-drinking before game days, they still practice it two days before (to sleep off the hangover). In this tradition, players are expected to prove their strength before the Gods by drinking large amounts of mead. The best at this discipline tend to be Strakhov, Jaskinen and Rantanen. Gudbrandsson is a very attractive guy who likes going out, and most likely to get to know the female players of other teams a bit better. Similar is said about Stefansson, but he never seems to find anyone meeting his standards... (OOC: Ville Stefansson is secretly gay and you are open to RP on that. However, given the usual issues of discrimination in hockey environments, only his best friends on the team know. I don't know if I'll bring that up in RP, but the possibility exists and if you want to collaborate on that, be it by outrage or endorsement, feel free.)

Transfer abroad? Generally, players from Army teams (CASK, ASK, Torpedo, Aviator) are hard to get away from their team, but sometimes do if the offer is good. Similarly, Dynamo (the police team) is not extremely fond of losing players. But then again, since the 1990s players have enough rights to enable transfer of everyone.

KITS



RP PERMISSIONS

Choose my Scorers: Yes
Choose Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: No
RP Injuries to my Players: Yes - I decide how long they will be injured
Godmod Injuries to my Players: No
Penalise my players: Yes, but no more than one major and/or game misconduct per game
Godmod Other Events: TG me first

[Equestrian States]

Match Day 1 Results

Group 1
Equestrian States 4–3 Bysantia
Valanora 1–4 Banija
Bjørnøya Republic 2–0 Mytanija

  Group 1                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                           1    1   0   0     4    1   +3     3
2 Bjørnøya Republic                1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
3 Equestrian States                1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
4 Bysantia                         1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
5 Mytanija                         1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
6 Valanora                         1    0   0   1     1    4   −3     0

Group 2
Novaya Zemlya 2–3 South Covello
Ranoria 1–0 Libonesia
Pepsi Governate of Korea 1–1 Nova Anglicana

  Group 2                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Covello                    1    1   0   0     3    2   +1     3
2 Ranoria                          1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
3 Nova Anglicana                   1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Pepsi Governate of Korea         1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
5 Novaya Zemlya                    1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
6 Libonesia                        1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0

Group 3
Lisander 4–3 People's Republic of Xabia
Hachetasser 0–1 Abanhfleft
Udmurt 0–3 Kita-Hinode

  Group 3                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kita-Hinode                      1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Lisander                         1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
3 Abanhfleft                       1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 People's Republic of Xabia       1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
5 Hachetasser                      1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
6 Udmurt                           1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

Group 4
Rezmaeristan 4–0 Federation of Spokane
Devonta 1–0 Qasden
Elejamie 1–0 Ko-oren

  Group 4                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Rezmaeristan                     1    1   0   0     4    0   +4     3
2 Devonta                          1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
  Elejamie                         1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Ko-oren                          1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
  Qasden                           1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
6 Federation of Spokane            1    0   0   1     0    4   −4     0

Group 5
Monsa 1–4 Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Austrakia 4–2 Mercedini
Équipe National du Québec 3–4 The Sherpa Empire

  Group 5                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec          1    1   0   0     4    1   +3     3
2 Austrakia                        1    1   0   0     4    2   +2     3
3 The Sherpa Empire                1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
4 Équipe National du Québec        1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
5 Mercedini                        1    0   0   1     2    4   −2     0
6 Monsa                            1    0   0   1     1    4   −3     0

Group 6
Tiiwark 1–0 Pachenstein
Free Republics 1–0 Savojarna
Siovanija & Teusland 4–2 Kaboomlandia

  Group 6                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Siovanija & Teusland             1    1   0   0     4    2   +2     3
2 Free Republics                   1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
  Tiiwark                          1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Pachenstein                      1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
  Savojarna                        1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
6 Kaboomlandia                     1    0   0   1     2    4   −2     0

Group 7
Alpine Union 1–1 Xanneria
Competitive Solitaire 3–4 Cassadaigua
Lorenthia 3–6 Vilita & Turori

  Group 7                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vilita & Turori                  1    1   0   0     6    3   +3     3
2 Cassadaigua                      1    1   0   0     4    3   +1     3
3 Alpine Union                     1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Xanneria                         1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
5 Competitive Solitaire            1    0   0   1     3    4   −1     0
6 Lorenthia                        1    0   0   1     3    6   −3     0

Group 8
Vangaziland 2–7 Cosumar
Northwest Kalactin 0–1 Omerica
Krospovia 3–5 Neu Engollon

  Group 8                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cosumar                          1    1   0   0     7    2   +5     3
2 Neu Engollon                     1    1   0   0     5    3   +2     3
3 Omerica                          1    1   0   0     1    0   +1     3
4 Northwest Kalactin               1    0   0   1     0    1   −1     0
5 Krospovia                        1    0   0   1     3    5   −2     0
6 Vangaziland                      1    0   0   1     2    7   −5     0

[Udmurt]

Udmurt defeated in WC debut

Udmurt 0-3 Kita-Hinode

In their WC debut, the Udmurtian Men's National Hockey Team squared off with Kita-Hinode. The newcomers lost to their experienced opponents with a result of 0-3.

The 1st Period opened with a bang. In the 52nd second of the game, Kita-Hinode got ahead with a beautiful slapshot from the blue line. Udmurt worked hard to get back in the game and their hard work paid off when Radim Havlichek put it past the Hinodejin goalie, but after careful review, the refs ruled offside and the result stood as before. Just before the period ended, Kita-Hinode scored another goal after a beautiful shot.

Havlichek's goal gets ruled off

The 2nd period was filled with chances as Kita-Hinode bombarded Ulrich Hofmann with shots. One such episode almost ended in a goal, only for Linhart to put his stick on the line and blocking the shot. Hinode appealed the ref for a penalty but the play carried on. In the 3rd period, the players looked exhausted, and with just 39 seconds remaining, Kita-Hinode scored in the empty net of Udmurt.

[The Federation of Spokane]

It looks like I’ll have to withdraw, sorry

[Lorenthia]

Lorenthia Hockey Federation | Official Website

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NATIONAL TEAM | WORLD CUP 37 | ELITSERIEN | YOUTH HOCKEY | WOMENS HOCKEY | GOVERNANCE | CONTACT | SPONSORS

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3-6: Lorenthia defeated by Vilita and Turori, in a glorious atuation of River Suzgar.

Kasper Holgersen celebrates his goal against Vilita and Turori. Photo © Edmur Hilmarssen

The journey through Equestrian States began! The Lorenthian Team began their participation in the Hockey World Cup 37 with a defeat against the very strong team of Vilita and Turori, third placed in the world ranking. The 3-6 was the expected result if we compare the levels of the two nations.

With a fantastic performance and three goals, River Suzgar was elected MVP of the match. On the side of the Lorenthians Kasper Holgersen scored two goals from the three of the wolves. Alv Lister scored the third.

The team headed by coach Bernt Silje is back on ice tonight to face the Cassadaigua team, only five positions ahead of the wolves in the rankings. This time we can expect a much better game.

In other news: Lisander had difficulty to overcome the weak team of Xabia. Ugly and boring 4-3.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union draws against an unranked team

Dobravlje, Republic of Carniola - (NAP) After beating some of the best teams to make it's way to the WCoH 36 final, the Alpine Union can't win on home ground at Ravioli Hall against Xanneria. The Alpine Union attacked midway in the 1st period when Szymon Krzysztalowicz passed to Czeslaw Niemczynowicz who skates with the puck and passed backwards to Emilia Zyskowska who shoots on the post. Czeslaw Niemczynowicz takes the loose puck and skates with it around the net and passes to Melania Zyskowska who shoots on the post and the puck deflects into the crowd. Still 0-0.

Early in the 2nd period, the Alpine Union attacked again when Zofia Stepniewska skated with the puck and passed to Slawomir Zawistowski who skates around the net and passed to Wiebke Wohlfahrt who passed backwards to Niko Virtanen who shoots on the post. Xanneria's defenseman Chris Chordon takes the loose puck which ended Bison's attack in Xanneria's territory. A few minutes later, Arkadiusz Zlomanczuk is penalized for butt-ending, which is a major penalty and a game misconduct and Xanneria gets a 5 minutes power play. 3 minutes later, Xanneria's Shreve Porter wins the face off in Alpine territory and passed to Slidell Gonzales who passed to Houma Thibadoux. Thibadoux shoots wide right but R.C. Lafeyette takes the loose puck and passed in front of the net to Newell Orleans who shoots and scores. It's a power play goal for Xanneria and they're leading 1-0.

Midway in the 3rd period, Stanislaw Wojciechowski passed the puck to Czeslaw Niemczynowicz who'se on a 2 on 1 with Melania Zyskowska. Niemczynowicz passed the puck to Melania Zyskowska who gives it back to Czeslaw Niemczynowicz who shoots and scores. Xanneria's head coach Lou Weese-Seanna is challenging the goal saying there was an offside at the blue line. After the video review, the referree overturned the goal and the score is still 1-0 Xanneria. With less than 2 minutes remaining, the Bisons are pulling their goalie for an extra attacker. Peter Sundin has the puck in Xanneria's territory and he passed it to Anton Lundström who passed back to Peter Sundin who passed to Stanislaw Wojciechowski. Wojciechowski shoots but he hits the post, Slawomir Zawistowski takes the loose puck and shoots. Baton Rouge makes the save but he doesn't control the puck and Fredrika Laine takes the loose puck she shoots and scores! The game is tied at 1-1 and because there's no overtime in group stage, it ended that way.

The Alpine Union is now 3rd in the standings behind Vilita & Turori and Cassadaigua and will receive Competitive Solitaire at home in Ähtari on next matchday.

BOXSCORE

1st period
No goal

2nd period
6:29 - Newell Orleans assisted by R.C. Lafeyette and Houma Thibadoux (PPG)

3rd period
0:48 - Fredrika Laine assisted by Slawomir Zawistowski and Stanislaw Wojciechowski

[Xanneria]

Fans react to historic tie!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: Face Off in Alpine! Let's Go maroons

BigBoomer: Heck Yeah Hockey!

IHeartHockeyBeards: OMG Laffeyette is so dreamy! I'm sure he'll grow a awesome hockey beard when he gets older!

******transplantinXAN: My hometeam would crush ya'll!

UPlymouthProwlerFan69_420: This Arena looks so much better than the one in Delano, I can't believe they picked it over the Prowlers home grounds in Nielstown!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: And 2:33 in to the first period we have a power play by Alpine!

BigBoomer:Man remember the good ol days of power plays by the Xannerians?

IHeartHockeyBeards: Laffeyette Can Power Play with me any day!

*******transplantinXAN: Man our power Play is so much better!

UPlymouthProwlerFan69_420: Reminds me of the Prowlers!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: That was a HIT! by Slidell Gonzales

BigBoomer: Real manly hockey!

IHeartHockeyBeards: Slidell is such a man!

*******transplantinXAN: Wussy hit! My home country could hit harder

PlymouthProwlerFan69_420: Wow! Thats the kind of hits we see in Nielstown!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: 6:29 left SCORE! - Newell Orleans scores!

BigBoomer:YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

IHeartHockeyBeards: What a cute boy! Good Score!

*******transplantinXAN: Aw my team would have 5 goals on them by now

PlymouthProwlerFan69_420: Heck yeah, I remember many goals like that by the Prowlers

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: ANOTHER HARD HIT! This time by Shreve Porter!

BigBoomer:Yeah! Love the rough stuff!

IHeartHockeyBeards:Man that guy who got hit was <3 <3 <3

*******transplantinXAN:Again another Wussy hit!

PlymouthProwlerFan69_420: OOF! That reminds me of a hit the Prowlers made a couple years ago!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: THIRD PERIOD SCORE! Alpine ties it up at 1! with thirty seconds left!

BigBoomer: Dadgum it!

IHeartHockeyBeards:Crap!

******transplantinXAN:Haha!

PlymouthProwlerFan69_420: Oh Shit! Oh Shit! Oh Shit!

XanneriaHockeyOfficial: And the game ends 1-1

BigBoomer:We need shootouts like back in the day!

IHeartHockeyBeards: WOAH dude!

******transplantinXAN:My home nation would have won!

PlymouthProwlerFan69_420: wow!

[Cassadaigua]

River Suzgar Plays Hockey?
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

I was reading a publication out of Lorenthia that mentioned River Suzgar getting a hat trick. I thought that a NSSCRA analogy would be weird from a nation that did not even participate in NSSCRA, so I had to check on what exactly is going on here. Was it like some publication looking at a roster wrong such as saying a defender from Farfadillis was playing for Vilita, or is River Suzgar really out there on the ice? Sure enough, Vilita and Turori lists a player on their roster named River Suzgar, but does not call him the Shark. So now inquiring Cassadagan fans want to know: what is the relationship between River Suzgar, the hockey player, and River Suzgar III, otherwise known as the Shark, in NSSCRA? After all, when we go head to head in New Lakeland, our fans are going to be very confused without some further background on these two!

The World Cup of Hockey did indeed get going last night, and the Fillies are hoping to do a little better then they did in the last one. The competition started out with a very winnable game for us, playing at home against unranked Competitive Solitaire. Our team looked like they were playing a card game at the start, and no, I am not talking about one of those e-sports things from the Olympics.

Competitive Solitaire struck for two goals in the first period, coming in the first eleven minutes of the match. At the point of their second goal, they were outshooting the Fillies 12-2. What was going on here? Certainly, the home crowd was enjoying the play of their team to this point. The opponents took advantage of sloppy Dagan play in the neutral zone, perhaps from our team wanting to do too much. After the second goal, things did not get any better for us either, until the 19:17 mark of the opening frame. With just the 43 seconds left, and being outshot 18-3 in the period to that point, a soft wrist shot by Sierra Herschel found the back of the net. Suddenly, a period in which we were badly outplayed saw us only down, 2-1. The crowd got silent. Surely, they knew that such domination would only result in a slim one goal advantage.

Whatever was said in the locker room certainly worked, and it was like watching a completely different Cassadagan team, giving the fans that sat at that end of the rink another chance to see the vast majority of the action at their end. Cassadaigua took advantage, though, scoring thrice in the second: Chelsea Donato at 5:26, Kelsey Cronin at 9:33, then a PP tally by Shannon Fowler at 14:40 to make it 4-2 in favor of Cassadaigua. Shots were dominated by the pink and black for the period, 16-4, making the overall SOG much closer at 22-20, still in their favor.

The third period was a defensive battle, with the Fillies doing a great job on keeping Competitive Solitaire from getting quality opportunities. Kelsey Cronin almost make it 5-2 eight minutes in, but struck the crossbar with a slapper. It didn’t really matter, as while the Fillies did concede a third period goal, it came with just 1:13 left, and they shut the door from there.

Cassadaigua will open up their home schedule against Lorentha next. While we know that Stacie Houston will not get a hat trick, maybe Mallory Healy, #27, will have an extra big game.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung

Sports

Goldhorns Take World Cup of Hockey Opener

The Olimpski-Ledarena was filled to the brim as 19,000 spectators roared the Goldhorns on to their first win of the World Cup of Hockey group stages.

“It’s always important to get yourself started out right, and I know we’ve got the capability to do that here tonight,” commented Timo Schlager, waiting to take the ice for his first World Cup of Hockey match. His captain, Gunter Pfenning, added, “I think Timo’s got it right, yeah, we’re going to be looking to have a big start tonight to make sure everything is as it should be for us. We’re all really excited to get going, it should be a fun game and a fun tournament.”

The Goldhorns were taking on the team from Kaboomlandia to get their tournament underway, and were expecting a tough challenge from the visitors. “Oh for sure, obviously they are going to want to come away with something here and try and spoil our party. It’s up to us to get going and stop their game plan, and come away with a strong result here,” commented Alex Schnyder. Getting the start in goal in the tournament opener would be Admirala Pomorie goalie Ruslan Ivanov, who has been a mainstay between the pipes for the Goldhorns ever since World Cup of Hockey 35. Despite looking average in his game against Quebec in the Super Series, coach Aaron Kuhn put faith in him to rebound.

The proceedings got underway with some strong hockey being played by Siovanija and Teusland. Razvigor Tsvetanov looked dangerous every time he touched the puck, having his second shot of the game ring off the post and out of play. The Goldhorns were consistently getting chances in the offensive zone, but simply couldn’t find the back of the net early. 12 minutes into the period, Alex Schnyder was hauled down by the Kaboomlandian defenceman, and the Goldhorns’ power play got to work. Jorg Gottschall confidently held the puck along the blueline, passing back and forth with partner Koloman Schwarzmann. Gottschall eventually found Tsvetanov down low, but the right winger’s quick snapshot was just off target. Gunter Pfenning won the puck back along the boards, however, and played it back to Schwarzmann. The big defender blasted a drive from the point that was unseen and unstoppable for the goalie, and just like that Siovanija and Teusland led 1-0.

That goal gave the Goldhorns more confidence to shoot the puck, and once again the boys in blue and gold were a menace going forward. A few minutes after the goal, it was the second line working hard that earned another chance. Frank Heider brought the puck up on the left side, dropping back to the point for Fabian Auer. Auer found Wolfram Spiegel with a cross ice pass, and Spiegel’s shot was stopped by the last second intervention of the goaltender’s blocker. The rebound fell to the front of the net and, luckily, the stick of Timo Schlager. Schlager’s reflexes allowed him to beat the goalie’s effort to poke check, and a quick shot ensured the lamp was lit. Schlager’s first World Cup of Hockey goal made the score 2-0.

Despite what some in the crowd may have thought, however, the game was far from over. Coming back out for the second period, Kaboomlandia looked a bit sharper than the Goldhorns. The visitors would take advantage of their sudden advantage, and they would punish Siovanija and Teusland’s weak play. Kaboomlandia’s right wing came in fast over the blue line, and made a quick play to beat Gregor Herder. Now, only Ruslan Ivanov was left for the skater to beat. An excellent shot was raised into the top left corner, and Ivanov couldn’t get there in time. 2-1 now, and there were some worried murmurs on the Goldhorn bench and stands.

However, the fears would be put to rest shortly after. A crowd that had been raucous until the recent goal was called back into action after a massive hip check was thrown by Christian Hasselberger. That seemed to inject new energy into the fans and players, and Siovanija and Teusland were awoken from their short-lived slumber. 2 minutes after that, it was Siovanija and Teusland’s second line in action. Fabian Auer found Timo Schlager with a strong pass, and the speedy centreman worked his way into the slot. He faked a shot before finally finding a waiting Frank Heider, who unleashed a bullet of a one-timer that the goalie had no chance on. Siovanija and Teusland took a 3-1 lead back to the dressing room after 40 minutes.

The third period saw a little bit more action from both teams. The game was a bit chippy, especially after the Hasselberger hit, and there were also some antics post-whistle. At one point, this was enough for Hasselberger and one of the Kaboomlandia players to be pulled out, and the teams down to 4 on 4 hockey for two minutes. It was a perfect opportunity for the Goldhorns to extend their lead, and they would do so just seconds into the 4 on 4. Gunter Pfenning played a great pass out of his own zone to send Razvigor Tsvetanov in on a breakaway. The rushing Tsvetanov fired a low wrister five-hole on the goalie, earning his first goal of the World Cup and making the score 4-1. Kaboomlandia would add a consolation goal with 2 minutes left in the game, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback and Siovanija and Teusland took a 4-2 win from the game.

“I thought it was a great game, overall. Kaboomlandia played us hard, they played good hockey for 60 minutes, and they capitalized when they were able to. It’s an important win for us, and we’ll take a lot of positives from it forwards throughout the tournament,” said Jorg Gottschall after the game. Ruslan Ivanov, who stopped 16 of 18 shots, commented “Yeah, it was good to get back out there. I felt good tonight, and all the right signs were there.” Ivanov will also get the start in Siovanija and Teusland’s second game of the tournament.

That second game will see the Goldhorns face, on paper, the most difficult game of the group stage. It’s an away date with Savojarna, the highest-ranked seed in the group. “Obviously, they’ve got a great team and we’ll be hoping to go in and upset them. They’ve been in a World Cup final before, and they have a great shot at doing that any year. So we’re looking forward to playing them, yes, and it should be a fun game,” said the captain Pfenning. Savojarna, known for their tactical approach and great skill in possession, have several very skilled players such as Johan Bryzhnev and Jonas Gulbrandsson who will provide a tough challenge for the Goldhorns. One positive note for Siovanija and Teusland, however, is that Savojarna dropped their opening match 1-0 away to the Free Republics. Surely the Savojars will be looking to rebound, but the Goldhorns will be looking to add to their early troubles.

We’ll be here to cover every moment of the 37th World Cup of Hockey, as Siovanija and Teusland continues their group stage campaign against Savojarna.

[Mytanija]

Elena shook her head, allowing herself a slight smirk in the knowledge that the only way her son would learn was by falling over out on the ice. In fairness, she wouldn’t have been much better, she hadn’t pulled her skates on in a long time. Still, she didn’t really need to, she had little interest in ice skating and even less in ice hockey. The real purpose of her son, Artem, learning to ice skate. He had watched his father play pick-up games on their local rink and he had caught the bug in much the same way as his Dad. Elena didn’t quite understand the fascination with the sport, it was rough, occasionally dangerous. She would have much preferred Artem to have an interest in football or handball, even an individual sport of some description… She’d have loved to have taken Artem skiing, for example. She had been a couple of times and it was always great fun.

It was ice hockey that had drawn him in though.

They had been attending these skating lessons for a few weeks and Artem was slowly but surely getting the hang of it. He was still falling over from time to time, but now he was spending more time upright than on his backside. That was surely a good sign. The teenager leading the class was no older than 18 or 19 and he was an expert, he weaved in and out of the kids at speed and Elena had been mesmerised when he had started showing off for the kids at the end of a session once, telling them that they too would be able to do the tricks he could do if they kept at it and kept practicing.

Elena half hoped Artem wouldn’t be able to, it looked bloody dangerous. Artem wasn’t a baby anymore and whilst Elena hadn’t ever wrapped him in cotton wool she was still protective – like any mother. The dangers he could face worried him. She had to chide herself sometimes when she found herself worrying about things like his skating, things that were meant to be fun. Sometimes she thought of the worst scenario and she had to stop herself. He couldn’t avoid all possible danger, after all. He enjoyed the ice skating too and it was good exercise, she tried to focus on the advantages.

Elena wondered what she would cook for dinner that evening, knowing that she had to pop into a supermarket at some point on the way home. Artem would beg her to buy a pack of ice hockey trading cards whilst there and she would – as always – give in just before they left. He would tear open the foil packet on the tram and eagerly pull the cards out from inside, sometimes ecstatic with his new finds and sometimes a little crestfallen as he realised he had a duplicate. Elena would ask him questions about each player and Artem would eagerly recite facts he had learned by rote from either the sports section of a newspaper or from what he had heard his Dad listening to on the radio.

It made Elena smile. She wondered how much of it Artem actually understood, but it was nice to see him invested in something whether he understood it or not. His Dad swore that Artem understood it all. He wanted his boy to be a little ice hockey star, or failing that to be a journalist that could write about other ice hockey stars. He had taken Artem to his first ever KK Magevskaya game during the SHLM Liga season and whilst the team hadn’t been as good as in previous years, it didn’t stop Artem falling in love as soon as he saw the players out on the ice.

When they had got home from the game, Artem was able to recite every single thing that had happened. Elena was inclined to believe he understood a bit more about ice hockey than she thought he did after that. She still wasn’t sure it was as much as his father wanted him to understand at such a young age though.

“Mama!” Came Artem’s voice from the side of the rink, his little head peering over the small wall separating the ice from the benches alongside the rink.

“Yes honey?”

“Have you seen how good I’m getting Mama?”

“Of course! You’re doing so well, keep going!”

“I know! Watch this!” Artem’s little voice shouted and so saying, he set off skating towards the middle of the rink, slightly unsteady at first but with more conviction the further he got. She had to admit, he was actually doing very well.

Maybe his father would have a hockey playing son after all, Elena smiled.

[Equestrian States]

Match Day 2 Results

Group 1
Bysantia 0–1 Mytanija
Banija 1–1 Bjørnøya Republic
Equestrian States 1–1 Valanora

  Group 1                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Banija                           2    1   1   0     5    2   +3     4
2 Bjørnøya Republic                2    1   1   0     3    1   +2     4
3 Equestrian States                2    1   1   0     5    4   +1     4
4 Mytanija                         2    1   0   1     1    2   −1     3
5 Valanora                         2    0   1   1     2    5   −3     1
6 Bysantia                         2    0   0   2     3    5   −2     0

Group 2
South Covello 2–1 Nova Anglicana
Libonesia 2–1 Pepsi Governate of Korea
Novaya Zemlya 3–0 Ranoria

  Group 2                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 South Covello                    2    2   0   0     5    3   +2     6
2 Novaya Zemlya                    2    1   0   1     5    3   +2     3
3 Ranoria                          2    1   0   1     1    3   −2     3
4 Libonesia                        2    1   0   1     2    2    0     3
5 Nova Anglicana                   2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1
  Pepsi Governate of Korea         2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1

Group 3
People's Republic of Xabia 0–1 Kita-Hinode
Abanhfleft 11–2 Udmurt
Lisander 1–0 Hachetasser

  Group 3                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                       2    2   0   0    12    2  +10     6
2 Kita-Hinode                      2    2   0   0     4    0   +4     6
3 Lisander                         2    2   0   0     5    3   +2     6
4 People's Republic of Xabia       2    0   0   2     3    5   −2     0
5 Hachetasser                      2    0   0   2     0    2   −2     0
6 Udmurt                           2    0   0   2     2   14  −12     0

Group 4
Federation of Spokane 0–1 Ko-oren
Qasden 2–0 Elejamie
Rezmaeristan 1–3 Devonta

  Group 4                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Devonta                          2    2   0   0     4    1   +3     6
2 Qasden                           2    1   0   1     2    1   +1     3
3 Elejamie                         2    1   0   1     1    2   −1     3
4 Rezmaeristan                     2    1   0   1     5    3   +2     3
5 Ko-oren                          2    1   0   1     1    1    0     3
6 Federation of Spokane            2    0   0   2     0    5   −5     0

Group 5
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 2–2 The Sherpa Empire
Mercedini 3–0 Équipe National du Québec
Monsa 1–0 Austrakia

  Group 5                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec          2    1   1   0     6    3   +3     4
2 The Sherpa Empire                2    1   1   0     6    5   +1     4
3 Monsa                            2    1   0   1     2    4   −2     3
4 Austrakia                        2    1   0   1     4    3   +1     3
5 Mercedini                        2    1   0   1     5    4   +1     3
6 Équipe National du Québec        2    0   0   2     3    7   −4     0

Group 6
Pachenstein 3–4 Kaboomlandia
Savojarna 3–5 Siovanija & Teusland
Tiiwark 2–4 Free Republics

  Group 6                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Siovanija & Teusland             2    2   0   0     9    5   +4     6
2 Free Republics                   2    2   0   0     5    2   +3     6
3 Kaboomlandia                     2    1   0   1     6    7   −1     3
4 Tiiwark                          2    1   0   1     3    4   −1     3
5 Pachenstein                      2    0   0   2     3    5   −2     0
6 Savojarna                        2    0   0   2     3    6   −3     0

Group 7
Xanneria 3–7 Vilita & Turori
Cassadaigua 4–3 Lorenthia
Alpine Union 1–1 Competitive Solitaire

  Group 7                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Vilita & Turori                  2    2   0   0    13    6   +7     6
2 Cassadaigua                      2    2   0   0     8    6   +2     6
3 Alpine Union                     2    0   2   0     2    2    0     2
4 Competitive Solitaire            2    0   1   1     4    5   −1     1
5 Xanneria                         2    0   1   1     4    8   −4     1
6 Lorenthia                        2    0   0   2     6   10   −4     0

Group 8
Cosumar 1–3 Neu Engollon
Omerica 1–2 Krospovia
Vangaziland 3–2 Northwest Kalactin

  Group 8                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Neu Engollon                     2    2   0   0     8    4   +4     6
2 Cosumar                          2    1   0   1     8    5   +3     3
3 Krospovia                        2    1   0   1     5    6   −1     3
4 Omerica                          2    1   0   1     2    2    0     3
5 Vangaziland                      2    1   0   1     5    9   −4     3
6 Northwest Kalactin               2    0   0   2     2    4   −2     0

[Ko-oren]

Relocation, Professionalism, and Numerals

It was an issue that divided the northeastern part of the nation. Last World Cup, with the national spotlights firmly fixated on the ice (but not too firm, else it melts), the ice hockeying part of the nation nearly fell apart over one thing. Should ice hockey be considered a major sport in Ko-oren, entitling it to more funding and national exposure, or should it stay a minor/regional sport, making it the best kept secret of the northeast, protecting its traditions? The entrepreneurs among the league's 12 owners pleaded the former, while the traditional clubs stick to the latter.

This World Cup, the battle rages on as more and more Ko-orenites nationwide are tuning into ice hockey games. The sport never gets as much attention as during the sport's biggest tournament, and any capitalising on this attention should be done as long as the Dragonflies are still in the tournament. All eyes that are not on the action on the ice, will be looking at whether all 12 owners can keep their teams in the northeast and not relocate their team to larger, more populous markets.

Two World Cups ago, we saw Aevanna Plains Wanderers owner Arius Halwerdsen endorse professionalism and moving teams to larger markets. Aoninuiro Emulyal, employed by the Aevanna Explorers, advocates the opposite, keeping ice hockey where it is popular and a true force within the community. At the same time, we haven't seen a lot of improvements between the team at World Cup of Hockey 35 and the team at the 36th installment. That, and the poor performance of our clubs at the HCL (more on that later), what is next for the sport? Eventually, the one factor that decides whether a move has failed or not, is how much money it brings in. If the final calculations of a club turn out in the negatives, that's a bad sign. If they turn out in the positives, that's a good sign, with the caveat that a number could start out low and rise with time and vice versa. Just looking at the numbers, it seems unlikely that ice hockey will get much larger in its current form. In average attendance, profits, and tv/online viewership, it ranks below the seven large sports. Then again, ice hockey can grow far more than the big sports.

But I'm sure that our worries and discussions are nothing compared to the larger issues plaguing ice hockey globally.

The largest debate was about increasing parity in the HCL, the multiverse's premier club competition - a competition that saw three out of four Ko-orenite representatives fall before the first hurdle. The Aevanna Scouts and the Southwest Aevanna Rangers lost in the first qualifying round. Straudum Ice and the Egevea Islanders fell in the second qualifying round - but had another shot in the playoff round, and both teams were victorious in their final chance - only to run into the playin round. This time around, both teams lost. But all was not lost, there was another way to save face and qualify for the 32-team group stage. This way was via the playin playoff (really?) for teams that lost in the playin round, but won in the playoff round, after losing the second qualifying round. Here, the three remaining playin playoff teams all played each other twice, which means that Straudum and Egevea had some very short away trips, and Straudum Ice qualified for the group stage on three wins and a draw. After such a long way towards the group stage... The Ice lost five out of six, finished last in the group. Anyhow, supposedly some nations' teams were so far ahead of the rest that the smaller nations couldn't keep up, and frankly, they apparently fixed the parity. Couldn't really tell, to be honest.

The largest debate now is about whether ice hockey fixtures should be displayed in a uniform way across the multiverse: 'Home v Away' or 'Away @ Home'? Fights are literally breaking out in the streets with crowds chanting 'Versus! No Reverses!' and 'Curses to Versus' respectively. We'll keep you up to date with this incredibly meaningful discussion. Meanwhile, 'Home v Away' is the only way you should write down ice hockey games without bringing your ancestors to shame, but don't let that cloud your own judgment.

The most important debate should be whether World Cups of Hockey should be numbered like a normal person, using Arabic numbers, or like an idiot, using Roman numerals.

[Savojarna]

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Savojarna left stunned in WCoH opener weekend

The opening weekend for the Savojars was always going to be tough, with an away match in the Free Republics and a home game against Siovanija and Teusland, widely considered the Next Big Thing in international ice hockey. Nevertheless, few expected the result to be that devastating. The first match in the Free Republics was dominated by a Savojar team that pressed the goal of the FFR for most of the game, racking up an impressive 34:18 shot advantage after two periods. But it was not enough as a deflection by Danielsen in the powerplay sealed the deal seven minutes before the end, and Annabelle Johnstone shut out the Savojars for sixty minutes. Nevertheless, the fast play and solid offensive qualities of the Savojars gave hope for the following game at home against Siovanija and Teusland. Yet, "S&T" kept the upper hand and managed to beat our team thanks to a team effort that fought the Savojars down late in the game.

In the first game, Savojarna attempted to drive the puck forward and search for chances, leading to a high number of shots but somewhat low-quality attempts. Most notably, the first line seemed to display an uncharacteristic lack of creativity. Rasnikov in particular was criticised after the game for a stubbornness that seemed to focus less on the team and more on him personally attempting to show that he was in form and could score. Shooting from nearly every position even when sometimes, there would have been better placed teammates, did not lead to success against the Free Republics. Annabelle Johnstone was crowned best player of the game rightfully following her 47 saves against an aggressive and determined Savojar offence, but as she correctly pointed out after the fact, many shots were routine stops caused by the tight FFR defence.

Things were bound to be different against the more open and creative Siovanija and Teusland, a team that always looks for an opening on the offensive side and promised a high-paced, spectacular game. The promises were fulfilled from the start, as the Savojars seemed a bit less tense than two days earlier and could take a quick lead as Bryzhnev laid a puck back into the slot to Hjalmarsson, whose one-timer was unstoppable for Ruslan Ivanov. The Goldhorns' reaction was quick and fierce, however. A strong attack came down onto the Savojar goal, with Gunter Pfenning offloading a puck to Alex Schnyder, who pulled it around Kristiansen and scored between the legs of Niklas Hoyman. The game proceeded in similar fashion: fast, offensive and with many shots from all locations. However, the Savojar defence somewhat tightened after the equaliser, and shortly before the end of the period they took the initiative back, even though they failed to score again.

The next goal would be a product of the Goldhorns' powerplay. Falborg had been a little too aggressive in the corner, leading to a penalty for holding against the Savojar defender. The S&T powerplay was quickly set up and led to a lot of danger for the goal. Following a shot by Ivankov, Hoyman could not stop the puck conclusively and Frank Heider was quickly present to push the rebound over the line. However, this lead would not last long either, this time by a quick Savojar equaliser. Antti Toranen got to the puck at the end of a long pressure phase in which Savojarna failed to find an opening in the S&T defence. Thus, he decided to go down the wing himself and shot from the side, looking for a rebound. Elyagin was there to deflect the puck and missed it, but from the legs of Timo Horn the puck bounced back into the slot and a mad scramble ensued. At the end of the scramble, the was pushed away from the goal a little bit, where Jacob Andersson was the first to react and shoot it past the slightly disoriented Ivanov into the goal.

The back and forth was not broken until late in the game. The Savojars took the lead before the break with a one-timer by Bryzhnev, before Tsvetanov managed to break free from an otherwise brilliant cover by the Savojar defence and scored with a wrister shortly after the beginning of the third period. The fourth goal was the one that would decide the match six minutes before the end. Glukov had been too active in front of the goal and got called out for a cross-check, sending him out to the penalty box. The powerplay of the Goldhorns was largely harmless for the first part of it, but then, seemingly out of nowhere, a quick combo led to an opening for the deadly pass through the slot. Heider slapped the puck across the box to Wolfram Spiegel, whose one-timer was impossible to stop for Hoyman and brought Siovanija and Teusland in front again. The Savojars attempted a reaction but failed to provide one, leading to the game ending with 5-3 as the guests scored an empty netter in the last minute.

A disappointed Fridtjof Ragnarsson had been facing the media after the match, and had to answer many questions about the decisions he took regarding the first line. Having been absolutely inefficient against the Free Republics, the exact same line stood on the ice against the Goldhorns, and had very little impact yet again. With the entire line having crossed thirty years of age, and being increasingly outplayed by fast teams and seeming too uncreative to compete with tight defences, many fans demand a change and the introduction of more young talent. However, disrupting the Belushya Guba Duo (who retain their name despite the transfer of Jonas Gulbrandsson to ESK Storevik being already decided upon) also hardly improves anything, as the combination of Gulbrandsson and Bryzhnev is by far the best-working line of Savojarna. Meanwhile, more and more calls to include more young players from the SHL are being brought up. We will see whether the Savojars can catch themselves following these two harsh defeats, which put them at the very end of a so far fairly close group. As they face former top team Kaboomlandia away, there is no other option than a victory for the Savojar team.

DEFENCES:
Kristiansen - Glukov
Yarchenko - Falborg
Ingerman - Jarnström
Toranen

OFFENCES:
Bryzhnev - Simonen - Gulbrandsson
Stefansson - Hjalmarsson - Jaskinen
Söderberg - Malinsson - Rasnikov
Gränlund - Andersson - Elyagin
Neronen

GOALKEEPER:
Kerjanen (backup: Hoyman)

[Neu Engollon]

Pine Park HQ, Director of Counter-Intelligence’s Office
Geneva, Geneva Canton, Neu Engollon

Karl von Tindelberg, The Director of NESA and Minister of Intelligence, shifted in his chair.
“Can we meet in my office next time? I have to drop everything to cruise across town.”

Director Reuvan made a crying gesture with his fist.
“Aw, cry me a river! I thought you wanted to see these yahoos we had in detention?”

Karl chuckled, accepting the mild teasing insubordination.
“You have 3 Austraks in detention. I’m not going to talk to them personally. I can see the vids or read the transcripts. It’s not a fucking zoo, so...What’s the point?”

“Well if you feel that way about it, Director, then yes, it will be kind of pointless to go down to see them, but since you’re here…”

Director of Counter-Intelligence Heinrich Reuvan was not on an equal level as Director von Tindelberg. He reported to his boss, the Commissioner of the National Gendarmerie, a post currently filled by Jean-Pierre Etangel, who then reported to the Minister of Justice on the Federal Council. Von Tindelberg was part of the Council. However, when it came to intelligence matters, the two had to work closely to ensure the security of the Confederacy and operations abroad.

“I’ve seen plenty of Laubmann, who else do you have?”

“Well, we have two other BND..we think...field officers. One might actually be Jagdkommando (The Austrak special operations forces), snagged when they tried to break Laubmann out. We were able to crack a ring out of Torino, too, from the rescue team’s back trail of comms. Most of them we have out there in one of our facilities.”

“Hmmm. Interesting.”

“Yes, and disturbing. Awful lot of our turned nationals in that ring.”

“Ugh.”

“Not as bad as the RLO ring from a few years ago in Schwartzgarten and Burgunden.”

“Ah yeah! What a mess that was! Isn’t the trial coming up?”

“Yes, very soon. We have a few of them here. You interested in seeing them?”

“Maybe later, since I have set aside a good chunk of my schedule for the day.”

The RLO was the state security agency for the Yellow Star Republic. They had always been active in spying on Neu Engollon, but had stepped up their activities when Neu Engollon had joined the coalition to liberate Glisandia from the YSR occupation in 2013-2015. They had infiltrated a number of defense industry companies and government ministries, but one turned Schwyz Defense Industry engineer had cracked, giving up one of the key RLO field control officers under the cover of a Vizion national named George Hurley. Hurley had not resisted being taken into custody in an Electronic Village retail store in suburban Burgunden.

“Look, Karl, part of the main reason I want to talk to you is because I want your help.”

“You have it. I have two of my best officers helping in the interrogations. You need more?”

“No, not specifically that. Help from you personally. We need to try to hold off on this trial. We have a lot more I think we can gain from Laubmann, and with the trial, I think he’ll clam up as he knows any chance to be traded is bleak after that.”

“I tend to agree with you, but your bosses, Jean-Pierre and Francois, have a lot more pull, being in the Justice Ministry, then I do. Seems like you’re kind of up the wrong path there…”

“Yes, and I’m working on that with the Minister, but you’re also on the Council. It would take an order from the Federal Council to suspend the trial.”

“True, but President Garavano is pretty determined to have this trial through. Let the public know that we’ve made some effort with all these spies in our midst and that we’re not just laying down and giving up all the house secrets.”

“I understand that, but...Well, can’t that be accomplished with the George Hurley trial?”

“Partially...I’ll see what I can do, Heinrich. It’s a tough fight, but you have my support.”

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.”

[Vangaziland]

Ups And Downs

Vannish hockey was not pretty. The Geese were semi-professional at best and it showed. 13th ranked Cosumar traveled to Vannish Motors Arena in Emeros. The developing Vangazi hoped to make a mark against a tough opponent. This would prove easier said than done. An excited crowd gathered to watch the game, though the stands were not sold out.

The game quickly got out of reach for the Geese. Cosumar scored 3 goals before Vangaziland could answer. The Vangazi lost the battle of possession, with Cosumar holding the puck at will. The Ice Dragons also took more shots than the Geese, creating more chances against the Vannish defense.

Jonas Sundstrom scored Vangaziland's first goal four minutes into the 2nd period. Banksson secured a rebound and was bringing the puck from the midcourt. Rashard Lee trailed behind to support the center forward. Banksson skirted back on his skates and curled back away from his defender. The sharp move created space. The goal was blocked from his angle though. In a split second, he chose to send a quick pass to Sundstrom. The captain met the pass with a shot that just beat the keeper. Vangaziland was still down by far.

Things got even uglier in the 3rd period. With the score swollen to 5-2 Cosumar, substitute defender Sara Daganson took offense to a hit levied upon her team's CF Banksson. After Sara crashed an opposing forward into the boards, the two started to exchange words. The Vangazi was already angry at the score and the violent treatment of her youngest teammate.

As the puck and play moved towards the other goal, Sara kept talking. She heard something she didn't like and threw her gloves off. The officials blew the whistle before things could get out of hand. Sara was sent to the penalty box with an unsportsmanlike conduct call.

The Vannish wings moved laterally. The left wing didn't just stay on the left side, for example. Players just didn't seem to execute as well as they could have against the defense of the Ice Draagons. Syu Sunden had a big day at goal for Cosumar, robbing the Geese of several chances. Khristian Duffy scored Vangaziland's second goal after rebounding Milly Hellqvist's shot.

The penalty helped Cosumar win 7-2. It was the biggest loss of the first day and likey the rest of the tournament as well.

Now the Geese had to step up to face Northwest Kalactin in Game 2. NWK is ranked higher than the Geese at #27 to #39. Vangaziland would need to win this series if they had any chance of advancing. A huge defeat could have cut into many teams' morale.

The Geese showed up with a fresh spirit for Northwest Kalactin. Rashard Lee scored a goal 5:22 into the match. He feigned as if he were hanging back in support only to sprint forward on the ice. Sundstrom ran his own set of cuts, before turning up to center. Sundstrom almost gained space. Puck in stick, Banks still liked the angle Lee had. Another split second pass set up LW Lee for a speedy goal.

This would become a closely contested match which saw each team fighting to answer their opponent's last goal. Noah Dahl scored on a mid 2nd period fast break. Northwest Kalactin finally answered at the end of the 2nd. Vangaziland stepped up to close out the 3rd defensively. The defensive line of Wahlgren and Dahl played key late minutes. It was up to offense to win the game.

A series of passes saw Jonas Sundstrom speeding towards the goal from center left. He pulled a speedy move to get alongside his defender, while using stick skills to extend the puck away from his opponent. He couldn't believe that he saw an angle for a shot. He'd beaten his defender just barely enough to cock back and send a shot flying. The keeper stretched to meet it, but failed.

Vangaziland beat a higher ranked team by the seat of their pants. 3-2 Geese. The team was all smiles as they exchanged handshakes with NWK after the game. It was an exciting match for the players and fans alike. Thoughts of losing the home opener in the Imperial capitol's most famous arena started to fade. Some of the players started to believe in their chances.

"If we keep our cool and push hard, we can make a playoff run", said Jonas Sundstrom in his postgame interview. "The odds are against us, but hard work can take us far." The Geese will flock to Krospovia for their next match.