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Here we are, ladies, gentlemen, and individuals of a non-binary gender. We are sitting on the cusps of what is our first Cup of Harmony since the Fiftieth Edition and...
Wait..Am I talking about Football? On a hockey show?
bUt WHerE's mY iCe aND mY StICk anD pUCk!!!11!!111!
We here on CENTRE ICE support all Avatarian Sports, and we ALWAYS cover the tournaments whenever we can. And, as we are approaching the All-Star Break for the AHL, I figure it might be good to go over what our boys on the pitch will be facing off against, so as to make our audience more well-rounded.
BECAUSE SPORTS DAMN IT!
So, without further ado...
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The Group Schedule was announced just the other day, and here it is:
Matchday 01 (16 Jan.) vs Geektopia95
Matchday 02 (17 Jan.) vs Ancherion62
Matchday 03 (18 Jan.) vs Timuria59
Matchday 04 (19 Jan.) vs Pasarga28
Matchday 05 (20 Jan.) vs Squornshelous102
If you followed along with the World Cup Qualifying, I am sure you recognise two of those names. Yep, on Matchday 03 and Matchday 04, we get two rematches from the World Cup Qualifying! (More on that later)
But let's take a look at our opponents:
Style: +2.793
Formation: 3-3-4
WC 84 Record: 7-2-1, 23 pts, 8th in Group 11
Not much to say about Geektopia, as we have yet to face them either before or after The Silence. Expect this game to be quite a show, as The Bisons are set to open the Cup of Harmony with their (hopefully) best foot forward and get a good solid victory to open the tournament.
Style: +2.4
Formation: 4-2-3-1 (2 CM)
WC 84 Record: 9-4-6, 31 pts, 4th in Group 14
Here we go with another team that we have never faced off before against. Ancherion - despite having such a great flag - wasn't able to make it out of their group, having the pleasure of watching perennial favorite Vilita make it out of the Group Qualifying in first place for Group 14, with 52pts and only one loss... Not the same for Ancherion, who managed to end the last ten games of the tournament 4-3-3.
Style: +3.0
Formation: 4-2-3-1
WC 84 Record: 8-4-8, 28 pts, 5th in Group 12
The first of our World Cup rematches, as well as the first game in which The Bisons will be wearing their black alternate kits. Timuria was a solid opponent in the Qualifiers, with the Bisons drawing the first match away 1-all, and then bringing it to Zhaoyang District, where in front of an 83,000+ crowd, the Bisons managed to silence Timuria 3-1.
We can only hope we do it again.
Now, obviously, Timuria will not be a pushover, as they have more than likely studied us. Initial reports are saying that Aki Kio'los, our starting goalkeeper, may not start until this match, as he is currently dealing with a lower body injury he sustained on personal time away from the team. What does this mean for the Bisons? With Zhao Baoli in the net, our team will likely play a more defensive game, so do not expect the score to open up like it did at The Stadia Capital.
Style: +1.0
Formation: 4-4-2
WC 84 Record: 13-3-4, 42 pts, 3rd in Group 12
The team to beat for this tournament! It doesn't even matter what we do in the other games, so long as we can defeat Pasarga, we could lose every other match and I would still celebrate like we won The World Cup of Hockey! Pasarga gave us two very uncomfortable defeats in Qualifying; first off with that absolutely embarassing 5-1 stomping at Stadia Capital, then when we travelled to their home stadium, it was a shutout and Zhao let in two unanswered goals.
We cannot allow that to happen here. They are in the Top 30 Nations in the world, and only missed out on qualifying for the World Cup Proper by a single point. This is !!NOT!! a match to take likely.
Style: +5.0
Formation: 4-3-3
WC 84 Record: 9-6-5, 33 pts, 5th in Group 5
A team we have never faced closes out our tournament, and it is an offensive beast of a team. Squaornshelous is a far cry from the team that managed to win the World Cup back in the 31st Edition, but they are certainly not a threat to be taken lightly. If we could knock own Pasarga, and close out our tournament against a team just outsie the Top 100... That may just guarantee Tay'haai his job next tournament cycle.
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