Sport Donnacona

[Donnacona]

228 Season:
Intro to the league, with some team graphics, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

228 Season:
Parts 1 & 2, Part 3 Champions: Marianopolis

229 Season:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

228 Season:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Champions: Trevona BC

228 Season:
Season Champions: Marianopolis Sasanachs

228 Season:
Season Champions: Frontenac Prédateurs

World Juniors 14 Team: Runners Up

IBC 29 Squad

72nd Baptism of Fire/85th World Cup Squad

ASSORTED OTHERS:
First ever International football match.

[Donnacona]

THE HATERS GUIDE TO: ALIGO LIGUE A

Aligo Ligue A soccer (football) is back! Once among the world's more mildly highly regarded leagues, a long break and agglomeration from Cotdelapoms into Marianne into Donnacona has left Ligue A starting again from the bottom, with almost exclusively domestic talent among its' sixteen clubs. Let's meet them all and learn why non-fans hate each one as we anticipate Modern Era Season 1 of Ligue A!

(Note: Top 4 sides get full Best XI's, the rest get notable players)



BOTLEY FC
First place alphabetically and in condescension, Botley FC represents Donnacona's second largest city (largest in Hudson Islands) and does so with all the charm of the soulless luxury condo being built on every street corner in town. They've built a competent squad we predict will finish fourth, but to listen to their supporters speak they've already wrapped up the title. And listening to their supporters speak you will, as they populate any online forum for discussing Donnaconan football, and when you go to their stadium (The soulless Hudbank Arena) you'll be able to hear their supporters speak because none of them will be singing. Their best player is a 36 year old centre-back who will almost certainly retire after the year (Fabian Magyar), and you will be so tired of hearing about Greyson Grégoire maybe two weeks into the season. Did you know they have a pair of twins in their front 3? Get ready to wish you didn't.

Best XI (4-3-2-1) Lafond; Karuchenko, Magyar, Richardson, van Antonsen; Cousineau, Grégoire, Cilic; Ducharme, Allinder; Allinder
Prediction: 4th

CAP NORDIQUE
Once owned by a shadowy consortium from Bleak Rock who still sponsor the arena (Blockcom Arena), Cap Nordique have invested heavily in their youth programme, which has led to a squad made up seemingly entirely of first-generational Polarian-Donnaconans. Lilywhite in lineup, they also play very conservatively, owing largely to their best player being a 19 year old defensive midfielder. Their shirt sponsor is the government run marijuana dispensary in Grand-Nord, so I guess we have to give credit where credit is due.

Best XI (4-3-3) Filipovic; Gammel, Lavallée, Uhlgren, Hemmingsen; Coulombe, Brouillard, Juric; Hemmingsen, Rodrigue, Pattersen
Prediction: 3rd

CLUB RUSHMORÉEN
It's delicate to mock Club Rushmoréen, an exciting story in that they represent Tchérec in indigenous Donnacona. Thankfully we probably won't have to do this next year.

Player of note: Riley D’vri’tch, a 35 year old striker but the club's captain and all time leading goal scorer.

DKI TELECOM 5G
So the football club in the city with the oil got bought by a foreign telecommunications giant who renamed the team after their 5G service that may or may not give us all brain cancer? As of right now they do not have an elite squad, but one has to imagine money will be pumping into them sooner rather than later, and our only solace will be that the DKI Telecom product isn't particularly reliable in this part of the world so maybe neither will be their decision making.

Player of note: RW Kylian Lacroix, 20 year old pépite whom all the other clubs will be fighting over.
Prediction: 5th

ÉTOILE ROUGE
Perpetually up their own ass about their "best rivalry in the country" with Maritime, Étoile Rouge have become more and more insular with time, seemingly hiring only ex-players for managerial and front office jobs. Every left-wing Cafundelense family seemed to move to Île d'Élisabeth ages ago and now we get to hear about how this team has the most passionate fans in the country all the time. Baristas in town go through rigourous training in how to pull espresso shots and yet every coffee shop in Trevona is better than the best one in the city.

Player of note: AMF Danael Marcoux, in the twilight of his career but still a sterling playmaker.
Prediction: 6th

SC LIMOILOU
Just there to make up the numbers, the opposite of love is not hate but indifference.

Player of note: RW Yahya Trépanier, speedy 23 year old, perhaps the only Limoilou player you may ever need to hear about again.

MARIANOPOLIS
Along with Tout-Puissant, the other one of the "Big Two" of Donnaconan football. Sport in Marianopolis idolises the Skirata family from Gyatso-kai, and many of the supporters of the team are the type of people who consider themselves citizens of the multiverse, not just of Donnacona. Marianopolis is a hockey city and while they've also been the biggest football club in the country at times, hockey will always be #1. As such you may periodically hear their less passionate supporters call for icing when less well off teams just kind of hoof it forward. Don't bother correcting them, they won't listen to you.

Best XI: (3-5-2): Gratton; Waldemir, Pellegrino, Keita; Wlastimir, Javjar, Bédard, Dibble-Richards, Laliberté-Gauthier; Göttmö, Ekholm
Prediction: 2nd

MARITIME
Eternal rivals with Étoile Rouge, Maritime are from Côte-Est, just across the river from Île d'Élisabeth. The old saying goes that everyone from Île d'Élisabeth moves to Côte-Est when they turn 30, so re-read everything from the Étoile Rouge part and then make the people less fun. Maritime is also obsessed with re-hiring their old players for front office staff- their current manager is Roberto Ribeiro, one of their all time great players. That he never won the league or played in a World Cup tells you everything you need to know about the caliber of player they consider an all-time great! The most notable thing about Maritime is their famous stadium which overlooks the water. It is overrated as all hell, because all the sound goes out that side. Great idea, guys!

Player of note: AMF Ziyad Robitaille, the next generation of Roberto Ribeiro.
Prediction: 7th

STADE RICHELAIN
Terminally mid-table, Richelieu have tremendous discipline and are super organised thanks to excellent manager Franck Giguère. Never a good sign when your manager is your most famous person! Richelieu won't score a lot of goals and the city itself is sleepy, so it's a highly undesirable away day. On the plus side, if you're reading this from abroad, you'll never have to make that trip.

Player of note: LW Pol Jelavic, 26 year old can do a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing.
Prediction: 9th

SAINT-LAURENT
Formerly a "big" club, they've spent a little time in Ligue B, and it provided them absolutely no humility. The club probably won't be going back down, but they're not especially notable right now.

Player of note: They still give considerable minutes to 40 year old centre-back Xavier Veilleux. That's cool, I guess?
Prediction: 10th

SAINT-URBAIN
The beautiful city of Saint-Urbain should be blessed with a better club, but years of insistence on using older "star" players made them mediocre. Just now they're starting to develop youth, but it's probably too little, too late. In a peculiar twist of fate, their "star of the future" is a striker named Lucas Kjaer, who is of no relation to similarly aged basketball star Luca Kjaer. That's what's most exciting for this sorry bunch.

Player of note: Lucas Kjaer, 21 year old striker who is an extremely potent finisher.
Prediction: 12th

STALINGRAD
The traditional left-wing club of Marianopolis, along with (FC) Marianopolis and Tout-Puissant, one of the few teams with fans across the country. Supporting Stalingrad is a lifestyle choice that says "My favourite part of sport is unified singing", which is admittedly a big part of football. Winning is not necessarily the objective of Stalingrad's football or hockey teams, although in recent years they've developed a lot of the nation's best youth talents, but a lack of cash has made it impossible to keep them.

Player of note: CB Jaxon Alarie, not quite Ismaël Kaur, but still an excellent young centre-back likely off to greener pastures next season.
Prediction: 13th

STRATFORD UNITED
The other team from Hudson Islands, Stratford represent the "interesting" and "quirky" city in Hudson Islands, which is to say that they have one fun music venue and a couple of "ethnic" restaurants. The club will probably be in the relegation battle, although unlike many of the other relegation contenders they will probably be a little more attacking. This is great news for Stratford's degenerate gambler community, certainly the most fun people to be around.

Player of note: LW Ilja Tiril, getting up there in age, but still has tremendous pace.

AC TERRECOURBE
Rich pretentious ski resort types love this club, and they get rewarded with perpetual mediocrity. I suppose that is exactly what they deserve, so perhaps this is a club that represents justice!

Player of note: 20 year old Adriel Lecomte is a terrier who has a tremendous workmate. He could become a star.

TOUT-PUISSANT OUTREMONT
Where to begin! The biggest club in Donnacona are owned by a shadowy "financial services" type group that absolutely do nothing to make the world a better place, not the least of which that they own this sinister club. Currently without any global stars, they will almost certainly be ready to splash big cash in the offseason on foreign stars, which will make them easier to hate since right now they're mostly made of members of the national team, whom we theoretically "have" to root for. Blech. Their star centre-back is 21 year old national teamer Israël Kaur, a walking red card who is otherwise elite.

Best XI (4-3-3): Leone; Carpentier, Kaur, Sandqvist, Surprenant; X'Arc'Tx, Langlois, Diaby; Panicucci, Clemensen, Moisan
Prediction: Champs

AS TREVONA
Hard to gauge how good Trevona will be as they're almost entirely new players. Trevona (and a lot of Agosto) is a basketball city, but the football fans are hardcore (into smoking cigarettes in the stands). Still, they have a sneaky chance of being competent.

Player of note: LB Olivier Dionne, 27 years old and formerly of Terrecourbe, he is a fringe national teamer, although at 27 he probably won't be considered much soon.
Prediction: 11th

MATCHDAY 1
FC Saint-Laurent 1-1 Stade Richelain
DKI Telecom 5G 5-0 SC Limoilou
Stratford United 1-2 Club Rushmoréen
Botley FC 2-0 Stalingrad
Maritime 3-1 Étoile Rouge
Marianopolis 3-2 Saint-Urbain
Tout-Puissant Outremont 4-0 AS Trevona
Cap Nordique 2-2 AC Terrecourbe

Things began beautifully for DKI Telecom, who opened up their Ligue A account in front of a confused and nervous crowd that ended up jubilant after a 5-0 drubbing of SC Limoilou. Kylian Lacroix was a hat trick hero, which may end up costing some big club a few extra million. Elsewhere, Club Rushmoréen got 3 points out of the longest road trip in the top flight by beating Stratford. A rare opening day coastal derby ended in a big victory for Maritime. Marianopolis will be without striker Sebastian Göttmö for a while after he went down in their matchup with Saint-Urbain, which is good news for ex-S&T international Ernst Kurschner, who might still have some legs.

MATCHDAY 2
SC Limoilou 2-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Club Rushmoréen 0-1 Stade Richelain
Stalingrad 3-2 DKI Telecom 5G
Étoile Rouge 2-2 Stratford United
Saint-Urbain 2-4 Botley FC
AS Trevona 1-2 Maritime
AC Terrecourbe 0-2 Marianopolis
Cap Nordique 1-1 Tout-Puissant Outremont

The anti-capitalist Stalingrad supporters went wild with joy for sticking it to DKI Telecom, but goalkeeper Marouane Dufour suffered a concussion after a collision with DKI's Nohan Racine. Botley looked like the best team this weekend, propelled by a masterful outing by Lasse Allinder. Two for two so far for Marianopolis as well, as they earned a nervy 2-0 win at Terrecourbe where they scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and then seemingly defended with everyone behind the ball for 80 more minutes. Finally in the Sunday night nightcap, Cap Nordique and Outremont played a thrilling 1-1 draw, a Louis-Maxime Lavallée header giving an early lead to the northerners, with an Aldo Panicucci goal knotting it up in the 83rd.

MATCHDAY 3
FC Saint-Laurent 2-0 Club Rushmoréen
SC Limoilou 1-0 Stalingrad
Stade Richelain 0-4 Étoile Rouge
DKI Telecom 5G 0-1 Saint-Urbain
Stratford United 0-3 AS Trevona
Botley FC 1-0 AC Terrecourbe
Maritime 0-0 Cap Nordique
Marianopolis 1-3 Tout-Puissant Outremont

Great and terrible news for Saint-Urbain, who lost Lucas Kjaer to a scary looking leg injury not 10 minutes after scoring the lone goal in their clash with DKI Telecom. Trevona looked like a real squad in a road blowout of Stratford. Botley took top of the table after a narrow win at defensively sound Terrecourbe, who are showing early warning signs that this may not be as stable a year as they had hoped. The Allinders performed well again, this time Anders notched the goal. In the big matchup of the weekend, potential 1 vs. 2 met at Stade CPM, and it was something of an instant classic, tied up 1-1 until the 81st minute when a careless error by Loukas Gratton cost Marianopolis a goal and ultimately the three points- he charged out of his box at an oncoming Santiago Moisan, who tried to chip Gratton, but Gratton got a hand on it...outside of the box. Moisan converted the penalty and it was all downhill.

MATCHDAY 4
Stalingrad 1-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Étoile Rouge 2-0 Club Rushmoréen
Saint-Urbain 0-2 SC Limoilou
AS Trevona 1-0 Stade Richelain
AC Terrecourbe 4-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Cap Nordique 1-0 Stratford United
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-0 Botley FC
Marianopolis 2-0 Maritime

Don't look now, but Limoilou are currently on 9 points through 4 matches after an impressive win at Saint-Urbain, who were toothless without Lucas Kjaer. DKI Telecom are struggling after a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Terrecourbe, who were desperate for a bit of good news. Outremont may have made their stake out for the top of the league after a convincing 2-0 win at home against Botley as they are now on first place having already played Marianopolis and Botley in this end of the season. A Gervais Ekholm double put Marianopolis past Maritime, who are hurting.

MATCHDAY 5
FC Saint-Laurent 1-1 Étoile Rouge
Stalingrad 2-1 Saint-Urbain
Club Rushmoréen 0-1 AS Trevona
SC Limoilou 0-2 AC Terrecourbe
Stade Richelain 1-3 Cap Nordique
DKI Telecom 5G 0-1 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Stratford United 1-3 Marianopolis
Botley FC 1-2 Maritime

We haven't discussed Étoile Rouge much yet, but despite being mid-table at this point, they have the third best goal differential and they were kept from a win at Saint-Laurent solely through an excellent defensive effort. Trevona have also been one of the surprise packages of the season, heading to a rainy Tchérec and eking out a win thanks to a screamer from Ali Bourdages. Outremont roughed up DKI Telecom, whose supporters booed them off the pitch. Luc Laliberté-Gauthier earned a 9 out of 10 from Foot! Magazine's match ratings, the best thusfar this season in his brilliant performance for Marianopolis against Stratford. Botley are now on a losing streak after conceding an 87th minute goal against Maritime.

MATCHDAY 6
Saint-Urbain 3-1 FC Saint-Laurent
AS Trevona 3-3 Étoile Rouge
AC Terrecourbe 4-0 Stalingrad
Cap Nordique 1-1 Club Rushmoréen
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-0 SC Limoilou
Marianopolis 5-0 Stade Richelain
Maritime 2-4 DKI Telecom 5G
Botley FC 2-0 Stratford United

Quite a lot of goals this round! Saint-Urbain clawed out of the bottom 3 with a big home victory against Saint-Laurent. Étoile Rouge and Trevona brawled in a captivating 3-3 draw that included two red cards for chippy play. Terrecourbe are red hot! A 4-0 shellacking of Stalingrad has put them at least temporarily into an IFCF spot. Another big win for Outremont, Geoff Carpentier had Yahya Trépanier in his pocket and then scored a goal. Marianopolis demolished struggling Richelieu, another Luc Laliberté-Gauthier master-class, Marianopolis will need to be careful to hold on to him! Botley won the Hudson derby thanks to another Lasse Allinder goal.

MATCHDAY 7
FC Saint-Laurent 2-0 AS Trevona
Saint-Urbain 0-2 AC Terrecourbe
Étoile Rouge 1-2 Cap Nordique
Stalingrad 0-7 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Club Rushmoréen 2-4 Marianopolis
SC Limoilou 2-2 Maritime
Stade Richelain 1-1 Botley FC
DKI Telecom 5G 1-1 Stratford United

The result of the week was obviously Outremont's blowout of Stalingrad, but Cap Nordique's 17 year old Niels Patterson had a breakout performance scoring both goals in their win over Étoile Rouge. Terrecourbe moved into third place on goal differential with a tremendous victory over Saint-Urbain. Marianopolis tried to keep pace with Outremont and blew out the Tchérecois.

(I had to re-learn NSFS, so I messed up tie-breakers)

Ligue A Standings

Code: Select all

    Team                         P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Tout-Puissant Outremont      7  6  1  0  20   2  +18  19
  2 Marianopolis                 7  6  0  1  20   8  +12  18
  3 Botley FC                    7  4  1  2  11   7   +4  13
  4 Cap Nordique                 7  3  4  0  10   6   +4  13
  5 AC Terrecourbe               7  4  1  2  14   6   +8  13
  6 Maritime                     7  3  2  2  11  11   +0  11
  7 AS Trevona                   7  3  1  3   9  11   -2  10
  8 SC Limoilou                  7  3  1  3   7  12   -5  10
  9 FC Saint-Laurent             7  2  3  2   9   8   +1   9
 10 Étoile Rouge                 7  2  3  2  14  11   +3   9
 11 Stalingrad                   7  2  1  4   6  18  -12   7
 12 DKI Telecom 5G               7  2  1  4  13  12   +1   7
 13 Saint-Urbain                 7  2  0  5   9  14   -5   6
 14 Stade Richelain              7  1  2  4   4  15  -11   5
 15 Club Rushmoréen              7  1  1  5   5  12   -7   4
 16 Stratford United             7  0  2  5   5  14   -9   2

Ligue B Standings

Code: Select all

    Team                           P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Wellington FC                  7  6  1  0  16   6  +10  19
  2 FC Toureuil                    7  6  0  1  19   6  +13  18
  3 Frontenac                      7  4  2  1  14  11   +3  14
  4 UC Concorde                    7  3  3  1  15   6   +9  12
  5 Ange-Gardien                   7  4  0  3  13   9   +4  12
  6 AS Charlevoix                  7  3  2  2  11   8   +3  11
  7 ACA Aballo                     7  3  2  2  11  13   -2  11
  8 Dover FC                       7  3  1  3  17  16   +1  10
  9 US Papariani                   7  3  1  3  10   9   +1  10
 10 Xavier                         7  2  3  2   7  10   -3   9
 11 Summerside Rovers FC           7  2  1  4  11  10   +1   7
 12 Manchester FC                  7  1  4  2   8  11   -3   7
 13 Monterme                       7  2  0  5   7  18  -11   6
 14 Stade Épibonnien               7  1  3  3  10  15   -5   6
 15 Sarnau                         7  0  3  4   4  12   -8   3
 16 Tch’avi’xcian’tchat Geese      7  0  0  7   8  21  -13   0

Ligue C Standings

Code: Select all

   Team                                 P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 RFC Saint-Sulpice                    7  5  2  0  15   4  +11  17
  2 Champiroux                           7  5  1  1  20  13   +7  16
  3 Klubo Sankt-Petro                    7  4  3  0  16   7   +9  15
  4 Modevero                             7  4  2  1   9   3   +6  14
  5 CA Boryonne                          7  3  4  0  12   6   +6  13
  6 Placidiana                           7  3  1  3   7   7   +0  10
  7 Keltiek Roallac                      7  2  4  1   8   7   +1  10
  8 Sporting Antisart                    7  2  3  2  10  12   -2   9
  9 Université de Toureuil               7  3  0  4   9  14   -5   9
 10 FC Outremont                         7  2  1  4  10   9   +1   7
 11 Greater Eastern Botley Panthers      7  1  4  2   1   8   -7   7
 12 AS Coloviers                         7  1  4  2   9   9   +0   7
 13 Marianopolis Valhallans              7  1  2  4   6  12   -6   5
 14 SS Superga                           7  1  2  4  10  13   -3   5
 15 Montroux FC                          7  1  1  5  12  19   -7   4
 16 Caesena                              7  0  2  5   3  14  -11   2


Ligue D Standings

Code: Select all

    Team                          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Grélogne                      7  5  2  0  22   5  +17  17
  2 Barault                       7  5  1  1  18  11   +7  16
  3 FC Toulun                     7  4  3  0  13   4   +9  15
  4 St. Patricks Hudsonians       7  4  1  2  21  11  +10  13
  5 Charlottetown FC              7  3  3  1  16  11   +5  12
  6 Nutch’aara’saq Islanders      7  3  3  1   8   8   +0  12
  7 Félix Phénix                  7  3  2  2  15  15   +0  11
  8 Stade Bourbonnien             7  2  3  2  11  12   -1   9
  9 Saint-Richard-sur-Mer         7  2  2  3   7  15   -8   8
 10 Beauharnois                   7  1  5  1  13  13   +0   8
 11 Draguilême                    7  2  0  5  13  18   -5   6
 12 Vierviers                     7  0  6  1   5   7   -2   6
 13 Beaumasse                     7  0  5  2  13  15   -2   5
 14 Georgetown FC                 7  0  3  4   9  20  -11   3
 15 Lilès ASC                     7  0  3  4   4  15  -11   3
 16 Notre-Dame-des-Champs         7  0  2  5   4  12   -8   2

[Donnacona]

MATCHDAY 8
AC Terrecourbe 3-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Cap Nordique 2-0 AS Trevona
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-2 Saint-Urbain
Marianopolis 2-1 Étoile Rouge
Maritime 2-1 Stalingrad
Botley FC 5-0 Club Rushmoréen
Stratford United 5-1 SC Limoilou
DKI Telecom 5G 1-2 Stade Richelain

Terrecourbe moved into third place on goal difference and are beginning to look like legitimate contenders after a rocky start. Late bloomer Justin Boulanger is looking like a star and is going to start making his way into the picture for an Apples place for the upcoming Baptism of Fire. Cap Nordique keep chugging along after a decisive showing against Trevona. Kjaer-less Saint-Urbain struck a huge blow to Outremont by getting a smash and grab 2-2 draw that led to Outremont manager Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis referring to his team as "disgraceful". Marianopolis meanwhile whooped on Étoile Rouge and took over first place. Great weekend for Hudsonian sides, Botley won 5-0 against Rushmoréen and Stratford won 5-1 against Limoilou.

MATCHDAY 9
FC Saint-Laurent 1-2 Cap Nordique
AC Terrecourbe 1-1 Tout-Puissant Outremont
AS Trevona 1-4 Marianopolis
Saint-Urbain 0-0 Maritime
Étoile Rouge 0-3 Botley FC
Stalingrad 1-0 Stratford United
Club Rushmoréen 2-1 DKI Telecom 5G
SC Limoilou 1-1 Stade Richelain

Chaos in Terrecourbe as the men in pink and blue proved they are serious contenders by holding Outremont to a draw for the second consecutive week. Marianopolis meanwhile traveled to Agosto and who but Luc Laliberté-Gauthier held court and provided two assists to lead them to a 4-1 thrashing to move 3 points clear of first. Botley were the other big winners on the weekend, getting a 3-0 win over Étoile Rouge, Lasse Allinder brought his league leading goals tally to 10 with another double.

MATCHDAY 10
Tout-Puissant Outremont 3-0 FC Saint-Laurent
Marianopolis 1-0 Cap Nordique
Maritime 2-1 AC Terrecourbe
Botley FC 0-2 AS Trevona
Stratford United 2-3 Saint-Urbain
DKI Telecom 5G 3-0 Étoile Rouge
Stade Richelain 4-1 Stalingrad
SC Limoilou 2-0 Club Rushmoréen

A clearly pissed off Outremont side did not hold back in delivering a blow to Saint-Laurent who are perilously close to the relegation zone at the moment. Fans of footballing chess matches loved the tactical battle in Marianopolis that saw the only goal come off a Yasser Pellegrino header from a corner. Botley's hot streak ended at the hands of Trevona, who bopped into the top half of the table. Lucas Kjaer returned for Saint-Urbain and whilst he did not score, he was instrumental in carving up the Stratford backline for a big road victory. Étoile Rouge manager J-F Lapierre is under a lot of fire after a bad 3-0 loss in Félix to DKI Telecom, and to add injury to insult, will now be without 19 year old midfielder Alexandre Clement after he suffered a hamstring injury.

At this point, match-by-match has lost its luster and we will jump ahead to the end and do a quick review:

MATCHDAY 11
FC Saint-Laurent 0-3 Marianopolis
Tout-Puissant Outremont 1-0 Maritime
Cap Nordique 1-0 Botley FC
AC Terrecourbe 2-1 Stratford United
AS Trevona 0-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Saint-Urbain 0-1 Stade Richelain
Étoile Rouge 1-1 SC Limoilou
Stalingrad 1-0 Club Rushmoréen
MATCHDAY 12
Maritime 2-2 FC Saint-Laurent
Botley FC 0-1 Marianopolis
Stratford United 3-5 Tout-Puissant Outremont
DKI Telecom 5G 2-1 Cap Nordique
Stade Richelain 0-1 AC Terrecourbe
SC Limoilou 1-1 AS Trevona
Club Rushmoréen 1-5 Saint-Urbain
Stalingrad 1-3 Étoile Rouge
MATCHDAY 13
FC Saint-Laurent 1-0 Botley FC
Maritime 2-1 Stratford United
Marianopolis 1-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Tout-Puissant Outremont 1-0 Stade Richelain
Cap Nordique 1-0 SC Limoilou
AC Terrecourbe 1-0 Club Rushmoréen
AS Trevona 2-2 Stalingrad
Saint-Urbain 1-2 Étoile Rouge
MATCHDAY 14
Stratford United 0-1 FC Saint-Laurent
DKI Telecom 5G 2-3 Botley FC
Stade Richelain 0-4 Maritime
SC Limoilou 1-4 Marianopolis
Club Rushmoréen 0-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Stalingrad 2-0 Cap Nordique
Étoile Rouge 3-1 AC Terrecourbe
Saint-Urbain 2-2 AS Trevona
MATCHDAY 15
FC Saint-Laurent 2-2 DKI Telecom 5G
Stratford United 2-2 Stade Richelain
Botley FC 3-1 SC Limoilou
Maritime 1-3 Club Rushmoréen
Marianopolis 5-0 Stalingrad
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-0 Étoile Rouge
Cap Nordique 6-0 Saint-Urbain
AC Terrecourbe 2-2 AS Trevona
MATCHDAY 16
Stade Richelain 1-0 FC Saint-Laurent
SC Limoilou 1-2 DKI Telecom 5G
Club Rushmoréen 1-4 Stratford United
Stalingrad 1-2 Botley FC
Étoile Rouge 2-1 Maritime
Saint-Urbain 0-1 Marianopolis
AS Trevona 1-0 Tout-Puissant Outremont
AC Terrecourbe 1-0 Cap Nordique
MATCHDAY 17
FC Saint-Laurent 1-2 SC Limoilou
Stade Richelain 3-1 Club Rushmoréen
DKI Telecom 5G 1-1 Stalingrad
Stratford United 1-1 Étoile Rouge
Botley FC 2-0 Saint-Urbain
Maritime 2-3 AS Trevona
Marianopolis 3-0 AC Terrecourbe
Tout-Puissant Outremont 1-0 Cap Nordique
MATCHDAY 18
Club Rushmoréen 1-2 FC Saint-Laurent
Stalingrad 0-1 SC Limoilou
Étoile Rouge 2-4 Stade Richelain
Saint-Urbain 1-1 DKI Telecom 5G
AS Trevona 1-0 Stratford United
AC Terrecourbe 0-3 Botley FC
Cap Nordique 1-2 Maritime
Tout-Puissant Outremont 0-0 Marianopolis
MATCHDAY 19
FC Saint-Laurent 3-2 Stalingrad
Club Rushmoréen 0-4 Étoile Rouge
SC Limoilou 0-2 Saint-Urbain
Stade Richelain 2-2 AS Trevona
DKI Telecom 5G 1-4 AC Terrecourbe
Stratford United 1-2 Cap Nordique
Botley FC 1-1 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Maritime 1-2 Marianopolis
MATCHDAY 20
Étoile Rouge 2-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Saint-Urbain 5-1 Stalingrad
AS Trevona 5-0 Club Rushmoréen
AC Terrecourbe 4-1 SC Limoilou
Cap Nordique 4-0 Stade Richelain
Tout-Puissant Outremont 3-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Marianopolis 5-0 Stratford United
Maritime 3-2 Botley FC
MATCHDAY 21
FC Saint-Laurent 1-3 Saint-Urbain
Étoile Rouge 2-3 AS Trevona
Stalingrad 2-2 AC Terrecourbe
Club Rushmoréen 1-3 Cap Nordique
SC Limoilou 1-3 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Stade Richelain 0-2 Marianopolis
DKI Telecom 5G 4-1 Maritime
Stratford United 3-2 Botley FC
MATCHDAY 22
AS Trevona 3-0 FC Saint-Laurent
AC Terrecourbe 1-2 Saint-Urbain
Cap Nordique 1-0 Étoile Rouge
Tout-Puissant Outremont 4-1 Stalingrad
Marianopolis 3-1 Club Rushmoréen
Maritime 0-0 SC Limoilou
Botley FC 1-1 Stade Richelain
Stratford United 1-1 DKI Telecom 5G
MATCHDAY 23
FC Saint-Laurent 2-1 AC Terrecourbe
AS Trevona 0-0 Cap Nordique
Saint-Urbain 3-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Étoile Rouge 0-2 Marianopolis
Stalingrad 0-1 Maritime
Club Rushmoréen 0-2 Botley FC
SC Limoilou 0-1 Stratford United
Stade Richelain 1-0 DKI Telecom 5G
MATCHDAY 24
Cap Nordique 1-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Tout-Puissant Outremont 1-1 AC Terrecourbe
Marianopolis 1-0 AS Trevona
Maritime 2-3 Saint-Urbain
Botley FC 2-1 Étoile Rouge
Stratford United 2-1 Stalingrad
DKI Telecom 5G 3-1 Club Rushmoréen
Stade Richelain 2-0 SC Limoilou
MATCHDAY 25
FC Saint-Laurent 1-4 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Cap Nordique 1-0 Marianopolis
AC Terrecourbe 1-1 Maritime
AS Trevona 0-0 Botley FC
Saint-Urbain 0-0 Stratford United
Étoile Rouge 0-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Stalingrad 1-3 Stade Richelain
Club Rushmoréen 2-3 SC Limoilou
MATCHDAY 26
Marianopolis 1-1 FC Saint-Laurent
Maritime 1-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Botley FC 0-1 Cap Nordique
Stratford United 0-1 AC Terrecourbe
DKI Telecom 5G 2-1 AS Trevona
Stade Richelain 2-1 Saint-Urbain
SC Limoilou 1-5 Étoile Rouge
Club Rushmoréen 2-1 Stalingrad
MATCHDAY 27
FC Saint-Laurent 1-1 Maritime
Marianopolis 5-1 Botley FC
Tout-Puissant Outremont 5-0 Stratford United
Cap Nordique 2-0 DKI Telecom 5G
AC Terrecourbe 0-1 Stade Richelain
AS Trevona 1-1 SC Limoilou
Saint-Urbain 4-1 Club Rushmoréen
Étoile Rouge 2-0 Stalingrad
MATCHDAY 28
Botley FC 0-2 FC Saint-Laurent
Stratford United 1-1 Maritime
DKI Telecom 5G 2-1 Marianopolis
Stade Richelain 1-0 Tout-Puissant Outremont
SC Limoilou 0-2 Cap Nordique
Club Rushmoréen 0-1 AC Terrecourbe
Stalingrad 3-0 AS Trevona
Étoile Rouge 0-1 Saint-Urbain
MATCHDAY 29
FC Saint-Laurent 2-0 Stratford United
Botley FC 1-0 DKI Telecom 5G
Maritime 2-2 Stade Richelain
Marianopolis 2-1 SC Limoilou
Tout-Puissant Outremont 5-1 Club Rushmoréen
Cap Nordique 2-0 Stalingrad
AC Terrecourbe 3-1 Étoile Rouge
AS Trevona 1-1 Saint-Urbain
MATCHDAY 30
DKI Telecom 5G 3-0 FC Saint-Laurent
Stade Richelain 7-0 Stratford United
SC Limoilou 2-1 Botley FC
Club Rushmoréen 0-3 Maritime
Stalingrad 0-2 Marianopolis
Étoile Rouge 2-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Saint-Urbain 1-0 Cap Nordique
AS Trevona 1-0 AC Terrecourbe

Ligue A Standings

    Team                          P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Marianopolis                 30  24  3   3  71  20  +51  75
  2 Tout-Puissant Outremont      30  20  7   3  70  23  +47  67
  3 Cap Nordique                 30  17  6   7  43  20  +23  57
  4 Stade Richelain              30  14  7   9  44  42   +2  49
  5 AC Terrecourbe               30  14  6  10  46  35  +11  48
  6 Botley FC                    30  14  4  12  45  35  +10  46
  7 Saint-Urbain                 30  13  6  11  49  45   +4  45
  8 AS Trevona                   30  11 10   9  41  39   +2  43
  9 DKI Telecom 5G               30  12  6  12  48  42   +6  42
 10 Maritime                     30  11  9  10  46  44   +2  42
 11 Étoile Rouge                 30  10  6  14  48  48   +0  36
 12 FC Saint-Laurent             30   9  8  13  35  48  -13  35
 13 SC Limoilou                  30   8  6  16  29  56  -27  30
 14 Stratford United             30   5  7  18  33  61  -28  22
 15 Stalingrad                   30   6  4  20  29  66  -37  22
 16 Club Rushmoréen              30   4  1  25  23  76  -53  13

LIGUE A TEAM OF THE SEASON:



GK: Juré Filipovic (Cap Nordique)- Les Nordistes conceded only 20 goals and Filipovic was a big reason why, a potential first-choice goalkeeper for the Apples, the native son of Mytanar immigrants was an outsized presence for the club.
LB: Geoff Carpentier (Tout-Puissant Outremont)- Defensively competent, allowed Pascal-Karl Suprenant to have the freedom to join in the attack.
CB: Israël Kaur (Tout-Puissant Outremont)- Was dribbled past successfully only three times this season, although he also notched two red cards. Should receive some interest from abroad, it will be a good test of Outremont's growth to see if they can keep him.
CB: Yasser Pellegrino (Marianopolis)- The big man notched 5 goals to go with being the anchor of the league's best defense.
RB: Pascal-Karl Surprenant (Tout-Puissant Outremont)- One of the key parts of the Outremont attack, Surprenant's crosses are some of the best in the league, and he ended the season second in assists to Luc Laliberté-Gauthier.
MF: Aiden Coulombe (Cap Nordique)- One of the breakout players of the season, a true box-to-box midfielder, Coulombe's workrate was incredible, never being substituted off.
MF: Luc Laliberté-Gauthier (Marianopolis) Player of the Season- Perhaps the biggest story of the offseason will be whether or not he stays or goes, a masterful crosser and dribbler, he was the key cog to the champions.
MF: Greyson Grégoire (Botley)- A pleasant surprise, Grégoire's passing was precise, allowing Botley's front three to focus on finishing.
F: Kylian Lacroix (DKI Telecom)- SO fast, Lacroix was erratic this season but when he was on he looked like he could play in any league in the multiverse, finishing 2nd in the league in goals.
F: Justin Boulanger (Terrecourbe)- Perhaps the league's biggest surprise, Boulanger's finishing was nearly perfect this year, able to notch 19 goals on a defensive/counter oriented squad.
F: Lasse Allinder (Botley)- The league leading goal scorer with 21, he and his twin brother scored the majority of Botley's goals. Allinder's power and dribbling are both exceptional.

Ligue B Standings

Team                            P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 AS Charlevoix                  30  23   3   4  69  20  +49  72
  2 FC Toureuil                    30  19   3   8  70  33  +37  60
  3 Wellington FC                  30  18   6   6  55  33  +22  60
  4 Ange-Gardien                   30  16   7   7  50  33  +17  55
  5 UC Concorde                    30  15   8   7  53  31  +22  53
  6 Dover FC                       30  15   4  11  60  52   +8  49
  7 Manchester FC                  30  12  11   7  55  42  +13  47
  8 ACA Aballo                     30  13   6  11  47  41   +6  45
  9 Sarnau                         30  12   7  11  40  45   -5  43
 10 US Papariani                   30  12   4  14  50  44   +6  40
 11 Xavier                         30  10   8  12  39  47   -8  38
 12 Summerside Rovers FC           30   7   7  16  41  56  -15  28
 13 Frontenac                      30   7   6  17  33  68  -35  27
 14 Monterme                       30   7   3  20  30  66  -36  24
 15 Stade Épibonnien               30   5   5  20  34  73  -39  20
 16 Tch’avi’xcian’tchat Geese      30   3   4  23  26  68  -42  13

Ligue C Standings

Team                                  P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Modevero                             30  23   4   3  70  21  +49  73
  2 CA Boryonne                          30  19   9   2  67  23  +44  66
  3 RFC Saint-Sulpice                    30  18   8   4  61  28  +33  62
  4 Sporting Antisart                    30  17   6   7  51  34  +17  57
  5 Champiroux                           30  17   4   9  61  45  +16  55
  6 Keltiek Roallac                      30  16   7   7  55  37  +18  55
  7 Klubo Sankt-Petro                    30  13   9   8  57  41  +16  48
  8 FC Outremont                         30  14   3  13  41  34   +7  45
  9 Placidiana                           30  12   5  13  47  49   -2  41
 10 Montroux FC                          30   7   7  16  47  62  -15  28
 11 SS Superga                           30   6   9  15  36  47  -11  27
 12 Greater Eastern Botley Panthers      30   5  11  14  20  54  -34  26
 13 AS Coloviers                         30   5   9  16  31  63  -32  24
 14 Université de Toureuil               30   5   6  19  34  75  -41  21
 15 Caesena                              30   4   7  19  21  50  -29  19
 16 Marianopolis Valhallans              30   3   8  19  26  62  -36  17

Ligue D Standings

Team                           P   W   D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Grélogne                      30  20   5   5  63  27  +36  65
  2 FC Toulun                     30  18   7   5  61  32  +29  61
  3 Barault                       30  19   4   7  51  31  +20  61
  4 Nutch’aara’saq Islanders      30  17   9   4  63  34  +29  60
  5 St. Patricks Hudsonians       30  17   8   5  67  30  +37  59
  6 Félix Phénix                  30  15   8   7  66  45  +21  53
  7 Stade Bourbonnien             30  14   7   9  55  44  +11  49
  8 Notre-Dame-des-Champs         30  10   8  12  42  51   -9  38
  9 Vierviers                     30   8  12  10  35  39   -4  36
 10 Charlottetown FC              30   9   8  13  48  46   +2  35
 11 Beauharnois                   30   9   6  15  60  59   +1  33
 12 Draguilême                    30   9   4  17  39  59  -20  31
 13 Lilès ASC                     30   6   8  16  33  68  -35  26
 14 Saint-Richard-sur-Mer         30   7   3  20  32  66  -34  24
 15 Georgetown FC                 30   4   7  19  36  73  -37  19
 16 Beaumasse                     30   2   8  20  34  81  -47  14

[Donnacona]

DBA Basketball Season Preview

(A semi-continuation of PlacidBasket.)

Basketball in the third most popular sport in Donnacona, most popular in Hudson Islands and Auguste/Agosto, rather than in the former Marianne. Only four of the twelve clubs are in the former Marianne, although those regions have brought the nation two of its' brightest young basketball stars, Trevona's Luca Kjaer, the son of Polarian immigrants from Cap Nordique, and Marianopolis's Alexandre Marchand, who grew up in the city and has become one of the city's top sports stars, putting basketball on the map in our largest city.

Let's dive into each of the twelve DBA clubs as we look ahead to the season.

BOTLEY BULLS: All time Hudsonian basketball legend Jahjesh Singh is 37 and shows no real signs of slowing down. Yet this club has real issues because of its' age- its' starting five includes Pierre-Ian MacArthur and Momo Côte, who are both on the wrong side of 34. One gets the sense it's now or never for the Bulls, and they will likely go as far as Singh can carry them. If they're not in a playoff spot (top 4) by the trade deadline, they will likely part with whatever they can in order to not be screwed in the medium/long term.

Prediction: 7th

CHARLOTTETOWN MASTODONS: As the sport of basketball gets smaller and smaller, the Mastodons are trying to play a very large lineup with two primary ball-handlers and three bigs, focusing on freakishly athletic post scoring machine Bradley Walker and Antonello Ciufo, who despite being 6'10 can stretch opposing defenses with his competent three point shooting (career 35.4%). A lot of ballhandling pressure will be on Kendrick Asselin, whose assist to turnover ratio (3.8/2.8 last year) was dreadful, which may keep "Fossil City" from reaching the heights they wish.

Predicton: 4th

ÎLE D'ÉLISABETH 45S: The 45s, named after the city's thriving music scene, the club will likely be near the bottom of the standings this year and should be trying to stockpile draft picks. Their star player, swingman Cameron Navarro (28.7 PPG last season), is a pending free agents and the club will have to decide whether it's worth re-signing him or trying to find him a new home at the deadline.

Prediction: 11th.

MANCHESTER TIGERS: The Tigers are one of the favourites this year thanks to Banijan stretch big Labanzi Nabongo, who was 9th in offensive win shares last year, along with swingman Jabari Mason, an efficient three point shooter who is also a threat to drive...although his ~50% free throw shooting makes him an interior liability. If the Tigers have a weakness it's bench depth, although come playoff time that won't mean as much.

Prediction: 3rd

MARIANOPOLIS HUSKIES: The defending champions are led by big man and local hero Alexandre Marchand (18.9 PPG/11.4 RPG), who is freed to do the little things by JoJo Allen, a brilliant pure scorer (25.5 PPG) who provides almost no defensive support but was nevertheless the finals MVP last season. They won the title from the 4th seed last year, and are hoping to have a better regular season this year, not that the fans much care.

Prediction: 5th

OUTREMONT ÉTOILES: Outremont are a team on the rise, likely not going to contend this season but have a pair of young guards who compliment each other well- Banijan international Ibezimako Akabueze and Tanemahuta Goldsmith, a fringe Donnacona national teamer. The two are both tremendous ballhandlers, passers, shooters and perimeter defenders- Outremont will need to figure out if they want to keep both or see if a team loaded with big men wants to do a basketball trade.

Prediction: 8th

PLACIDIANA WARRIORS: The Warriors are bad, and worse than bad they seem like they may not have a coherent plan going forward. A lot is riding on their top draft pick from this year, Larry Govan- a raw big man who may need to be molded into a real basketball player.

Prediction: 10th

SAINT-URBAIN CHEVALIERS: Saint-Urbain has an old team, led by 32 year old point guard Jaylen Morris, who may be coming to the end of his peak. Morris made 42% of his threes last season and is an excellent dribbler who can get to the rim when he needs to, but he is simply not good enough to carry a team anymore so he'll need help from the likes of swingman Mickaël Deslauriers, who has been less and less willing to drive to the basket. Contain the perimeter and it's not hard to beat Saint-Urbain.

Prediction: 6th

STRATFORD STORM: 2nd pick in the draft Mohinder Patel is extremely raw and will be carrying almost all of the hopes and dreams of this currently dreadful Storm club. The trade deadline will be the determination of whether this team has a good year, not the win-loss record. There are a handful of expiring contracts who may be useful assets and not much else.

Prediction: 12th

SUMMERSIDE JETS: Co-favourites this season in our eyes, the Jets have assembled a brilliant squad that can space the floor beautifully with athletic big man Evan Watson in the middle and Banijan sharpshooter Amadou Secka drilling corner threes. The Jets really believe in swingman Roshaun Woudstra, who has yet to live up to his status as the #1 pick three seasons ago, especially when compared to Alexandre Marchand and Luka Kjaer. Still, the Jets are contenders.

Prediction: 2nd

TOUREUIL PATRIOTES: The Pats have a competent squad led by guards Ivan Kostov and Kelly Douglas III but are trying to do a soft rebuild around aging stars. They had the top pick in this year's draft and used it on point guard Davon Sugars, a jack of all trades type that fits in with the squad, who hope to play total basketball.

Prediction: 9th

TREVONA BC: Last but not least, Trevona are everyone's pick to win the league this year as wunderkind Luka Kjaer comes into his own. The 22 year old put up 27.1 points, 8.2 assists and 6.6 rebounds a game last year as a player who can also defend four positions. Paired with versatile guard Damien Labonté, who himself averaged 28.7 points a game, opponents hope merely to limit Trevona, not to stop them.

Prediction: 1st

[Donnacona]

DBA THROUGH THE TRADE DEADLINE

DBA	                 W	L	%	GB	Home	Road	Streak	L10
Summerside Jets (1)	44	11	0.8	0	20-4	24-7	Won 3	8-2
Manchester Tigers (2)	39	17	0.696	5.5	22-7	17-10	Lost 1	7-3
Botley Bulls (3)	36	21	0.632	9	14-11	22-10	Won 1	6-4
Trevona BC (4)	        35	21	0.625	9.5	18-9	17-12	Lost 1	4-6
Stratford Storm	        29	26	0.527	15	19-11	10-15	Lost 1	8-2
Marianopolis Huskies	29	28	0.509	16	16-10	13-18	Lost 5	1-9
Saint-Urbain Chevaliers	28	28	0.5	16.5	18-12	10-16	Won 1	6-4
Outremont Étoiles	25	33	0.431	20.5	14-17	11-16	Won 1	5-5
Île d'Élisabeth 45s	22	34	0.393	22.5	14-19	8-15	Won 3	5-5
Charlottetown Mastodons	21	34	0.382	23	10-16	11-18	Lost 1	2-8
Toureuil Patriotes	18	38	0.321	26.5	11-20	7-18	Lost 3	4-6
Placidiana Warriors	10	45	0.182	34	5-19	5-26	Won 1	4-6

LEAGUE LEADERS:
POINTS PER GAME: Evan Watson, Summerside, 39.9
REBOUNDS PER GAME: Paul Coulibaly, Île d'Élisabeth, 14.0
ASSISTS PER GAME: Djibril Diakité, Saint-Urbain, 10.7
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE: Pierre-Ian MacArthur, Botley, 62.7%
THREE POINT PERCENTAGE: Kevin Tiupura, Trevona, 46.8%
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Amadou Secka, Summerside, 94%
BLOCKS PER GAME: Paul Coulibaly, Île d'Élisabeth, 3.0
STEALS PER GAME: Alexy Anderson, Outremont, 2.9
PER: Evan Watson, Summerside, 34.4
OFFENSIVE WIN SHARES: Luka Kjaer, Trevona, 11.7
DEFENSIVE WIN SHARES: Evan Watson, Summerside, 5.5
WIN SHARES: Evan Watson, Summerside, 13.9

MAJOR TRADES AT THE DEADLINE:
Trevona receives:
Cameron Navarro (signed through the rest of the year, SF, 28, 28.3 PPG, 2.3 APG, 3.8 RPG)

Île d'Élisabeth receives:
Rodrigue Poirier (signed through three seasons from now, PG, 29, 21.6 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.9 RPG)
First round pick at the next draft
First round pick in the draft in three years

Cameron Navarro has been the 45s' best player and has been among the top scorers in the league, but the club must be elated at the return they got, landing two first round picks and a perfectly competent scorer as well. Poirier still takes quite a few mid-range jumpers, making him relatively inefficient, but it's unlikely they were going to re-sign Navarro anyway. Trevona, meanwhile, get another scorer for the playoffs.

Marianopolis receives:
Ivan Kostov, (swingman, 26, 15.8 PPG, 2.3 APG, 5.9 RPG)

Toureuil receives:
First round pick at the next draft
Alesssandro Casagrande, (centre, 29, 12.1 PPG, 1, APG, 13.5 RPG)

An unusual trade for the Huskies, who are trying to get themselves into the playoffs, leaving Alexandre Marchand as the only real rim protector and big man, but adding yet another volume scorer to the lineup and giving up a first round pick in the process. Casagrande is older and not necessarily as good (2.0 Win Shares vs. 4.5 for Kostov), but provides a rarer skillset. Full credit to the Huskies, who are the defending champs but may not make the playoffs to swing for the fences.

[Donnacona]

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS

DBA	                W	L	%	GB	Home	Road	Streak	L10
Summerside Jets (1)	63	19	0.768	0	31-6	32-13	Won 3	7-3
Trevona BC (2)	        54	28	0.659	9	25-9	29-19	Won 1	8-2
Manchester Tigers (3)	52	30	0.634	11	29-14	23-16	Lost 2	6-4
Marianopolis Huskies (4)46	36	0.561	17	22-12	24-24	Won 3	7-3
Botley Bulls	        43	39	0.524	20	17-19	26-20	Lost 3	1-9
Saint-Urbain Chevaliers	42	40	0.512	21	27-17	15-23	Lost 2	5-5
Charlottetown Mastodons	41	41	0.5	22	23-18	18-23	Lost 1	7-3
Stratford Storm	        40	42	0.488	23	27-20	13-22	Lost 1	4-6
Île d'Élisabeth 45s	36	46	0.439	27	26-24	10-22	Won 1	3-7
Outremont Étoiles	33	49	0.402	30	20-25	13-24	Won 1	2-8
Toureuil Patriotes	25	57	0.305	38	16-29	9-28	Lost 1	5-5
Placidiana Warriors	17	65	0.207	46	9-27	8-38	Won 1	4-6

LEAGUE LEADERS:
POINTS PER GAME
1. E. Watson SUM 40.4
2. L. Nabongo MAN 36.3
3. J. Singh BOT 33.9
4. L. Kjaer TRE 29.8
5. D. Labonté TRE 29.3

REBOUNDS PER GAME
1. P. Coulibaly ÎdÉ 14.3
2. A. Marchand MPL 14.3
3. B. Walker CHA 13.9
4. E. Watson SUM 13.5
5. P. MacArthur BOT 12.2

ASSISTS PER GAME
1. D. Diakité dÉ 10.5
2. J. Singh BOT 9.3
3. L. Kjaer TRE 9.0
4. B. Dotzler CHA 9.0
5. A. Secka SUM 8.9

PER
1. E. Watson SUM 37.1
2. L. Nabongo MAN 33.4
3. L. Kjaer TRE 32.7
4. J. Singh BOT 29.9
5. A. Marchand MPL 29.4
6. A. Secka SUM 29.3
7. D. Labonté TRE 29.1
8. B. Walker CHA 27.5
9. T. Lopez MAN 26.4
10. K. Ratkovica STU 26.0

[Donnacona]

TRANSFER WINDOW: LIVE

MORNING UPDATE: Let's start with the biggest, juiciest piece of news, Tout-Puissant Outremont have officially placed a $20 million bid on Alexandre, who led the Valladar Liga-A in goals last season. Whether he has any interest in leaving the Valladar champions for an undeniable downgrade is obviously the big question, although the club has gone on a full court press by showing off promotional materials that would feature him and having club legends like Rafael Luis Robledo, Aquilius Razava and manager Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis reach out to him. He would be the biggest signing in decades for the league, and there would be considerable pressure on Marianopolis and other theoretical contenders to reciprocate.

Speaking of Marianopolis, however, they made the first official signing of the IFCF window, bringing in NSA Vesterkustslän right back Bengt Johansen, a cocky youngster whose attitude may have run him out of Savojarna. This signing is perhaps most interesting in that Les Citoyens had previously operated out of a 3-5-2, and thus would have no need for a true right back, so they may be planning wholesale tactical changes as they embark on the IFCF Champions Cup.

Season 1's surprise package, Stade Richelain will be playing IFCF football next season and will have to work hard to keep from being stripped for parts, starting with manager Franck Giguère. In the interim however, they've shored up their defence with 35 year old Jonah Rushcliffe from CF Les Castors.

Legendary Astograthian right back Ilixo Paguape was a target for DKI Telecom 5G and Cap Nordique but they both may have been beaten to him by Kelssek side CF Saint-Richard.

AFTERNOOON UPDATE: Cap Nordique have come to terms with 21 year old Hinodejin speedster Tomohiro Suzuki, who is raw but fast.

The push for Alexandre continues, as home apiarist and Outremont manager Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis has apparently personally sent Alexandre some honey from his hive.

Botley FC have confirmed the availability of Greyson Grégoire, who made the league's Best XI this year, and have already seemingly lined up a replacement in S&T international Jurgen Stern, whom they've bid on.

The Rousseau group are absolutely not going to allow Tout-Puissant to finish outside of first place again, and have signed Audioslavan attacker August Peacock. No word as to whether he also received some of the manager's personal honey.

According to Tutto il multiverso, AS Trevona has brought in the league's first ever Nepharim in once-regarded Kosta Kolar, a 29 year old striker who has struggled for goals historically but may be able to feast at this level.

EVENING UPDATE: DKI Telecom 5G have added a veteran goalkeeper from Kelssek in John Whelehan, who could be a valuable asset for a team that never felt comfortable at the goalkeeper position last season. They've also added 30 year old Cenian right-back Pablo Altimirano, also on a free. DKI Telecom are likely to spend some cash this offseason, but unlike Tout-Puissant who have rocked the world by potentially spending 8 figures, DKI are signing veterans to veteran contracts but free transfers.

Speaking again of Alexandre, a leaked photo on the social media network Jasr shows a shipment of replica shirts with "ALEXANDRE 10" on the back being pressed. Certainly a bunch of team store employees are about to have their phones confiscated!

The first bids appear to be in for Greyson Grégoire, Quebec's CSKA Quebec are in on the youngster. We've learned that apparently Grégoire keeps a pet boa constrictor and will need to be able to bring him anywhere he goes.

Jaxon Alarie, the crown jewel of Stalingrad, is currently on the block after stating he will not follow the club down to Ligue B. The 23 year old will want to go to a more prestigious league, as he hopes to be in the Donnacona squad for World Cup Qualifiers.

It's a done deal that left winger Abdallah Lajeunesse will be headed to Maritime after being deemed surplus to demands at DKI Telecom 5G. Lajeunesse notched six goals last season and should be helpful to a Maritime side that underperformed expectations.

Former Apple Jean-Alain Huot, now 35, will be headed back to Ligue A, as he has signed with Étoile Rouge. A dynamic midfielder, Huot has lost a step or two, but his passing is still precise.

According to La République, Marianopolis, already the stingiest defence in the league last year, are hoping to improve it as they attempt to progress in the Copa de Campéones and are being linked with tough tackling Kelssekian central defender Connor Macdonald and versatile Timurian defender Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu. Along with the already signed Johansen, the club may have an entirely new defence on day one of the market.

We'd previously mentioned Cap Nordique's interest in legendary Astograthi right back Ilixo Paguape, and per Le Multivers, they've officially lodged a bid. They also have placed a bid on 35 year old Savojar attacking player Petteri Hytönen, but they could get blocked for both. They've also decided to not retain the services of striker Henning Hemmingsen, whose nerves in front of goal last year may have derailed his career.

Saint-Urbain know that developing leagues like ours can't always retain their best players, and will drive a hard bargain for any team that wants to sign away Lucas Kjaer, and they allegedly have already lodged a bid on Ihazintu Malkorra from Sporting Iturributa to be their new star.

AC Terrecourbe are in a similar situation re: Justin Boulanger, and they may be preparing for life after Boulanger by making a bid for Osarian striker Garnett Makanza.

Outremont's potential spend could top $40 million, per The Botley Star, and they've launched additional bids for FC Teussen Stelburg attacking midfielder Ernst Schoff and Botley FC centre-back Kieran Richardson.

Newly promoted AS Toureuil have signed on free transfers a pair of unheralded Savojar teenagers, goalkeeper Mikael Jovanen and midfielder Alexander Sobchuk. The two were unveiled yesterday at a press conference where they also released their Season 2 shirt.

DAY TWO UPDATE: The sale of Jaxon Alarie to Olympia Borograd moved quickly, and the $750,000 should soften the blow to Stalingrad of playing in Ligue B next season. Knowing Stalingrad, it will likely be invested again into the youth academy to develop the next Jaxon Alarie.

Not a lot of movement on the Alexandre front, so we have no word on whether or not the hard sell is working. Is he even a fan of honey? Regardless, Outremont carry on with their business, as they've apparently also approached DKI Telecom 5G with an offer for Kylian Lacroix, who is unlikely to move, and it seems the purpose may be strictly to unsettle the youngster/flaunt their power to the new team on the block.

Stade Richelain have made a pair of savvy cheap transfers, bringing in Nepharim box-to-box midfielder Dimitri Konstantinopoulos from Locksley and Stratford winger Antonio Sabourin, who cost the club $150k and should be good for a few goals.

Limoilou right-winger Yahya Trépanier has been signed by Terrecourbe as a potential Justin Boulanger replacement.

AS Trevona are looking for a goalkeeper and may be trying for Outremont's Luigi Leone, who is from Agosto and has fallen out of favour a bit with Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis, who were already looking for a new keeper.

DAY THREE UPDATE: Cap Nordique are set to introduce two legends in what may be the biggest official swoop thusfar in the window- les Nordistes beat out clubs from Kelssek and the Sarian for Ilixo Paguape, considered Astograth's greatest ever right back and whose transfer across rival lines from Iturributa to Rumiatzi was one of the biggest sports stories in Astograthi history. Needless to say, we may have some new followers from our relative neighbours and longtime friends.

From a little further afield in Rushmore, Cap Nordique have also gotten over the line the transfer of 35 year old Petteri Hytönen from CASK Thorsborg, who may have lost a step but is still an elite attacking player who may benefit from the move to a more technical league. These two signings cost a combined $1million, which likely will be the entirety of the club's transfer budget if they do not make any sales.

Tout-Puissant Outremont, (who else?) are making news again as we start the day, officially signing Astograthi youth goalkeeper Opilano Nalda- manager Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis apparently had been tracking the player through the season, although no word yet on whether or not he will be the starter. Potential future Mriin national team centre-back Flik Taraan has also been snapped up by Tout-Puissant, Johansson-Bakvis allegedly bonded with him over a mutual love of insects; the manager is famously an apiarist.

35 year old Raynor City United striker Ignacio "Nacho" Bérdoon is going to be headed to Félix after signing with DKI Telecom 5G. He will likely be in the starting XI.

It's an Astograthi youth invasion as Étoile Rouge have added some teens, Gaskon Kerro is an all-out attacking midfielder who plays the "van Sorensen position" and could turn into a striker, and Mikel Teiyagorri is a big target man that the club believe will fit their system.

With Fabian Magyar's retirement, Botley FC need a new centre-back and have come to terms with Astograthi teen Peruanton Iturrios, a similarly styled positional CB.

Finally in Astograthi teen news, AC Terrecourbe have landed central mid Asier Apeche, a technical passer who will be perfect for our league.

Greyson Grégoire's transfer to CSKA Quebec for $750k has finalised, allegedly the club will be able to accommodate his boa constrictor.

Terrecourbe have decided to cash in on Justin Boulanger, receiving $1.75 million from Goudseweg Town in North Quadana, which has been newly promoted into their top flight. This may not be great for Boulanger's hopes of making the national team, but it should be a nice payday.

DAY THREE AFTERNOON: Terrecourbe have spent that Justin Boulanger money pretty quickly, adding Mkabian international striker Idrissa Akakpo in a shock swoop, making Terrecourbe of all clubs the holders of the second largest transfer in in the league.

Marianopolis's rumoured transfer of tough tackling Strathcona Internationals defender Connor Macdonald has been dragged over the line and will reportedly cost Les bleus $1.5 million.

Trevona added Nepharim centre-back Axel Fauler on a free, and have also repatriated Marianopolis striker Maurizio Dellucci on a free.

Henning Hemmingsen has signed in Kelssek with FC Novonaya.

DAY FOUR: It feels like we've slowed a bit here, as most of the league seems to be waiting on whether or not Alexandre is coming. Allegedly he is allergic to honey, so it's possible the honey from P-O J-B's apiary didn't have the desired effect, although the Impact have officially accepted Outremont's $20 million bid.

In completed transfers, DKI Telecom 5G have landed veteran Banijan centre-back Noah Geteye.

Marianopolis have got the trasnfer of Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu over the line, the Timurian international's shirt for les bleus will certainly be a big seller due to the sheer number of letters in the family name.

Potential national team goalkeeper Jure Filipovic is angling for a move abroad, likely to Savojarna or Havynwilde, allegedly Cap Nordique have overspent a bit in the offseason and have come to a mutually beneficial agreement with the keeper to raise his international stature. The media blitz is in full effect, perhaps to mitigate any reputational damage after the club sells their local boy.

DAY FIVE: IT'S OFFICIAL!



Alexandre to Tout-Puissant Outremont is official, which will easily soften the blow of being rejected by CF Outineau starlet Loïc Maçon-Petrault. The signing represents the most expensive transfer in the history of Donnaconan/Mariannois/Cotdelapomais football and also one of the most expensive transfers of this summer's window full stop. A Valladar Liga-1 defending golden boot winner to Outremont should terrify the rest of the league. No offence to Justin Boulanger, but he just sold to North Quadana for under $2 million, so by the transitive property of football transfers, Alexandre is more than 10 times better.

Saint-Urbain starlet Lucas Kjaer is officially off to join George t'Son d'Haxli at FK Metropola Borograd for $1.75 million, and the club have reinvested some of that money on Quebec university defender Bastian Borges Jr, who comes highly regarded.

The Jure Filipovic saga is officially over as well, as he's been sold to Admiral Storevik.

LAST DAY: In a shock, Cap Nordique have hired Polarian manager Tomas Aer, who has a reputation for working with younger players. The club have a good core of young talent, and just added a 19 year old attacking midfielder from Kelssek named Mason Karven, although they've also replaced the departed Jure Filipovic with 38 year old Qasden national team keeper Macron Abbott.

DKI Telecom 5G have inked 34 year old Qusmo left-back Flonz-Urynt Guv and former Étoile Rouge midfielder Pascal Doré.

[Donnacona]

DBA PLAYOFFS: SEMI-FINALS

GAME ONE:
Trevona BC 103, Manchester Tigers 96 (Trevona leads 1-0)

Despite an inefficient 2-9 from behind the arc, Luka Kjaer was the star of the show, putting up 30 pts, 14 boards and 9 assists. The Tigers' Labanzi Nabongo put up 35 points and 11 rebounds and blocked 5 shots in a losing effort wherein he was able to lock down Trevona's Bokondji Taylor- Taylor scored 6 points and was a -9, but the Tigers may want to shift him over to Kjaer defensively. Manchester's Jabari Mason went 0-5 at the line and the Tigers overall were dreadful on their free throws, which may have been the difference.

Summerside Jets 115, Marianopolis Huskies 105 (Summerside leads 1-0)

People were hype for this battle of big men, Evan Watson vs. Alexandre Marchand and Watson earned a slight victory in round one, putting up 35 points and 16 boards. JoJo Allen, volume scoring machine and ex-Jet, was the leading scorer for the Huskies, putting up 30.

GAME TWO:

Trevona BC 120, Manchester Tigers 112 (Trevona leads 2-0)

Damien Labonté scored 29 and Luka notched 26 for Trevona, who were ruthlessly efficient, shooting 50% on the day and 43% behind the arc. Manchester owned the post (outrebounding Trevona 47-39) but it didn't matter in the end.

Summerside Jets 104, Marianopolis Huskies 97 (Summerside leads 2-0)

Evan Watson scored 49 points but then left the game in the fourth quarter with what we've been told is patellar tendinitis, and he'll be out potentially for the rest of the playoffs! Amadou Secka added 26 with 8 assists. The Huskies got 25 from Alexandre Marchand, and JoJo Allen was held to 9 points by Roshaun Woudstra.

GAME THREE:

Trevona BC 131, Manchester Tigers 123 (Trevona leads 3-0)

Even though each game has been close, this series is winding down and we're looking at a potential first title for Luka! Damien Labonté was the star of the show again, putting up 39 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Marco Zarelli hit 5 threes against his local team, but it wasn't enough for the Tigers.

Summerside Jets 134, Marianopolis Huskies 127 (Summerside leads 3-0)

Amadou Secka had a very nice 6-9 on threes and 11-11 at the line as part of a 41 point showing. Alexandre Marchand had 20 rebounds, but keeping the glass clean wasn't enough to give the Huskies a prayer in the series.

GAME FOUR:

Trevona BC 136, Manchester Tigers 98 (Trevona wins 4-0)

Damien Labonté scored 38 on 16-22 shooting and Luka had 28 points and 16 assists. A desperate Tigers team started hucking threes and ended up 8-32 from behind the arc, and you just can't win in the DBA semis that way.

Marianopolis Huskies 120, Summerside Jets 114 (Summerside leads 3-1)

The Huskies barely staved off elimination thanks to a whole team effort, five players finished in double figures scoring, led by Alexandre Marchand's 25. Amadou Secka had an insane 58 point performance in a losing effort.

GAME FIVE:

Marianopolis Huskies 107, Summerside Jets 103 (Summerside leads 3-2)

The Huskies are hanging on! JoJo Allen did his thing and dropped 35 on 11-22 shooting and 8-10 from the line.

GAME SIX:

Marianopolis Huskies 120, Summerside Jets 86 (Series tied 3-3)

What a story it'd be if Marianopolis were to come back, and what a blow to the Jets who are clearly not the same team without Evan Watson. No Husky had a particularly great game, but the Jets were ice cold from behind the arc, finishing 5-21. Amadou Secka, who has had a brilliant series up until now, shot 3-12.

GAME SEVEN:

Summerside Jets 107, Marianopolis Huskies 106 (Summerside wins series 4-3)

The city of Summerside is thirsty for sports glory, and you'll never hear a bigger pop than the crowd celebrating Amadou Secka making the series winning shot as time ran out. The Huskies were up 1, and Secka drove into traffic and got off a 12-foot fadeaway as time expired. The crowd held its' breath as the shot went up, but it hit nothing but net and sent the Watson-less Jets to the finals.

[Donnacona]

DBA FINALS!

GAME ONE:
Trevona BC 116, Summerside Jets 105

More than any other sport, basketball is a game of superstars. Both of these clubs feature two superstars a piece, with Trevona's Luka Kjaer and Damien Labonté and Summerside's Evan Watson and Amadou Secka, so this should be a series for the ages, yet with the injury to Evan Watson it became a more improbable story but a less exciting matchup. Full credit to the Jets, who kept in the game early, and to Amadou Secka specifically who was a brutally efficient 8-15 from behind the arc, finishing with a total 33 points. In the end however, they were no match for Luka's 38 pts, 12 assists and 9 rebounds.

GAME TWO:
Trevona BC 131, Summerside Jets 118 (Trevona leads 2-0)

Amadou Secka scored *51* points in this one, but his Jets team made a total of 17 turnovers and that just killed them. Both sides were extremely efficient, both teams shot 55% from the floor. Luka's star turn feels complete, as he laid down 44 pts, 14 assists and 9 rebounds. He's got to get a finals triple double before this is all over!

GAME THREE:
Trevona BC 143, Summerside Jets 88 (Trevona leads 3-0)

An absolute blowout and the joy on the streets of Trevona is palpable. Amadou Secka was 1-11 from three-land and Damien Labonté finished with a plus/minus of +52. Summerside nearly blew a 3-0 lead in the semis, but without Evan Watson (who has yet to be medically cleared to play), this is probably the end.

GAME FOUR:
Trevona BC 129, Summerside Jets 111 (Trevona sweeps 4-0)

Moreso than any sport aside from football, basketball is accessible to all. It's cliché but at this complicated moment in the beginning of Donnaconan history, it feels right that the newest star of this sport, which is spreading the region, is the child of Polarian immigrants to Marianne, playing the most popular sport in Hudson Islands, for a team in Agosto. And it leaves plenty of room for a sequel, as the Jets were not at full strength without the league MVP.

League Champions: Trevona BC

Finals MVP: Luka Kjaer (TRE)
38.0 pts, 9.0 trb, 11.8 ast

Most Valuable Player: Evan Watson (SUM)
40.4 pts, 13.5 trb, 3.0 ast

Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Watson (SUM)
13.5 trb, 2.5 blk, 1.4 stl

All-League Teams
First Team
Evan Watson (SUM)
Luka Kjaer (TRE)
Alexandre Marchand (MPL)
Damien Labonté (TRE)
Labanzi Nabongo (MAN)

Second Team
Jahjesh Singh (BOT)
Amadou Secka (SUM)
Telvin Lopez (MAN)
Alexy Anderson (OUT)
Bradley Walker (CHA)

[Donnacona]

Make Friends With...The NHL

The Donnaconan consciousness is famously obsessed with hockey as the expense of lots of other things that make a country well-rounded and worth visiting. Sure, we have good food, art, music and the like, but we're politically apathetic, we tend to look the other way at our countless faults such as settler colonialism and being generally flaky. Have you ever been friends with people from abroad, cancelled plans and then been called out for using "Marianne excuses"? I rest my case. Perhaps one of those "Marianne excuses" was that you wanted to watch Le Hockey du samedi soir, and that would be a VALID excuse for cancelling board game night, ok Urre?

The world of the NHL (heretofore referred to as the LNH, as the league for one reason or another prefers to not translate its name into multiple languages the way other leagues in the country do...more on that later) can occasionally feel like an insular old boys club, and I'm here to tell you that it can be. Hockey is a perfect sport run by imperfect people, and democratising the game in this country would go a long way to help build the hockey utopia we all yearn for, so this guide will help do that.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW!

THE RULES: We'll assume you know the rules of ice hockey (the ice is implied in this country, as field hockey has limited presence), and know that the league plays with the RLstates NHL standard rules and 200 foot by 85 foot rink. Our league does have the smallest of tweaks from the RLstates NHL rules- there is no delay of game penalty for a puck over the glass, and to discourage fighting, players are suspended for 2 games after their second fighting major.

MAXIME O'BAGELS: So much of hockey history in this country revolves around the famous World Cup 18, when Cotdelapoms won the World Cup in Yesopalitha and then seemingly ceased to participate in the multiverse for *checks watch* a very long time. The star of that team was centre Maxime O'Bagels, a distant relative of Sorthern footballer, olympic snowboarder and President Ben O'Bagels- Maxime O'Bagels is almost inarguably the most famous person in the history of Cotdelapoms/Marianne, which says as much about us as it does about him. Our national culture of openness towards immigration is sometimes considered to have been put into fast motion by our enthusiasm for him. O'Bagels was also an incredible player in the LNH, where he led the Concorde Royaux to 8 Dumas Cups. The Royaux, a generally unfashionable team historically in the shadow of Marianopolis, were briefly wildly popular and had tremendous battles in multiple Cup finals against Olympique de Marianopolis, the most famous team in the country.

O'Bagels has two hockey playing sons, named Connor and Julien, who both play for Saint-Laurent. They are perfectly average hockey players who nevertheless get a lot of attention and sell a lot of sweaters.

THE DUMAS CUP:

This is what we're all playing for. Ah yes, it's beautiful. It's been dropped, broken, used to drink beer, wine, champagne, eat poutine, been to tens of nations- it's lived quite a life. You can't touch it unless you've won it, and the handlers who travel with it to photo ops make sure of that.

THE LEAGUE FORMAT: 20 teams, who play each other 4 times a piece, for a total of 76 games. The top 8 make the playoffs, a single-elimination, best of 7 format that is the most exhilarating and popular sporting event in the country. Clubs are largely owned by rich individuals, but frequently have a board where supporters have a vote (often largely symbolic). There is no salary cap, so the richer, more historically powerful teams do have an advantage, although there is an entry draft for players under the age of 20 who have yet to sign an LNH contract in order to somewhat balance the power. There is a reserve league, called the Rose Ligue Donnaconien, the clubs have identical identities to their parent clubs, and clubs may send player who sign "two-way" contracts back and forth to the reserve league at various times.

MEDIA: The LNH is made for TV, and the marquee matchup of the week is La hockey du samedi soir, the Saturday night game on Canal 1, over terrestrial TV. There are now two games as part of La hockey du samedi soir, an early game and a later game, and the games are usually the best matchups of the day, with a heavy emphasis on the historic "big four" teams- Olympique de Marianopolis, Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth, Cap Nordique HC and Outremont HC. La hockey du samedi soir features commentator Jean-Marie Cerise, who speaks during the first intermission and is a historically polarising figure- he coached in the league nearly 40 years ago and has many outdated and backwards views. Even still, he has a significant fanbase.

There are a considerable number of games on national TV the rest of the week on pay TV between Sport+ and TMD Sports, with Sport+ getting Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and TMD getting Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sport+'s coverage is generally considered to be better and more professional, with TMD a little bit splashier. Both networks have hours of hockey-centric talk shows during the day, although the only one that carries much clout with the public is Sport+'s Sunday morning hockey highlights package Tous pour la coupe.

RIVALRIES: We mentioned earlier the "big four", and any combination of the four is among the biggest rivalries in the league. The two most historically successful teams are Olympique de Marianopolis and Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth, and the two definitely have an intense rivalry, but it's edges are not that sharp, so to speak. OM's deepest hatred is likely for Saint-Urbain Citadelles, who are historically not quite as successful, but they also have rivalries with their city neighbours Concorde Royaux (in the suburbs, and famously battled with OM for many Cups decades ago, although the rivalry has cooled since then), and with the somewhat quixotic Stalingrad HC. OM are the biggest and most famous sports team in the country, and roughly half of those who identify as fans of the league are fans of the club. Roughly half of those who identify as fans of the league hate the club (although there is a small group of Stalingrad supporters who also support OM. Quixotic, like I said.)

Île d'Élisabeth and Côte-Est have a famous rivalry in football and Dynamo and Côte-Est Océanic have a fairly considerable hockey rivalry as well, which has heated up in recent years as the two teams are of relatively comparable quality. Tchérec HC and Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens, the two clubs on the island of Tchérec, with its' considerable indigenous communities, is also one of the league's best rivalries, although there's a definite sibling quality to the two teams, and its' fans are known to be quite respectful of one another out of mutual support for the first nations peoples.

Mashinisty Thessia and Stalingrad HC, two famously left-wing clubs have also built a sort of friendly sibling rivalry, although neither are especially good. Charlevoix Montagnards, Terrecourbe Athlétique and Frontenac Érabliers have something of a three way rivalry owing to their relative isolation from the rest of the country but proximity to one another, with Frontenac historically the most successful.

MEET THE CLUBS:

The BOTLEY COMETS from Botley, Hudson Islands are the newest team in the LNH, and are one of the few clubs who are not the be-all/end-all in their city, as Botley is a basketball town for sure. Still, basketball stars like Jahjesh Singh have been used in publicity materials and have shown up at some games. The supporter base is small but fairly passionate, and when/if the Comets get very good the number of people who have always been there will certainly somehow grow much bigger. The current club's best player is winger Fabrice L'heureux, a streaky power play goal collector with a pretty good wrister. The rest of the squad is largely forgettable, although the Comets have a fairly promising group of prosects and seem to be fairly competently run, so look out for them in the near future.

The city of Botley is the largest city in Hudson Islands and the 2nd largest in Donnacona. It has a significant population of Eastfielders and has a bit of a reputation for being stodgy and rigid, although its' residents would passionately argue that this is unfair. This is in fact one of their many hobbies, they love to talk about themselves. The Comets are the only team from the newly agglomerated portion of Donnacona, although they entered into the league pre-agglomeration.

Hudbank Arena, home of the Comets.

The defending champions of the league, CAP NORDIQUE HC from the northern coast of Donnacona, are one of the most historically significant clubs, their 10 Cups tying them for third most overall. Current World Juniors coach Louis Periard had a lengthy career with the club, and they are currently coached by WCoH 18 goalie Sacha Courcelles. They play at a frenetic pace and are also a strong possession team. The current squad's stars are national team goalie Alexandre Napolitain, widely considered already among the all-time greats and in the prime of his career. Napolitain has a very aggressive style, but the skills to make up for his occasional gaffes when that aggression goes too far. Among the club's other stars are the prodigy Pascal Mariani, an unheralded late round draft pick who exploded for 44 goals in his rookie season (the first ever 18 year old drafted past round two to play the majority of his team's games), and who showed he was for real last year by scoring another 47. Also worth knowing are workmanlike centre Charlie Bengtsson, and first pairing defencemen Guillaume Francis and Ghislain Cherrier, whom fans and analytics types are constantly debating the value of relative to Napolitain. Of course, they have Coupes Dumas and the fans and analytics types don't, so what do they care?

Cap Nordique is a working class city with a lot of Mytanar and Valhallan immigrants, so those players are especially popular, as are those players who, perhaps, instigate so to speak. Winger Jeremy Grenier is one of the most popular sweaters among the fanbase because he hits and talks and hits and talks and hits and talks and doesn't really score goals. The arena plays a lot of outdated music and is a fairly hostile place for road fans. Their supporters travel fairly well but are not among the louder or most organised- you won't see too many elaborate tifo displays.

A generation ago, the Concorde Royaux led by Maxime O'Bagels, PIS star Radoslav Invermuir and Gyatso-kai goalie Shu were the talk of the league. You'll hear about those teams constantly when you visit the suburbs of Marianopolis, as the O'Bagels era clubs won 8 Dumas Cups, and in the other...70+ years they've won zero. Being a fan of this team is mostly about watching videos from the glory days and injecting yourself into every single social media hockey debate, whether you're relevant to it or not.

The current team is mired in mediocrity, although one to watch is defenceman Louis Cloutier, a fast and offensive oriented defenceman who loves to blast slapshots from the point on the power play, almost to a fault. Young winger Raphaël Paillard is also one to grow on, a volume shooter who analytics experts think could be a big star.

Games against the Marianopolis teams can be feisty affairs, and Royaux supporters travel fairly well, owing to many of them owning cars, as they do not live in an urban center. Matches at Colisée Jubilee are fairly boisterous, and the fans are fairly organised- chants, songs and tifo are common.

Charlevoix is a winter paradise and the least successful of the three clubs situated in the Carcalliers, Donnacona's primary mountain range. Charlevoix is a little richer and home to more of a "winter chalet" crowd than a working class hockey fan crowd. Whilst the Montagnards have won only 3 Cups, they have a fairly illustrious list of former players, including two members of the WCoH 18 team. In recent years, the team has been in that frustrating valley between contender and rebuilding where they are frequently in position to just squeak into the playoffs and then get wiped out.

The current team has some pretty good players, starting in net with Félix-Antoine Boisvert, among the country's best goalies, and the squad in front of him is a group of tough, grinding, "lunchpail" type players, quite ironic for the largely nouveau riche city they represent. Their first defensive pairing of Simon Watson and Henri Bergeron are both over 6'4 and were first and third respectively in penalty minutes last season. Donnaconans usually come to a city like Charlevoix to get away from the hustle and bustle, but hockey teams know they're coming to get hit, whether or not they get their 2 points.

The supporter-base of Charlevoix are good for tifo and turn up in pretty big numbers, but are not especially rowdy and rarely travel. Centre Alain Sabourin has famously high quality food and drink, making it a fairly desireable away day (amongst other reasons), and unless you are a fan of Frontenac or Terrecourbe you'll have no issue at all.

Côte-Est is one of the oldest clubs in the league but have won only 5 Cups, sort of an always the bridesmaid, never the bride situation since they've reached 19 finals. The city is...on the east coast of the country and considered one of the most desireable due to its' natural beauty and generally agreeable culture. The Océanic and the much more historically successful Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth have a fairly intense rivalry, although it is not quite at the level of Maritime-Étoile Rouge in football, owed in part to Dynamo having more hostilities with OM. However, in recent years the derby with Dynamo has heated up as the two sides have met in the playoffs three of the last four years, with the Océanic emerging victorious 2 out of the 3 times!

The current team is all-offence, with a real black hole in net. Their first line of Tarek Demarchelier, Francis Roberts and Sacha Pelletier is one of the best in driving possession and in scoring in the whole league, even if none of those three are individual superstars. The superstar on the squad is potentially 20 year old Right Winger Joshua Gagné, who has been kept off the top line but still was able to pot 30 goals in his début last year. The acquisition of a goaltender would likely put them into the Cup contender picture.

Supporters of Côte-Est are fairly rowdy and definitely passionate. Games against Dynamo are definitely among the most lively in sport, and whilst Côte-Est's football stadium is famous for it's majesty, Aréna Fritidien! is something of a dump, but the noise really resonates. Opposing fans probably won't have too much trouble, although you may get sick of their goal/warmup/all purpose song "Woodwind Whirlwind", a ridiculous and dated song played on the bassoon. Seriously.

Dynamo play in Île d'Élisabeth and are historically the second most successful team in the league. They represent the very progressive and semi-isolated city of Île d'Élisabeth, and despite not being the same official organization like Stalingrad HC and FC, they maintain very close ties with Étoile Rouge. The club have strong ties to left-wing community organizations and players are strongly encouraged to participate in the local community.

The current squad is fairly strong, with the likes of Centre Ian Leblanc, a 200-foot player among the most well respected in the league, and tenacious winger Marc Brousseau, who hangs out in front of the net despite his smaller frame. They've played some goal-tests against rivals Côte-Est recently, owing to a real lack of depth defensively and some sieve-like goaltending.

Much like Côte-Est supporters, Dynamo supporters are among the best in the league. It can be hard for all but the most connected away fans to get a ticket, just as it's hard for any fan to get a ticket anywhere in the arena, the historic Colisée Jean-Colbert, named for a Union leader from 100 years ago. Dynamo fans have a good relationship with Stalingrad and Mashinisty fans, fans of other teams might get some playful hassling. Côte-Est fans know what to expect.

The LNH had 18 clubs for a very long time until the Pétroliers arrived in 224 (and the Comets arrived in 225), so the Félix side is still making their way in the world. Félix is one of the more complicated cities in the country, existing in the shadow of the glitz and glamour of Outremont but with less glitz and glamour and more "an airport and a few tall buildings". The Pétroliers are named for the historic presence of Pétro-Marianne in the city, although time and an interest in keeping our multiverse unpolluted for future generations has eroded the importance of the company.

The Pétroliers are building for the future and do not have a particularly strong squad at the moment.

[Donnacona]

Donnacona played their first two official matches in this iteration of the squad against unranked unkowns Sabalonia. The road side won both ends of the home-and-home, with Sabalonia taking the match in Botley by a 3-2 score in front of a mostly uninterested crowd. Whether it was the choice of opponent or unease at a lack of players of Hudson Islands origin, the match did not feel like the important international it was. Les Bleus' goals came from a 34th minute Gervais Ekholm header and a 75th minute blast from George t'Son d'Haxli.

The second leg in Sabalonia was much more successful for the Donnaconan side, with starlet Kylian Lacroix raising his profile a bit notching both goals in a 2-0 victory. Lacroix, the 20 year old DKI Telecom 5G winger gathered a rebound from a Pascal-Karl Surprenant shot and slotted it past the Sabalonian keeper in the 14th minute, and scored his second right footed after a masterful run in the 49th.

[Donnacona]

The Superligue of handball just completed it's 228 season, and whilst it's nowhere near the highs of the league at its' peak, when foreign money made it the world's most luxurious handball competition, Superligue still does decent television and box office numbers, particularly in Grand-Nord and Auguste du Nord- the two provinces make up half the league. Élisabetano, still owned by wealthy Cafundelense and one of only a few teams still roughly of the same status as in the previous era, blew a late season lead despite beating the Sasanachs in round 22, before going winless in their last four, letting the Sasanachs (and the Auguste side!) into the top spot.

Fourth place Cap Nordique feel a little hard done by despite having the best goal difference and many of the league's best players- they lost both matches against Antisart and had a streak of draws near the end of the season, although they were able to end the season on a high note with a 29-23 win over local rivals Xavier.

Tout-Puissant Outremont's handball department does not get the level of riches that the football club gets, but they did splash out a little bit on the offseason on former Auguste du Nord national teamer Jérémy Le Breton, a magical right-back who ended up leading the league in goals and whose masterful playmaking led his side to be the second highest scoring team in the competition.

-                                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 HBC Marianopolis Sasanachs        26   19   1   6   712  639  +73    39
 2 AS Toureuil                       26   15   6   5   708  656  +52    36
 3 Atlético Élisabetano              26   17   2   7   703  664  +39    36
 4 Cap Nordique HBC                  26   16   3   7   719  628  +91    35
 5 Champiroux                        26   16   2   8   673  646  +27    34
 6 Tout-Puissant Outremont Hand      26   15   3   8   715  660  +55    33
 7 Stalingrad FC                     26   15   0  11   696  690   +6    30
 8 HC Frontenac                      26   12   3  11   685  675  +10    27
 9 Épibonne                          26   11   1  14   673  693  −20    23
10 Antisart HBC                      26    9   1  16   641  702  −61    19
11 AS Trevona                        26    8   1  17   680  711  −31    17
12 Grélogne                          26    6   2  18   669  716  −47    14
13 Ange-Gardien                      26    6   1  19   641  727  −86    13
14 Xavier Hand                       26    3   2  21   628  736 −108     8

Congrats to our champions!

[Donnacona]

The Donnacona Basketball Association (which is a continuation of PlacidBasket) has formally announced it is rebranding as the more culturally acceptable Ligue Donnaconien de Basketball, featuring this new logo. The clubs who will be participating in the upcoming IUBC competitions show off the new patch here:

[Donnacona]

WEEK 1:

MD1:
Félix Pétroliers 3–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–4 Lokomotiv Esca
Botley Comets 4–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–1 Stalingrad HC
Mashinisty Thessia 3–3 Outremont HC
Tchérec HC 2–3 Xavier Drakkar
Concorde Royaux 5–4 Frontenac Érabliers
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–5 Cap Nordique HC
Richelieu HC 1–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Côte-Est Océanic 0–1 Saint-Laurent HC

MD2:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 4–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Cap Nordique HC 2–1 Richelieu HC
Frontenac Érabliers 2–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Xavier Drakkar 3–3 Concorde Royaux
Outremont HC 6–6 Tchérec HC
Stalingrad HC 1–0 Mashinisty Thessia
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 5–4 Charlevoix Montagnards
Lokomotiv Esca 4–3 Botley Comets
Félix Pétroliers 0–2 Olympique de Marianopolis

MD3:
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Botley Comets 0–1 Félix Pétroliers
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Mashinisty Thessia 3–6 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Tchérec HC 2–1 Stalingrad HC
Concorde Royaux 2–0 Outremont HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–0 Xavier Drakkar
Richelieu HC 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Côte-Est Océanic 2–2 Cap Nordique HC
Saint-Laurent HC 1–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles

NOTABLE WEEK ONE RESULTS:
MD1: Olympique de Marianopolis 2–4 Lokomotiv Esca
Botley Comets 4–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Mashinisty Thessia 3–3 Outremont HC
MD2: Outremont HC 6–6 Tchérec HC
Félix Pétroliers 0–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
MD3: Concorde Royaux 2–0 Outremont HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens

Week One ended with a wild one in suburban Marianopolis for Le Hockey du samedi soir where Le Royaux scored two early in the first and sat on a lead for about 52 minutes against an Outremont side who were still winless despite all expectations. Then in the later matchup, Les Rushmoréens put 3 past OM and their big offseason signing/gamble Dewa Bangè, the 28 year old Banijan goalie who had such a strong World Cup. Saint-Sulpice were led by a goal and an assist by LW Marc-Olivier Vallée, the assist being a set-up of an RW Adel Charbonneau one-timer past Bangè late in the third to win the game.

Week One began with a few wild ones on opening day- in an effort to demonstrate the sport across the Goose Coast, Le Hockey du samedi soir started in Marianopolis, Botley and Thessia, and they got their moneys worth in goals. OM opened up against Lokomotiv and despite an opening goal from C Christian Breton that got the crowd absolutely electric, but they were rudely tamped down by a pair from D Marc-Antoine Forget, the first a big slapper on the power play that Bangè looked hopeless for, and a second where he used his big frame to screen the OM netminder and redirect a shot from C Andrej Piché.

There were 8 goals in Botley on that day, as the Dynamo's commitment to not playing defence was on full display, Ko-orenite new boy Izan Aiamalod got the puck rolling by scoring first, and after three unanswered from the Comets, it was the Dynamo's stars, Ian Leblanc and Marc Brousseau who pulled it even, finishing in a 4-4 draw. Mashinisty and Outremont finished 3-3 in the nightcap, Outremont defenceman Wojtek Vojtavolski, considered by many to be the best player in Donnacona at the moment, looked up to the title with a goal, an assist and a +2.

Vojtavolski came up big in matchday 2 when his Outremont side ended up in a 6-6 draw with Tchérec! He scored a goal and assisted on two. Tchérec got a hat trick from LW Israël Bellehumeur, and also a goal from defenceman Yohan D’zcxar’tch, who got a huge pop from the traveling supporters, the first indigenous goalscorer for Tchérec in 5 seasons. OM got their first win of the season later in matchday 2 as they traveled to Félix and got goals from LW Emmanuel Séguin and C Killian Lemieux.

TABLE AFTER WEEK 1:

---------------------------------Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth          3    2   1   0    15   11   +4     5
   Saint-Urbain Citadelles         3    2   1   0     9    5   +4     5
 3 Cap Nordique HC                 3    2   1   0     9    6   +3     5
   Concorde Royaux                 3    2   1   0    10    7   +3     5
 5 Lokomotiv Esca                  3    2   0   1    10    8   +2     4
 6 Félix Pétroliers                3    2   0   1     4    3   +1     4
   Frontenac Érabliers             3    2   0   1     8    7   +1     4
 8 Xavier Drakkar                  3    1   1   1     6    7   −1     3
 9 Tchérec HC                      3    1   1   1    10   10    0     3
10 Charlevoix Montagnards          3    1   1   1     8    8    0     3
   Stalingrad HC                   3    1   1   1     3    3    0     3
12 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens       3    1   1   1     8    9   −1     3
13 Saint-Laurent HC                3    1   1   1     6    8   −2     3
14 Olympique de Marianopolis       3    1   0   2     6    7   −1     2
   Terrecourbe Athlétique          3    1   0   2     6    7   −1     2
16 Côte-Est Océanic                3    0   2   1     5    6   −1     2
17 Outremont HC                    3    0   2   1     9   11   −2     2
18 Botley Comets                   3    0   1   2     7    9   −2     1
19 Mashinisty Thessia              3    0   1   2     6   10   −4     1
20 Richelieu HC                    3    0   0   3     3    6   −3     0

[Donnacona]

REST OF BRUMAIRE:

MD4:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Cap Nordique HC 2–0 Saint-Laurent HC
Frontenac Érabliers 1–0 Côte-Est Océanic
Xavier Drakkar 1–1 Richelieu HC
Outremont HC 4–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Stalingrad HC 1–2 Concorde Royaux
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–1 Tchérec HC
Lokomotiv Esca 0–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Félix Pétroliers 2–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–1 Botley Comets

MD5:
Botley Comets 4–4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Mashinisty Thessia 5–4 Félix Pétroliers
Tchérec HC 2–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Concorde Royaux 3–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–3 Stalingrad HC
Richelieu HC 2–4 Outremont HC
Côte-Est Océanic 5–4 Xavier Drakkar
Saint-Laurent HC 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–4 Cap Nordique HC

MD6:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–2 Cap Nordique HC
Frontenac Érabliers 5–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Xavier Drakkar 2–3 Saint-Laurent HC
Outremont HC 7–5 Côte-Est Océanic
Stalingrad HC 2–1 Richelieu HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 0–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Lokomotiv Esca 2–1 Concorde Royaux
Félix Pétroliers 3–4 Tchérec HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Botley Comets 3–2 Charlevoix Montagnards

WEEK 3:
MD7:
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Mashinisty Thessia 2–0 Botley Comets
Tchérec HC 3–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Concorde Royaux 3–3 Félix Pétroliers
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Richelieu HC 4–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Côte-Est Océanic 0–0 Stalingrad HC
Saint-Laurent HC 3–3 Outremont HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–2 Xavier Drakkar
Cap Nordique HC 8–3 Frontenac Érabliers

MD8:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Xavier Drakkar 1–0 Cap Nordique HC
Outremont HC 3–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Stalingrad HC 1–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Lokomotiv Esca 1–0 Richelieu HC
Félix Pétroliers 3–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–1 Concorde Royaux
Botley Comets 6–6 Tchérec HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–5 Mashinisty Thessia

MD9:
Mashinisty Thessia 3–4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Tchérec HC 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Concorde Royaux 4–2 Botley Comets
Terrecourbe Athlétique 5–4 Olympique de Marianopolis
Richelieu HC 4–5 Félix Pétroliers
Côte-Est Océanic 4–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Saint-Laurent HC 2–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 5–4 Stalingrad HC
Cap Nordique HC 3–5 Outremont HC
Frontenac Érabliers 6–5 Xavier Drakkar

WEEK 4:
MD10:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 4–2 Xavier Drakkar
Outremont HC 0–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Stalingrad HC 1–1 Cap Nordique HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Lokomotiv Esca 2–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Félix Pétroliers 4–5 Côte-Est Océanic
Olympique de Marianopolis 5–3 Richelieu HC
Botley Comets 5–7 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–0 Concorde Royaux
Mashinisty Thessia 5–3 Tchérec HC

MD11:
Tchérec HC 1–4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Concorde Royaux 2–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Terrecourbe Athlétique 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Richelieu HC 4–2 Botley Comets
Côte-Est Océanic 3–7 Olympique de Marianopolis
Saint-Laurent HC 2–1 Félix Pétroliers
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Cap Nordique HC 5–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Frontenac Érabliers 4–6 Stalingrad HC
Xavier Drakkar 3–1 Outremont HC

MD12:
Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 5–3 Outremont HC
Stalingrad HC 4–5 Xavier Drakkar
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 5–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Lokomotiv Esca 0–2 Cap Nordique HC
Félix Pétroliers 4–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–0 Saint-Laurent HC
Botley Comets 0–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–3 Richelieu HC
Mashinisty Thessia 3–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Tchérec HC 1–0 Concorde Royaux

---------------------------------Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique HC                12    8   2   2    36   22  +14    18
 2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles        12    7   3   2    38   31   +7    17
 3 Mashinisty Thessia             12    7   1   4    38   31   +7    15
 4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens      12    6   3   3    35   29   +6    15
 5 Terrecourbe Athlétique         12    7   0   5    35   32   +3    14
 6 Tchérec HC                     12    6   2   4    35   35    0    14
 7 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth         12    5   4   3    38   35   +3    14
 8 Saint-Laurent HC               12    5   4   3    25   25    0    14
 9 Frontenac Érabliers            12    6   0   6    33   41   −8    12
10 Olympique de Marianopolis      12    5   1   6    31   31    0    11
11 Concorde Royaux                12    4   3   5    26   26    0    11
12 Outremont HC                   12    4   3   5    39   38   +1    11
13 Charlevoix Montagnards         12    4   3   5    31   32   −1    11
14 Côte-Est Océanic               12    4   3   5    32   34   −2    11
15 Félix Pétroliers               12    4   3   5    33   33    0    11
16 Stalingrad HC                  12    4   3   5    25   27   −2    11
17 Xavier Drakkar                 12    4   2   6    31   34   −3    10
18 Lokomotiv Esca                 12    4   1   7    19   25   −6     9
19 Botley Comets                  12    1   4   7    30   41  −11     6
20 Richelieu HC                   12    2   1   9    25   33   −8     5

20 IDEAS WITH FRANÇOIS SAUVÉ-COHEN

For better or worse, there is a tendency among many people to view Olympique de Marianopolis as the centre of the hockey universe, so when you write about hockey or talk about hockey on TV you will get accused of being biased, either for or against them. With OM currently outside of the playoffs, I spoke truthfully but fairly harshly towards them on SPORT+'s Tous pour la coupe and my inbox and Jasr mentions were...intense, to say the least. In the offseason of course they exiled goaltender Milan Martel to Terrecourbe and brought in Banijan World Cup hero Dewa Bangé. His GAA thusfar is 2.40 and his save percentage is .921, both quite good, but the team is not winning (and this early it's important to note they are 0-0-2 when backup goalie Dylan Picard plays), and so the goalie, especially a goalie from another country, with limited experience for l'OM, is an easy early target.

1. Trust me, first off, l'OM is going to be fine, both short and long term. They're on a three game win streak and are only 3 points back of Saint-Laurent, whom they just beat. There are sixty-four games left, and the main reason they've performed poorly thusfar is that the likes of Manny Séguin and Christian Breton are way below their shooting percentage, which usually regresses to the mean. Plus, long term they've locked up some good young Savojar prospects in Boris Aljekhin and Roman Kasajev, who appear to be a package deal. They could be in Marianopolis as soon as next year.

2. But, the reason I went on TV to speak critically of OM is this- their special teams are brutal. If Bangé deserves any of the criticism thusfar, he seems to be having trouble understanding the complex power play set plays of the LNH and communicating with his defencemen, who admittedly have frequently left him out to dry. Meanwhile on the power play it feels like far too much is designed to just let defenceman Saër N’Kané blast slapshots. There's not enough movement, not enough creativity, and opposing teams know they just need to clear rebounds and make sure there's no net-front traffic to re-direct. Talking to Coaches around the league, they know they can play a bit more aggressively against OM because they won't make you pay on the PP.

3. No Dumas Cup hangover up north, Cap Nordique are in first place after Brumaire and have conceded the fewest goals in the league thusfar, goalie Alexandre Napolitain is really solidifying his case as the LNH's best player, and perhaps the best player in the world. Pascal Mariani is also off to a great start in perhaps his first season as a player expected to be a star. I actually got to talk to him during his day with the Dumas Cup and he seems like a very driven, competitive guy, he told me "This is good, but it'll be better when I'm doing it for the 10th time." Bold, hockey needs that type of confidence.

4. Speaking of confidence, there's a lot of it in Thessia right now- overshadowed by Athletik in their own city and viewed as something of an illegitimate club to most of the city, Mashinisty might be the most unloved team in LNH, and they don't care. Currently in third and already holding wins in Marianopolis and against their national rivals Esca, Mashinisty are a veteran team who know their abilities and that they may not have too many more chances. 33 year old winger Salum Andrijasevic told me "This group is playing for today. Our supporters are brilliant, they are rowdy, they'll follow us everywhere, and we're playing for them too. If nobody wants us to win other than us and them, that's how we like it. That fuels us."

5. International hockey appears to be locked in something of a power struggle right now, due to some perceptions among member states that the sport is struggling to gain traction in new nations and even to retain supporters in the existing nations. However, after doing some travel, it's alive and well in the likes of Siovanija and Teusland, Savojarna, Quebec, Banija and Gyatso-Kai. Expect big things out of international hockey in the near future.

6. Speaking of international hockey, a lot of general managers and scouting departments intend to send representatives to the 14th World Juniors in Siovanija and Teusland this Nivôse. It'll be hard to wrestle players away from the likes of an S&T or a Savojarna, but GMs are hoping our relative riches will be able to do it. A generation ago the league was rich with foreign players from the likes of Polar Islandstates, Mytanija and Gyatso-Kai, but the current league is mostly Donnaconans, and whilst we all know this is maybe the best competition in the entire world of sports, it's harder to get foreign eyeballs on it that way. Getting foreign eyeballs, of course, means foreign money, which the team owners love. It's a benefit for everyone for the GMs to do this.

7. Alongside Bangé, the other big foreign acquisition this year was Neu Engollon goalie Calvin Bassati to Frontenac. Les Érabliers are in 9th place, but are tied for most goals conceded and Bassati seems to be struggling to adapt. Speaking to agents and executives, it's possible the issue is simple linguistics and homesickness, adapting to a different nation with a different culture and even a different calendar, which highlights the importance in this new world of acquiring foreign players for clubs to put the time and energy into ensuring these players are settled and feel welcomed and have their needs met. For clubs to get players French classes (outside of Botley and Mytanija), apartments, all that. Hopefully these struggles don't discourage future players from signing in Frontenac, and after watching Bassati at World Cups, I have every bit of confidence he'll be a good player.

8. A lot of ink has been spilled thusfar on OM, but Outremont are off to an even worse start thusfar. Wojtek Vojtavolski is off to an incredible start offensively as always, but the team's defensive systems seem to be a mess. Vojtavolski is the highest event player in LNH thusfar, and he has the most passes to the slot of any defenceman AND the most goals of any defenceman AND has been on the ice for the 5th most shots allowed of any defenceman thusfar. A lot of agents and executives are telling me he's focusing too much on getting forward and has been too easily pushed to the side this season. His offseason workout routine seemed to be focused on getting faster at the expense of strength, and this may have been the impact of it. Outremont are going to want to figure something out quick, they cannot afford to miss the playoffs.

9. LNH teams are averaging 2.65 goals a game thusfar, which has been fairly standard recently. Every coach in the league wishes it were fewer, but league and TV executives wish it were higher. Expect some rules and equipment changes in the near future- the standard stuff you hear about, not allowing teams on penalty kills to ice the puck, reducing the size of goaltenders' equipment, et cetera. The fact of the matter is though that the globalisation of the league may do it, there's still a handful of forwards around the league who are slower and around mostly to be big bodies, and if more foreign players show up they may find themselves out of jobs, which would help bring scoring up overall.

10. Botley are in the bottom two and as I'm sure you're aware, there's a fierce debate over which of Mikkö Möttöla and Daniel Plante is worth being the first pick in the 229 draft. I asked Botley GM Maarten Desmeules who he intended to draft if he gets the first pick and he told me..."I don't have a lot of thoughts on that topic, I intend to be in the playoffs." with a sly smile. However, if Botley do get one of the two, it'd be huge for the sport in Hudson Islands, a star and basketball obsessed region where hockey is struggling to get a foothold. Möttöla in particular is a big hitting, big slapshooting, big personality, who also conveniently is not pure laine, so he may be more relevant to the political moment. About Möttöla, Desmeules said, "Seriously, I don't intend to be drafting in the top two!"

11. Remember the name: Aleksej Knejz. He's from Siovanija and Teusland and is expected to go first in their draft. The World Juniors are on local turf for him this year, and if Donnacona meets Siovanija and Teusland, it'll look good at your watch parties if you know about him beforehand. He's a big power forward like Mikkö Möttöla, and the two of them banging at each other and trying to get the upper hand would be absolutely magical to watch. The World Juniors are a brilliant tournament and maybe the highlight of the hockey calendar for a lot of obsessives like me.

12. Speaking of the World Juniors, check out this beautiful trophy donated by former World Assembly député for Rushmore Karine Lessard, a known hockey fan:

The tournament was first held in the then Cotdelapoms many years ago and won by Mytanija.

13. A lot of excitement in Tchérec surrounding Yohan D’zcxar’tch who is off to his best start to a season ever. Having an indigenous star is important to Tchérec and Saint-Sulpice, and with so few of them in the LNH right now, it's exciting for this to take place. D'zcxar'tch told me "I'm really enjoying the hockey I'm playing now, and it's so cool to go to the rink every day and see all the indigenous kids there waiting for me. Wiguese people across Rushmore have so few sporting role models. I think we're all thankful for George (t'Son d'Haxli, footballer at FK Metropola Borograd in S&T), and I hope to be just as good a role model as he is."

14. D'zcxar'tch is starting his shift in the defensive zone an incredible 67% of the time, the toughest shifts of any defenceman in the league to play at least 100 minutes. His Corsi for percentage (which measures what percentage of shots + shots blocked + shots missed is for the player's team when they're on the ice at even strength) is just north of 50 at 50.4%, which is very impressive given those tough assignments. He's also got three goals as a defenceman, which every hockey fan can understand.

15. D'zcxar'tch is still well loved in Esca, where he had previously played for Lokomotiv. The two sides played in Matchday 5, and in between causing the usual ruckus they cause they sang their song for him "D'zcxar'tch says To Hell With Other People!" and the defenceman saluted the Esca fans who traveled, showing he's a class act all the way.

16. Speaking of Esca, they only have 19 goals thusfar through 12 games, which is worst in the league and simply intolerable. They didn't have tremendous expectations to perform well this season, but execs are telling me they've already been calling around about making a trade for some goals. It's ça passe ou ça casse time in Mytanija, and a lot is riding on whether this trade is a panic trade or a savvy hockey move. Many GMs think there may be blood in the water and could use this as an opportunity to try to land Junior national team goalie Cedric Lambert.

17. One team that could really use a goalie is Dynamo, who are hamstrung a little by budgetary measures. The team they've built are obviously quite good but they're at the upper reaches of what they can afford to spend as a community club. They may be a good fit for Esca, although one agent told me in the offseason Dynamo reached out to just about all 19 other teams in an effort to shore up their goaltending and nobody budged. Perhaps a month into the season some teams are less comfortable with where they are.

18. Hockey poolers have known Saint-Urbain centre Dany DiBenedetto for a while for his unique combination of blocking shots fairly often for a centre and getting a lot of assists, but DiBenedetto has blossomed into something of a conventional star over the last season or so and was rewarded as the LNH Player of the Month in Brumaire for leading the league in points with 19 already- his Citadelles side only have 38 goals, so he's contributed to exactly half of them in some way. He's been a big reason why Saint-Urbain are currently in second, although they were expected to be a playoff team.

19. Way back at World Cup of Hockey 17, when Guy Lemaire gave Maxime O'Bagels his debut there was a lot of hand-wringing about whether he should be coddled and protected or thrown directly into the fire. Lemaire was of course one of the most polarising figures in the history of hockey in Cotdelapoms/Marianne/Donnacona- the coach at World Cups 15-17, obviously replaced by Thierry Bruneau for 18 when we won, you know that story well. At the time not only was there dispute about O'Bagels' mental toughness, there was also a theory floating that Benoît Cohen was the better player and should be considered the future star of Cotdelapomais hockey. Lemaire was obviously a champion of both but knew from the beginning that O'Bagels was the man, and thought it was ludicrous to criticise his toughness considering his upbringing, but the hockey public were wary of this Sorthern kid who grew up in a famous family coming in and taking over. Guy Lemaire knew that his hockey skills were there, and he knew that he'd already been through all these fights before, so he just let him play and let O'Bagels skills do the rest. Guy Lemaire died this week at the age of 94, and whilst he's in the Donnacona Hockey Hall of Fame, it's a shame he doesn't get more credit for looking past the backgrounds of his players and looking just at who they were.

20. Which brings us to the elephant in the hockey room- Jean-Marie Cerise. I'm not going to attack a coworker in this space, I know how much he loves the game and his country, but I've spoken to him about how hurtful it can be to close off the sport and make people feel unwelcome. We want people to be excited about hockey around the multiverse, and closed attitudes will make it wither and die. I do not agree with him, and when I spoke to him I also told him the story of an Astograthi-Donnaconan teenager named Cherran I met at the Cap Nordique-Outremont match I worked. I don't need to tell you that Cap Nordique is an immigrant city, and Cherran's family moved there only two years ago. He told me they always felt welcomed but still felt like outsiders until the Dumas Cup win last year- they felt the same as everyone else as they stood in Place Lapierre and watched Game 5, hugging and cheering with their neighbours, many of whom have similar stories. Cherran has taken up ice hockey despite only learning to skate in the last 6 months, and he told me how proud he'd be to wear the Apple on his chest one day. This is what hockey is about, and I implore anyone who wants to keep the game closed off to take that to heart.

[Donnacona]

FRIMAIRE

MD13: Concorde Royaux 3–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–3 Tchérec HC
Richelieu HC 3–5 Mashinisty Thessia
Côte-Est Océanic 3–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Saint-Laurent HC 4–1 Botley Comets
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–5 Olympique de Marianopolis
Cap Nordique HC 7–4 Félix Pétroliers
Frontenac Érabliers 3–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Xavier Drakkar 3–6 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Outremont HC 5–2 Stalingrad HC

MD14:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 3–5 Stalingrad HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–1 Outremont HC
Lokomotiv Esca 3–3 Xavier Drakkar
Félix Pétroliers 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–3 Cap Nordique HC
Botley Comets 0–0 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Mashinisty Thessia 4–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Tchérec HC 5–5 Richelieu HC
Concorde Royaux 1–0 Terrecourbe Athlétique

MD15:Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Richelieu HC 1–7 Concorde Royaux
Côte-Est Océanic 4–2 Tchérec HC
Saint-Laurent HC 1–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Cap Nordique HC 5–3 Botley Comets
Frontenac Érabliers 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Xavier Drakkar 3–1 Félix Pétroliers
Outremont HC 2–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Stalingrad HC 3–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth

MD16:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–0 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Lokomotiv Esca 4–5 Stalingrad HC
Félix Pétroliers 3–4 Outremont HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–1 Xavier Drakkar
Botley Comets 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Charlevoix Montagnards 5–6 Cap Nordique HC
Mashinisty Thessia 2–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Tchérec HC 3–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Concorde Royaux 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–1 Richelieu HC

MD17:Richelieu HC 1–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Côte-Est Océanic 2–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Saint-Laurent HC 2–2 Concorde Royaux
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–2 Tchérec HC
Cap Nordique HC 5–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Frontenac Érabliers 2–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Xavier Drakkar 3–0 Botley Comets
Outremont HC 2–5 Olympique de Marianopolis
Stalingrad HC 1–2 Félix Pétroliers
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–5 Lokomotiv Esca

MD18:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Félix Pétroliers 1–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–0 Stalingrad HC
Botley Comets 3–4 Outremont HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–2 Xavier Drakkar
Mashinisty Thessia 2–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Tchérec HC 0–1 Cap Nordique HC
Concorde Royaux 1–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Richelieu HC 4–4 Côte-Est Océanic

MD19:Côte-Est Océanic 3–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Laurent HC 3–3 Richelieu HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 0–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Cap Nordique HC 2–3 Concorde Royaux
Frontenac Érabliers 4–4 Tchérec HC
Xavier Drakkar 3–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Outremont HC 1–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Stalingrad HC 4–4 Botley Comets
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Lokomotiv Esca 0–0 Félix Pétroliers

MD20:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 4–4 Félix Pétroliers
Lokomotiv Esca 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 0–0 Botley Comets
Stalingrad HC 2–5 Charlevoix Montagnards
Outremont HC 3–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Xavier Drakkar 1–0 Tchérec HC
Frontenac Érabliers 1–3 Concorde Royaux
Cap Nordique HC 3–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–3 Richelieu HC
Saint-Laurent HC 1–3 Côte-Est Océanic

MD21:Saint-Laurent HC 4–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Côte-Est Océanic 3–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Richelieu HC 4–4 Cap Nordique HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Concorde Royaux 3–2 Xavier Drakkar
Tchérec HC 2–2 Outremont HC
Mashinisty Thessia 1–3 Stalingrad HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Botley Comets 3–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–1 Félix Pétroliers

MD22:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Félix Pétroliers 3–6 Botley Comets
Lokomotiv Esca 5–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 3–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Stalingrad HC 2–2 Tchérec HC
Outremont HC 2–3 Concorde Royaux
Xavier Drakkar 4–3 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Frontenac Érabliers 1–2 Richelieu HC
Cap Nordique HC 3–5 Côte-Est Océanic
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 1–2 Saint-Laurent HC

MD23:Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Laurent HC 3–3 Cap Nordique HC
Côte-Est Océanic 1–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Richelieu HC 1–2 Xavier Drakkar
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–1 Outremont HC
Concorde Royaux 4–2 Stalingrad HC
Tchérec HC 4–6 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Mashinisty Thessia 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Charlevoix Montagnards 5–3 Félix Pétroliers
Botley Comets 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis

MD24:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Botley Comets
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Félix Pétroliers 3–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Lokomotiv Esca 2–2 Tchérec HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 3–5 Concorde Royaux
Stalingrad HC 0–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Outremont HC 4–2 Richelieu HC
Xavier Drakkar 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Frontenac Érabliers 0–3 Saint-Laurent HC
Cap Nordique HC 3–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles

---------------------------------Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique HC                24   15   5   4    81   56  +25    35
 2 Olympique de Marianopolis      24   13   5   6    60   48  +12    31
 3 Concorde Royaux                24   13   5   6    62   46  +16    31
 4 Terrecourbe Athlétique         24   15   0   9    59   50   +9    30
 5 Mashinisty Thessia             24   12   4   8    68   62   +6    28
 6 Côte-Est Océanic               24   11   5   8    67   63   +4    27
 7 Saint-Laurent HC               24   10   7   7    55   51   +4    27
 8 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth         24   10   6   8    74   67   +7    26
 9 Frontenac Érabliers            24   12   1  11    58   65   −7    25
10 Outremont HC                   24   10   5   9    70   65   +5    25
11 Saint-Urbain Citadelles        24    9   7   8    57   57    0    25
12 Xavier Drakkar                 24   10   3  11    59   61   −2    23
13 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens      24    8   7   9    60   57   +3    23
14 Tchérec HC                     24    7   8   9    64   70   −6    22
15 Stalingrad HC                  24    8   5  11    54   61   −7    21
16 Charlevoix Montagnards         24    8   4  12    64   67   −3    20
17 Lokomotiv Esca                 24    6   7  11    44   53   −9    19
18 Félix Pétroliers               24    5   6  13    59   74  −15    16
19 Botley Comets                  24    2  10  12    53   71  −18    14
20 Richelieu HC                   24    3   6  15    55   79  −24    12

1. Reports of the demise of OM after one month were greatly exaggerated, as OM went unbeaten in Frimaire. Head coach Julien Boon, on the hot seat for two seconds, has started using four forwards on the power play and things have greatly improved since then. Much ink has been spilled on the Olympique power play, but it's been much more creative during this winning streak, not to mention more effective. The objective is clearly breaking down opposition boxes and getting to the danger areas, which suits their personnel much better than just relying on those big Saër N’Kané blasts- and it's made those same N'Kané shots more effective anyway by making them less expected and getting more netfront traffic.

2. Everyone is absolutely gushing about Dewa Bangè both as a goaltender and as a teammate. His stats are similar to that of Alexandre Napolitain and his teammates are giving him high marks. "Just a fun guy to be around" said Killian Lemieux, "we're trying to show him a lot of the city- he lives in the penthouse of a hotel right now so sometimes that just involves pointing things out from up there" he adds, with a laugh. He and Saër N’Kané have made fast friends, and even have a special celebration when they win games, although apparently the media are not allowed to know what that is.

3. One of the big off-ice stories in the LNH this season was the future of the face of the Citadelles, winger Sebastian Cournoyer, who is now on the wrong side of 30 but still one of the league's most lethal scorers. He needs a new contract and Saint-Urbain need to figure out whether they're a win now team or a team playing for the future, and if they're the latter, whether that future involves Cournoyer. Saint-Laurent, OM and Concorde are allegedly very interested in Cournoyer, although the GMs I spoke to are not certain whether they're interested as a rental or as a long term acquisition. He seems to want a contract that'd take him through likely retirement, so it may be buyer beware- his shot is still excellent but his footspeed could go off a cliff quickly.

4. Things keep on cruising in Cap Nordique, who are playing not only excellent hockey but exciting hockey. Their matchday 14 draw with OM was the best game of the season thusfar, deserving of all the hype. I asked winger Jeremy Grenier if he thought that matchup was a preview of the Dumas Cup finals and he told us, "Well, there are no draws in the Finals."

5. The Royaux are off to a great start, which has fans in the suburbs excited. They're also allegedly interested in highly regarded Sarzonian 20 year old Brett Tanguay Jr., who we expect to be on full display at the World Juniors. He can do a little bit of everything, and you know how Concorde feels about superstars. Is Tanguay Jr. the next Maxime O'Bagels? He could just as easily wind up in the Ehrenliga, so Concorde may have to do something to stand out.

6. Speaking of the Ehrenliga, we spoke last month about international hockey, and the wheels appear to be turning on a loose union of about six or seven big hockey nations for potential club and national competitions outside of the existing Hockey Champions League and World Cup framework. The LNH is allegedly one of the main drivers behind it, knowing that foreign involvement means foreign money. LNH President Christian L'Italien has also been speaking to sports networks in other traditional hockey nations along with our neighbours about getting LNH back on tv abroad, which would be enormous as well.

7. There has been some conflict between Hockey Donnacona and the LNH about whether the league should enter into the Hockey Champions League, which is apparently over revenue distribution. LNH hasn't entered into the Champions League in a long time and has historically been wary of it. The League has always been very controlling of its' image and its' finances and hasn't historically liked relinquishing control to the HCL body. This has been one of the major setbacks for the league's growth internationally and it may be something that takes some intense negotiation. Hockey Donnacona to their credit want Donnaconan hockey represented as often as possible and is gently pushing L'Italien towards entering.

8. The other big growth topic is expansion (I promise this is the last business topic), which in this specific moment seems naturally geared towards expanding in the newly agglomerated parts of the country aside from Botley. Trevona, Toureuil and Stratford are all in the 10 biggest cities in the nation and are without teams at the moment. Trevona is the obvious gem of the three, Arena Elettricagosto is one of the best indoor arenas in the country and is the only one that is also built with sightlines at least partially intended for hockey, as Agosto del Sud's national hockey team played games there and there is already some hockey culture there. Expect an announcement shortly, perhaps a trial balloon with some exhibitions.

9. Xavier are a smaller market team but they're in pretty good position right now, only 3 points out of a playoff spot, although there's still a few big clubs in between them. Cedric Carrier has made himself one of the elite goal scorers in the league and the defensive systems have been largely effective. They're a hard working bunch that is tired of living in the shadow of Cap Nordique.

10. Outremont are ahead of Xavier, but their expectations were much higher, so the anxiety is starting to set in. They've conceded the seventh most goals, and it seems like many of them are from sloppy mistakes. Expect a change sooner rather than later, whether it's a trade or a new coach. Might Omar Houde be available in a trade? Or perhaps might he be called up from juniors early? He wants to play in World Juniors, although an LNH paycheck may be worth giving up that dream.

11. The decision to jettison goalie Milan Martel for Dewa Bangè got a lot of press for OM, but it seems to have been mutually beneficial for all three parties- Bangè, Martel and Terrecourbe. Martel is actually the league leader in save percentage thusfar, although he caused some controversy when he essentially called out his teammates for conceding too many odd-man rushes against Cap Nordique. There's only so much you can do in that situation, and his new teammates seemed to take it more in stride than his highly paid teammates at OM.

12. Thessia are still holding on and won the first home Mytanar derby 1-0 against Esca on a beautiful goal from Dominique Kelly, who deked three Lokomotiv defencemen in the process. Of course, all anyone wanted to talk about after the match was the traveling Esca supporters who brought pyrotechnics to the match and got it delayed by half an hour. The league banned fans from Esca's MD24 game against Tchérec.

13. The closed door match upset more than a few traveling Tchérec supporters hoping to take in a saturday night game in another country. Credit to Lokomotiv, the club has refunded any fans who traveled their ticket price and offered them free tickets to the next matchup between the two teams, but obviously that doesn't help any fans who cannot afford to make the journey. Just a nice reminder to not be a jerk if you're going to a game, ok?

14. There's been a wave of defencemen getting injured blocking shots, the most recent being Frontenac's Simon Blainville. Advanced statistics types wonder the merit in shot blocking, since in certain situations it has almost no positive correlation with xG (and occasionally, as in hard slap shots from the point, has a negative one), and leads to many injuries. Good luck discouraging Donnaconan hockey coaches to have their players block shots, though.

15. Botley have only two wins this season but GM Maarten Desmeules is not concerned. "It's going to take a few years to build something special here, and I think we're lucky that the people of Botley are willing to wait. In Marianopolis there's an expectation that you'll always be competing, because hockey is the most important thing in the world. Here, there's not that same culture, not that same pressure. I have faith things are going in the right direction."

16. The Frimaire player of the month was Olympique's Emmanuel Séguin, who is coming into his own as a complimentary player instead of always having to be The Man. Julien Boon made it clear to Séguin at the beginning of the season that he needed him to help his teammates out more on both ends of the ice and he's passed that test with flying colours thusfar, and his scoring hasn't dropped any, he has 9 goals and 17 assists on the season.

17. Saint-Laurent are on a nice streak, so I wanted to include this quote from head coach Ghislain St-Jacques- "When you hire a plumber, you expect to get your drains fixed. I've hired two O'Bagels and neither one of them scores goals, I'm going to leave a negative review!"

18. Fun oddity in MD21's Botley-Lokomotiv matchup, there was a 27 second segment of 3-on-3 wherein for the entirety Lokomotiv used three forwards. Surprisingly, they didn't concede and in fact spent the entirety of it in the offensive zone. It was the result of a sloppy change, but perhaps an enterprising and not very risk averse coach will try this one day, not that 3-on-3 is that common.

19. We're not quite at trade season yet, but one name that could be on the block is Charlevoix defenceman Henri Bergeron, who is 30 and still has some gas left in the tank, but Charlevoix are not going anywhere.

20. In the heyday of Cotdelapomais hockey there was a tremendous rivalry with Gyatso-kai. Obviously many Avatarian players made a huge impact on the LNH, such as Shu Huangguo and Kal Skirata, but it's noticeable that there are none in the current league. Olympique de Marianopolis, who have a proud track record of Avatarian players, are allegedly pursuing Hosaka Severi, a 21 year old who was given significant minutes in the last World Cup of Hockey. He was not especially impressive at the tournament, but OM apparently likes him- they've been on the leading edge of foreign scouting and have the money and track record to lure players to town.

[Donnacona]

NIVÔSE

MD25: Cap Nordique HC 3–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–4 Frontenac Érabliers
Saint-Laurent HC 4–4 Xavier Drakkar
Côte-Est Océanic 3–4 Outremont HC
Richelieu HC 4–3 Stalingrad HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Concorde Royaux 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Tchérec HC 5–1 Félix Pétroliers
Mashinisty Thessia 1–5 Olympique de Marianopolis
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–4 Botley Comets

MD26:Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–1 Charlevoix Montagnards
Botley Comets 3–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–4 Tchérec HC
Félix Pétroliers 2–0 Concorde Royaux
Lokomotiv Esca 6–5 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–4 Richelieu HC
Stalingrad HC 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Outremont HC 4–3 Saint-Laurent HC
Xavier Drakkar 4–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Frontenac Érabliers 2–3 Cap Nordique HC

MD27:Frontenac Érabliers 4–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Cap Nordique HC 1–1 Xavier Drakkar
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–1 Outremont HC
Saint-Laurent HC 3–3 Stalingrad HC
Côte-Est Océanic 1–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Richelieu HC 1–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–1 Félix Pétroliers
Concorde Royaux 2–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Tchérec HC 0–1 Botley Comets
Mashinisty Thessia 6–2 Charlevoix Montagnards

MD28: Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 5–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–0 Tchérec HC
Botley Comets 0–2 Concorde Royaux
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Félix Pétroliers 0–0 Richelieu HC
Lokomotiv Esca 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–0 Saint-Laurent HC
Stalingrad HC 3–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Outremont HC 2–2 Cap Nordique HC
Xavier Drakkar 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers

MD29: Xavier Drakkar 1–4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Frontenac Érabliers 2–2 Outremont HC
Cap Nordique HC 2–0 Stalingrad HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Saint-Laurent HC 3–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Côte-Est Océanic 6–5 Félix Pétroliers
Richelieu HC 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Terrecourbe Athlétique 4–3 Botley Comets
Concorde Royaux 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Tchérec HC 3–4 Mashinisty Thessia

MD30: Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 3–3 Tchérec HC
Mashinisty Thessia 1–4 Concorde Royaux
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–0 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Botley Comets 1–1 Richelieu HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 4–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Félix Pétroliers 3–5 Saint-Laurent HC
Lokomotiv Esca 4–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–2 Cap Nordique HC
Stalingrad HC 2–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Outremont HC 0–0 Xavier Drakkar

MD31: Outremont HC 2–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Xavier Drakkar 0–0 Stalingrad HC
Frontenac Érabliers 3–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Cap Nordique HC 2–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–3 Félix Pétroliers
Saint-Laurent HC 2–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Côte-Est Océanic 4–6 Botley Comets
Richelieu HC 4–1 Charlevoix Montagnards
Terrecourbe Athlétique 0–0 Mashinisty Thessia
Concorde Royaux 1–0 Tchérec HC

MD32: Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–0 Concorde Royaux
Tchérec HC 3–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Mashinisty Thessia 1–1 Richelieu HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 2–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Botley Comets 5–5 Saint-Laurent HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 4–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Cap Nordique HC
Lokomotiv Esca 2–4 Frontenac Érabliers
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–3 Xavier Drakkar
Stalingrad HC 0–3 Outremont HC

MD33: Stalingrad HC 0–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Outremont HC 1–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Xavier Drakkar 0–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Frontenac Érabliers 1–2 Félix Pétroliers
Cap Nordique HC 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 0–0 Botley Comets
Saint-Laurent HC 1–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Côte-Est Océanic 3–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Richelieu HC 2–4 Tchérec HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–0 Concorde Royaux

MD34: Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Concorde Royaux 2–1 Richelieu HC
Tchérec HC 1–0 Côte-Est Océanic
Mashinisty Thessia 4–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Botley Comets 2–2 Cap Nordique HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Félix Pétroliers 2–4 Xavier Drakkar
Lokomotiv Esca 2–2 Outremont HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–5 Stalingrad HC

MD35: Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Stalingrad HC 4–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Outremont HC 8–4 Félix Pétroliers
Xavier Drakkar 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Frontenac Érabliers 4–3 Botley Comets
Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 5–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Saint-Laurent HC 2–1 Tchérec HC
Côte-Est Océanic 2–2 Concorde Royaux
Richelieu HC 2–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique

MD36: Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–3 Richelieu HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 0–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Concorde Royaux 1–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Tchérec HC 3–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Mashinisty Thessia 0–2 Cap Nordique HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Botley Comets 2–6 Xavier Drakkar
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–2 Outremont HC
Félix Pétroliers 2–1 Stalingrad HC
Lokomotiv Esca 1–0 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth

-------------------------         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique HC                36   20  11   5   105   74  +31    51
 2 Concorde Royaux                36   20   6  10    81   60  +21    46
 3 Terrecourbe Athlétique         36   21   3  12    83   70  +13    45
 4 Olympique de Marianopolis      36   18   8  10    88   71  +17    44
 5 Outremont HC                   36   16  10  10   101   86  +15    42
 6 Côte-Est Océanic               36   17   7  12    97   92   +5    41
 7 Saint-Laurent HC               36   14  12  10    89   83   +6    40
 8 Frontenac Érabliers            36   18   3  15    91   94   −3    39
 9 Mashinisty Thessia             36   15   7  14    98   99   −1    37
10 Saint-Urbain Citadelles        36   14   9  13    86   88   −2    37
11 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens      36   14   9  13    88   82   +6    37
12 Xavier Drakkar                 36   14   8  14    84   82   +2    36
13 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth         36   12  11  13    97   93   +4    35
14 Tchérec HC                     36   12   9  15    91   94   −3    33
15 Lokomotiv Esca                 36   12   8  16    71   79   −8    32
16 Stalingrad HC                  36   10   8  18    76   92  −16    28
17 Charlevoix Montagnards         36   11   4  21    79   96  −17    26
18 Félix Pétroliers               36    8   8  20    86  112  −26    24
19 Botley Comets                  36    5  14  17    83  104  −21    24
20 Richelieu HC                   36    6  11  19    80  103  −23    23

1. We're at about the halfway point of the season and we're starting to see separation. The top 8 from last month is fairly similar with a couple of big changes, and we'll start there. Mashinisty have fallen from 5th to 9th and are really struggling in all phases. After their matchday 35 loss to Saint-Urbain, coach Ludovic Racine seemingly had had enough and bag skated the team, who in the next matchday went home and...lost 2-0 to Cap Nordique. Obviously a reasonable result, but now some of their supporters are questioning whether that type of intense treatment works on players in 228, and whether they were too exhausted for the toughest opponent in the league on a Saturday night. The players refused to comment, but in talking to agents, there are good players who may want out of Thessia sooner rather than later.

2. Meanwhile, the big climber is Outremont, to the surprise of few. This leads the playoff spots to be roughly occupied by the teams you'd expect, plus Terrecourbe, but more on them later. Outremont only lost one game in Nivôse, MD27 at Saint-Urbain, they've been digging in deep to scrap out results. This is what veteran teams are made of, and if their stars like Wojtek Vojtavolski and C Damien Renaud-Martin start playing like we know they can, they can move up further. There's definitely a narrative starting to come out of the (occasionally...water carrying) Outremont media that they're saving their best for the playoffs. If that's the case, look out.

3. Terrecourbe have the most wins in the league, and have conceded the second fewest goals. Milan Martel is looking like the best goaltender in the league, and the club are getting career years out of D Lorenzo Rodrigue and RW Alexandre Peters-Giguère and 20 year old LW Thomas O'Sullivan is showing himself to be a player. They could potentially be big buyers at trade time, because they're a little ahead of schedule and making a deep run would do a lot for ticket sales at this decisive moment.

4. I'd be remiss if I got too much further without acknowledging the tremendous success of our team at World Juniors 14 this month, finishing second and losing 6-5 in the final to Siovanija and Teusland, the hosts and worthy adversaries. Expect a rivalry with S&T on the level of those we've had with Gyatso-Kai and Polar Islandstates in the coming years, and if the gritty Benedikt Ressel who scored the winner didn't get under your skin, you weren't watching the game close enough. Aleksej Knejz, Leon Goss and Max Fichter get a lot of attention, but it was Ressel who laid hits, broke up plays and was a general nuisance even before scoring the goal.

5. I want to congratulate and thank St. Jakob and Stelburg for being such lovely hosts for that tournament, which was an absolute blast. I met a lot of great folks from all over the hockey world. We have a really tremendous game with a bright future and I know I've said it a lot but I want to say it again. The local fans were great and passionate and very respectful, and my interactions with Quebecois, Savojar and Cassadaiguan fans were wonderful too.

6. The Donnaconan star of the tournament was goaltender Lorenzo St-Onge, who is a Saint-Laurent draft pick. Saint-Laurent of course already have a pretty good starting goalie in Marko Belzile, but he's on the wrong side of 30 now and there may be pressure now to strike while the iron is hot with regards to trading one or the other. Starting goalies don't get traded midseason, and certainly not from teams in playoff spots, but that could colour a lot of the other decision making.An interesting one to watch for sure.

7. The Möttöla/Plante debate was not entirely settled, the two were obviously linemates and both had great tournaments. Möttöla is flashier so he got a little bit of hype, although he didn't win any awards. Daniel Plante had a chance to win the tournament not long before the Ressel goal, and you have to wonder if not scoring there will haunt him for a while. Of course, part of Plante's appeal is his even head, even at a young age, so hopefully it won't hurt him the same way it'd hurt other players. My gut says right now Möttöla will be the top pick.

8. Another star of the tournament was Sarzonia's Brett Tanguay Jr., whose goals and general feistiness earned a lot of high marks, including making the official team of the tournament. As an overager, he could sign directly with an LNH side, and we know for a fact that multiple clubs have reached out about him. His agent is thusfar tight-lipped, and he also has offers from the Ehrenliga. This will be a big opportunity to see where we are internationally.

9. Earlier in the season I spoke about Calvino Bassati, who has in fact righted the ship and Frontenac is now in a playoff spot, albeit barely. He's settled into a good routine and found an apartment near the arena. The team has worked with him to import his favourite local beer and get him a satellite dish so he can watch Neu Engollon rugby matches, and he's repaid them by keeping them in some games the Érabliers shouldn't have been in. Whilst his GAA is unimpressive, his .923 save percentage is fourth in the league among qualifying goaltenders.

10. The Nivôse player of the month was Alexandre Napolitain, the best goaltender in the league had a tremendous month. He had 41 saves in Cap Nordique's 1-1 draw with OM, a masterful performance that feels like a glimpse of what the Dumas Cup Final could look like.

11. Dynamo's defensive woes continue, but they've had some bad luck this season. They are the lowest team in the table with a positive goal differential, and are near the top of the league in goals scored. Ko-Oren winger Izan Aiamalod has been very good lately, but I don't think you could name a Dynamo defenceman who would slot into the lineup of a team like Concorde or OM.

12. We spoke about the World Juniors a little earlier, Dynamo's dynamic (sorry) but feisty centre prospect Pierre Kovačević might get dangled as trade bait. I'd mentioned Henri Bergeron of Charlevoix as a good defenceman on the move, and they've clearly thrown their hands up and decided it's time to rebuild. Would that be a good fit?

13. Stalingrad are a team that feel like they are treading water, but defenceman Charles-Alexandre Valiquette has become a beloved figure among advanced statistics types. He leads the league in loose puck recoveries and despite Stalingrad's overall struggles he maintains a positive Corsi For%, especially adjusted for zone starts.

14. Time for the business segment- league financials look good as of the latest release, average team revenue is in the 9 figures and only two teams seem to be having any sort of struggle- the two community owned sides in Dynamo and Stalingrad. Stalingrad are bracing for potential relegation from Ligue A football, which would really hamstring their budget across all departments, but sale to corporate backers is a non-starter for them, they'd rather just suffer through lean years and rely on the relative safety of LNH not being a promotion/relegation league. Dynamo however could theoretically find corporate backing so long as they could find someone who fits the ethos of the club. Dynamo are one of the proudest teams in Donnaconan sport, and it would not sit well to struggle as the league embarks on another journey towards worldwide domination, so while this may be a bitter pill to swallow for some fans, it may be becoming inevitable.

15. The TV contract is also coming up, although at the domestic level it may be just a formality. The league likes splitting between Sport+, TMD and Canal 1 for maximum eyeballs on the national games, with the clubs getting to negotiate local deals with their local affiliates, usually regional Sport+ or TMD affiliates, sometimes over-the-air networks. As part of potential future expansion, the league is also looking into getting more regular English, Wiguese and Italian language broadcasts. The Canal 1 broadcasts have the ability to dub languages into those three, but Sport+ and TMD are exclusively French. The Comets' broadcaster, PlacidSport, broadcasts some playoff games, but basketball dominates their TV schedule outside of the Comets.

16. Last business note, the HCL dispute continues, and it looks likely that a small international invitational club hockey tournament is coming. Talking to some league executives, that seems to be the preferred path. There are rumours that the LNH will attempt to host the first such tournament in Marianopolis, which makes a lot of logistical sense but may ruffle some feathers of supporters of the rest of the league.

17. The trade deadline will begin dominating hockey talk shows soon. What is it like to be traded? "It's different depending on what stage of life you're in", veteran LNH journeyman and current Concorde Royal Alain Jourdain told me, "When I was 24 I got traded from Esca to Outremont and that was fun, I was a young kid, no family, Mytanija is fun but rough, the nightlife in Outremont is a lot better. When I was 30 I got traded from Frontenac to Xavier, and that was tough because I'd just started a family and gotten married and now we had to move pretty far to some place so cold and sparse, I loved my time in Xavier but it was a big adjustment."

18. Concorde are up to second place in the table after a very strong month, but are on a bit of a skid right now, their only win the last 5 games was against last-placed Richelieu. Defensively they're still doing their thing but the goals are not there to the degree of an elite team. Goal scoring is expensive at the trade deadline, but they will be able to avoid Cap Nordique until the finals at this moment, so it's probably worth it to reach for a chance at the cup.

19. Speaking of Concorde, they signed HUElavia winger Rafael Dominguez-Garcia in the offseason after an impressive World Cup, and he's adapted to the 200-foot role he's been given by the club. He'd previously been mostly a playmaker, but he's been an adroit defensive forward who has fit into the tricky defensive system the Royaux have put together.

20. We love talking to Botley Comets GM Maarten Desmeules. His team has the fewest wins in the league this season, despite his earlier proclamation they'd be making the playoffs. The Comets are 15 points out at about the halfway point, so they probably won't be making the playoffs this year, but he won't be giving up hope so soon. "You all can laugh at us, but when we win 40 games in a row we'll definitely have a playoff space!"

[Donnacona]

PLUVIÔSE

MD37- Lokomotiv Esca 6–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 0–2 Félix Pétroliers
Stalingrad HC 5–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Outremont HC 1–2 Botley Comets
Xavier Drakkar 3–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Frontenac Érabliers 1–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Cap Nordique HC 6–4 Tchérec HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–5 Concorde Royaux
Saint-Laurent HC 5–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Côte-Est Océanic 5–4 Richelieu HC

MD38- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 0–0 Côte-Est Océanic
Richelieu HC 2–5 Saint-Laurent HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 4–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Concorde Royaux 0–0 Cap Nordique HC
Tchérec HC 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Mashinisty Thessia 1–1 Xavier Drakkar
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–1 Outremont HC
Botley Comets 5–5 Stalingrad HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–0 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Lokomotiv Esca

MD39- Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Botley Comets 6–5 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–3 Stalingrad HC
Mashinisty Thessia 5–4 Outremont HC
Tchérec HC 0–0 Xavier Drakkar
Concorde Royaux 0–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–1 Cap Nordique HC
Richelieu HC 1–0 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Côte-Est Océanic 1–3 Saint-Laurent HC

MD40- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–6 Côte-Est Océanic
Cap Nordique HC 3–3 Richelieu HC
Frontenac Érabliers 1–0 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Xavier Drakkar 1–2 Concorde Royaux
Outremont HC 3–4 Tchérec HC
Stalingrad HC 3–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Lokomotiv Esca 3–1 Botley Comets
Félix Pétroliers 1–2 Olympique de Marianopolis

MD41- Olympique de Marianopolis 2–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Botley Comets 2–1 Félix Pétroliers
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Mashinisty Thessia 1–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Tchérec HC 0–0 Stalingrad HC
Concorde Royaux 1–3 Outremont HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–4 Xavier Drakkar
Richelieu HC 4–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Côte-Est Océanic 3–1 Cap Nordique HC
Saint-Laurent HC 2–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles

MD42- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 3–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Cap Nordique HC 3–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Frontenac Érabliers 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Xavier Drakkar 2–2 Richelieu HC
Outremont HC 0–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Stalingrad HC 7–4 Concorde Royaux
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 0–2 Tchérec HC
Lokomotiv Esca 2–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Félix Pétroliers 3–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–0 Botley Comets

MD43- Botley Comets 4–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Mashinisty Thessia 4–4 Félix Pétroliers
Tchérec HC 1–4 Lokomotiv Esca
Concorde Royaux 4–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–3 Stalingrad HC
Richelieu HC 1–1 Outremont HC
Côte-Est Océanic 0–1 Xavier Drakkar
Saint-Laurent HC 4–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 1–3 Cap Nordique HC

MD44- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 0–1 Cap Nordique HC
Frontenac Érabliers 1–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Xavier Drakkar 8–3 Saint-Laurent HC
Outremont HC 4–4 Côte-Est Océanic
Stalingrad HC 2–3 Richelieu HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 5–3 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Lokomotiv Esca 4–2 Concorde Royaux
Félix Pétroliers 4–2 Tchérec HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Botley Comets 3–2 Charlevoix Montagnards

MD45- Charlevoix Montagnards 3–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Mashinisty Thessia 1–3 Botley Comets
Tchérec HC 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Concorde Royaux 1–1 Félix Pétroliers
Terrecourbe Athlétique 5–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Richelieu HC 1–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Côte-Est Océanic 0–2 Stalingrad HC
Saint-Laurent HC 3–5 Outremont HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–3 Xavier Drakkar
Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Frontenac Érabliers

MD46- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Xavier Drakkar 2–2 Cap Nordique HC
Outremont HC 1–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Stalingrad HC 4–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Lokomotiv Esca 5–3 Richelieu HC
Félix Pétroliers 3–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–1 Concorde Royaux
Botley Comets 3–3 Tchérec HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–1 Mashinisty Thessia

MD47- Mashinisty Thessia 3–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Tchérec HC 1–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Concorde Royaux 2–1 Botley Comets
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Richelieu HC 2–5 Félix Pétroliers
Côte-Est Océanic 4–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Saint-Laurent HC 0–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 5–5 Stalingrad HC
Cap Nordique HC 0–0 Outremont HC
Frontenac Érabliers 2–2 Xavier Drakkar

MD48- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Xavier Drakkar
Outremont HC 6–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Stalingrad HC 5–5 Cap Nordique HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 5–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Lokomotiv Esca 3–3 Saint-Laurent HC
Félix Pétroliers 6–5 Côte-Est Océanic
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–3 Richelieu HC
Botley Comets 2–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–3 Concorde Royaux
Mashinisty Thessia 4–2 Tchérec HC

-----------------------          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique HC                48   24  17   7   131   97  +34    65
 2 Olympique de Marianopolis      48   26  11  11   113   87  +26    63
 3 Concorde Royaux                48   24   9  15   106   90  +16    57
 4 Côte-Est Océanic               48   23   9  16   129  121   +8    55
 5 Saint-Laurent HC               48   19  16  13   127  122   +5    54
 6 Terrecourbe Athlétique         48   24   5  19   111  102   +9    53
 7 Outremont HC                   48   20  13  15   130  111  +19    53
 8 Xavier Drakkar                 48   18  14  16   112  104   +8    50
 9 Lokomotiv Esca                 48   19  11  18   109  108   +1    49
10 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens      48   18  13  17   114  109   +5    49
11 Mashinisty Thessia             48   18  13  17   124  125   −1    49
12 Frontenac Érabliers            48   21   5  22   108  120  −12    47
13 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth         48   17  12  19   123  119   +4    46
14 Saint-Urbain Citadelles        48   17  11  20   118  127   −9    45
15 Stalingrad HC                  48   15  14  19   120  126   −6    44
16 Tchérec HC                     48   14  12  22   113  125  −12    40
17 Félix Pétroliers               48   14  10  24   120  140  −20    38
18 Botley Comets                  48   11  16  21   115  135  −20    38
19 Richelieu HC                   48    9  15  24   109  139  −30    33
20 Charlevoix Montagnards         48   13   6  29    95  120  −25    32

1. This will be a special Trade Deadline edition of 20 Ideas, since the Trade Deadline just passed. It was not an especially eventful one in final results, but there was chatter involving all 20 clubs, and the deadline is always an enlightening look at where they feel they stand.

2. There were only two really significant trades that "moved the needle" so to speak and the biggest one was Terrecourbe, after an 8 point month wherein they really struggled to score goals, hedging a little bit of their future by trading World Juniors defenceman Jonathan Talbot to Tchérec for winger Israël Bellehumeur, a slick skating forward who has 13 goals on the year. Most of the executives I spoke to were surprised Terrecourbe parted with their top prospect for Bellehumeur, who is a great player at his peak but simply doesn't "feel" like a star. Of course, there's only so much available at the deadline when you're a team like Terrecourbe for whom making the playoffs would mean a lot.

3. Talbot was one of the only Donnaconan players at the World Juniors whose stock didn't really rise, on account of injuring himself 5 minutes into the first game blocking a shot. He's yet to return to his junior team, the extremely deep Ange-Gardien Valhallans, and likely won't for the rest of the season. There's no reason to think a broken hand would be a long-term setback, but missing your age 19 season is always tough on development, especially for defencemen, who develop slower anyway. It's definitely disappointing, although Tchérec is a decent situation to be put in since he might be able to crack the lineup next year.

4. The other trade to "move the needle" was the expected Henri Bergeron trade, although rather than to Dynamo or Côte-Est or another club desperately seeking big defencemen, he wound up being dealt to a Cap Nordique team that now looks nearly unstoppable. Cap Nordique gave up a potpourri of picks and prospects that some other teams definitely could have topped. It was surprising to see Charlevoix take that deal, but some executives tell me their plan is to hoard draft picks. They acquired four others in smaller trades with Frontenac and Xavier.

5. One team that feels they are in good shape is Saint-Laurent, who have moved up two places in Pluviôse. Ghislain St-Jacques feels like his team is essentially safe for the playoffs and in pretty good position long term, so he didn't want to overpay to get some small fixes. Saint-Laurent were in talks for both Bellehumeur and Bergeron, but apparently never got very far.

6. OM, naturally, were a dominant theme through trade deadline day, as there were rumours they were looking to shed salary since they believe they have some big offseason signings coming from outside the LNH and were willing to part with some picks and prospects to do it. OM are the richest team in the league, but they believe it'll take significant money to pry some of the players they're looking for away. Some names? Johan Bryzhnev, a Savojar sniper and power play specialist, Adyatin defenceman Aleksei Hautarovich (although there are some concerns about dressing room culture if players from Adyatin were to arrive) and the big fish of Gunter Pfenning, the greatest ever Siovanija & Teusland Goldhorn, who may be beyond the club's reach but shows the size of their ambition.

7. Speaking of ambition, Outremont allegedly made a big swing at the #1 pick in the draft, offering Richelieu a package of current players for their first round pick. It is believed Damien Renaud-Martin was one of the names, although we're not entirely certain- a lot of people will be wondering if these negotiations are something that'd return come the offseason, especially if Richelieu ends up with the top pick.

8. Lokomotiv are the hottest team in the league right now after a 17 point month- 7 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses (to Côte-Est and Terrecourbe, both likely playoff teams). There is some disappointment over the 2-2 draw with their archrivals Mashinisty, with whom they are tied on points. Esca made no moves at the deadline, and whilst there have been no further pyrotechnics incidents, the closed door game seems to have only emboldened their fiery partisans. Esca supporters have been louder than ever, and their tifo has been wild. The team itself is still struggling a little bit to score goals, but its' defensive systems have been phenomenal. The 24 year old Ko-orenite Winand Nedergard has been very good and sturdy, and their penalty kill is the best in the league right now.

9. The Pluviôse player of the month was big OM defenceman Saër N’Kané. OM conceded only 16 goals in the entire month of Pluviôse and N'Kané, who plays more minutes than any skater on the team was on the ice for only 1 of them. Well deserved!

10. Round 47's scoreless Cap Nordique-Outremont draw was probably the best scoreless draw I've ever seen in my life. The entire game played out on a knife's edge and there was a real playoff atmosphere, despite the relatively low stakes. Guillaume Francis cleared a Louis-Maxime Gagnon shot that got past Alexandre Napolitain off the goal line in the third period in what will likely end up being the play of the year. Catch the replay if you have LNH.tv.

11. The TV contract discussions finished up pretty smoothly in Pluviôse, with Sport+, TMD and Canal 1 maintaining the same level of coverage as they had before, and paying a rate comparable to before adjusted for inflation. The league has also allegedly come to an agreement with PlacidSport for some additional English language broadcasts on their associate networks. There is still work to be done with regards to the Agostini language broadcasts, as well as the foreign broadcast contracts. Of special interest is the contract with True North Sports in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec, one of the multiverse's biggest hockey markets- getting in front of eyeballs there could be very lucrative both in the direct money to the league from TNS, but also in access to hockey fans there. TNS lost access to Hockey Night in Quebec, the iconic saturday night broadcast, and would likely make it a centrepiece of it's schedule.

12. The LNH has also agreed to a deal that is starting midseason to broadcast games in Kebec, on KBC Sports, a charmingly titled broadcast called KBC Sports presents Apple Classics. There is also a smaller money deal with XTRA Sports in Xanneria and Big 8 in Appalachia.

13. No movement yet on Brett Tanguay Jr., the Sarzonian star of the World Juniors, the Ehrenliga in S&T has had better luck recently in signing stars from that tournament, so it's a big matter of pride for the league office to try to land Tanguay- Christian L’Italien apparently has personally reached out to Brett Tanguay Sr., although who knows how much influence he has over his son.

14. Also no movement on whether there will be any international club hockey for the LNH clubs. It's looking less and less likely that the HCL is in the cards, although many global hockey fans are excited at the potential of that tournament returning shortly.

15. One last bit of business for this month's column, with Air Donnacona CEO Maxim Durocher set to become the first ever president of the unified republic, there's been speculation about what that will mean for the league. Air Donnacona is of course a major league sponsor, and few groups need to fly more than hockey teams. Obviously teams almost never fly commercial, but teams still need to negotiate out their own travel, and having a friend in charge of the country could prove helpful and also prone to potential abuse, a minefield the league will need to navigate.

16. It sometimes gets tedious talking about the best players all the time, but we need to make sure we're celebrating the players we'll remember forever- Wojtek Vojtavolski isn't havig his best ever season, but he's still an absolute force. In MD39 his Outremont side lost to Mashinisty, but Vojtavolski stripped Salum Andrijasevic of the puck, skated through seemingly the entire defence and pulled four Mashinisty players over to the goalie's glove side before passing directly onto Damien Renaud-Martin's stick for an easy one-timer into an open net.

17. The league has done a lot to reduce on-ice violence, but occasionally some spice still gets into the game. Round 38's Botley-Stalingrad matchup featured a scrum that led to multiple players getting game misconducts. It started when Botley's Alain Perron cross-checked Stalingrad's Michel Bourque from behind, which the entire Stalingrad team took issue with.

18. Perron and Bourque were both issued game misconducts and fined the league maximum $50k, and the clubs themselves were issued official warnings- the league is afraid there may be tensions at the next meeting of the two sides, potentially stoked by the ideologically opposite supporters groups.

19. As a series of horrible viruses sweep the multiverse, the LNH is prepared by imposing flu shots on its' players and staff and some stringent cleaning measures on its' arenas. Whilst a high level developed nation like Donnacona has vaccines and protective measures in place to prevent the spread of these viruses, we still want to note that we do not intend to report on their impact on the hockey world, as we like to keep hockey a respite from the real world.

20. I want this to be a conversation about the LNH, so if you're reading this, send me a TG and let me know you're reading, if you like the format, if you'd like more data visualizations, more in depth game reports, the like.

[Donnacona]

Ventôse Results

MD49- Tchérec HC 3–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Concorde Royaux 0–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Terrecourbe Athlétique 0–1 Charlevoix Montagnards
Richelieu HC 2–3 Botley Comets
Côte-Est Océanic 4–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Saint-Laurent HC 6–5 Félix Pétroliers
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–5 Lokomotiv Esca
Cap Nordique HC 4–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Frontenac Érabliers 2–2 Stalingrad HC
Xavier Drakkar 4–5 Outremont HC

MD50- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–1 Outremont HC
Stalingrad HC 1–5 Xavier Drakkar
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Lokomotiv Esca 4–5 Cap Nordique HC
Félix Pétroliers 1–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Botley Comets 0–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–1 Richelieu HC
Mashinisty Thessia 0–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Tchérec HC 1–4 Concorde Royaux

MD51- Concorde Royaux 5–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–2 Tchérec HC
Richelieu HC 5–5 Mashinisty Thessia
Côte-Est Océanic 3–5 Charlevoix Montagnards
Saint-Laurent HC 3–3 Botley Comets
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 1–0 Olympique de Marianopolis
Cap Nordique HC 4–5 Félix Pétroliers
Frontenac Érabliers 2–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Xavier Drakkar 1–1 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Outremont HC 1–2 Stalingrad HC

MD52- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Stalingrad HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–2 Outremont HC
Lokomotiv Esca 4–5 Xavier Drakkar
Félix Pétroliers 0–0 Frontenac Érabliers
Olympique de Marianopolis 6–4 Cap Nordique HC
Botley Comets 3–5 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–6 Saint-Laurent HC
Mashinisty Thessia 3–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Tchérec HC 3–6 Richelieu HC
Concorde Royaux 4–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique

MD53- Terrecourbe Athlétique 0–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Richelieu HC 1–4 Concorde Royaux
Côte-Est Océanic 3–3 Tchérec HC
Saint-Laurent HC 1–0 Mashinisty Thessia
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–5 Charlevoix Montagnards
Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Botley Comets
Frontenac Érabliers 2–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Xavier Drakkar 3–1 Félix Pétroliers
Outremont HC 2–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Stalingrad HC 4–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth

MD54- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Lokomotiv Esca 1–0 Stalingrad HC
Félix Pétroliers 4–4 Outremont HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–4 Xavier Drakkar
Botley Comets 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–3 Cap Nordique HC
Mashinisty Thessia 3–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Tchérec HC 4–5 Saint-Laurent HC
Concorde Royaux 2–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–0 Richelieu HC

MD55- Richelieu HC 3–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Côte-Est Océanic 1–0 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Saint-Laurent HC 1–1 Concorde Royaux
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–3 Tchérec HC
Cap Nordique HC 4–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Frontenac Érabliers 0–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Xavier Drakkar 1–1 Botley Comets
Outremont HC 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Stalingrad HC 1–4 Félix Pétroliers
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca

MD56- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Félix Pétroliers 2–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–2 Stalingrad HC
Botley Comets 6–8 Outremont HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–5 Xavier Drakkar
Mashinisty Thessia 2–4 Frontenac Érabliers
Tchérec HC 1–2 Cap Nordique HC
Concorde Royaux 3–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Terrecourbe Athlétique 8–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Richelieu HC 0–3 Côte-Est Océanic

MD57- Côte-Est Océanic 5–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Laurent HC 1–1 Richelieu HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–5 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Cap Nordique HC 2–1 Concorde Royaux
Frontenac Érabliers 5–5 Tchérec HC
Xavier Drakkar 3–0 Mashinisty Thessia
Outremont HC 1–4 Charlevoix Montagnards
Stalingrad HC 3–5 Botley Comets
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 3–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Lokomotiv Esca 3–3 Félix Pétroliers

MD58- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 0–1 Félix Pétroliers
Lokomotiv Esca 1–4 Olympique de Marianopolis
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–1 Botley Comets
Stalingrad HC 5–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Outremont HC 7–5 Mashinisty Thessia
Xavier Drakkar 1–0 Tchérec HC
Frontenac Érabliers 2–3 Concorde Royaux
Cap Nordique HC 6–5 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 3–1 Richelieu HC
Saint-Laurent HC 1–4 Côte-Est Océanic

MD59- Saint-Laurent HC 3–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Côte-Est Océanic 3–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Richelieu HC 0–4 Cap Nordique HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Concorde Royaux 5–3 Xavier Drakkar
Tchérec HC 2–5 Outremont HC
Mashinisty Thessia 0–1 Stalingrad HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Botley Comets 1–2 Lokomotiv Esca
Olympique de Marianopolis 4–2 Félix Pétroliers

MD60- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Félix Pétroliers 1–0 Botley Comets
Lokomotiv Esca 1–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 1–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Stalingrad HC 1–0 Tchérec HC
Outremont HC 0–1 Concorde Royaux
Xavier Drakkar 3–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Frontenac Érabliers 3–2 Richelieu HC
Cap Nordique HC 3–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 0–2 Saint-Laurent HC

Germinal Results

MD61- Saint-Urbain Citadelles 5–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Laurent HC 0–1 Cap Nordique HC
Côte-Est Océanic 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Richelieu HC 3–2 Xavier Drakkar
Terrecourbe Athlétique 0–2 Outremont HC
Concorde Royaux 4–2 Stalingrad HC
Tchérec HC 2–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Mashinisty Thessia 4–4 Lokomotiv Esca
Charlevoix Montagnards 3–2 Félix Pétroliers
Botley Comets 2–6 Olympique de Marianopolis

MD62- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 5–5 Botley Comets
Olympique de Marianopolis 7–4 Charlevoix Montagnards
Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Lokomotiv Esca 3–7 Tchérec HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–2 Concorde Royaux
Stalingrad HC 0–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Outremont HC 2–2 Richelieu HC
Xavier Drakkar 3–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Frontenac Érabliers 2–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Cap Nordique HC 4–5 Saint-Urbain Citadelles

MD63- Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Saint-Laurent HC 1–0 Xavier Drakkar
Côte-Est Océanic 4–5 Outremont HC
Richelieu HC 2–4 Stalingrad HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–2 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Concorde Royaux 2–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Tchérec HC 1–2 Félix Pétroliers
Mashinisty Thessia 3–6 Olympique de Marianopolis
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–1 Botley Comets

MD64- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 0–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Botley Comets 4–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–3 Tchérec HC
Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Concorde Royaux
Lokomotiv Esca 4–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 4–4 Richelieu HC
Stalingrad HC 4–5 Côte-Est Océanic
Outremont HC 2–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Xavier Drakkar 2–3 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Frontenac Érabliers 1–5 Cap Nordique HC

MD65- Frontenac Érabliers 1–0 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Cap Nordique HC 5–3 Xavier Drakkar
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 1–1 Outremont HC
Saint-Laurent HC 0–1 Stalingrad HC
Côte-Est Océanic 5–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Richelieu HC 3–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–2 Félix Pétroliers
Concorde Royaux 0–5 Olympique de Marianopolis
Tchérec HC 3–3 Botley Comets
Mashinisty Thessia 5–4 Charlevoix Montagnards

MD66- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 4–5 Mashinisty Thessia
Charlevoix Montagnards 4–7 Tchérec HC
Botley Comets 2–2 Concorde Royaux
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–1 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Félix Pétroliers 0–2 Richelieu HC
Lokomotiv Esca 4–4 Côte-Est Océanic
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–4 Saint-Laurent HC
Stalingrad HC 5–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Outremont HC 1–2 Cap Nordique HC
Xavier Drakkar 2–4 Frontenac Érabliers

MD67- Xavier Drakkar 0–1 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Frontenac Érabliers 1–1 Outremont HC
Cap Nordique HC 7–2 Stalingrad HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 0–0 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Saint-Laurent HC 4–5 Lokomotiv Esca
Côte-Est Océanic 5–2 Félix Pétroliers
Richelieu HC 3–4 Olympique de Marianopolis
Terrecourbe Athlétique 4–4 Botley Comets
Concorde Royaux 2–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Tchérec HC 1–0 Mashinisty Thessia

MD68- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 2–2 Tchérec HC
Mashinisty Thessia 1–1 Concorde Royaux
Charlevoix Montagnards 5–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Botley Comets 2–2 Richelieu HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Félix Pétroliers 1–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Lokomotiv Esca 3–0 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 7–6 Cap Nordique HC
Stalingrad HC 2–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Outremont HC 0–0 Xavier Drakkar

MD69- Outremont HC 3–2 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Xavier Drakkar 2–5 Stalingrad HC
Frontenac Érabliers 3–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Cap Nordique HC 3–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–2 Félix Pétroliers
Saint-Laurent HC 1–1 Olympique de Marianopolis
Côte-Est Océanic 1–2 Botley Comets
Richelieu HC 0–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–1 Mashinisty Thessia
Concorde Royaux 3–3 Tchérec HC

MD70- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 4–5 Concorde Royaux
Tchérec HC 0–0 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Mashinisty Thessia 1–0 Richelieu HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 2–0 Côte-Est Océanic
Botley Comets 4–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–1 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Félix Pétroliers 5–4 Cap Nordique HC
Lokomotiv Esca 3–3 Frontenac Érabliers
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 2–2 Xavier Drakkar
Stalingrad HC 2–3 Outremont HC

MD71- Stalingrad HC 3–3 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Outremont HC 6–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Xavier Drakkar 1–1 Lokomotiv Esca
Frontenac Érabliers 3–1 Félix Pétroliers
Cap Nordique HC 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–2 Botley Comets
Saint-Laurent HC 4–2 Charlevoix Montagnards
Côte-Est Océanic 1–3 Mashinisty Thessia
Richelieu HC 4–4 Tchérec HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–3 Concorde Royaux

MD72- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 3–4 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Concorde Royaux 1–1 Richelieu HC
Tchérec HC 3–3 Côte-Est Océanic
Mashinisty Thessia 4–6 Saint-Laurent HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–2 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Botley Comets 3–4 Cap Nordique HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Félix Pétroliers 5–3 Xavier Drakkar
Lokomotiv Esca 5–3 Outremont HC
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 0–0 Stalingrad HC

MD73- Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 5–5 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Stalingrad HC 2–4 Lokomotiv Esca
Outremont HC 0–0 Félix Pétroliers
Xavier Drakkar 4–5 Olympique de Marianopolis
Frontenac Érabliers 5–3 Botley Comets
Cap Nordique HC 4–3 Charlevoix Montagnards
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 2–2 Mashinisty Thessia
Saint-Laurent HC 2–1 Tchérec HC
Côte-Est Océanic 2–2 Concorde Royaux
Richelieu HC 1–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique

MD74- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 5–3 Richelieu HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–4 Côte-Est Océanic
Concorde Royaux 3–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Tchérec HC 4–4 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Mashinisty Thessia 1–0 Cap Nordique HC
Charlevoix Montagnards 1–2 Frontenac Érabliers
Botley Comets 1–0 Xavier Drakkar
Olympique de Marianopolis 5–5 Outremont HC
Félix Pétroliers 1–1 Stalingrad HC
Lokomotiv Esca 5–4 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth

MD75- Lokomotiv Esca 3–4 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens
Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth 6–4 Félix Pétroliers
Stalingrad HC 2–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Outremont HC 6–2 Botley Comets
Xavier Drakkar 0–0 Charlevoix Montagnards
Frontenac Érabliers 4–4 Mashinisty Thessia
Cap Nordique HC 4–8 Tchérec HC
Saint-Urbain Citadelles 4–6 Concorde Royaux
Saint-Laurent HC 2–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Côte-Est Océanic 3–3 Richelieu HC

MD76- Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens 1–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Richelieu HC 1–2 Saint-Laurent HC
Terrecourbe Athlétique 3–5 Saint-Urbain Citadelles
Concorde Royaux 4–5 Cap Nordique HC
Tchérec HC 3–1 Frontenac Érabliers
Mashinisty Thessia 4–4 Xavier Drakkar
Charlevoix Montagnards 0–1 Outremont HC
Botley Comets 3–2 Stalingrad HC
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–3 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth
Félix Pétroliers 2–3 Lokomotiv Esca

-----------------------           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique HC                76   43  18  15   230  174  +56   104
 2 Olympique de Marianopolis      76   39  19  18   196  150  +46    97
 3 Concorde Royaux                76   36  19  21   182  157  +25    91
 4 Saint-Laurent HC               76   33  22  21   194  183  +11    88
 5 Outremont HC                   76   33  21  22   208  178  +30    87
 6 Côte-Est Océanic               76   34  14  28   203  193  +10    82
 7 Terrecourbe Athlétique         76   34  12  30   175  165  +10    80
 8 Lokomotiv Esca                 76   31  18  27   188  183   +5    80
 9 Frontenac Érabliers            76   31  15  30   172  182  −10    77
10 Saint-Urbain Citadelles        76   30  17  29   195  197   −2    77
11 Dynamo Île d'Élisabeth         76   27  23  26   203  196   +7    77
12 Xavier Drakkar                 76   27  21  28   178  171   +7    75
13 Mashinisty Thessia             76   26  22  28   192  202  −10    74
14 Stalingrad HC                  76   24  20  32   180  198  −18    68
15 Saint-Sulpice Rushmoréens      76   22  24  30   173  186  −13    68
16 Tchérec HC                     76   21  23  32   192  204  −12    65
17 Botley Comets                  76   18  26  32   184  215  −31    62
18 Charlevoix Montagnards         76   24  11  41   164  193  −29    59
19 Félix Pétroliers               76   21  16  39   182  216  −34    58
20 Richelieu HC                   76   13  25  38   165  213  −48    51

[Donnacona]

QUARTER-FINALS

Cap Nordique HC 6–3 Lokomotiv Esca
Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca
Lokomotiv Esca 1–6 Cap Nordique HC
Lokomotiv Esca 7–5 Cap Nordique HC
Cap Nordique HC 1–0 Lokomotiv Esca
(Cap Nordique HC win 4-1)

Olympique de Marianopolis 2–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique (3–2 OT)
Olympique de Marianopolis 0–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Terrecourbe Athlétique 1–3 Olympique de Marianopolis
Terrecourbe Athlétique 6–6 Olympique de Marianopolis (7–6 OT)
Olympique de Marianopolis 1–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique
Terrecourbe Athlétique 2–4 Olympique de Marianopolis
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–2 Terrecourbe Athlétique

(Olympique de Marianopolis wins 4-3)

Saint-Laurent HC 3–2 Outremont HC
Saint-Laurent HC 0–5 Outremont HC
Outremont HC 7–0 Saint-Laurent HC
Outremont HC 2–1 Saint-Laurent HC
Saint-Laurent HC 4–1 Outremont HC
Outremont HC 5–3 Saint-Laurent HC

(Outremont HC win 4-2)

Concorde Royaux 2–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Concorde Royaux 2–2 Côte-Est Océanic (3–2 OT)
Côte-Est Océanic 4–2 Concorde Royaux
Côte-Est Océanic 5–2 Concorde Royaux
Concorde Royaux 4–0 Côte-Est Océanic
Côte-Est Océanic 6–1 Concorde Royaux
Concorde Royaux 2–2 Côte-Est Océanic (2–3 OT)

(Côte-Est Océanic win 4-3)

SEMI-FINALS

Olympique de Marianopolis 3–1 Côte-Est Océanic
Olympique de Marianopolis 4–2 Côte-Est Océanic
Côte-Est Océanic 3–4 Olympique de Marianopolis
Côte-Est Océanic 4–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–0 Côte-Est Océanic

(Olympique de Marianopolis win 4-1)

Cap Nordique HC 4–2 Outremont HC
Cap Nordique HC 3–2 Outremont HC
Outremont HC 1–3 Cap Nordique HC
Outremont HC 7–3 Cap Nordique HC
Cap Nordique HC 2–3 Outremont HC
Outremont HC 5–1 Cap Nordique HC
Cap Nordique HC 5–5 Outremont HC (5–6 OT)

(Outremont HC win 4-3)

FINALS

Olympique de Marianopolis 1–1 Outremont HC (2–1 OT)
Olympique de Marianopolis 2–2 Outremont HC (2–3 OT)
Outremont HC 0–2 Olympique de Marianopolis
Outremont HC 1–6 Olympique de Marianopolis
Olympique de Marianopolis 3–1 Outremont HC

(Olympique de Marianopolis win their 26th Coupe Dumas, 4-1)

[Donnacona]

Here at TMD Sports, we're excited for the 229 Aligo Ligue A season, so here's a preview of each of the 16 clubs, along with predictions from our team of experts. Due to forum image size courtesy, please look underneath the spoilers for each club and the predictions.

[Donnacona]

You know and I know that Gridiron Football doesn't have a huge following in Donnacona, and to make matters not....worse but different, the league also operates under slightly different rules than the standard for the Champions Bowl and the World Bowl. Three downs, wider pitch, a single point for a kick that lands in the end zone but not through the uprights, I'm sure you can figure it out.

Regular season standings:

--------------------------          Pld    W   D   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
 1 Cap Nordique Crocs                16   11   1   4   530  433  +97    23
 2 Terrecourbe Lynx                  16   10   0   6   558  372 +186    20
 3 Frontenac Prédateurs              16   10   0   6   489  385 +104    20
 4 Outremont Paladins                16    9   1   6   518  479  +39    19
 5 Richelieu Rapaces                 16    9   0   7   453  552  −99    18
 6 Marianopolis Coqs                 16    8   0   8   468  471   −3    16
 7 Charlevoix Diamants               16    6   0  10   459  541  −82    12
 8 Tchérec Wiguéens                  16    5   0  11   462  510  −48    10
 9 Côte des Pommes Vagues Bleus      16    3   0  13   343  537 −194     6

COUPE DARJEELING PLAYOFFS:
PRELIMINARY ROUND:
Outremont Paladins 41–27 Richelieu Rapaces

ELIMINATION ROUND:
Frontenac Prédateurs 31–27 Outremont Paladins

PLACEMENT ROUND (Winner goes direct to the Coupe Darjeeling match):
Cap Nordique Crocs 36–10 Terrecourbe Lynx

SEMI-FINAL:
Terrecourbe Lynx 22–34 Frontenac Prédateurs

COUPE DARJEELING:
Cap Nordique Crocs 22–42 Frontenac Prédateurs

Congrats to the Frontenac Prédateurs, who won the 228 Coupe Darjeeling in a blowout, despite having to play an extra playoff game. Their stifling defence picked off Crocs quarterback Evan Lauzon five times in the final, including a "pick-six" by Lyes Mavinga that turned out to be the winning TD on the first drive of the third quarter.

[Donnacona]

MATCHDAY 1
FC Saint-Laurent 2-0 AS Charlevoix
DKI Telecom 5G 0-0 Stade Richelain
Stratford United 1-2 SC Limoilou
Botley FC 1-1 Étoile Rouge
Maritime 3-4 Saint-Urbain
Marianopolis 4-1 AS Trevona
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-1 AC Terrecourbe
Cap Nordique 1-1 FC Toureuil

Poor Charlevoix's likely tough season began with a beating by Saint-Laurent, who won 2-0 on a double by Julian Asselin, a potential breakout candidate. DKI Telecom and Richelieu played a drab season opening draw in the rain between two sides with considerable ambition. Limoilou got some valuable points in a "relegation 6 pointer" with a pair of goals by defenders in a road win against Stratford. Lasse Allinder and Astograthi teen Mikel Teiyagorri split the scoring in Botley and the two sides split the points. Saint-Urbain won on the odd goal in 7 in the most exciting match of the weekend at Stade Océanic- Maritime led 3-1 at halftime, but Saint-Urbain got a pair of goals from Loik Champagne and an extra from Giuliano Bérubé. Marianopolis put a hurting on Trevona, Gervais Ekholm grabbed a double. In Outremont a big offseason striker signing earned his first goal of the year- Idrissa Akakpo for Terrecourbe. Alexandre was a beast, but was left goalless- but was content for his side to get the three points. The Auran striker Finlay McCloud scored in the 90th minute to save a point for Toureuil in their Ligue A debut.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 2
Stade Richelain 3-0 FC Saint-Laurent
SC Limoilou 3-0 AS Charlevoix
Étoile Rouge 2-0 DKI Telecom 5G
Saint-Urbain 4-3 Stratford United
AS Trevona 0-1 Botley FC
AC Terrecourbe 2-1 Maritime
FC Toureuil 1-3 Marianopolis
Cap Nordique 2-3 Tout-Puissant Outremont

Richelieu opened up week 2 with a big blowout of Saint-Laurent in front of an appreciative home crowd. Last year's team was honoured for their qualification for the Challengers' Cup before the match. Poor Charlevoix got crushed by fellow relegation contender Limoilou, who received a first career goal from pépite James Richard. DKI Telecom's struggles continue after losing 2-0 in Île d'Élisabeth. Saint-Urbain won their second consecutive 4-3 match, proving them to be perhaps the hot TV ticket if you have access to the Ligue A Multiverse package, the attacking tandem of Giuliano Bérubé and Loïk Champagne each scored again, bringing them each to 3 goals on the year, co-league leaders. Botley's Maxandre Cousineau earned an 8 from L'Echo des Sports for his masterful midfield display at Trevona, wherein he also scored a goal. Marianopolis welcomed Toureuil to the big leagues with a 3-1 win to retain their top of the table status, Ernst Kurschner scored a double and they got a goal from Timuria defender Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu, who has very very quickly become a cult favourite in the capital. In the matchup of the week at Blockcom Stadium, Alexandre opened up his account with the match winner to break up a deadlock in the 79th minute of a wild one. Petteri Hytönen scored his first goal for Cap Nordique with an absolute screamer that won goal of the week.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 3
FC Saint-Laurent 6-3 SC Limoilou
Stade Richelain 0-2 Étoile Rouge
AS Charlevoix 2-1 Saint-Urbain
DKI Telecom 5G 5-0 AS Trevona
Stratford United 0-2 AC Terrecourbe
Botley FC 6-0 FC Toureuil
Maritime 2-3 Cap Nordique
Marianopolis 1-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont

Goals all over the place! Saint-Laurent and Limoilou combined for nine goals, including a header from 41 year old centre-back Xavier Veilleux, who was serenaded by the home fans for 5 minutes after the goal. Big 18 year old Astograthi striker Mikel Teiyagorri scored a match winner for Étoile Rouge as they put down Richelieu. Charlevoix got a surprise win in front of their home supporters against Saint-Urbain. DKI Telecom finally showed up, absolutely destroying Trevona, getting two goals from Kylian Lacroix and one a piece from Mehmet Karaman, Nacho Bérdoon and RB Pablo Altimirano. Terrecourbe continue to look strong, easily dispatching Stratford in Hudson Islands. Botley ravaged Toureuil with six different goalscorers. An Abdallah Lajeunesse wasn't enough for Maritime to stave off the attack of a strong Cap Nordique club, who got goals from Petteri Hytönen, Jason Rodrigue and Kevin Brouillard. In the match of the early season that may end up being the match of the season, Outremont beat Marianopolis on a late Ernst Schoff goal. Schoff also put in a dominant midfield performance and was named player of the round.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 4:
Étoile Rouge 2-2 FC Saint-Laurent
Saint-Urbain 1-4 SC Limoilou
AS Trevona 2-1 Stade Richelain
AC Terrecourbe 3-1 AS Charlevoix
FC Toureuil 2-2 DKI Telecom 5G
Cap Nordique 0-0 Stratford United
Tout-Puissant Outremont 4-0 Botley FC
Marianopolis 1-0 Maritime

Étoile Rouge and Saint-Laurent played an exciting draw, Julian Asselin scored his league leading fifth goal and is potentially knocking on the door of a national team call up. SC Limoilou are the big shock of the early rounds, heading to Saint-Urbain and blowing them out of the water. A stoppage time goal from Giampaolo Fibonacci put Trevona past Richelieu. Idrissa Akakpo's hat trick put Terrecourbe past Charlevoix easily. Toureuil and DKI Telecom split the points, and DKI Telecom are considering big changes already. Cap Nordique and Stratford played a drab scoreless draw that left Tomas Aer outraged- "That won't happen again", he ominously told TMD Sports. Outremont look very convincing after another match against a tough opponent early that they easily handled, putting 4 past a previously convincing Botley side. Alexandre scored his first double of the year. Marianopolis recovered from the blow against Outremont with a 1-0 win over Maritime where they won on xG 3.1-0.3, showing some bad luck for the home side.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 5
FC Saint-Laurent 1-1 Saint-Urbain
Étoile Rouge 0-1 AS Trevona
SC Limoilou 0-1 AC Terrecourbe
Stade Richelain 1-1 FC Toureuil
AS Charlevoix 0-1 Cap Nordique
DKI Telecom 5G 2-5 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Stratford United 0-2 Marianopolis
Botley FC 4-1 Maritime

Saint-Urbain's poor streak continues, although they were the first team able to contain Julian Asselin this season. Maurizio Dellucci's first goal for Trevona earned them a big win in Île d'Élisabeth against Étoile Rouge. Idrissa Akakpo is perhaps officially the hottest player in the league after scoring again in Terrecourbe's win at Limoilou. Richelieu and Toureuil played a surprisingly exciting draw, big Finlay McCloud scored a very late equaliser for Toureuil. Another big goal for Petteri Hytönen buried Charlevoix. Outremont blew out DKI Telecom 5G to maintain their lead on the table, and their manager Per-Olivier Johansson-Bakvis may have unsettled Kylian Lacroix (who scored a goal in the match) after delcaring after the match that Lacroix was "definitely a player he was interested in". 19 year old Bengt Johansen scored his first career Ligue A goal for Marianopolis, who beat Stratford handily. 17 year old Luciano Simon, a left back, scored twice in Botley's 4-1 win over Maritime.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 6:
AS Trevona 2-2 FC Saint-Laurent
AC Terrecourbe 2-3 Saint-Urbain
FC Toureuil 0-1 Étoile Rouge
Cap Nordique 0-0 SC Limoilou
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-1 Stade Richelain
Marianopolis 4-0 AS Charlevoix
Maritime 1-0 DKI Telecom 5G
Botley FC 3-0 Stratford United

Trevona got a draw at Stadio della Fragola thanks to a strong performance from Nepharim striker Kosta Kolar, who scored a late equaliser to keep a point in Agosto. Saint-Urbain got a smash and grab 3 points against Terrecourbe thanks to a strong effort from Loik Champagne, who scored a double. Les Chevaliers also got a first career goal from Sustrai Urkigo-Dubois. Étoile Rouge won a slog in Toureuil. Cap Nordique dropped more points against relegation contenders at a quiet Blockcom Arena. Alexandre scored his first double of his Ligue A career and moved into a tie for the league's goal lead, helping Outremont maintain their 3 point lead with a win against Richelieu. Marianopolis destroyed Charlevoix as you might expect. An early goal from David Riopel was the difference at Stade Océanic, giving Maritime the 3 points. Botley won the Hudsonian derby handily with three first half goals, leading to a very drab second half.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 7
FC Saint-Laurent 4-1 AC Terrecourbe
AS Trevona 0-0 FC Toureuil
Saint-Urbain 1-0 Cap Nordique
Étoile Rouge 0-1 Tout-Puissant Outremont
SC Limoilou 0-1 Marianopolis
Stade Richelain 0-2 Maritime
AS Charlevoix 2-2 Botley FC
DKI Telecom 5G 2-1 Stratford United

Saint-Laurent kicked off the weekend with a 4 goal outburst against Terrecourbe, their potent attack has buoyed them all season, putting them currently just one point outside of the IFCF spaces. Terrecourbe was effective in keeping Julian Asselin off the scoresheet, but both of the outside fullbacks got on the scoresheet for Saint-Laurent, the 2nd of the year for Ali Matte and the 3rd for Cédric Daigle- Saint-Laurent seem to have a fairly clear strategy of using their fullbacks as attacking thrust and letting their deep midfielders play back a bit, and it's been a real success. Expect to see manager Rodrigue M'Benga in the Manager of the Year conversation. North vs. South in Trevona, with a stalemate in the end. Trevona had high hopes coming into the season but they've not yet come true. It was the second straight round with a goal for Sustrai Urkigo-Dubois, who put Saint-Urbain over Cap Nordique, who themselves are disappointed, although they are in the middle of a small rebuild and Tomas Aer is preaching patience (that he will certainly be given). Outremont had their toughest challenge of the year against an Étoile Rouge side that set up seemingly 10 men behind the ball at all times. It nearly worked, as Mikel Teiyagorri earned a penalty that if converted would have saved a point, but it was sent high by Mael Young. Gervais Ekholm scored an early goal that was all Marianopolis needed to keep just 3 points behind the leaders. Abdallah Lajeunesse played the hero for Maritime, who desperately needed the points to get out of the relegation zone. A Lasse Allinder double was not enough to save Botley at Charlevoix, the Sky Blues will be distraught to have squandered two points they should have gotten. It was the Kylian Lacroix show in Félix, he scored both goals for DKI Telecom 5G and scooped up player of the round.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 8
FC Toureuil 1-3 FC Saint-Laurent
Cap Nordique 3-1 AC Terrecourbe
Tout-Puissant Outremont 4-1 AS Trevona
Marianopolis 2-2 Saint-Urbain
Maritime 3-0 Étoile Rouge
Botley FC 1-1 SC Limoilou
Stratford United 3-0 Stade Richelain
DKI Telecom 5G 1-0 AS Charlevoix

Another strong outing from Saint-Laurent, who are currently in the IFCF spots, it was a big match for Amadou Cissé, who scored against his former side. A wild one in Cap Nordique, the home side scored first from a Terrecourbe own goal wherein centre-back Ludovick Pépin seemingly headed the ball directly into his own net on what should have been a routine clearance. Pépin collapsed in disbelief and was subbed off in a rare tactical substitution of a centre-back in the 65th minute. An 80th minute consolation goal from Idrissa Akakpo couldn't save Terrecourbe from that, and questions are being asked. Outremont cruised along with another demolition of a decent side, although Trevona must be disappointed with 12th place. Marianopolis's title defence hopes slipped away again in their semi-derby with Saint-Urbain, who are off to a strong start themselves. Donnacona's biggest derby was a wash on Stade Océanic, Étoile Rouge never got anything going and Abdallah Lajeunesse scored the third and final goal in front of the road supporters and kissed his badge at them which will endear him, certainly. Botley seem to really struggle against relegation contenders, dropping points to Limoilou. Richelieu are officially in trouble after getting drubbed 3-0 at Stratford. Kylian Lacroix scored the only goal in Félix, and DKI Telecom are climbing again.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


Ligue A Standings

Team                         P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Tout-Puissant Outremont      8  8  0  0  23   8  +15  24
  2 Marianopolis                 8  6  1  1  18   6  +12  19
  3 FC Saint-Laurent             8  4  3  1  20  13   +7  15
  4 Botley FC                    8  4  3  1  18   9   +9  15
  5 Saint-Urbain                 8  4  2  2  17  17   +0  14
  6 Cap Nordique                 8  3  3  2  10   8   +2  12
  7 AC Terrecourbe               8  4  0  4  13  14   -1  12
  8 Étoile Rouge                 8  3  2  3   8   8   +0  11
  9 SC Limoilou                  8  3  2  3  13  11   +2  11
 10 DKI Telecom 5G               8  3  2  3  12  11   +1  11
 11 Maritime                     8  3  0  5  13  14   -1   9
 12 AS Trevona                   8  2  2  4   7  17  -10   8
 13 Stade Richelain              8  1  2  5   6  12   -6   5
 14 Stratford United             8  1  1  6   8  15   -7   4
 15 AS Charlevoix                8  1  1  6   5  17  -12   4
 16 FC Toureuil                  8  0  4  4   6  17  -11   4

Ligue B Standings

Team                      P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Club Rushmoréen           8  5  3  0  15   6   +9  18
  2 ACA Aballo                8  5  2  1  19   7  +12  17
  3 Ange-Gardien              8  4  3  1  14   8   +6  15
  4 Manchester FC             8  4  2  2  16   9   +7  14
  5 Wellington FC             8  4  2  2  15   8   +7  14
  6 US Papariani              8  4  2  2  17  11   +6  14
  7 Dover FC                  8  4  0  4  15  16   -1  12
  8 UC Concorde               8  3  3  2  16  12   +4  12
  9 Monterme                  8  3  2  3  14  16   -2  11
 10 Stalingrad                8  3  2  3  19  11   +8  11
 11 Modevero                  8  2  3  3  13  14   -1   9
 12 CA Boryonne               8  2  3  3  11  15   -4   9
 13 Sarnau                    8  1  3  4   8  21  -13   6
 14 Xavier                    8  1  2  5  10  20  -10   5
 15 Summerside Rovers FC      8  1  2  5  10  17   -7   5
 16 Frontenac                 8  0  2  6   5  26  -21   2

Ligue C Standings

Team                                 P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Sporting Antisart                    8  6  2  0  15   4  +11  20
  2 Stade Épibonnien                     8  6  2  0  13   5   +8  20
  3 RFC Saint-Sulpice                    8  6  1  1  12   3   +9  19
  4 Klubo Sankt-Petro                    8  6  0  2  20   9  +11  18
  5 FC Outremont                         8  5  1  2  13  11   +2  16
  6 Tch’avi’xcian’tchat Geese            8  4  2  2  10   7   +3  14
  7 Champiroux                           8  4  0  4  14  13   +1  12
  8 Grélogne                             8  4  0  4  12  14   -2  12
  9 FC Toulun                            8  4  0  4  12  11   +1  12
 10 Keltiek Roallac                      8  3  2  3  12   9   +3  11
 11 Montroux FC                          8  3  1  4  10  11   -1  10
 12 SS Superga                           8  3  1  4  12  10   +2  10
 13 Greater Eastern Botley Panthers      8  1  2  5   7  12   -5   5
 14 Placidiana                           8  1  1  6   9  20  -11   4
 15 AS Coloviers                         8  0  1  7   9  22  -13   1
 16 Université de Toureuil               8  0  0  8   3  22  -19   0

Ligue D Standings

Team                          P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Caesena                       8  7  1  0  20   6  +14  22
  2 St. Patricks Hudsonians       8  6  0  2  17   9   +8  18
  3 Barault                       8  5  2  1  18   6  +12  17
  4 Stade Bourbonnien             8  5  1  2  22  10  +12  16
  5 Vierviers                     8  5  0  3  13  12   +1  15
  6 Nutch’aara’saq Islanders      8  4  3  1  16   9   +7  15
  7 Notre-Dame-des-Champs         8  4  1  3  15  10   +5  13
  8 Marianopolis Valhallans       8  3  4  1  10   9   +1  13
  9 Lilès ASC                     8  3  2  3  10  17   -7  11
 10 Saint-Richard-sur-Mer         8  2  3  3  15  18   -3   9
 11 Félix Phénix                  8  2  2  4  13  15   -2   8
 12 Charlottetown FC              8  2  1  5   7  12   -5   7
 13 Beauharnois                   8  2  1  5   8  14   -6   7
 14 Beaumasse                     8  1  1  6   8  19  -11   4
 15 Georgetown FC                 8  0  3  5   2   8   -6   3
 16 Draguilême                    8  0  1  7   6  26  -20   1

[Donnacona]

MATCHDAY 9
FC Saint-Laurent 1-5 Cap Nordique
FC Toureuil 0-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
AC Terrecourbe 0-4 Marianopolis
AS Trevona 1-1 Maritime
Saint-Urbain 1-1 Botley FC
Étoile Rouge 3-1 Stratford United
SC Limoilou 2-2 DKI Telecom 5G
Stade Richelain 1-2 AS Charlevoix

A Jason Rodrigue hat trick was more than enough to propel Cap Nordique past Saint-Laurent. Toureuil looked totally inept against first place Outremont, who easily toyed with the home side for 90 minutes. Marianopolis put 4 past Terrecourbe in a show of strength, the third goal coming off a a wacky deflection off of a beach ball that found its' way onto the pitch. Terrecourbe tried to protest, but considering they were at home and lost 4-0 overall, they didn't have much ground to stand on. Abdallah Lajeunesse scored AGAIN, to save Maritime from an embarrassing defeat in Agosto. Maxandre Cousineau put in another masterful performance to save Botley against Saint-Urbain, he earned another 8 from L'écho des sports. Danael Marcoux, Alexandre Clement and 19 year old Gaskon Kerro scored to give Étoile Rouge a smooth 3 points against Stratford. Pascal Doré's first as a member of DKI Telecom 5G saved a draw at Limoilou. Charlevoix got a win! Mohammed Behrari scored the match winner in the 87th minute.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 10:
Tout-Puissant Outremont 3-0 FC Saint-Laurent
Marianopolis 2-3 Cap Nordique
Maritime 1-0 FC Toureuil
Botley FC 2-1 AC Terrecourbe
Stratford United 0-2 AS Trevona
DKI Telecom 5G 5-0 Saint-Urbain
AS Charlevoix 2-3 Étoile Rouge
Stade Richelain 1-1 SC Limoilou

Outremont got a pair of goals from Pascal-Karl Surprenant, their right back, and officially reached the one-third way point with 10 wins from 10 matches. Cap Nordique won the match of the week with a strong display, including a first league goal from Ilixo Paguape. A Ludovic Lachapelle goal won it for Maritime against lowly Toureuil at a packed Stade Océanic. Idrissa Akakpo's 8th of the year wasn't enough to save Terrecourbe, as Lasse Allinder's double won it for Botley. Trevona broke a bad stream with a strong outing in Hudson Islands against Stratford. Kylian Lacroix wins our player of the round, becoming the first player to win it twice this season after a magnificent performance against Saint-Urbain. Mikel Teiyagorri's late header broke the deadlock in Charlevoix, winning it for Étoile Rouge. Richelieu and Limoilou played an exciting back and forth draw.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 11
FC Saint-Laurent 0-7 Marianopolis
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-1 Maritime
Cap Nordique 4-1 Botley FC
FC Toureuil 4-1 Stratford United
AC Terrecourbe 0-5 DKI Telecom 5G
AS Trevona 3-1 AS Charlevoix
Saint-Urbain 1-3 Stade Richelain
Étoile Rouge 1-0 SC Limoilou

Well, that's one way to have your momentum halted. Saint-Laurent had been battling for an IFCF place, but with three consecutive losses by a total 15-1 scoreline against the current top 3 has sent them plummeting out of the international places. A four goal performance from Ernst Kurschner put into the top of the goal scoring charts temporarily. Outremont and Maritime played an exciting match, the visitors attacked and pressed for most of the last 10 minutes, putting the league leaders on their heels for about as long as they have been all year, but they were unable to get through their defensive stacks and Outremont got their 3 points. A tremendous disappointment for Botley, who are hoping to get some momentum back, Jason Rodrigue bagged a double to keep Cap Nordique in third place. Toureuil got their first win of the season at home against fellow strugglers Stratford. Kylian Lacroix's hat-trick got DKI Telecom 5G a dominant road victory. Trevona fought tooth and nail to get themselves back into the middle of the table, pouncing on a struggling Charlevoix side. Richelieu got their second win of the year on the road at Saint-Urbain, who are underperforming. Mikel Teiyagorri has been among the best teens in the league this year, his goal was the different in Île d'Élisabeth.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 12
Maritime 1-2 FC Saint-Laurent
Botley FC 1-2 Marianopolis
Stratford United 1-3 Tout-Puissant Outremont
DKI Telecom 5G 0-4 Cap Nordique
AS Charlevoix 0-2 FC Toureuil
Stade Richelain 2-0 AC Terrecourbe
SC Limoilou 0-1 AS Trevona
Étoile Rouge 2-2 Saint-Urbain

Azertienne midfielder Jocelyn Jolicœur scored the odd goal of three for Saint-Laurent to snatch all three points from Côte-Est. Marianopolis is trying to keep within striking distance of first place, and a tough matchup with Botley ended with a satisfying 3 points for les citoyens, who got goals from their stars- Gervais Ekholm and Ernst Kurschner. Outremont had 72% possession in a dominant rout of Stratford United. The northerners had no trouble at all beating up on DKI Telecom, and Cap Nordique are still in the race for...second place. Toureuil are suddenly on a tiny two match win streak and are looking a little more like the competent mid table side that they were expected to be. Dimitri Konstantinopoulos, the 30 year old Nepharim notched a pair of goals for Richelieu, who look run down from IFCF competition. Trevona got a 14th minute goal at Stade Limoilou and that's all it took for the three points. Étoile Rouge and Saint-Urbain played a pretty exciting draw on Sunday night, the home side got a double from Zaki Guilbault, who has scored only 5 career Ligue A goals prior to today.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 13
FC Saint-Laurent 0-3 Botley FC
Maritime 1-3 Stratford United
Marianopolis 2-1 DKI Telecom 5G
Tout-Puissant Outremont 2-0 AS Charlevoix
Cap Nordique 3-1 Stade Richelain
FC Toureuil 2-1 SC Limoilou
AC Terrecourbe 1-1 Étoile Rouge
AS Trevona 3-2 Saint-Urbain

Botley bounced back from their bad outing against Marianopolis with a skunking of Saint-Laurent, including a first career goal for 18 year old centre-back Peruanton Iturrios. Stratford earned their first ever victory at Stade Océanic (less impressive than it sounds, there have only been three such matches.) Ernst Kurschner and Kylian Lacroix traded goals to match at 13 in 13 matches, but it was the 68th minute goal by Wojciech Javjar that secured the bag for 3 points for the capital club. Any surprises that Outremont beat Charlevoix at home? No? Moving on. Cap Nordique got another big victory at home against a Richelieu club that is now searching for answers in a desperate attempt to regain some of the joy of last season. A Yoann Le Normand double secured a THIRD straight victory for Toureuil, who now look like a serious club! Jean-Alain Huot showed he still has something left in his legs with an absolutely brilliant performance for an otherwise lifeless Étoile Rouge side, who notched a draw against a similarly adrift Terrecourbe. Trevona are quietly on a four match winning streak, their seemingly casual defending frustrated a Saint-Urbain side used to the frequent pressing of the modern game, and they were absolutely clinical in their finishing.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 14
Stratford United 0-2 FC Saint-Laurent
DKI Telecom 5G 3-0 Botley FC
AS Charlevoix 1-2 Maritime
Stade Richelain 2-3 Marianopolis
SC Limoilou 0-2 Tout-Puissant Outremont
Étoile Rouge 1-0 Cap Nordique
Saint-Urbain 1-1 FC Toureuil
AS Trevona 3-0 AC Terrecourbe

Saint-Laurent travelled to Hudson Islands and had no trouble at all keeping the ball out of their net- Stratford did not take a single shot on goal and were booed off the pitch at full time. Kylian Lacroix is playing his way to a bigger club and likely a record Donnaconan transfer with a masterful performance absolutely slicing up Botley- he had a hand in all three goals, a goal of his own and two assists. Akram Awashish's first career goal was not enough to propel Charlevoix past Maritime. A Gervais Ekholm double was huge for Marianopolis who continues to keep pace, and would likely be winning the title in any other situation. Ho hum, another Outremont win- goals for Schoff and Alexandre. Mikel Teiyagorri's 37th minute header was the only goal in a tense clash with Cap Nordique, the best match of the weekend. Cap Nordique felt hard done by their lack of finish, but Étoile Rouge's goalkeeper Mohamed Islam Madore stood on his head. Suddenly red hot Toureuil were lightly cooled down by a slow paced Saint-Urbain team that were trying to prevent Toureuil from counter-attacking by playing a very conservative ball protection scheme. Trevona asked the right questions of Terrecourbe and had no trouble getting the big three points.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


MATCHDAY 15
FC Saint-Laurent 3-3 DKI Telecom 5G
Stratford United 2-1 AS Charlevoix
Botley FC 2-0 Stade Richelain
Maritime 2-0 SC Limoilou
Marianopolis 5-2 Étoile Rouge
Tout-Puissant Outremont 5-1 Saint-Urbain
Cap Nordique 6-1 AS Trevona
FC Toureuil 1-2 AC Terrecourbe

Goals galore in round 15! Saint-Laurent and DKI Telecom played a thrilling 6 goal draw, including a double from DKI's Ignacio "Nacho" Bérdoon and a penalty to Saint-Laurent. Both teams squandered their chance at pulling into an IFCF spot. Stratford are trying to claw their way out of the relegation spots and were successful in their big relegation six pointer against Charlevoix. Botley bounced back from their humiliation in Félix with a 2-0 win over Richelieu, who hover only two points above the relegation zone. Maritime are happy again after a 2-0 win at home against Limoilou to finish off the first half of the year, and their rivals Étoile Rouge were brutally beaten by Marianopolis. Alexandre was a hat trick hero in battering Saint-Urbain. A second hat trick hero this week in Cap Nordique's underheralded Sim Trulsen, on the absolute fringes of the national team- Alexandre Faille was in Cap Nordique, how helpful for his chances! Terrecourbe has struggled a lot in the first half of the season, but ended it on a high note with a 2-1 win at Auguste du Nord, including a double from Idrissa Akakpo.

PLAYER OF THE ROUND:


Ligue A Standings

Team                              P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Tout-Puissant Outremont      15  15  0   0  42  11  +31  45
  2 Marianopolis                 15  12  1   2  43  15  +28  37
  3 Cap Nordique                 15   9  3   3  35  15  +20  30
  4 Botley FC                    15   7  4   4  28  20   +8  25
  5 Étoile Rouge                 15   7  4   4  21  19   +2  25
  6 AS Trevona                   15   7  3   5  21  27   -6  24
  7 FC Saint-Laurent             15   6  4   5  28  35   -7  22
  8 DKI Telecom 5G               15   6  4   5  31  22   +9  22
  9 Maritime                     15   6  1   8  22  23   -1  19
 10 Saint-Urbain                 15   4  5   6  25  37  -12  17
 11 AC Terrecourbe               15   5  1   9  17  32  -15  16
 12 FC Toureuil                  15   3  5   7  16  25   -9  14
 13 SC Limoilou                  15   3  4   8  17  22   -5  13
 14 Stade Richelain              15   3  3   9  16  24   -8  12
 15 Stratford United             15   3  1  11  16  31  -15  10
 16 AS Charlevoix                15   2  1  12  12  32  -20   7

Ligue B Standings

Team                           P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Ange-Gardien              15  8  6  1  34  14  +20  30
  2 UC Concorde               15  9  3  3  33  19  +14  30
  3 Wellington FC             15  9  3  3  31  14  +17  30
  4 Club Rushmoréen           15  7  5  3  22  13   +9  26
  5 Stalingrad                15  7  3  5  29  19  +10  24
  6 Dover FC                  15  7  2  6  24  21   +3  23
  7 CA Boryonne               15  6  5  4  24  23   +1  23
  8 ACA Aballo                15  6  5  4  26  17   +9  23
  9 Monterme                  15  5  4  6  21  27   -6  19
 10 Manchester FC             15  5  3  7  20  25   -5  18
 11 US Papariani              15  4  6  5  24  23   +1  18
 12 Modevero                  15  4  4  7  16  24   -8  16
 13 Sarnau                    15  3  5  7  14  30  -16  14
 14 Frontenac                 15  3  4  8  10  33  -23  13
 15 Summerside Rovers FC      15  3  3  9  16  27  -11  12
 16 Xavier                    15  2  3 10  16  31  -15   9

Ligue C Standings

Team                                      P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Stade Épibonnien                     15  12  3   0  37  13  +24  39
  2 RFC Saint-Sulpice                    15  10  2   3  21   7  +14  32
  3 Klubo Sankt-Petro                    15   9  2   4  33  18  +15  29
  4 Sporting Antisart                    15   8  5   2  26  11  +15  29
  5 Grélogne                             15   9  1   5  33  28   +5  28
  6 FC Outremont                         15   7  5   3  23  18   +5  26
  7 Keltiek Roallac                      15   7  4   4  25  17   +8  25
  8 Tch’avi’xcian’tchat Geese            15   7  4   4  26  16  +10  25
  9 Champiroux                           15   7  1   7  23  25   -2  22
 10 FC Toulun                            15   6  4   5  24  22   +2  22
 11 SS Superga                           15   4  3   8  19  21   -2  15
 12 Montroux FC                          15   3  6   6  15  19   -4  15
 13 Placidiana                           15   4  2   9  19  34  -15  14
 14 Greater Eastern Botley Panthers      15   2  4   9  15  25  -10  10
 15 AS Coloviers                         15   1  2  12  18  42  -24   5
 16 Université de Toureuil               15   0  0  15   7  48  -41   0

Ligue D Standings

Team                               P   W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
  1 Caesena                       15  11  2  2  32  12  +20  35
  2 St. Patricks Hudsonians       15  11  1  3  34  17  +17  34
  3 Stade Bourbonnien             15  10  2  3  38  15  +23  32
  4 Nutch’aara’saq Islanders      15   9  4  2  33  19  +14  31
  5 Barault                       15   8  4  3  29  15  +14  28
  6 Marianopolis Valhallans       15   7  6  2  25  14  +11  27
  7 Vierviers                     15   7  2  6  21  21   +0  23
  8 Notre-Dame-des-Champs         15   5  4  6  24  29   -5  19
  9 Lilès ASC                     15   5  2  8  20  33  -13  17
 10 Félix Phénix                  15   4  4  7  19  24   -5  16
 11 Charlottetown FC              15   4  3  8  16  24   -8  15
 12 Beauharnois                   15   4  3  8  23  24   -1  15
 13 Beaumasse                     15   3  3  9  15  30  -15  12
 14 Saint-Richard-sur-Mer         15   3  3  9  20  38  -18  12
 15 Georgetown FC                 15   2  4  9   9  20  -11  10
 16 Draguilême                    15   2  3 10  13  36  -23   9