World Cup of Hockey XL - Everything Thread

[PotatoFarmers]

When assistant manager Ernestas Rey looked at Chromatika's squad, he was surprised to only see 10 players. As compared to Poafmersia's travelling squad of 21, that was quite the difference. He knew that different nations play ice hockey really differently, but this disparity was not something they had expected. Talking to team manager Patya Bosco, Rey highlighted that this might be a match where the fringe players can get more playing time. "Sure thing," said Bosco. "The players all need more experience to gain confidence, and if we can play out high energy players which can stall the time, we can give our first 2 lines more rest and burn the opponents out at the same time."
Despite the difference in player counts, the opponents were certainly no pushovers. Bosco and Rey agreed to start off with the 2nd offence line, as well as the defence pairing of Bartholomaios Dempsey and Dan Sharma. The strategy was to see if the Phoenixes can get in an early goal before playing out the checking line and energy line. Indeed, it was Soner Elzinga who put in the first points after 4 minutes. Simon Pesti made a nice trick pass by checking the wall and then fooling Liara Baselthauser into thinking that he was making a shot, when in reality Pesti made a nice cross to Elzinga, and Elzinga made a nice wrist shot to steer it past Samuel Lomm.
Getting 1-0 up, Bosco quickly made wholescale changes to the 5 outfield players, putting forth the checking line. The players were focused on maintaing the posession of the puck, and when they didn't, employed all sorts of checking methods to ensure that the players gain back the posession.
One period down, and the slim lead was kept. Rey told the players of the need to grab the second goal, and decided to give the fourth line a spin. The second half was where Chromatika became more aggressive, which was well expected considering that they are disadvantaged in terms of time. With more aggression from the opponents come more aggression from our players, and Sabri Colquhoun got himself out of the field with after pushing an opposition player. With Chromatika getting a power play, the penalty kill unit comes on to stop, but the numerical advanatge allowed the hosts to equalise. It would be Curtis Isahal who made a slapshot straight for goal, and as the power was too strong, Hadi Darby wasn't able to get the puck out in a correct angle, allowing Peter Marshall to clean up the mess.
The last period was really the time where fatigue started to set in. The first line came on aiming to clear the match, and at the 7th minute of the period, Diogo Aita made a really nice deke, distracting Josephine Galmont and allowing Kwaku Hermansson to come in to scoop the puck and make a nice shot into goal. Much of the action of the third period was in the Chromatik half, but the defence was really on point and the Phoenixes failed to get in another goal to wrap up the game. In the end, it ended 2-1 in favour of the Phoenixes, as Poafmersia grabs 2 more points to continue their excellent start to the campaign.
Rey was very satisfied. In the locker room after the match, he praised the players for dealing with the match really well. Looking at Colquhon, he said, "Such incidents are normal, and though it allowed Chromatika to get a goal back, sometimes you just have to do it in order prevent goals. It is absolutely alright, and you shouldn't blame yourself for that send-off." Bosco was absolutely jumping for joy, cheering in the locker room and praising the players for a job well done. "If anything, I hope that you can utilise the template that all of you got today, and hopefully improve when we return home to Mancodas to play Fiekkefjord."

Chromatika 1
Peter Marshall 33:12

Poafmersia 2
Soner Elzinga 4:15
Kwaku Hermansson 47:29

[Mercedini]

World Cup of Hockey MD1 & MD2 Review
Mercedini vs New Waldensia; Mercedini vs. Ko-oren
@ Shebnatsiya Ice Palace - Shebchesik, Mercedini


Shebnatsiya Ice Palace sees a win and a draw on opening weekend of action

World Cup of Hockey: In Contention?

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FINAL

WCOH | MD2

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MERCEDINI 1
KO-OREN 1

(0-0) (0-1) (1-0)

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Shebchetsik, Mercedini

Mercedini may feel content with their performances on the opening two nights of the group stage in Shebchetsik as the Kingfishers hosted both of their first two games against New Waldensia and Ko-oren, claiming three points from a win and a draw. Those results mean Dini sit in second place at this early stage, with Sarzonia leading the way with their two wins from two. Remember, the top two from the group will go forth to the Royal Kingdom for the knockout rounds, as teams face each other twice (home and away) before the conclusion of the group stages. We are a long way from the business end of the tournament, but let's go through the action so far as Mercedini look for their first senior Hockey title.

It was more by luck than judgement that both of Mercedini's first two games were at games, against the group's bottom seeds first, and then their nearest rivals on paper, ninth ranked Ko-oren. They opened their account in style as they welcomed the unranked New Waldensia for their first match in what seemed to be international hockey for the nation. What a draw they had, away to the group's top seed and the world's number three. They were greeted by a less-than-full Ice Palace in Shebchetsik for Mercedini opening game, although the locals had turned up in their thousands for the tournament now in its fortieth edition. Nothing less than a comprehensive win was expected by the fans and the pundits present in the arena, given the gulf in ranking and experience. It was looking like a professional performance from the Kingfishers as Kelodon and Dolocic both netted in the first period with quick passing moves, Dini were two to the good, settling any nerves in the arena.

For New Waldensia, their biggest test will thankfully come in this opening match day, with their future matches either coming at home or against lower ranking nations. After assisting the first goal, the provider turned into the finisher for the third goal as Bernard Santo netted the third for his team towards the end of the second period, which effectively ended the contest at that point. The small contingency of New Waldensians were having a good time in the company of the Mercedinians, and were eager to see their team score at least a consolation goal in their first run out on the international stage. Sadly, the only goal they did see in the third quarter came from the stick of Bernard Santo once again. Assisted by Kelodon, it was a role-reversal of the opening goal, which gave Mercedini their fourth to pad the stats and rack up the goals in case of a tight finish to the group.

That was all we saw from the two sides in the show-opener in the group, with New Waldensia having more to give as they give Dini a good run. It was clinical finishing which gave Mercedini their cutting edge in this match, as they take the opening two points versus New Waldensia by a margin of 4 goals to 0.

A couple of days later, it was the turn of Ko-oren to enter the Ice Palace for their group stage match at home to Mercedini. The top two seeds in the group, the result from this fixture would very likely be one which defines the standings of the group come the end of the group stage schedule. For Mercedini, this was likely to be a much tougher test than their previous opponents, with Ko-oren rising up the ranks as a team which is no stranger to deep runs in tournaments like these. Following a rather drab opening period which yielded little for either side, Mercedini conceded their first goal of the tournament with a slap-shot from Ainoph Eriren which beat the glove and the crossbar of the Mercedinian net to give Ko-oren a big lead against Mercedini, in Mercedini!

It was certainly something which wasn't expected by the home fans, but it had been coming for a short while. With Mercedini missing the mark on multiple occasions prior to the Korenite goal, you could say the Kingfishers got their just desserts in the end. The pressure in the Ice Palace kept rising for the players in blue and black as the team looked for an equaliser and a potential, although the visiting Dragonflies were playing their tactics to perfection. Ko-oren ran down the clock towards the end of the game, but they eventually fell to a Matteo Vranida goal just minutes from time, which denied the visitors a crucial win and meant Dini escaped from their own arena with a point. It looked to be a big blow to the players of Ko-oren as they were within touching distance of taking on the World #3 and winning. The result didn't suit Mercedini either, as they gave up their top spot in the group and gave Ko-oren a big chance to make up the difference in the reverse leg. Alas, a point is a point, now Mercedini head out of Shebchetsik and onto the big, wide multiverse to face the rest of their group opponents. We hope you will be able to join us for that, but for now, goodnight!

[Trolleborg]

Hello dear Trolleborgians! It’s TTV, with the latest insights on all important events.
So, today our team has the first home match in history. The surroundings of the stadium of 1th December, temporarily converted for hockey needs, are already boiling with activity. Some of the fans follow the traditional route of football fans from the city center on foot with all due activities.

The big performance in the park surrounding the stadium was started by the fans of the Trolleborg City hockey teams, fog as thick as if on the battlefield.

But, we would say, sobriety prevails over enthusiasm in the mood of crowd. This is understandable, our position in the world of hockey is not at all encouraging, and the team's play leaves a strange impression. The teams of the group were clearly divided into all the others, and we, alas, are in the second category. In the first game our guys conceded six goals, although never been more than two goals down and until the last minutes they tried to even, conceded the last goal into an empty net. And in the second match our lads making a draw with debutants from Kohnhead on road. Today's game should show what exactly our guys have to show to the world and is there anything at all to be seen.

The rival will be a team from Megistos - a country that is actively making its way up in a variety of sports, and not only in sports. A serious and uncompromising fight is expected – as we must say, six points for the grab.

Our turf advantage and some experience in international competitions seem to give our hockey players some edge, but, as we all know, the world of big sports is incomprehensible and unpredictable.

The officially announced lineup looks like this:
Tomas Heg as goaltender
Defenders pairs: Zeger Nieuwenburg - Johan Haugen; Bargash Holmgren - Utseth Bjornholm; Jonas Flerquin - Lucius Halst; Sizwen Roburn - Joakim Hammersland; Tord Salte - Rolf Runar
Forward Lines:
Torfinn Strow - Mogren Brass - Vidar Riseth; Egil-Johan Loondblad - Yakob Valgren – Finjord Ringberg; Tobias Hafstad - Martijn Limburn - Torben Haldrup; Barein Paine - Ruud Halgren - Drake Drakeson; Tankred Borgen - Morten Bagger - Jasper Irwin

Looked like head coach paired experienced players and young fast ones, but from everything that we know, it is obvious that this is not an iron standard, but the composition of the lines will be shuffled, as Gould loves and knows how, and in which he repeatedly showed skill

[HUElavia]

HUElavia Pressured from Another Loss!

Siovanija & Teusland 3-0 HUElavia
1st: Tsvetanov (PP) (Schlager) 14:06; 2nd: No Score; 3rd: Ranger (Gottschall) 2:24, Mihelic (Herder, Heider) 10:03

HUElavia came into Matchday 2 trying to recover from the shocking 1-0 defeat in Matchday 1 against Kayagan and now had to face off against #5 Siovanija & Teusland, which is the marquee match of Group H. Both teams had the entire team healthy and ready to go, and the arena was packed to the brim, with it going split 50-50 between HUElavians and Teus. The puck went onto the ice and the game was underway with a roar of the crowd.

The match went south for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos, as the Teus were playing to their tempo, having HUElavia needing to fall back to defend a lot of the match. The opening goal would fall late in the 1st Period, as in a power play, a pass from Schlager allowed Tsvetanov to slot it past Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0. The HUElavians began to play with more of an attack, but it would prove fruitless as the 1st Period ended 1-0. The second period was more of the same, attack after attack after attack, but to no avail as Wagner kept the team shut out with his saves, which looked as if he did it with ease. The 2nd Period ended 1-0, and the HUElavians began to feel frustrated. The 3rd Period would be an essential meltdown from the team, as they would miss shots left and right, while the Teus began to click well again. A counterattack early in the period allowed Gottschall to pass it to Ranger to blast it past the reach of Vasilevskiy to make it 2-0, and things looked awful for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. Then, right at about halfway into the period, during an attack, Heider made a pass to Herder, who in turn passed it to a moving Mihelic to slide it past Vasilevskiy to make it 3-0, leaving the HUElavians in a state of shock. The Rus-HUElavian goalie was pulled to put in Rodriguez-Gomez, who stayed for the remainder of the period. HUElavians were chasing ghosts at this point as they could not get a spark of attack going and the match ended 3-0, with HUElavians taking an 0-0-2 start and sitting in 5th place in Group H.

Despite the Loss, there are 8 matches left in the group, and the next one will be against Graintfjall, who are in 6th place with 0 points as well, but with a worse goal difference. Rodriguez-Gomez will start as goalie to give Vasilevskiy a break, but HUElavians are expected to go for a victory in this match, as they hope to rebound from these two opening losses moving forward. The crowd will be mainly Pro-HUElavian, as the team hopes to give a better performance for the fans watching them in the arena and at home. The team needs to wake up and be strong, because their tournament depends on this next match to get a more favorable result.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Sarzonia]

Time was winding down late in the third period of Sarzonia's away match against unranked New Waldensia. They were level with the Stars at 4-4 with 1:17 remaining and the possibility of a disheartening draw was looming as a possible reality.

Centre Alyssa Hannigan would have none of that. She won the faceoff and skated aggressively into the New Waldensia end of the ice. Winger Cameron Granato took a pass and fired it on net despite three players converging on Sarzonia's second biggest goalscoring threat. That left Hannigan open and she slammed the rebound past the New Waldensia goaltender to put Sarzonia in front. The Stars would win another faceoff and their biggest goalscoring threat Sylvan Turcotte made sure that the hosts couldn't pull the goalie for a sixth attacker. Turcotte was still trying to find an opening when the final horn sounded and gave Sarzonia a 5-4 victory.

"It was just being aggressive," Hannigan said. "I was determined to make sure that we got the full two points against a team we desperately needed to beat."

Even though the Stars are now 2-0-0 and in first place ahead of world No. 3 Mercedini and No. 9 Ko-oren in Group C with unranked Sylestone set to be the opponent in the opening match at the brand new Bank of Sarzonia Arena in Nicksia, Coach Paul Bremerton has a serious concern about his team's goaltending.

Reserve goalie Yuri Evgenikov was shaky in the pipes, ending up with 17 saves on 21 shots, but he allowed three goals in rapid succession in the late stages of the second period to watch a 4-1 lead evaporate. Bremerton admitted that he would have sent starting goalie Jacob Parsons out if he weren't concerned about Parsons's health.

"Yuri wasn't sharp in the second period," Bremerton said. "He allowed two soft goals in particular that drew the match level. Those were shots I'm sure he'd like to have back."

Evgenikov didn't make himself available to answer media questions, but told teammates later that his translator wasn't in the building. He corroborated Bremerton's assessment of his play, saying he was disappointed in himself via text.

Granato led the way for the Stars with two goals and an assist on Hannigan's goal. Turcotte added a goal and an assist. Right wing Matt Davies added the other Sarzonia goal. Granato said he was excited about the new building.

"There are great sightlines for the fans," he said. "The designers tell me it's going to get loud in there."

[Ko-oren]

Part I: Selpernim 1, WBC
Part II: Selpernim 2, RLWC
Part III: Selpernim 3, WBC
Part IV: Selpernim 3, RLWC
Part V: Selpernim 4, RLWC

A summer of sports with Leligun Thernasthen

Selpernim 5/Sweltersky 5

Asakami

I'm in Asakami for the day, and honestly, I don't know what possessed me. I banked on the baseball team staying in the World Baseball Classic for a while, and now they're out against Hampton Island (no shame there), but I'm stuck in Yoshima for another week or so without ever going to Ice Hockey territory even though the WCOH is really heating up now. I wanted to say something about the spirit of small teams, in tiny towns like this (even though Asakami has one of the larger train stations of the island), versus the spirit of bigger teams in Katashi where I'll be tomorrow.

Instead, I've taken the day off, head out of the city, to a nearby national park, gather my thoughts, hope my stuff is still in the hotel when I come back, just in time for the train north up to Katashi, preparing mentally for my slow journey north towards Aerellen - hoping the Dragonflies are still in the WCOH by then. So, I sat around in the Asakami national park for a while, enjoying the hot and humid hills, losing a few litres of water in the process, and hoping to strike up conversation with anyone I found there. The entire town and its visitors were smarter than me, not going up to a hike on a scorcher. I couldn't feel further separated from the topic I wanted to cover, and it was only until I got back to the hotel where I saw my first living soul of the day, and... they didn't feel happy talking about sports with the loss to Hampton Island, let alone talk about ice hockey (which they didn't care about).

I set out to dedicate today to small teams, so that I will - and we're back to a generic description of the Ko-orenite ice hockey league. Twelve teams, as is every league, with a decent majority based in Aerellen - the northeastern islands - and overall, 50% of these 12 teams are based in the city of Aevanna alone. Small teams, therefore, are found at the lower level, and in the outer suburbs of Aevanna. I'm not going to lie: I've never gone there, so I have no clue how remote or how small these clubs actually are, but like in baseball, these teams are always rumoured to move to greener pastures - er, colder pastures - often on the mainland. Thankfully to the Banijans, we now have an extra club in the largest city up north, Schemerdrecht, playing in their diaspora league. And that leaves our own league with a far smaller fanbase, and all twelve teams are small by comparison.

In fact, when we look at the overall table of 'largest teams in the country', of which there are multiple, and I'll get to quoting them in full later, we can look at the following categories: fanbase size, financial size, combined size (fanbase, membership, finances), but for this, I'm just going with finances. At the top, we get our gridiron and larger soccer teams. Then we get the rugby and baseball teams from large markets. Then the cricket clubs, followed by small market rugby and baseball teams. In between, we start to find the largest Ko-orenite Football team, a sport that's not often covered internationally, but is still worth it to follow, especially during the playoffs. By now, we are some 60-70 teams down (six leagues * 12 teams each = 72 teams), and only now we find the first clubs of the 'small' sports. These are ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, kabaddi, basketball, and Aussie rules.

In the low 50s, we find the Mayara Blues, the Lunay-Aminey Argonauts, and the Ouleux-Aminey Sapphires (basketball). At 59th, that's the first ice hockey team: the Aevanna Scouts, located right there in the centre of the town. In the 60s, we find Straudum Ice, the Egevea Islanders, and South Aevanna Storm. In the 70s, there's the West Coast Blizzards, the Southwest Aevanna Rangers. The 80s have the Launott Polar Bears, the Aevanna Bay Mariners. The 90s (and now we've truly had all clubs in the big 6 leagues) is the terrain of the rich-to-mid-sized semi-pro teams - and this is the list without any of the lower league teams. If we also included those, we'd find the ice hockey clubs on the list between the 60s (Aevanna Scouts, 67th) to the... 139th, the Aevanna Plains Wanderers, the newest team in the competition but easily one of the more well-run ones, and they should probably push the Aevanna Explorers down into the poorest ice hockey spot.

For ice hockey to become a 'big league', there are still a few hurdles to be taken. Small market sizes, and a small financial cap as a result, is the biggest one. Infighting within the league has kicked the can down the road until the biggest market in the region (Schemerdrecht) was taken by the Banijans. And so... I don't think we'll see this sport get anywhere soon, economically. Especially not in the region that's furthest apart from Aerellen - some 30 degrees warmer, in Asakami. It's 32 degrees here. It's only a few degrees in northern Aerellen. I can't wait to go there.

[Savojarna]

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Gulby and Kasajev save Savojarna in Abanhfleft

By Lars Jotansson
The away game in Abanhfleft was the first big challenge for Savojarna at the 40th World Cup of Hockey, following an initial victory against Jeckland in the Sjoedrhavns Stadsstadion. The match would prove to be a big fight, as the top seed from Abanhfleft were giving the Northlights a hard time with two early goals. The world number two, however, didn’t have the stamina to go all the way, as Savojarna managed to keep the difference to two goals with a powerplay goal late in the first period. Going into the last period 3-1 down, Savojarna stuck to their gameplan and managed to draw.

The first goal was a beautiful solo play by Gulbrandsson, showing again why he is considered Savojarna’s most talented player. Upon a pass from captain Kristiansen, he danced past two opponents to find the gap to get into the slot, and snapped the puck beautifully to the top left corner for a solo goal that left Savojar fans cheering tensely with eight minutes to go. But then, they got to cheer unabashedly as Falborg found a cross-zone pass to the stick of Boris Aljekhin, who showed a skill that looked nothing like a twenty year old in his first international pro tournament. A pass through the slot right on the stick of his congenial linemate Roman Kasajev put Abanhfleft on the back foot, and the center turned quickly around his opponent and beat the Fleftic goalie in the near corner.

A goal that made Savojarna jump, and hope for a reversal, left the game more than wide open. However, the decisive goal wouldn’t come, and the tie had to be enough for a Savojar team that settled for the point away at the number two of the world. Playing more defensively towards the end of the game, Savojarna preserved the lead against an increasingly slow Abahnfleft reaching the end of its power. Gulbrandsson almost went for two, but hit the post two minutes before the end; in the final minute, Gränlund got a highly dangerous cross-crease pass on the second post, but couldn’t control a bouncing puck and sent it wide. Savojarna now are placed second behind TJUN-ia, who won two out of two; with six goals scored, Savojarna are the strongest offensive side thanks to the sheer talent of their top two lines.

Scorer Kasajev, for whom it was the first goal on the international pro level, laudated his team’s calmness. “I think that we did very well in remaining on our feet, playing on as if we were level, and that was important. Passes like Boris’s assist for my goal are exactly what you need to score, but if you panic, this doesn’t happen. If Boris would just shoot because he needs a goal, and he’s panicking, then we lose the puck and it’s all over. This is something we’re good at, to keep playing with our backs to the wall. It’s a lot easier with guys like Denis [Elyagin] in our line or Erik [Kristiansen] on the bench”.

[Neu Engollon]

“Once again, Karl Demais here with you on the NETV 7 Sports Update. Welcome Neu Engollians and international viewers all! Magda, my regular co-host, is still out covering the Rugby League World Cup in Copper Cuprum. Top of the hour here is dedicated to the other current World Cup that a Neu Engollian national team is involved in...that being hockey. The 40th Hockey World Cup is happening right now in the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. The first clash has happened, as some of you watched that first group game earlier this evening right here on this channel.

I don’t know that it was much in doubt, but we saw the Ibex take out their opponent, the national team of Kohnhead, quite easily enough. Coach Manon seemed to want to have the newer talent of the team on display, giving a lot of the benchers time on the ice. Remotely, we have the one and only Primo DelMasso, recently retired from the Ibex, piping into the studio. Welcome, Primo!”

“Thanks, Karl. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“Primo, what are your impressions of tonight’s game?”

“It went about as expected, I guess. The number one ranked Ibex took down an unranked team...the uh...Brains? That’s interesting. But yeah, look...Kohnhead I’m sure had some idea of what they were getting into. They didn’t act oblivious…”

“They did score a goal, let’s not forget.”

“That they did. Late in the second period, we saw Judy Duncan drive in and take a solid pass from Tyler Swift. She was able to knock it in to the net past Vincey Gaspard. Tough metric for him to overcome. Sorry, I feel like I’m stealing your lines, Karl...”

“You’re doing my work for me. I can just sit back, Primo. Haha! So, what do you think their chances are in the next few games of advancing?”

“It was a fun game to watch, but it seemed already predetermined. I think we’ll have at least 2 more like that in the group stage here. They’re gonna have a tough time against Kelssek and Avatarria, for sure…”

“Kelssek game is tomorrow.”

“Oh shhhhoooot. That’s gonna be the tough one. At least the Ibex will get it out of the way early on in the group.”

“Nice save. Yeah, that’s what everyone’s saying is that tomorrow is going to be the grinder. The night after that is Avatarria.”

“Wow. Yep, this is a crucial live or die couple of nights here. There’s a lot riding on the next couple games, not to mention if the Ibex biff it against an unranked.”

“It’s happened before…”

“And it will happen again. That’s the nature of the Cup. I saw a lot of action in the last...man, I don’t know how many Cups...I lost count. Anything can happen when overconfidence kicks in.”

“Speaking of that...Primo, what contributed to your decision to retire from hockey?”

“Karl, I was just done. I saw that finish line and I took the last hops to it. I loved my time on the ice, but there comes a time when you aren’t able to bounce back as quickly the next morning. You feel every ache and pain, and you feel it for days. I’m not a ‘yungin’ as you have pointed out on your show before…”

“Hey now! I’m no spring chicken myself, Primo. Take a look at me. If I wasn’t sitting behind a desk, and out in the field, I would have hung it up long ago. We gotta know when to call it, am I right?”

“Yeah, I’m just messin’. You are right there. I knew when to call it.”

“Nothing about your former team or location?”

“Karl, I wouldn’t have stayed that many years if I didn’t love the Thunderhawks organization or my teammates.”

“Sure...sure...sure...It’s just that I’ve heard stories from friends that have traveled to Falkasia. Those stories have been, let’s say...stark.”

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Falkasia is a cold, austere country on the whole. There’s not a lot to do once you get out of Ekaterine, the capital. Volsk is a pretty decent city, too, but outside of those two cities, it’s pretty much a wasteland if you’re a foreigner, or an educated Falkasian for that matter. Also, I was constantly followed by FSIS, their secret police. I’m certain of it. The government definitely doesn't trust Western Madurinites, but the common people love our money.*
They’re also bordered on the North by the Yellow Star Republic, a Nordic, socialist, psycho hell hole, and to the South by Gragastavia, which has a fair amount of Islamic fundamentalists crying for blasphemer, hedonist blood. It’s bound to cause a bit of a besieged national mentality.
But...there’s some fun bars and clubs. There’s stuff to do in the city. Hockey is a big draw, maybe the only big sport there other than some Olympic events and some other winter stuff, so I was always approached by fans. The people really are friendly, to be fair.
I loved my teammates, and I’ll miss them, but...yeah, I’m happy to be home in Neu Engollon. It was a culture shock at first to remember the warmer climate in the South, and all the other stuff going on around the country. I spent 3 straight days at the casinos and beaches in Panoli pretty soon after I got back.”

“Well, there’s a nice travelogue for the books. Thanks for that, Primo…”

“Well, you asked…”

“No, I mean it. That was good, all kidding aside. It paints a very distinct picture. We have to cut to a break. Then we’ll come back with Primo and go more indepth preview on the next coming games we mentioned and the Ibex preparedness. Stay tuned right here to NETV 7 for all your sports news needs.”

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

OOC : All RPs up to Fluvannia's have been counted for this MD.

You need strong hands if you wanna be good at hockey. Aye.

World Cup of Hockey XL - MD3 Results!

Group A
St. Saratoga 2–0 Quakmybush
Reçueçn 1–5 Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Taeshan 2–2 Wack-i

Group A                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec        3    3   0   0    14    6   +8     6
2 Reçueçn                        3    2   0   1    11    9   +2     4
3 St. Saratoga                   3    2   0   1     6    4   +2     4
4 Taeshan                        3    1   1   1     6    8   −2     3
5 Wack-i                         3    0   1   2     4    8   −4     1
6 Quakmybush                     3    0   0   3     3    9   −6     0

Group B
Kelssek 3–1 Kohnhead
Gyatso-Kai 5–4 Neu Engollon
Trolleborg 0–2 Megistos

Group B                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Gyatso-Kai                     3    3   0   0    17   11   +6     6
2 Neu Engollon                   3    2   0   1    16    9   +7     4
3 Megistos                       3    1   1   1     5    6   −1     3
4 Kelssek                        3    1   1   1     6    8   −2     3
5 Trolleborg                     3    0   1   2     6   10   −4     1
6 Kohnhead                       3    0   1   2     4   10   −6     1

Group C
Ko-oren 3–0 New Waldensia
Terre Septentrionale 3–5 Mercedini
Sarzonia 1–2 Sylestone

Group C                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Mercedini                      3    2   1   0    10    4   +6     5
2 Ko-oren                        3    2   1   0     6    1   +5     5
3 Sarzonia                       3    2   0   1    11   10   +1     4
4 Terre Septentrionale           3    1   0   2    11   12   −1     2
5 Sylestone                      3    1   0   2     4    7   −3     2
6 New Waldensia                  3    0   0   3     4   12   −8     0

Group D
Vilita and Turori 6–2 Solarampa
Ranoria 1–7 Cassadaigua
Logon 0–0 The Jovannic

Group D                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Vilita and Turori              3    3   0   0    13    4   +9     6
2 Cassadaigua                    3    2   0   1    10    4   +6     4
3 Ranoria                        3    1   1   1     2    7   −5     3
4 Solarampa                      3    1   0   2     7   10   −3     2
5 The Jovannic                   3    0   2   1     1    5   −4     2
6 Logon                          3    0   1   2     2    5   −3     1

Group E
Banija 5–0 Chromatika
Fluvannia 3–3 Equestria
Poafmersia 4–3 Fiekkefjord

Group E                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Banija                         3    2   1   0    12    3   +9     5
2 Poafmersia                     3    2   1   0     8    6   +2     5
3 Equestria                      3    1   2   0     7    6   +1     4
4 Fluvannia                      3    0   3   0     9    9    0     3
5 Fiekkefjord                    3    0   1   2     7   12   −5     1
6 Chromatika                     3    0   0   3     1    8   −7     0

Group F
United States of Devonta 4–4 Natanians and Nosts
Gergary 0–4 Valanora
The Sherpa Empire 4–3 Delaclava

Group F                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Valanora                       3    3   0   0    17    6  +11     6
2 The Sherpa Empire              3    2   0   1     7    6   +1     4
3 Delaclava                      3    1   1   1     6    5   +1     3
4 United States of Devonta       3    0   2   1     8   11   −3     2
5 Gergary                        3    1   0   2     3    8   −5     2
6 Natanians and Nosts            3    0   1   2     7   12   −5     1

Group G
Savojarna 3–0 Lovisa
La Florita 0–2 Abanhfleft
TJUN-ia 4–5 Jeckland

Group G                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Savojarna                      3    2   1   0     9    3   +6     5
2 Abanhfleft                     3    2   1   0     7    3   +4     5
3 TJUN-ia                        3    2   0   1     7    6   +1     4
4 La Florita                     3    1   0   2     3    4   −1     2
5 Jeckland                       3    1   0   2     6   10   −4     2
6 Lovisa                         3    0   0   3     1    7   −6     0

Group H
HUElavia 2–0 Graintfjall
Lorenthia 2–8 Siovanija and Teusland
Adyatin 0–1 Kayangan

Group H                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 Siovanija and Teusland         3    3   0   0    15    3  +12     6
2 Kayangan                       3    2   1   0     2    0   +2     5
3 Adyatin                        3    1   1   1     3    2   +1     3
4 HUElavia                       3    1   0   2     2    4   −2     2
5 Lorenthia                      3    0   2   1     3    9   −6     2
6 Graintfjall                    3    0   0   3     1    8   −7     0

[Fluvannia]

Patrick Cleary rose from his stall to address the room. Fluvannia was up 3-2 at the second intermission in Flekkefjord, and as captain he wanted to follow up Coach Cassidy’s speech with a few words of his own. “Alright boys, we’re really hammering ‘em out there. Their goalie’s doing a good job but if we keep it up he’s not gonna be able to stop all of ‘em. Teuk’s doing a good job of keeping things buttoned down on our end, let’s make sure we help him out.”

Sounds of agreement rumbled through the room. Cleary’s teammate on the FHL’s Charlottesville Chargers, Teukka Salama had made a few impressive saves that night alone. A blocker grab — you read that correctly — against Gustav Torgils had even earned some light applause from the home crowd.

“Play it smart, let’s watch the turnovers, and use our heads.”

Mark Bradley, Cleary’s left wing, piped up with a running joke between the team: “that’s that lump that’s three feet above our ass, right P?”

Everyone laughed. Say what you will about Mark, he knew how to keep things light when needed. Cleary grinned. “Some more prominent than others, Marky.”

[Terre Septentrionale]

Terre Septentrionale loses to Mercedini

Ville Jacques-Cartier, DC - Terre Septentrionale have yet to win at home, after a 5-4 loss in the home opener and a trip to Sylestone, the Nordiques were back at home and lost again, by the score of 5-3 this time. Günther Schützenauer wasn't in the line up for today's game against Mercedini and is considered day to day after being hit in the boards by a Lion in the game against Sylestone. Veteran Frédérique Brassard replaced him in the line up and skated on the 3rd line while the 4th line remained unchanged. Nico Eggenberger was still in the net for this game after only allowing 2 goals against Sylestone.

Terre Septentrionale was the first team on the board when Melania Zyskowska scored a beautiful goal on a 3 on 1, her sister Emilia and Jenny Hockey both have an assist on this goal. Mercedini scored two unanswered goals and took a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Antoine Lusignan tied the game early in the 2nd period when he deflected Joanna Katarzynska-Goj's slap shop in the five hole but just 2 minutes later, Bernard Santo put Mercedini on the lead with a wrist shot goal. Jenny Hockey tied the game again when she counter attacked after recieving a pass from Krzysztof Klepczynski and put the puck in the top corner of the net. The score was 3-3 after 2 periods.

But once again, Terre Septentrionale was unable to score in the 3rd period and it wasn't the case for Mercedini who scored two. The final score was 5-3 for Mercedini and no boxscore for today because I don't feel to.

12 goals against

Terre Septentrionale is stilll 4th in the standings, tied with Sylestone who beat Sarzonia, with only two points in 3 games. The Northmen allowed 12 goals in 3 games, which raises concerns about the goaltending duo. Coach Georges Grondin said he preffer to go with the youngest one against New Waldensia but he doesn't rules out using Ciccarelli against Ko-oren if Eggenberger doesn't performs well on matchday 4. The Northmen are now going on a road trip, visiting New Waldensia, Ko-oren and Sarzonia respectively. Terre Septentrionale will be back at home on matchday 7 to play against Sylestone in Ostrzeszow. Günther Schützenauer is still expected to miss the next game on matchday 4 and coach Grondin announced Fryderyka Krzyszczyk would move from left wing to ring wing and take his spot on the 3rd line. Zygfryd Zurkowski would take Krzyszczyk's sport on the 4th line. Lines vs New Waldensia would read as follows (changes in bold):

Zyskowska-Gaudreault-Zyskowska
Lusignan-Sanschagrin-Wojcinowicz
Lainé-Woodbury-Krzyszczyk
Zurkowski-Niemczynowicz-Zawistowski

Germain Coutu,
La tribune Septentrionale

[Taeshan]

"Well that was a Wacky result."

"Is that supposed to like...be a joke?"

"Not as much of a joke as Taeshan trying to be competitive in international hockey."

"Yeah, to be fair we are much better as clubs when they play together more. The national team not so much."

"The programs Reynea, MT Ceabring, and such have created, you'd think eventually the sides would develop the individual talent for success in the World Cup, but maybe the team play is just more important."

"What do you think these players care more about their clubs than their country?"

"No I just think they don't play together enough. They get these tournaments, play in them and then move on. It's not like in soccer, or the olympics where those guys play together every other month and get used to each other. The hockey teams might get together every other year and play a tournament, then don't talk for the next two years."

"What can we do about it?"

"Maybe each summer have identification camps and require players to go to play in tournaments."

"But doesn't that take out of your offseason, and having time off?"

"Well I never have days off of my job, at a 3 months a year clip."

"You also don't make millions a year, and don't keep your body in tip top shape."

"What does that mean?"

"It means...have you ever heard of like walking?"

[HUElavia]

HUElavia Earns their 1st Victory in the WCoH!

HUElavia 2-0 Graintfjall
1st: No score; 2nd: No score; 3rd: Dominguez-Garcia (Garcon-Chevalier) 7:07, Kariya (Roux) 19:40

HUElavia came into Matchday 3 needing a victory against Graintfjall. After a 1-0 and 3-0 losses in the opening two matches, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos looked to get something going in front of a crowd that was mainly Pro-HUElavia. A draw for both teams or a loss for either of them would spell disaster for the tournament with 3 games into the World Cup. Both teams had the full squad available, as they looked to get their first points of the tournament.

The puck dropped and the game was off, with HUElavia playing an offensive level of Hockey, determined to put goals into the net. Shots were made by all of the lines throughout the match, but they would ether go out wide, hit the goalposts, or Finngeirsson would save with ease. These events had the HUElavians very frustrated over their lack of goal not just in the match, but in the tournament up to now. Despite this, a foul by Florian over Giroux gave way for a penalty shot, which was taken by Pavluchenko, who got saved by Finngeirsson. The first period ended 0-0. The second period was more of the same, as HUElavia had shots saved or blocked by Finngeirsson. Graintfjall would have their own chances with Auðunn and Luka getting shots in, but getting saved by Rodriguez-Gomez with ease. The second period ended 0-0. In the third period, the opening goal would finally arrive. A counterattack saw a pass from Garcon-Chevalier get to the stick of Dominguez-Garcia to blast it past Finngeirsson and into the goal to make it 1-0. The crowd erupted with the goal, the crowd cheering and jumping to make the arena rumble. Graintfjall would go on the attack, but the defense of Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos would hold out with blocks or saves, or even the shots going wide, as time ticked away. The second and final goal would come in the final minute, as Finngeirsson was pulled to give in 6 players on the ice, and Roux got the puck to pass it towards Kariya, who gave a long distance shot into the empty net, to make it the definitive 2-0, with the crowd roaring and jumping as Kernkraft 400 played in the goal song. Moments later, the match ended and it was a big win as HUElavia continues on looking to keep pace in Group H.

The next match will be against 23rd ranked Lorenthia, where Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos look to continue building upon this win and possibly move up to 3rd Place and keep pace with the likes of Siovanija and Teusland, as well as the surprise package of Kayangan. The teams will be in full strength to play, and once again, it is expected that many HUElavians will flock to the stadium to support the team through the matches, whether it's a good or bad result.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Kayangan]

Cereta 03

Group H
(44) Adyatin 0–1 Kayangan (UR)
Goalscorer: Wirawan Pedati Suasa

G-Mart Kayangan (a subsidiary of Atruna Retails) is hiring more locals to work at its branch with a target of 100 percent manpower among locals by next November. For the record, G-Mart Kayangan is one of the main sponsors of the National Ice Hockey Team.

G-Mart Kayangan in a statement said, in an effort to comply with the government's policy on hiring foreign workers, it is gradually reducing the number of service contracts with agencies to provide space for locals. According to him, since the beginning of this year, his party has been working closely with the agency to ensure the salaries and benefits of migrant workers in accordance with the Kayangan workers' law.

"We also ensure that their standard of living is improved and passports can be freely accessed when needed. G-Mart Kayangan now has more than 7,000 employees in 60 branches and two distribution centers here. Based on local portal reports, G-Mart previously faced controversy over persecution against their foreign workers.

In this year's modern slavery report, the Kayangan-based supermarket chain is said to be persecuting such as withholding passports, illegally reducing wages, as well as migrant workers indebted to recruitment brokers in their home countries. In related news, G-Mart will also open 30 more new stores nationwide this weekend.

In conjunction with this opening, G-Mart is providing 30,000 free gifts worth more than KK800,000 to be given to customers at the official opening event of its new branch. Its Vice President of Marketing, Hikayat Artaruna Raja (play defense position in the National Team), said the move was right during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic period where more and more people were saving more money.

"I would like to announce the simultaneous opening of 30 new G-Mart stores throughout Kayangan so that we can help them achieve that goal by offering a variety of products at low prices," he said in a statement. In addition, he said, in line with the new norm, G-Mart stores will operate according to the guidelines set by the Health Department.

MD4
vs. Graintfjall (UR)

[Ranoria]

Ranoria Suffers First Loss of Tournament to Cassadaigua in Embarrassing Fashion

Ranorian ice hockey isn’t as popular as football, but the country produces quality talent. Expect a shot at a playoff berth in this World Cup of Hockey tournament

After coming into the tournament better than expected, with a win and a draw in the first two match days, Ranoria’s national team finally bit the bullet in a 7-1 matchup that must have been enticing for anyone who happens not to like the nation.

Obviously, the first two games went better, if not spectacular. The first one came in the form of a 1-0 victory over Logon a welcome result, of course, but the second match, against the Jovannic, well, we were outplayed. Richart Mathens, one of two bonanfide stars who could be convinced to come out, was our nursing a shoulder injury. Augustin Kahn, our other main man, was just simply outplayed. Merlion Kraken, the opposition’s stud, controlled the ice and pace all game. With just three shots on goal, we were lucky to escape with the draw. Ranoria allowed nine shots on goal, somehow preventing a single score. Obviously, we weren’t so fortunate last outing.

Next week, however, Richart Mathens will return to the lineup, and that should give us a bit of an edge. Go Krauts!

[Gyatso-kai]

An ASPN Production, Brought to you on ASPN.co.gki
ICE BISONS DOWN THE IBEX! EXTEND WIN STREAK TO THREE!

ONLINE EDITION

01 AUGUST 2020.3

TOURNAMENT WORLD CUP - Hockey

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Written by Shay ISHIKAWA

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Many came into the Fortieth Edition of the World Cup of Hockey questioning the continuation of Head Coach Hakoda Ishii’s tenture as the helmsman of our Ice Bisons. Frankly, it is not hard to understand the doubt…

• World Cup XXXVIII – 2-0-2
• World Cup XXXIX – 1-0-4
• AOHC 7 – 2-0-2
• Coupe Jacques IX – 1-1-4

With a combined record of 6-1-12, the Ice Bisons under Coach Ishii have been far from a threat for any team in the world; we’ve equally lost to Top Ten veterans just as much as we have to unranked newcomers. Looking at the scores for the Ice Bisons under Ishii is not any better than looking at our records; with a GF of 34 and a GD of -10, it becomes clear that we are a far ways away from being a contender for any multi-verse tournament.

And many are wondering… Why?

We covered this topic DURING AOHC 7 and thankfully, some of those concerns have been met before jumping into the 40th World Cup, though we have to wonder if enough has been done about them.

「 PLAYER AGE 」

Once again, we look to the first line as our gauge of the average age of the team. Back in AOHC 7, where the Ice Bisons went 2-2, the average age of the first line was 29.3, with our opponents being well below that. Now, with the addition of Shu Pianguo and Watang Kouji, we have brought our average age down to 26.8].

Of course, as a number by itself with no context, the average age of the team is meaningless. Let us look to our opponents in the Group Stage of the World Cup for a better picture:

• Trolleborg₄₄ – 27.8]
• Megistos_UR - Unknown
• Neu Engollon₁ – Unknown
• Kellsek₁₉ – 27.0
• Kohnnhead_UR – 26.7

Even with two of our five opponents’ withholding player age from their rosters, it is clear this tournament we are fielding a younger first line, as well as a younger team in general. Of course, youth has its disadvantages, which we will address in our next point.

「 LACK OF EXPERIENCE 」

Before this World Cup, our team had only been comprised of players who had domestic success in the AHL and multi-verse disappointment in the three different tournaments the Ice Bisons had played in. After the success of the Omashu Badgermoles in the Hockey Nations League (as I am sure everyone is tired of hearing about… but look, first multi-verse success for the Avatarian hockey community since The Silence is kind of a big thing), the National Sports Council and Ishii saw an opportunity to bring on board more-seasoned players who stood on the top of a metaphorical podium and watched the Avatarian flag be raised to the number one spot.

And it seems to have paid off…

The Ice Bisons are one of five teams to remain undefeated, are atop the Group standings, are tied for first with the highest Goals For (tied with the incomparable Calcuttas of Valanora), and have one of the highest Goal Differentials in the tournament so far. To say that the influx of new blood has brought us a bit of success is an understatement.

「 COACHING 」

Last time, I pointed to the “Coaching” as a potential issue with the Ice Bisons, without actually putting any qualifiers as to why I felt coaching was an issue. Something that was brought up in the comments section, and was addressed in length during the “AHL Tonight” section of programming on ASPN; how Ishii has failed to unite the boys in the same way that Skirata had before The Silence, how the team has yet to quite form an identity aside from their AHL personas, how the team still doesn’t play like a championship team and instead plays like an All-Star exhibition team on the first shift.

However.

That doesn’t seem to be the case here in Quebec. We are watching a team that seems to finally understand one another. We are watching a team that can read the ice, put pucks on sticks, and actually coordinate plays without as much chatter as we have gotten used to in recent tournaments. There are reports from journalists that outside of the Home Locker Room on MD2 that the ‘Vode An’ chant was heard on our second matchday.

Did anyone see Skirata leave the locker room that day?

Also, of note, is the fact that former Assistant Coach, former Head Coach of the Ibex, and current Head Coach for the Omashu Badgermoles, one Liu Qiang An, was in attendance at the Neu Engollon game and was seen talking extensively with Ishii after the game. The two were reported to have gone for a late lunch after the 5-4 victory at a local Avatarian restaurant in downtown Albertville where Liu, a former resident of the city, frequents on his visits to his former residence. The only Avatarian coach to ever venture outside the archipelago in hopes of obtaining World Cup silver under a different flag, Liu – who is lovingly called the “Old Goat” by many Avatarian fans and players – carries a special place in Avatarian history, and one can only hope that the conversation over lunch brought Liu back into Gyatso-kai’s fold…

*******************

So there you have it. One tournament in between my scathing criticism of the Ice Bisons and now, and already we see the team has begun to reshape itself. Of course, there is still the game tomorrow, when the Kelssek Carbiou travel from The East Pacific to face off in what was, up until a couple of seasons ago, the heart of Avatarian Hockey; the Sundari Times Forum is one of the greatest hockey arenas in the Republics, and although it is not the largest arena – currently seating just under 20,000 fans – it is home to some of the world’s greatest hockey fans and the entire city of Sundari is about as much a ‘hockey town’ as you will ever find across the multi-verse.

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Copyright 2020.2 Avatarian Sports Programming Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.aspn.com.gk/articles/ahl/23002641
© 2020 Avatarian Sports Programming Network

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[PotatoFarmers]

WCoH MD3 Roundup: Golden Phoenix joins 13 other unbeaten teams
Report by Darfur Salinz
Sporting Daily Reporter (Hockey Team)
Mancodas - Something tells me that Poafmersia's first appearances at any competition always ends up in a big surprise, and the World Cup of Hockey is going to be rather similar.
Poafmersia grab a 4-3 win over Fiekkefjord to grab 5 out of 6 points from their opening 3 games, ahead of 2 crunch matches against top 2 seeds Equestria and Banija. The match was a rather close affair, with Poafmersia taking the lead in the 7th minute after Kwaku Hermansson capitalised on a defence error by Truls Olaf. Olaf was checking the puck when Hermansson swooped in to take the puck and make a wrist shot straight for goal. In a matter of seconds, the goaltender Johannes Alfred was unable to react, and the puck slipped past Alfred. Manager Bosco made some changes towards the tail end of the first half, playing on the second line and second defence pairing. That turned out to work wonders, as Dan Sharma made a long-range effort from the neutral zone to find Soner Elzinga, setting up Elzinga for the 2nd goal.
The second period was where the 3rd and 4th lines start to come up, but the opponents have lots of stamina and energy to press the Phoenixes. Gabriel Birger scored for the away side, first giving a nice slap shot, then a wrist shot within the span of 10 minutes. The play was mostly done on our side, and the defence really worked really hard not to concede even more. The third period came and went, as Yuriy Sokoll and Verner Aksel both scored a goal for their respective sides. It looked straight like pushing for a draw until a foul by Øyvind Reidar meant that Poafmersia got a power play. Hermansson was the saviour, making a nice decoy before flicking in a really powerful shot that messed up the opponents. Though the puck didn't get in on the first try, Hermansson somehow found the puck again and made another shot amid the confusion, giving Poafmersia the 4-3 win.
Poafmersia would be one of 15 teams left unbeaten, among which includes 4 from our Group E. A tricky trip away to Equestria before a home tie against Banija remains for the first half, as Poafmersia aims to cause an upset and get into the Round of 16 on first try.

Poafmersia 4
Kwaku Hermansson 7:12, 58:29
Soner Elzinga 19:01
Yuriy Sokoll 43:27

Fiekkefjord 3
Gabriel Birger 27:08, 36:47
Verner Aksel 48:44

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Hockey Today Magazine

Ehrenliga’s Finest

Changing the Game: Ehrenliga Expansion and the New Six

Hockey Today’s ‘Ehrenliga’s Finest’ section looks back on the long history of hockey in Siovanija & Teusland, focusing on the players, teams, moments and games that have contributed to the culture of the game in our country. Today, we take a look at some off-ice business - namely, the expansion of the league from 6 teams to 12 after season 48.

For the first 48 seasons of its existence, the Ehrenliga was contested between the famous Original 6 clubs. As time beat on, however, there were increasing calls across the country for more teams to be added to the league. There were two primary reasons for this. Firstly, the quality of play in the Ehrenliga was getting very high, and as such, there was a great deal of depth in the minor leagues. More teams would mean more spots available for the amount of high-quality players produced in the nation.

In addition, fans in cities across the country were getting impatient. Junior and minor league clubs could quench some of the thirst for hockey, but not all the way - especially in major-league cities such as Felsenkirchen and Kaiserhaven. There was a fear that if the Ehrenliga did not grow, hockey could fall behind football in terms of popularity as a spectator sport. Now, this fear underestimated how closely bound culture in Siovanija & Teusland is with the game of hockey - football is a widely-loved sport, hockey is a religion. But at a time when clubs from cities like Felsenkirchen, Marlesee and Pomorie/Marzig were having success at the very top of domestic football, fans in those cities wondered why they couldn’t have the same chance in hockey.

The true motivation for expansion, however, came when rumours started to spread that a Teus businessman wanted to create a new pro league within Teusland that would serve as a rival league to the Ehrenliga. Ehrenliga executives knew that expanding one day was inevitable, and decided to cut the legs out from under the rival league. After the Board meetings prior to season 47, Ehrenliga President Roman Hippler announced the league would welcome up to 6 expansion teams to start play in season 49.

The bidding race began quickly - and by the Ehrenliga’s set deadline a few months after the initial announcement, 10 bids had been received for those 6 spots. Bids came from cities across the country, including Felsenkirchen, Marlesee, a second team in St. Jakob, Rotmunde, Trkev, Vrnovo, Kaiserhaven, Pomorie/Marzig, Stahlberg and Stavropol. Each had pros and cons, which would be weighed up by the league. The St. Jakob Saints immediately vetoed the bid for a second club in their city, while the league announced it would start with just one club in the Northeast - effectively declaring Felsenkirchen the winner over the smaller city of Rotmunde. Pomorie/Marzig’s bid was rejected as the league did not want to wade into the difficult sectarian situation in the city at the time - having one club in a city very much split in two could cause problems. Stahlberg was rejected as the last team as the league hoped to keep the split between Teus and Siovanijan clubs even. And so, the league announced expansion clubs for Felsenkirchen, Marlesee, Kaiserhaven, Trkev, Vrnovo and Stavropol. The time for building up those clubs had arrived.

In Felsenkirchen, which had been the largest city in the country without an Ehrenliga club, there was great excitement for getting a new team. The local junior hockey club, the Felsenkirchen Red Wings, were one of the most successful in the country, so there was a ready-made hockey culture to build from. The name ‘Jets’ was chosen for the team, given the presence of one of the largest airplane-producing factories in the country near Felsenkirchen. The Jets quickly became a model for the other expansion teams given their good ownership and community relations.

Marlesee, meanwhile, would choose a name connected to the local hockey roots of the town. The Marlesee Sea Lions were the successful senior league team from the town, and at the junior level, there were already the Jr. Sea Lions. Looking to stick with these historical forebearers of hockey in the city, ‘Seelowe Marlesee’ was born. Marlesee hadn’t expected their bid for an Ehrenliga club to be successful, and so winning the bid brought many fans to their team.

Kaiserhaven’s choice of team name was quite similar to the process seen in Marlesee. The Knights were the dominant senior club in the city as well, and had been national champions at that level several times. Knights was a name closely linked with the city, and the black and silver colour scheme made them stand out a bit. This was particularly true in a league that loved blue and red as the main jersey colours.

Trkev was now the second-smallest city in the league - beaten in that department only by a fellow expansion club in Stavropol. While most of the other cities in the league had big local businesses backing their new clubs, Trkev had no such thing. Located on the west coast of Siovanija, the city was best known as a mining town. The local miners’ union dominated the city’s politics and also owned its football club, Rudar Trkev. The same union decided to support this club, bringing both departments under the same name. HK Rudar Trkev were born.

Vrnovo was perhaps the toughest sell in its own city of the new clubs. Vrnovo, located in the Siovanijan Southern Islands, was a bit different to the rest of the country - laid-back, and mostly a vacation destination. It was also quite warm - meaning that while on the mainland, games of pick-up hockey in winter were daily occurrences, on the islands, such an idea was unheard of. It was perhaps the only place in the country where hockey was not the number one sport. The team quickly adopted the city’s colours - orange and blue - and branded itself on that island identity to help raise their profile. The Vrnovo Islanders were the most problematic of the expansion teams as well, with questions about their ownership as well as where they would play: the team dropped out of two arena deals before agreeing to build the first Vrnovo Ledarena.

Finally in Stavropol, the expansion club there represented hockey in this country returning to its roots. So many years ago, the first-ever organized hockey game in the country was played in the city, between the Orlovi Athletic Club and the Stavropol Youth Club. The National Hockey Hall of Fame was located in the city as well - and despite its smaller size, the city was known as the ‘home of hockey’ in this country. It was only natural they would have a team, and it was only natural that that team would be called Orlovi Stavropol, after those founding fathers of the game in our country.

With everything in place for the teams to begin play, it was time to fill them with talent. An expansion draft was held - but the rules were very favourable to the Original 6 teams, leaving the so-called ‘New 6’ looking in other places for talent. Some teams were very clear on their objectives - the Felsenkirchen Jets won the first pick in the expansion draft and used it to take hockey legend Wolf Bleich, then surrounded him with younger players. Seelowe Marlesee were quite clear that they wanted to take time to build up their team, and focused on prospects. The Vrnovo Islanders, meanwhile, wanted some instant gratification and went for more experienced players. Scouts watched minor league games across the country that year, hoping to find the next big gem for their clubs. It was announced that after the season, a first-ever entry draft would take place, replacing the old system of signing young players.

The one last piece of business was figuring out how the league would work for season 49. There had been rumours of having an Original 6 division and a New 6 division, to keep things competitive and ensure one of the new teams had a chance to play for the Strauss Cup. In the end, however, the league settled on a Siovanijan Division and a Teus Division, with an expanded playoff format that saw the top 4 teams in each make the playoffs - guaranteeing at least 1 expansion team a shot at the playoffs.

Going into the season, Olympia Borograd and Kapitala Borograd were each considered to have strong squads, after their Cup wins in the two years prior to expansion. Olympia in particular were perhaps slightly the pre-season favourite. Energija Chernovets was a wildcard factor, their young team picked by some to be champions and by others to be well off the pace. In the Teus division, the St. Jakob Saints were the clear favourites, while Eisbaren Stelburg and the Stelburg Kaisers each had decent teams as well. Amongst the expansion teams, none were really expected to make any noise - although Vrnovo and Felsenkirchen were considered the best two of the teams.

In the Siovanijan division, the season saw some major upsets. The experts were correct in their pick of Olympia Borograd as the best team in the league, as they finished first in the division and overall, thanks again to the great play of Stanislav Slezak. Here was where things began to shake up. Energija Chernovets rode a late-season great run of form to finish second in the division, Radim Michalek the star of the team. The young forward scored 50 goals for the first time in his career, and captured the goal scoring title. The veteran Vrnovo Islanders squad finished third, in a huge surprise - the only expansion team with a record above .500. Former Olympia Borograd centre Evzen Stehlik was a key player, as was one-time Energija Chernovets captain D Jan Pospisil. The ‘golden oldies’ proved they could still compete in the league. Kapitala Borograd’s age, however, began to show as they crawled to a 4th place finish and a playoff berth. Stavropol and Trkev finished 5th and 6th respectively, well off the pace of the playoff teams.

In the Teus division, there were to be no upsets. The three ‘old boy’ clubs of the division - the Saints, Kaisers and Eisbaren - ran away with it, the Saints finishing first in the three-horse race. The Kaisers would finish in second place, and Eisbaren in third. It was the Felsenkirchen Jets who managed to finish 4th, 3 games below .500. Wolf Bleich virtually carried them to the playoffs on his back, as they dominated the other expansion clubs but could not punch upwards against the experienced clubs. The Kaiserhaven Knights were 5th, having made a run at the playoff spot early in the season before dropping off, while Seelowe Marlesee - despite being an exciting team made up of tough young prospects like RW Tom Schiff and fan-favourite D Elmo Stieler - best known for his fighting ability - finished far at the bottom, last in the division and the league.

That set up the first round of the playoffs, a best-of-5 series to get things going. Olympia Borograd and Kapitala Borograd fought another great battle, but this time Olympia prevailed to avenge their finals defeat the season prior, winning 3 games to 1. The Vrnovo Islanders managed to scare Energija Chernovets in game 1 with a 3-0 victory, but the young legs prevailed over the old, Radim Michalek with the overtime winner in game 5 as Chernovets advanced to the Division Final. In Teusland, the Saints had no trouble with Felsenkirchen, sweeping them 3-0, while Eisbaren Stelburg upset the Kaisers in a 3-1 victory.

Olympia Borograd and Energija Chernovets would have a hard-fought battle in their series - a prelude of a few more series that would take place in the near future. This year, however, it was still Olympia Borograd’s destiny to advance to the final, and the would do so in a game 5 win, 4-3 the final. The St. Jakob Saints also advanced to the final after beating Eisbaren Stelburg 3-1. The Saints would go on to take home the Strauss Cup, led by the stellar play of goaltender Kevin Spahn, the first Cup for the team in 11 years. There was no real glory for the New 6 in that first year - although, not much had been expected anyways.

That summer, the first-ever Ehrenliga entry draft was held. Seelowe Marlesee earned the first overall pick, and selected Lothar Weinwurm first overall. A tough, physical player, Weinwurm was a potential star player who had an edge to his game. Marlesee owner Johan Greiss had seen players like Wolf Bleich dominate the league, and physical teams like Kapitala Borograd take home Strauss Cup titles - and he wanted to take that principle to the extreme, building a team that could beat you down on the boards and on the scoreboard. With players like Stieler already on board, Weinwurm was the perfect addition.

The expansion teams would eventually, of course, come to enjoy their success in the league. Each got their day, and since joining the league the expansion clubs have won a combined 18 Strauss Cup titles. The Kaiserhaven Knights saw the league’s greatest-ever player, Anatol Weisz, lace up his skates for them. Seelowe Marlesee would change the way hockey in this country was played for a great many years. Orlovi Stavropol would bring the Cup home in an emotional victory.

All but one would taste success eventually. The Vrnovo Islanders are the only member of the New 6 to have never won the Strauss Cup. In those early years, they were too focused on remaining somewhat competitive that they never managed to rebuild their squad and develop the way others had - leaving them as consistently mediocre. While Marlesee, Felsenkirchen, Trkev and Kaiserhaven would come to dominate the decades following expansion, the Islanders remained on the outside looking in. They watched on in envy as Orlovi Stavropol finally lifted the Cup. When they lost in Game 7 of the season 84 Strauss Cup Finals to the Stelburg Kaisers, many wondered if they would ever lift the Cup. And while the wait is still on, there is hope that their day will come.

The Ehrenliga was not done expanding just yet - soon enough another 6 new teams would come, after a game-changing rivalry between the Ehrenliga and the upstart Republic Hockey League, which sought to rival the established order. More recently, two other clubs would give the league an even 20. But fans of the league, and especially those ‘New 6’ teams, can trace their legacies back fondly, and look with pride at the influence their team had on the league.

World Cup of Hockey Matchday 3
Lorenthia vs Siovanija & Teusland
@ Unknown, Lorenthia

Scoring Summary

First Period

6:40: Goldhorns goal scored by Timo Schlager, assisted by Heider (0-1)
14:27: Goldhorns goal scored by Edwin Ranger (PP), assisted by Mihelic, Schlager (0-2)
18:12: Lorenthia goal scored by Centre #9, assisted by Right Wing #21 (1-2)

Second Period

1:01: Goldhorns goal scored by Erhard Lasker, assisted by Knejz, Schiele (1-3)
5:55: Goldhorns goal scored by Gunter Pfenning, assisted by Glaskov (1-4)
9:08: Goldhorns goal scored by Razvigor Tsvetanov, unassisted (1-5)
15:38: Lorenthia goal scored by Left Wing #17, assisted by Centre #9 (2-5)
17:56: Goldhorns goal scored by Toni Mihelic, assisted by Heider, Ranger (2-6)

Third Period

6:50: Goldhorns goal scored by Torsten Bohm, assisted by Ranger, Schwarzmann (2-7)
10:00: Goldhorns goal scored by Alex Schnyder (PP), assisted by Pfenning, Glaskov (2-8)

End of Game: Siovanija & Teusland 8-2 Lorenthia

[Gyatso-kai]

.:: Downtown Albertville, Rhone Canton, the Confederacy of Neu Engollon ::.
1502 hours local time, 1 August 2020.3

Albertville… Such a lovely town…

As Liu Qiang An looked out the window of the rental SUV – a Diamond Star Katla – that he had acquired for this little day excursion, he could not help but feel a bit homesick. He had spent many jì in Neu Engollon, first as the Head Coach for their National Team, and then a couple jì waiting to work out his return to the homeland. It had not been easy to leave Gyatso-kai; in fact he remembered many harsh conversations with Skirata and that Dragon Master Tie Lian-hua about his departure, and even had a meeting with Cheng Yukstad – then-Director of Hockey Operations in Gyatso-kai – about ensuring his eventual return to Gyatso-kai after his tenure in Neu Engollon was over.

’It won’t be easy, Qiang… But I’ll guarantee I’ll bring you back…’

Four tournaments. Nearly twelve jì later, his contract finished and the Ibex close to a World Cup success, Qiang found himself squaring away his affairs in Neu Engollon and having a long call and a visit from Cheng Yukstad and his successor-to-be Kad Skirata in his home just outside Albertville. He could still remember the brisk winter day when they arrived; Cheng to keep his promise, and Skirata to help with its deliverance.

’I promised you we’d bring you back… but right now, things are a bit rough in Gyatso-kai’ he remembered Cheng saying, a stiff and dark glass of lǎngmǔ in his hand; one of a dozen bottles brought from Liu’s home village back in Hanoi when he first came to Neu Engollon. He never quite got the hang of their drinks… always seemed to be missing something… and he was surprised that after fourteen jì he still had a bottle left of the stuff.

’I’ve heard,’ Liu had responded, and back then, he had only heard the rumors out of Gyatso-kai. Billions of yuan squandered on gambling schemes, coaching staff throughout the ASCA and the AHL betting on players to win games and stats, games being fixed, and even a Kuruk Cup championship being called into suspicion. It was hard to gather any real information – all of his contacts back home had gone dark – and it reminded him many years later of why the cultural name for the event was a rather accurate choice.

The Silence

Even now, looking back, Liu still couldn’t grasp what had happened. All and all, he was just thankful no one he had known well had got caught up in it. Especially Skirata, who rumor had it marched down to the office of the General Manager of Itakawai, dragging his Assistant Coach by the collar with a black eye and a broken nose, demanding he be allowed to hang the man from centre ice and use him for target practice.

Damn Mandos… So much more creative in their punishments….

’It might be best if your return goes unannounced, Skirata suggested, his words carrying far more weight than what was on the service. ’You and Chao can stay at Kyrimorut for awhile until we get you resettled.’

‘That would be better than living in hotels until we can find a home,’ Liu spoke, thinking back to how he had sold his home in Taku before moving to Neu Engollon.

”Liu, you still with me?” Hakoda Ishii, formerly the Captain of the Ice Bisons when Liu was the assistant coach and now Head Coach for the same team, asked Liu from the passenger seat. Liu shook off the bout of nostalgia before looking to Ishii with a smile.

”Oh, I am alright. Just a bit nostalgic.”

“I can imagine,” Ishii, looking out the window, sighed. ”Neu Engollon is a rather lovely nation.”

“That is is. Lived her for quite a few years… and sometimes I miss it.”

“Ever think of retiring here?”

“Retiring?” Liu gave Ishii a sharp look. ”I am a long way from that day.”

Ishii held up his hands in defeat, and gave Liu a somewhat disarming smile. ”I meant no offence.”

“Oh I know,” Liu turned the Katla into a large parking garage. As he turned, he could see the red and gold banner hanging over an old favorite restaurant of his, and he was thankful to see they were open. ”But let’s not talk about my demise. Let’s get something good to eat.

***************

As Ishii walked into the “Jade Bison House”, he inhaled and was immediately taken back to the markets in Sundari; the sweet aroma of spices and roasting meats of various cultures all melding into one almost-overpowering wave of scents and tastes. He recognized a couple dishes on the tables as Liu made his way to the back, Ishii in tow; a plate of ita’roba, a collection of steamed xiāngbāo that from the smell were likely the Earth Kingdom variety, and even a giant carved ramu which the smell almost made Ishii cough from the spice. Ishii saw Liu smile as he reached out to embrace the chef, a burly man clearly from Gyatso-kai.

”Qiang my brother! How have you been?” the man exclaimed as he picked Liu off the ground. Liu gave him a hardy pat on his back before turning to Ishii. ”And you must be the esteemed Coach Ishii.”

“That I am,” Ishii spoke as he bowed slightly.

:I am Chef Tsutsuyoko Hiteki,” the man returned the bow. ”Welcome to my little slice of Gyatso-kai here in Neu Engollon.”

“I didn’t realise there were so my expats of the Republics,” Ishii admired as the chef led the two man into a back room.

”Not exactly. Most of my guests are natives here, who fell in love with our food. When Qiang came here, many fell in love with the food and culture of our homeland, and some rich hockey fan sought me out in Republic City at my restaurant. Paid for me to come here and start a new place.”

”Impressive,” Ishii smiled as he took a seat. ”And now?”

“I own the place, have spiced it up a bit. I used to be a chef trainer with Bison Express, and took my lesson from Dufan and tried to bring more of Gyatso-kai here.” Tsutsuyoko smiled as he turned to the door. ”I’ll be back with some appetizers and drinks.”

As Tsutsuyoko walked out, Ishii turned back to Liu and leaned into his seat. Never being one to beat around the bush, Ishii folded his arms onto the table. ”I wanted to thank you for coming to the practice yesterday and coming to the game today.”

“My wife is happy to have the home to herself, and I am just enjoying the vacation after that Kuruk Cup run.”

“Oh I remember,” Ishii laughed. Outside of the National Team, Hakoda Ishii was a coach for the collegiate team in Adirolf; one of the largest universities in Gyatso-kai, the school was a stone’s throw from Itakawai, and almost all of the resident students were fans of the Lightning. Campus had been abuzz when the team made it to the playoffs, and absolutely destitute when the Badgermoles silenced their hope for the first Kuruk Cup in the Restructuring Era. ”We watched every game.”

“And then the quick turn around to Quebec for that HNL tournie,” Liu shrugged as he looked to the door. A young server, with nails the same color as her uniform, came in with cart full of various small plates and drinks. Without a word, the server placed the drinks and plates down before turning out. Liu went to thank her, but she never made eye contact. ”I was surprised at how fast we had to go from Championship to tournament and back to championship.”

“You obviously know how to bring out the best in your men.” Ishii flattered, grabbing a piece of spiced friend squid with a pristine pair of steel chopsticks and placing it in his mouth. The perfect balance of spice and umami, Ishii thought as he took a sip of water. ”Which is why I want you to help coach the team this tournament.”

Liu looked across the table, the steam from a couple different bāo plates at the centre of the table. ”Help?”

“I want to bring you on as a consultant. I’ve already spoke to the other coaches, and they want the same.”

“Why would you want an old man like me? The multi-verse is no place for a fossil like me.”

“Because knowledge and experience trumps everything.” Ishii spoke. ”Skirata taught me many things as a coach, and one of those was to always defer to those who outrank you in experience. You helped coach us to a World Cup, you coached Omashu to a Kuruk, and you even got them to multi-verse championship, and we need that experience.”

“Ishii, you are the coach…”

“That is why I want you as a consultant. Help me coach better. Help me know your players, and see things in the others that I might miss. Help me understand the opponent.”

Liu reached for a bāo and cut into it. The sweet smell of soy-marinated beef topped with five spice and ginger made Ishii’s mouth water as he watched Liu take a bite. On the surface, Liu looked patient and calm, but Ishii knew that deep down he was mulling it over. It had been Skirata’s idea to bring Liu to Neu Engollon, and Skirata’s idea after the Metisgo matchday in Republic City; Liu was a seasoned coach, one Skirata knew well from decades together. ’The Old Goat still knows a thing or two. You should bring him along. You might learn something, Skirata had told him, and Ishii was never one to shun Kad’buir’s advice. So he made the call, convinced Liu to come along, and made sure to invite the man out to eat with the other coaches playing babysitter to the team. He didn’t know if this plan would work… but he had to try.

Liu finished the bāo in front of him, and finished the glass of water. Almost on cue, the same server came in, this time with the cart full of slightly larger dishes. She filled up Liu’s glass, then Ishii’s, and then began to clear off empty plates, only to replace them with full entrees. As Ishii looked over the spread, noticing the composition was primarily Mandalorian and Earth cuisine, Liu leaned back and sighed. He laughed slightly, and then looked to Ishii.

”I guess I better call my wife.”

[Fluvannia]

DIVISION STREET JOURNAL

Sunday, August 2, 2020

1.50 Mark

BEARS CONTINUE TIE STREAK

ROCHESTER, Co. of Monroe -- There are 14 teams out of 48 in World Cup of Hockey 48 that have managed to remain unbeaten after their first three games. Conversely, there are 15 teams still looking for their first win. In only one instance do these categories overlap: our own Fluvannian Bears. The squad has the unique position — quite literally neither advantageous nor disadvantageous — of having tied each of their first three games, leaving them with, as expected, three points in the Group E standings, good for fourth.

In the most recent example, our side’s salvage of a point came against the seventh-ranked team in the world, Equestria. After watching the team tie against newcomers Poafmersia and Flekkefjord, managing to not only actually score against experienced competition — let alone avoid losing — is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. That said it may indicate one of the more frustrating trends in sports has taken hold of the Bears: they may be playing to their competition. Obviously, we should want that they give it their best against their more skilled opponents — but then where is this same talent and effort against other teams?

The game started off as well as the War Memorial Arena crowd could have hoped. 2:13 in an Equestrian was called for a hook. 2:26 in and David Chekovich had given the home team a 1-0 lead. Surprisingly, that lead held to the first intermission.

The second period however was cause for a little jeering from the crowd. One could be forgiven for assuming that the first period was a fluke, and that the Bears had returned to form. Three unanswered goals in the space of eight and a half minutes saw the visitors sporting a two-goal lead by the game’s halfway point, and it is around this time that frustration began to creep into the Bears’ play. At one point, it looked like Miggy Gutierrez might go down as the first fighting major in the history of Fluvannian international hockey, but his counterpart showed no interest, and “the code” of unspoken rules of the game dictated that the matter be dropped.

Sure enough however, the team that stepped on to the ice for the third period was the same as the first-period team, and in five minutes of play managed to cut the deficit in half. Later on the Bears were the beneficiaries of a rare penalty for too many men on the ice, and shortly thereafter a second penalty for interference after Henry Ingram was brought down from behind away from the play. While a brief 5-on-3 went un-utilized, the tail end of the single man advantage did not, as Kurt Phillips joined the rush and fired a missile under the legs of the Equestrian netminder, knotting the score at three, where it would remain.

Things don’t get easier from here for the Bears, either. While their next opponent, Banija, is ranked one spot lower than Equestria, they have been performing better thus far. They will also be the first “repeat” opponent for Fluvannia in the World Cup, having been the team’s first ever international game in WCoH 39.

The schedule for Fluvannia's group play is as follows:

Wed., July 29: vs. ur. Poafmersia, T 2-2
Thu., July 30: @ ur. Flekkefjord, T 4-4
Fri., July 31: vs. #7 Equestria, T 3-3
Sat., Aug. 1: @ #8 Banija
Sun., Aug. 2: vs. ur. Chromatika

Tue., Aug. 4
Wed., Aug. 5
Thu., Aug. 6
Fri., Aug. 7
Sat., Aug. 8

(ur.: unranked)

Catch all the Action on Arena!
If You Can't Be There, BE HERE!

[Ko-oren]

Part I: Selpernim 1, WBC
Part II: Selpernim 2, RLWC
Part III: Selpernim 3, WBC
Part IV: Selpernim 3, RLWC
Part V: Selpernim 4, RLWC
Part VI: Selpernim 5, WCOH

A summer of sports with Leligun Thernasthen

Selpernim 6/Sweltersky 6

Katashi

Today would have been a day full of international sports: the World Baseball Classic should have been the celebration of the day, watching the diamond alongside thousands of baseball-crazy Katashijin, with the Rugby League World Cup as a taster just before that, and then finding an obscure bar with all kinds of sports on to watch the ice hockey - and don't forget, the AOCAF was scheduled as well.

How different can things be just a week after I've left my house in Ferrovente. The baseball team has imploded and lost to Hampton Island 2-3 despite going 2-0 to start the series, which is probably why my Katashijin hosts are so grumpy, the rugby league has run into a day of delays, the AOCAF has been even more unpredictable (and that's for the better, now we can hold on to the status of AOCAF winners for an extra few days), and so the only thing on today is the World Cup of Hockey. Not that you'd notice in Katashi, it's just not played here. It shouldn't be, too. You shouldn't be able to get proper ice in a tropical city at all. Attempting it would be madness.

And so I resort to walking the streets of the city, looking at my phone at every intersection to get a live update of the score (Ko-oren 0 - New Waldensia 0 as my walk starts), hoping to find any evidence of the big clubs that earn big money here - and I can definitely think of a handful. My motivation to visit these has waned since all the relevant national teams aren't playing today. What Katashi does have, other than big market sports teams, is a fantastic metro service that I'll be sitting in for most of the day - I gave up my plans to walk some five degrees Celsius ago - getting in all the sights of the city without all of the sounds and smells.

When the Dragonflies get the first goal in, I'm at the northern coast of the city, at the metro terminus that spawns three lines. They all go south, but one goes there directly, and the other two weave their way there via the east or the west. At the terminus, I get off the train, walk out and I'm immediately faced with the ocean breeze. I should've done this much earlier, it makes the scorching hot summer day almost bearable. There, I run into a few people clad in yellow and red gear, official-looking gear at that, jogging up and down the boulevard along the beach. I've lived in Ferrovente long enough to recognise some rugby league players, and I think I spot Tojoda among them, and Rodas, and Bardin - the defining trio of the Katashi Hawks, all of whom surprisingly weren't selected to the national team in the RLWC. I look up their first names and pictures, so I'm definitely sure of who they are (and that's when I see that the Dragonflies are 1-0 up) and decide to strike up a conversation as they're stretching at one end of the boulevard. "Working hard for next season? Go Hawks!" I say, feeling stupid as I say it. I'm a Scorpions fan, what was I thinking?

"Hey, thanks!" Tojoda, creative halfback and Katashi local, yells back at me.

He probably expected any follow up other than, well, what I'm here for today. "You guys watching the World Cup of Hockey later?" and I see that I've taken all of them by surprise. "Ehh, what?" Rodas answers. "The World Cup of Hockey! Ko-oren is 1-0 up, look!" as I wave my phone at them. None of the trio bother to look at my phone. The score was 2-0 at that time, too. "No, sorry! Good luck though," Rodas says, and the three set up for their next run along the beach.

I could've had a story here. I didn't. I apologise. Teragaseki is up next, tomorrow. Another city with no ice hockey tradition. I sure hope the team is still in once I get to Aerellen.

[Graintfjall]

Posted on the winter sports blog Icy Dead People.

‘XL’ World Cup Proving ‘XL’ Disappointment
Posted by ScrapingTheBarrel

Three games, three losses; one goal for, eight against; the joint worst record in the entire tournament. Just when Græntfjall’s inaugural World Cup of Hockey campaign looked like it couldn’t get worse came new of the football team crashing out of the Copa Rushmori, meaning that the nation’s beleaguered sports fans’ attention will be even more firmly focused on the failures of the Ice Wolves.

Coming into the tournament with high hopes – higher than for the upcoming football World Cup, given ice hockey has a stronger domestic tradition than football in the Queendom – the Ice Wolves have been outpaced, outplayed, and outmatched at every opportunity. Goaltender Tom Finngeirsson has struggled to survive a massed assault on his goal that would have reduced lesser men to rubble, and allowed eight chances out of the more than 120 he’s turned away.

As feared, Græntfjall’s have struggled to adapt to international play. Partly it has been a question of rules, racking up constant penalty minutes for checks that might not be called in the GHL, but there’s no excusing the tripping and slashing violations that added a combined sixteen minutes of penalty time over their last two games. That comes from lashing out in frustration and reflects the other problem: they just can’t keep pace with international calibre players.

When Jack Jokulsson drove a stinging wrist shot into the Goldhorns’ goal on MD1, it was a brief moment of joy for the team. A first international goal, and that at the illustrious Stelburg Eisplast beneath the WJIHC pennant. But goals continued to flow at the other end, while the offense has not yet managed to repeat that solitary effort. Fans were streaming from the Valhalla Hockey Arena before the end of play against Adyatin; few bothered to make the trip to HUElavia.

For players like Bjarnleifur Asgeirsson and Auðunn Friðlaugursson, perhaps hoping to make a splash in the international free agent market on the back of this tournament, it has been a disaster. Auðunn has spent more time in the penalty box than on nice, Bjarnleifur has been suspended for one game after a dizzying – and completely illegal – hit on Ricardo Lima-Fernandes.

Injuries have not helped: Vígþór Patrekursson sustained a concussion in practice and did not travel to HUElavia, meaning Aapeli Guttisson took the ice when Tom Finngeirsson was pulled. But nor can they be entirely blamed: the only player injured out of the tournament is 7th defenceman Hallgeir Eyðolvursson, who travelled home needing shoulder surgery.

With GTV continuing to show both full match coverage and extended highlights, or should that be lowlights, and even Icy Dead People seeing vastly increased web traffic, there’s nowhere to hide for the Ice Wolves. Already qualification looks beyond them, but coming home without a single point would be a humiliation beyond recovery.

[TJUN-ia]

After 2 tight road victories kicked off our WCoH40 campaign, the Ice Jags headed home for the first time in their history. The Rink in The Gardens, small but load, was ready to host international ice hockey. The opponents of this match-up on home ice would be Jeckland, familiar to many but winless debutants thus far. Most expected another win for the Jags tonight, but complacency is not something you want to tempt.

The first period showed why this match would turn out as it did: the defence as having a bit of a mare. Jeckland scored first and then made it 2-0 just before the first break. TJUN-ia would respond with 2 of their own in the second period, Christian Kalsters and Callum Sorento-Lineker the scorers, but Jeckland scored another one to make it 3-2 at the 2nd break. They would score their 5th with 5 minutes to go, with Danil Svengren getting a consolation just before the end of the game.

Jeckland certainly came from nowhere to win this game, and the Ice Jags were unprepared. Now they sit 3rd, 1 point behind their next 2 opponents - Abanhfleft and Savojarna. The aim is simple: try and score as many points as you can in these two gruelling matchups and hope that you don't fall apart completely. We begin in the land of the Fleftics tomorrow, the 2nd ranked team in all of hockey and home to TJUN-ia's most hated man - Guillermo Archer. If you know, you know. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group G)
MD1: @La Florita (27) W 1-0
MD2: @Lovisa (UR) W 2-1 (1st)
MD3: vs Jeckland (UR) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington L 4-5 (3rd)
MD4: @Abanhfleft (2)
MD5: vs Savojarna (11) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington
------------------------OFF DAY------------------------
MD6: vs La Florita (27) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington
MD7: vs Lovisa (UR) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington
MD8: @Jeckland (UR)
MD9: vs Abanhfleft (2) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington
MD10: @Savojarna (11)

[Sarzonia]

The home dressing room at the new Bank of Sarzonia Arena in Nicksia was pristine before Sarzonia hosted unranked Sylestone. It wasn't that way after the match.

After Sarzonia lost an infuriating match against their guests, Coach Paul Bremerton lit into his team, screaming and breaking things in the dressing room in a tirade that none of the players had ever seen from Bremerton.

They were already upset enough by the result. Only Sylvan Turcotte was able to score for Sarzonia and Jacob Parsons allowed two goals on 21 shots. They were bothered, too, by the fans serenading them with boos due to a lack of effort on their parts.

"Now we have to earn a result against Mercedini or Ko-oren, or perhaps both," Bremerton said when he finally calmed down enough to address the media. "We walked into the new arena expecting to just get the two points and we ended up with nothing."

Speaking of Mercedini, the Stars (2-0-1) will play away to the Kingfishers in their next match. They will have to adjust to playing a much stronger team than they have been, because Ko-oren comes to Nicksia for the first half finale.

"We've got to be more consistent in all phases of the game," Turcotte said. "We score five goals and allow four, then we hold Sylestone to two goals, but we only score one. That's maddening."

[New Waldensia]

World Cup of Hockey Matchday 4
New Waldensian locker room

"Katrin Hansen here, live from the World Cup of Hockey. I'm joined by Avalanche coach Sexton as the New Waldensia team prepare for its fourth game of this Cup. Coach, how are things going?"

"Well, Katrin, obviously we're still looking for our first win. You know, coming out on the global stage like this is always challenging, lots of great teams, let me tell you. Our guys are putting out a great effort though. 4–5 against Sarzonia, that was really close. Almost pulled that one off. Ko-oren is a heckuva team, keeping them down to 3 goals was definitely a challenge. All in all, lots of ice left to play, we hope to show some progress tonight."

"Off the ice, how has the reception been here?"

"Oh, the hosts are great, fans are great. We've got a good content of Waldensians who have traveled all the way here to support us, can't thank them enough. Great people giving us support as we gut it out on the ice. Great atmosphere, the guys are loving it."

"Well, New Waldensia is cheering you on tonight. Back to the studio for more sports news."