World Cup of Hockey 44 - Everything Thread

by **Eshialand** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:44 pm

One Point
Placely Plaington 3-7 Eshialand

"Well, you've done it again, you destroyed Placely Placington!" the coach said after Eshialand's 7-3 win. "But there's still a lot more to be played..."

The game that night at the Dave McDaverson Memorial Ice Hockey Rink With Ice On Top Of It was an offensive one to say the least. Granted, it wasn't the 12-2 demolition that the Test Subjects received in Eshialand, but it was certainly a showstopper. However, that didn't mean everything, and Coach Maran had to break that to the team.

"Remember how only two or three of the seven teams in each group make the playoffs? Well, we're in second, only one point away from fifth."

"Fifth??" Jonas Degle parroted back in disbelief. How tight does this group have to be to have 4 teams within a point of one another?"

"All it needs is a little bit of strange luck, a failure to take more than one point from Poafmersia, and teams from Placely Placington and Taxonomic Kingdoms who lose so nobody else has to... the good news is that we still have Taxonomic Kingdoms on our schedule!"

"And the bad news?" Devon St. John asked, as a faint smell of burning Test Subject could be detected from a few yards away.

"The bad news is that we still have Siovanija and Teusland and Gyatso-kai to play... which means it should all come down to the game in Delaclava, which should certainly be a fun time... if by fun time you mean a stressful game to end all stressful games."

"Well it isn't against Cassadaigua?" Jessica Lambeau replied, recalling the previous year, when the team had to beat 4^th ranked Cassadaigua to make it to the playoffs (they lost in overtime).

"That's exactly right! It isn't against Cassadaigua! Anything can still happen, and if those games against Placely Placington and Siovanija and Teusland say anything, it's that you all can make this happen. We can go to the playoffs this year, flaccid games against Poafmersia notwithstanding. Who's with me?"

A dead silence fell upon the team, as it seemed that none of them were with him, or at least if they were, they weren't gonna show it.

by **Chromatika** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:26 am

For the Ice Storm, Finishing Strong Will Be the Key

Ice hockey has been a side sport for Chromatika for a long time, far behind football, gridiron football, baseball, and basketball.

This time around, though? With three games left for the Ice Storm to play, they're actually atop the group ahead of Elejamie and Cassadaigua. Though they did drop an affair by a large amount against The Cordian Isles, the Ice Storm have had wins of 4-1 and 7-0/ They do have a road match against Elejamie and a home match against Cassadaigua in the last three, so it'll be important that they stay consistent.

Can they do it? Remain in the top three to make it to the knockouts once again?

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:58 am

To say the least, Cordia's victory over Chromatika was unexpected. Fans, both in East Jutland Arena and watching from the comfort of their homes, expected a much less close game than the 4-3 loss to Chromatika which had been a far better performance from Cordia than expected. What they got instead was... simply insane.

In their second shift of the first period, the "forecheck line" of Olafsen-Egilsen-Eriksson trapped Chromatika deep in their own side. They would not let the puck past the blue line at all costs. Diving blocks and blue-line stands were made during this play, and with the Chromatiks trapped in their own zone, they had no chance to get fresh legs on the ice. Eventually, the forecheck line got tired, and Olafsen and Eriksson left the ice, Justin Perreau and Harald Ericsen replacing them. Will Egilsen remained to keep pressure on the Chromatiks, actually managing to pilfer the puck from Rowena Hauptman, one of Chromatika's best defenders. What followed was one of the best cycle plays in Cordian history. Each time a Cordian forward felt pressured, they simply sent the puck back to the next player and rotated around to receive the drop pass themselves. Egilsen to Perreau, Perreau to Ericsen, Ericsen to Egilsen, and so on. The play physically and mentally taxed the Chromatik defense, allowing Egilsen to park himself in front of the next, receiving a pass from Ericsen for an easy tap-in goal and a lead for Cordia against Group C's top team.

The second goal came in the second period, on a Cordian power play. Bérangère Levett was in the box - no fault of his, you just get called for otherwise fine plays when you're big like that. Randolf Karlsson had the puck at the left edge of the umbrella. He passed out to Halfdan Leifssen at the umbrella's point, then made a dash for the high slot area. He picked up a pass from Leifssen and wasted no time in launching it just as he'd practiced for years. There was a fair bit of luck involved, too; one does not simply shoot bar-down in international competition. The rest of the second, though not quiet, yielded no goals for either side and Cordia entered the locker room up 2-0 on the group leaders.

The third period was more intense than any period of hockey the Cordians had played thus far. The first ten minutes went scoreless but not without chances, as the Chromatiks entered desperation and began taking more and more risks to try to score, but to no avail. It helped that Olaf Smith came up big, stopping odd-man rushes and preventing rebounds like any of the best goalies the world over. Martin Kordsen scored the third Cordian goal, in the spectacular fashion that's become the standard for the young, speedy center. Kordsen took a breakout pass directly from Freydis Svensen, catching the Chromatik defense off-guard and going in 1-on-1 against Dorothy Belmont. Belmont anticipated a fancy move and reacted accordingly, backing a bit into the net to cut down on any room for moves. Kordsen noticed and shot right then in there. Goal, 3-0 Cordia. The final goal was an empty-netter as Suzanna Marmont figured she had nothing to lose by pulling the goaltender, only to watch in despair as Eric Eaton launched the puck down the ice to score, making the game 4-0 and putting it beyond Chromatika's reach.

The win was big, but the earlier loss to Fluvannia hurt chances massively for the Cordians. At 8 points and with third place in the group set at 12 now, Cordia needed to win against Pius Desurongcrandis and Mapletish in their next games to have even a chance at advancing, and a win over Cassadaigua would also probably be necessary in order to do so. The good news was that the knockouts had not closed yet, and advancement was still very much a possibility.

by **Graintfjall** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:31 am

Selection of articles from Græntfjaller news media.

Ice Wolves stumble against Dragonflies

Majority of Græntfjallers back Juliusson resolution to police brutality case

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:41 am

OOC: Second part of the IC information leading up to the Rink of Dreams site.

This is partly inspired by the Field of Dreams (movie) and the 2021 MLB match held there in celebration of the film, as well as the World Cup 69, the last NSWC to have been held at The Holy Empire. Of course, the combination of two magical elements, as well as the long-present element of magic in this country, mean that this property built for the WCoH (and the future competitions) will be a magical one to some.

As for others who don't believe in and/or RPing magic, you can say that the country does have a very advanced construction industry and can pull off magic-like qualities into their buildings in middle of nowhere!

LIVE MEDIA COVERAGE

Everybody know that 'Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions', and this certainly applies to the media access and viewership rights for the course of the competition. While in the past it'd have been easier for the viewers to just fly into the hosting country, and may find their luck on a street watch party, it's slightly more difficult this time due to the extremely isolated location of the competition, as well as the filters of both biological, climate and not to mention magical natures that effectively eliminate this option.

With this in mind, the World Cup of Hockey Federation, Hockey Quebec and the World Cup of Hockey 44 Organising Committee have agreed to provide three options for each and every country's access to the competition:

OPTION A: The country's federation will be broadcasting the World Cup of Hockey 44 live, with full control given to their nation's broadcaster of choice for the duration of the tournament. If the federation's contract with the broadcaster covers the entirety of the tournament, they will be automatically considered for this option. They will be allowed to bring all the media equipment needed to broadcast the material and will be broadcasting it independently from the Hockey TV (internet) or the QBC (television).
OPTION B: The country's federation will be broadcasting the World Cup of Hockey 44 live, with their nation's choice of broadcaster be given access to the camera and live streams provided by the QBC (television) and the Hockey TV (internet - VousTube/RougeTube account provided by Hockey Quebec). While the camerawork will be handled by the QBC-Hockey TV crew, they retain full rights to the commentaries and whatever the related material for the tournament.
OPTION C: The country's federation will be broadcasting the World Cup of Hockey 44 under the agreement made between Hockey Quebec and the World Cup of Hockey Federation. Each nation will be allowed to provide live streaming of matches via the federation's online account of choice. The live stream used for the Option C will be from the Hockey TV.

Each and every federation tournament that have signed up for the tournament, as well as other past or prospective nations to the competition, are expected to email all three parties mentioned above over the next month. Should they not respond to the parties concerned on time (OOC: feel free to RP their responses, of course), then it is assumed that there is no live broadcasting rights available for the nation of concern.

MEDIA ACCESS TO THE TOURNAMENT

As for the media access, each and every federation who qualifies for the World Cup of Hockey 44 will be allocated a flexible number of media passes for those in their nations' representatives for television and print media. While the exact number of media passes allocated to each qualifying nation have yet to be confirmed by the committee, it is expected that the combined number for the media personnel from the eighteen sides is to be set in no more than eighteen-hundred combined. Should a qualifying nation fail to fulfill all the media passes allocated to them, the organising committee and Hockey Quebec are allowed to vacate them so they will be reallocated to members of media from either Quebec & Shingoryeo or other nations who have qualified.

An Additional two-hundred media passes will be made available for other nations, with the condition that they have participated in the World Cup of Hockey 44. Their applications will be processed by the Organising Committee, with response to be emailed to them within 5 to 10 business days. The unused media pass slots from the qualifying nations will not be reallocated for this purpose.

For the members of the media crew, the process is straightforward. Once they have received their media passes from their national federation, they will be allowed to enter the country two weeks before the first match of the tournament. All broadcasting equipment needed for the media coverage will be provided or allowed to be brought into the property from their country of origin, with a month's notice in advance. In addition, any important enquiries will be noted and responded promptly by the members of the Organising Committee or the on-site Staff.

Members of the media, both foreign and domestic, are subjected to both the Quebecois law and the on-site regulations. It is expected that any criminal activity will be dealt with immediately, and possibly result in their removal from the site.

PRESS CENTRE AND WELCOME HOUSES

In the inner circle of lodges surrounding the Rink of Dreams exist not only the residences for the players and the officials. What's really available for the fans will be four welcome houses and for the members of the media, the Press Centre. Each welcome house, designed to welcome the hockey fans from all across the multiverse, will be provided with meeting rooms, social areas (game rooms and mini-cinemas), cafeterias from either Quebec & Shingoryeo or the participating nations themselves (also named BYOC - Bring Your Own Chefs). Specific facilities also to note are the duty-free shops on the Lodge no. 3 and a six-theatre cinema on Lodge no. 4.

As for the Press Centre, it will be an average press centre needed for a major competition. Nothing fancy and it can always be converted into more accommodations or storages at times. On the outdoors, each federation will be allowed to set up pop-up pavilions for activities of their choice. The organising committee remains hopeful that these pop-up pavilions will provide opportunities for hockey fans from across the multiverse to try different activities and meet representatives from various nations.

THE RINK OF DREAMS

Located in the very middle of the Rink of Dreams complex is, of course, the Rink of Dreams itself. An outdoor hockey arena that was completed after ten years in making (OOC: or ten weeks for those who believe in magic), the Rink of Dreams is the peak of Quebecois architectural excellence and reliability with its facilities. Under normal circumstances, it is a 20,000-seater outdoor hockey arena with 15,000 to 20,000 retractable seats made available starting the semifinal matches by opening up seats to its two highest floors otherwise fenced off for safety reasons.

All of the main arena rink and its two practice rinks (located on the basement of the stadium) are called the Rink of Dreams, though for official purposes only the main arena rink is referred as the Rink of Dreams. The name comes from from the 2013 Quebecois film 'Rink of Dreams', a popular hit that stars Nolan Park as a freshwater fisherman in middle of northern Quebec who builds a gigantic rink at the edge of the town. On the film, the spirits of the deceased war veterans of his old town (including his long-absent father) and the players of his childhood and boyhood dynasties (1940s Montreal Calaniens, 1950s CSKA Quebec and 1960s Kingston Knights) all come together as one in the end, only if for a night, and the town rejoices at the occasion.

Thus, the very throwback theme in mind, the Rink of Dreams will feature architecture style of an old-world, prewar-styled arena with latest amenities like heated seats, gigantic scoreboards, and 100-person luxury boxes available, but also the features of art deco architecture with simplistic appearance on the outside and modernist features on the inside, including marble floors and lavish decorations made of gold, jade and sculpted wood. Each of two lockers, circular in design, will be provided with individual stalls, showers and of course a small room for both the physiotherapists and the team doctors. At the centre of the floor, there will be a mat with the World Cup of Hockey Federation logo drawn on it, and there will be no penalties for players or coaches accidentally stepping on the logo (lol).

As for the rink itself, there will be a departure from the conventional practice for the Professional Hockey regulation-sized ice (OOC: NHL regulation-sized ice) regulated by the Quebecois Hockey League will be in use. Unlike in last two World Cup of Hockeys and the most recent World Junior Hockey Championships, which featured WCoHF-regulated ice (OOC: IIHF regulation-sized ice), the Hockey Queebc has decided to stick to its traditional choice of the Professional ice for 1) cost-related reasons that come with adjusting seating to different ice sizes, and 2) many past World Cup of Hockeys' past use of the ice). The ice will be maintained with the usual measures taken across the Multiverse to freeze the ice on outdoor arenas, with the ice being monitored and maintained on the 24/7 base.

For the course of World Cup of Hockey, there will be a Teddy Bear Toss every game. The fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears or stuffed toys (yes, even the sexual kind!) to the game, and toss them to the ice when the first goal is scored in the game. The toys gathered at the Teddy Bear Toss will be collected and donated to hospitals and charities in both Quebec & Shingoryeo and other nations who sign up to this challenge.

And that's it. Welcome to the competition, and we look forward to seeing you there!

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:48 am

Cutoff, Matchday 11 and 12

Group A

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Adyatin (82)
Nephara (33) 4–6 Huayramarca (UR)
Nova Anglicana (21) 2–3 Quebec & Shingoryeo (14-HOST)
TJUN-ia (19) 4–4 Kelssek (09)

P Group A                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo                              9    8   0   1    37   18  +19    16         —   9–2  2–7   —   6–2   —   5–1
2 Nova Anglicana                                  10    7   1   2    52   32  +20    15       2–3   —    —   3–2  3–1  8–2  12–1
3 TJUN-ia                                         10    5   2   3    43   31  +12    12        1–4  2–5   —   6–2  4–4   —   5–1
4 Huayramarca                                     10    4   2   4    39   41   −2    10        1–2  5–5  4–9   —   5–3  4–1   — 
5 Kelssek                                          9    2   1   6    21   32  −11     5        0–3   —   2–4  3–5   —   2–1   — 
6 Nephara                                          9    1   2   6    22   34  −12     4        2–3  5–6  3–3  4–6   —    —   3–1
7 Adyatin                                          9    1   2   6    17   43  −26     4         —   2–6  4–2  5–5  1–4  1–1   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - TJUN-ia (19)
Kelssek (09) 2–3 Nova Anglicana (21)
Quebec & Shingoryeo (14-HOST) 4–1 Nephara (33)
Huayramarca (UR) 6–1 Adyatin (82)

P Group A                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo                             10    9   0   1    41   19  +22    18         —   9–2  2–7   —   6–2  4–1  5–1
2 Nova Anglicana                                  11    8   1   2    55   34  +21    17       2–3   —    —   3–2  3–1  8–2  12–1
3 TJUN-ia                                         10    5   2   3    43   31  +12    12        1–4  2–5   —   6–2  4–4   —   5–1
4 Huayramarca                                     11    5   2   4    45   42   +3    12        1–2  5–5  4–9   —   5–3  4–1  6–1
5 Kelssek                                         10    2   1   7    23   35  −12     5        0–3  2–3  2–4  3–5   —   2–1   — 
6 Nephara                                         10    1   2   7    23   38  −15     4        2–3  5–6  3–3  4–6   —    —   3–1
7 Adyatin                                         10    1   2   7    18   49  −31     4         —   2–6  4–2  5–5  1–4  1–1   —

Tiebreaker notes: Quebec & Shingoryeo and Nova Anglicana have won the top 2 spots on the group stage, with orders to be determined after MD14. TJUN-ia has swept their series versus Huayramarca, 2-0 (4 points). To qualify, Huayramarca needs to at least draw on their final match and hope for TJUN-loss on both matches. Otherwise, TJUN-ia takes the final spot.

Group B

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Kaldtfjell (UR)
Vilita & Turori (36) 7–4 Rocky Canada (UR)
Banija (24) 4–1 Ko-oren (05)
Graintfjall (13) 0–0 HUElavia (07)

P Group B                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Graintfjall                                     10    6   3   1    25   11  +14    15         —   4–2  1–1  0–0   —   2–0  6–3
2 Banija                                          10    7   0   3    41   21  +20    14         —    —   4–1  2–3  6–1  4–0  7–3
3 Ko-oren                                          9    6   1   2    26   13  +13    13        1–0  3–2   —   5–0   —    —   5–2
4 HUElavia                                         9    4   3   2    18   19   −1    11        2–2   —   0–4   —   6–1  1–1   — 
5 Vilita & Turori                                  9    3   0   6    29   40  −11     6        1–5  1–4  3–6   —    —   7–4  3–0
6 Rocky Canada                                    10    2   1   7    15   32  −17     5        0–2  2–5  1–0  1–2  5–4   —    — 
7 Kaldtfjell                                       9    1   0   8    24   42  −18     2        1–3  3–5   —   3–4  4–8  5–1   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - Graintfjall (13)
HUElavia (07) 4–1 Banija (24)
Ko-oren (05) 8–0 Vilita & Turori (36)
Rocky Canada (UR) 5–5 Kaldtfjell (UR)

P Group B                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Ko-oren                                         10    7   1   2    34   13  +21    15         —   1–0  3–2  5–0   —   8–0  5–2
2 Graintfjall                                     10    6   3   1    25   11  +14    15        1–1   —   4–2  0–0  2–0   —   6–3
3 Banija                                          11    7   0   4    42   25  +17    14        4–1   —    —   2–3  4–0  6–1  7–3
4 HUElavia                                        10    5   3   2    22   20   +2    13        0–4  2–2  4–1   —   1–1  6–1   — 
5 Rocky Canada                                    11    2   2   7    20   37  −17     6        1–0  0–2  2–5  1–2   —   5–4  5–5
6 Vilita & Turori                                 10    3   0   7    29   48  −19     6        3–6  1–5  1–4   —   7–4   —   3–0
7 Kaldtfjell                                      10    1   1   8    29   47  −18     3         —   1–3  3–5  3–4  5–1  4–8   —

Group C

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Pius Desurongcrandis (53)
Mapletish (48) 0–1 The Cordian Isles (UR)
Chromatika (22) 1–5 Cassadaigua (04)
Fluvannia (20) 1–0 Elejamie (08)

P Group C                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Cassadaigua                                      9    6   2   1    33   18  +15    14         —   5–2  2–2   —   7–2  7–6   — 
2 Chromatika                                      10    6   1   3    30   25   +5    13        1–5   —   4–2  4–3   —   4–1  7–0
3 Elejamie                                         9    5   2   2    32   19  +13    12        5–3   —    —   5–1  2–2   —   5–0
4 The Cordian Isles                               10    5   0   5    31   34   −3    10        0–3  4–0  3–6   —   6–5   —   2–0
5 Fluvannia                                       10    2   3   5    25   35  −10     7        0–0  0–1  1–0  8–6   —   4–4   — 
6 Pius Desurongcrandis                             9    2   2   5    30   36   −6     6         —   2–4  3–5  3–5  6–3   —   2–2
7 Mapletish                                        9    1   2   6    10   24  −14     4        0–1  3–3   —   0–1  3–0  2–3   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - Fluvannia (20)
Elejamie (08) 7–0 Chromatika (22)
Cassadaigua (04) 5–2 Mapletish (48)
The Cordian Isles (UR) 6–0 Pius Desurongcrandis (53)

P Group C                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Cassadaigua                                     10    7   2   1    38   20  +18    16         —   2–2  5–2   —   7–2  7–6  5–2
2 Elejamie                                        10    6   2   2    39   19  +20    14        5–3   —   7–0  5–1  2–2   —   5–0
3 Chromatika                                      11    6   1   4    30   32   −2    13        1–5  4–2   —   4–3   —   4–1  7–0
4 The Cordian Isles                               11    6   0   5    37   34   +3    12        0–3  3–6  4–0   —   6–5  6–0  2–0
5 Fluvannia                                       10    2   3   5    25   35  −10     7        0–0  1–0  0–1  8–6   —   4–4   — 
6 Pius Desurongcrandis                            10    2   2   6    30   42  −12     6         —   3–5  2–4  3–5  6–3   —   2–2
7 Mapletish                                       10    1   2   7    12   29  −17     4        0–1   —   3–3  0–1  3–0  2–3   —

Tiebreaker note: Elejamie has qualified for the Round of 16, as they have swept their series vs. The Cordian Isles 2-0 (4 points). Chromatika and The Cordian Isles remain in contention for the third playoff spot.

Group D

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Placely Placington (50)
Eshialand (31) 6–3 Taxonomic Kingdoms (UR)
Poafmersia (23) 4–5 Siovanija and Teusland (02)
Delaclava (17) 3–2 Gyatso-Kai (06)

P Group D                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Gyatso-Kai                                       9    6   2   1    43   24  +19    14         —   6–3  7–2  8–5   —   3–3   — 
2 Eshialand                                        9    6   1   2    46   27  +19    13        —    —   3–2  8–3  2–2  6–3  12–2
3 Delaclava                                       10    6   0   4    42   32  +10    12       3–2   —    —   3–4  5–1  6–1  11–4
4 Siovanija and Teusland                           9    6   0   3    35   35    0    12        2–5   —   5–2   —   7–4   —   2–1
5 Poafmersia                                      10    3   4   3    32   33   −1    10        3–3  5–2   —   4–5   —   1–1  4–3
6 Taxonomic Kingdoms                              10    0   3   7    15   37  −22     3        2–7  1–3  2–4  0–2  0–3   —    — 
7 Placely Placington                               9    0   2   7    24   49  −25     2        1–2  3–7  3–4   —   5–5  2–2   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - Delaclava (17)
Gyatso-Kai (06) 4–1 Poafmersia (23)
Siovanija and Teusland (02) 4–2 Eshialand (31)
Taxonomic Kingdoms (UR) 2–4 Placely Placington (50)

P Group D                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Gyatso-Kai                                      10    7   2   1    47   25  +22    16         —   8–5  6–3  7–2  4–1   —   3–3
2 Siovanija and Teusland                          10    7   0   3    39   37   +2    14        2–5   —   4–2  5–2  7–4  2–1   — 
3 Eshialand                                       10    6   1   3    48   31  +17    13        —   8–3   —   3–2  2–2  12–2  6–3
4 Delaclava                                       10    6   0   4    42   32  +10    12       3–2  3–4   —    —   5–1  11–4  6–1
5 Poafmersia                                      11    3   4   4    33   37   −4    10        3–3  4–5  5–2   —    —   4–3  1–1
6 Placely Placington                              10    1   2   7    28   51  −23     4        1–2   —   3–7  3–4  5–5   —   2–2
7 Taxonomic Kingdoms                              11    0   3   8    17   41  −24     3        2–7  0–2  1–3  2–4  0–3  2–4   —

Group E

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Trolleborg (89)
Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (39) 1–3 Patriotlandia (UR)
Equestria (26) 0–3 Valanora (01)
Le Choix (16) 0–1 Abanhfleft (10)

P Group E                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Valanora                                         9    7   0   2    31   15  +16    14         —   4–2  3–0   —   1–0  8–2   — 
2 Le Choix                                        10    5   2   3    23   12  +11    12        5–0   —   0–1  3–3  4–0  3–0   — 
3 Abanhfleft                                       9    6   0   3    19   12   +7    12        1–5  1–0   —   6–0   —    —   4–0
4 Patriotlandia                                   10    4   3   3    19   23   −4    11        3–6  0–0  2–1   —    —   4–1  2–0
5 Trolleborg                                       9    3   1   5    13   18   −5     7         —   2–3  0–1  3–0   —   3–3  1–0
6 Equestria                                       10    2   2   6    14   30  −16     6        0–3   —   2–4  2–2  2–3   —   1–0
7 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland         9    2   0   7     8   17   −9     4        2–1  1–3   —   1–3  4–1  0–1   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - Le Choix (16)
Abanhfleft (10) 3–1 Equestria (26)
Valanora (01) 3–3 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (39)
Patriotlandia (UR) 0–1 Trolleborg (89)

P Group E                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Valanora                                        10    7   1   2    34   18  +16    15         —   3–0  4–2   —   1–0  8–2  3–3
2 Abanhfleft                                      10    7   0   3    22   13   +9    14        1–5   —   1–0  6–0   —   3–1  4–0
3 Le Choix                                        10    5   2   3    23   12  +11    12        5–0  0–1   —   3–3  4–0  3–0   — 
4 Patriotlandia                                   11    4   3   4    19   24   −5    11        3–6  2–1  0–0   —   0–1  4–1  2–0
5 Trolleborg                                      10    4   1   5    14   18   −4     9         —   0–1  2–3  3–0   —   3–3  1–0
6 Equestria                                       11    2   2   7    15   33  −18     6        0–3  2–4   —   2–2  2–3   —   1–0
7 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland        10    2   1   7    11   20   −9     5        2–1   —   1–3  1–3  4–1  0–1   —

Group F

MATCHDAY 11 BYE - Atheara (55)
Sannyamathland (30) 7–1 StrayaRoos (UR)
Gergary (25) 5–7 Mercedini (03)
Savojarna (12) 2–5 Sarzonia (11)

P Group F                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Sarzonia                                         9    8   0   1    47   19  +28    16         —   6–1   —    —   6–1  7–3  4–3
2 Savojarna                                       10    7   1   2    39   20  +19    15        2–5   —   6–0  7–1   —   4–2  6–1
3 Atheara                                          9    5   0   4    23   23    0    10       4–1  0–4   —   3–0  1–0   —   10–0
4 Gergary                                         10    4   1   5    31   38   −7     9        2–9   —   2–4   —   6–3  5–7  7–0
5 Sannyamathland                                   9    3   2   4    29   24   +5     8         —   3–3  5–0  1–1   —   3–6  7–1
6 Mercedini                                        9    4   0   5    38   34   +4     8        2–4  2–3  5–1  3–5   —    —    — 
7 StrayaRoos                                      10    0   0  10     9   58  −49     0        1–5  0–3   —   1–2  0–6  2–8   —

MATCHDAY 12 BYE - Savojarna (12)
Sarzonia (11) 5–0 Gergary (25)
Mercedini (03) 6–0 Sannyamathland (30)
StrayaRoos (UR) 0–2 Atheara (55)

P Group F                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Sarzonia                                        10    9   0   1    52   19  +33    18         —   6–1   —   7–3  5–0  6–1  4–3
2 Savojarna                                       10    7   1   2    39   20  +19    15        2–5   —   6–0  4–2  7–1   —   6–1
3 Atheara                                         10    6   0   4    25   23   +2    12       4–1  0–4   —    —   3–0  1–0  10–0
4 Mercedini                                       10    5   0   5    44   34  +10    10        2–4  2–3  5–1   —   3–5  6–0   — 
5 Gergary                                         11    4   1   6    31   43  −12     9        2–9   —   2–4  5–7   —   6–3  7–0
6 Sannyamathland                                  10    3   2   5    29   30   −1     8         —   3–3  5–0  3–6  1–1   —   7–1
7 StrayaRoos                                      11    0   0  11     9   60  −51     0        1–5  0–3  0–2  2–8  1–2  0–6   —

Tiebreaker notes: Gergary is eliminated with only one game left to play (2 points), meaning their highest placing possible will be 4th place. Sannyamathland remains in contention with 2 games left to play. Atheara and Sannyamathland has split their series, 1-1 (2 points each), but Sannyamathland can only qualify as third place team if Atheara loses both their remaining games and they win both their remaining games, not to mention taking Mercedini (also with 2 games left) into account.

by **Sarzonia** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:09 pm

With the group stage of the 44th World Cup of Hockey nearing its conclusion, things started to become clearer for the No. 11-ranked Sarzonian national ice hockey club.

They earned a 5-2 away victory over 12th ranked Savorjarna 5-2 that allowed Sarzonia to regain control of Group F and pushed their lead in the Group F table to three points with a 5-0 home victory over Gregary. The results have ensured both Sarzonia and Savorjarna will earn automatic bids into the Round of 16 and avoid the play-in matches for third place sides.

More importantly for Sarzonia manager Brett Tanguay, Sr., goaltender Jacob Parsons backstopped the Stars in both matches, allowing him to put the job of No. 1 goaltender on lockdown. The fact the Stars are three points clear of Savorjarna for the group lead with two matches remaining means Tanguay will have the opportunity to start either backup goalie Owen Franks or third-choice keeper Yuri Evgenikov in either the team's away match to Sannyamathland or its finale at Bank of Sarzonia Arena in Nicksia against No. 55 Atheara, the only team to defeat the Stars thus far. But will he take that opportunity?

"A lot's going to depend on whether we'll be able to improve seeding for the Round of 16," Tanguay said. "If we can possibly get a better seed, we're probably starting Jake, but if not, I'd like to give Yuri a chance to get some playing time and possibly get a chance for the home crowd to show their appreciation of him for what he's meant to Sarzonia hockey."

Brett Tanguay, Jr. scored two goals and had an assist in the Savorjarna match and had a hat trick against Gregary, giving him five goals in the last two matches. The young Stars forward also was aggressive in the forechecking game, leveling a Savorjar defenceman who was trying to hit left wing Matt Davies from behind. Tanguay's check drew the ire of the Savorjar bench, but didn't seem to result in any ill will after the match.

"It was just playing sound, but aggressive hockey," Tanguay the coach said of Tanguay the player's checking. "Brett is a team player, and he's going to continue to play like that unless my successor wants him not to." When Tanguay, Sr. was asked about saying "my successor," he said simply, "I expect to be here a while, but if the team go in a different direction and Brett's still part of it, he's going to be expected to do what the new coach wants, whether that's stay part of the forecheck or simply look for scoring opportunities. I'm not planning to leave unless the Incorporated Ice Hockey Federation want me to leave."

Fat chance of that happening.

"We're pleased with how the team have responded to Brett as manager," said a spokesperson for the IIHF. "The team's record since he took over has been phenomenal, but more than that, they've played better since he took over. No disrespect to Paul [former Stars manager Paul Bremerton], but they've really responded well to Brett."

Were the group stage to end today and the seeding be established now, Sarzonia would currently occupy the top seed as only hosts Quebec & Shingoryeo have matched Sarzonia with 18 points. Sarzonia have a much higher goal differential at plus-33 to Quebec & Shingoryeo's plus-18. Even with that, Tanguay, Sr. said he wanted his team to remain focused because the knockout rounds are "a completely different animal.

"Just look at the last World Cup of Hockey," Tanguay, Sr. said. "Siovanija and Teusland had won, what, three World Cups in a row but got knocked out in the Round of 16 last time out. We're taking nothing for granted."

by **TJUN-ia** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 9:03 am

After two wins with plenty of goals put us back on track, the Ice Jaguars of TJUN-ia were certainly within a shot of the Top 2 with 3 games and a bye week to go. Ølson Rasmussen knew that he had to keep the points flowing if qualification to the "Rink of Dreams" knockout rounds in Quebec and Shingoryeo and with only one game to focus on in this stretch, that would be most wonderful to us all. Kelssek is a nation in disarray in terms of their hockey team right now, the team ranked #9 on the brink of elimination was something no one here expected at all. Everyone knew that Peter Dalton was going to fight with all he's got to stay alive in this competition and that this game at The Rink in The Gardens was going to be very important indeed...

The match that was to come was a contest all about back and forth hockey as these two programs faced off in New Washington in a big way. A 4-4 sounds very fun to watch and it was exactly that, with counter-goals being the name of the game here against a side determined to survive no matter what. Justin Stewart, Jordan Lee, Ryan Carter-Jenkins and Erkka Roord would all find a way past Jakob Vaduz but TJUN-ia always found a way to fight back and Julian Visipils (twice), Teemu Pukaninen and John Gallagher all found ways to equalise no matter what. It was that sort of game but in the end, this point wouldn't be good for either of us in some way. Our bye saw the Top 2 locked in with no way to catch while Kelssek's defeat against Nova Anglicana set them into the red once and for all.

Two more games remain in this Group Stage for TJUN-ia, in NA and at home against Nephara, and our focus shall now be on trying to get as many points as possible in the Race for the Top 14 and an auto-spot in the Round of 16. We are level on points with Huayramarca though, who have a bye to contend with, so hopefully, we can not screw it all up and not make our 2nd ever playoffs. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group B, all matches in Kelssek)
MD1: vs Adyatin (82) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington W 5-1 (2nd)
MD2: @Huaryamarca (UR) - Domo del Altiplano, Huayramarca D.M. W 9-4 (2nd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD3: vs Quebec and Shingoryeo (14) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington L 1-4 (3rd)
MD4: @Kelssek (9) W 4-2 (2nd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD5: BYE (3rd)
MD6: vs Nova Anglicana (21) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington L 2-5 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD7: @Nephara (33) D 3-3 (3rd/3-1-2/7pts/+5GD)
MD8: @Adyatin (82) L 2-4 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD9: vs Huaryamarca (UR) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington W 6-2 (3rd)
MD10: @Quebec and Shingoryeo (14) - The Marijuana Island Gaol, Marijuana Island, Nunavut W 7-2 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD11: vs Kelssek (9) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington D 4-4 (3rd)
MD12: BYE (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD13: @Nova Anglicana (21)
MD14 vs Nephara (33) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington

by **Valanora** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 9:10 pm

A very comfortable win in Equestria after the pair of needed victories over the second and third seeds in the group looked to have the Calcuttas looking to be in the driving seat. It had been five straight wins, including the very impressive win against the Fleftic team that was now sitting second place in the table, and the offense finally looking what everyone had really come to expect with the Calcuttas. The team is known for their speed and technical ability, able to either unsettle teams with their quickness in getting into the attacking end of the rink or through breaking them down with expert passing and waiting for the right pass for the best opportunity to score. It was the type of game that should have been a way to grind the opponents throughout the duration of the game and perhaps even the tournament itself, playing on the strengths of Vanorians. That of course being exceptionally agile and quick, while not exactly being known for their raw, brute force. While by no means are Vanorians pushovers, when compared to athletes from say Ranoria or Drawkland, they lack the same sort of bulk and strength, barring some exceptions.

However the script was apparently not given to Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland, as they came into the Empire and were able to escape with a tie against the Calcuttas, making them be the only team that the side will not have beaten at least once in the group. Thanks to the tie, they will have taken at least a result against everyone in the group, but the lack of a victory is a large part of why the team has failed to clinch a top two spot in the group with one international weekend left to go. It was not a game where either side was good and then they were not as can often be the case in some of these games that end up in a draw, but rather it was a back and forth affair. The visitors were on the board first but Kasper Nielsen put the sides level within fifty seconds, the two then trading goals again in the second period with Aleksander Olsen getting on the scoresheet this time for the home team. In the third period, Eva Strömberg thought she had gotten the winner, but with four minutes and some change to go the visitors got a favorable deflection off of Emilio Öberg's skate and past the netminder to earn a share of spoils for the visitors.

So the side now has two games left and a soft lead at the top of the group that they will try to defend heading into this last weekend, which is still a much better place than they were sitting at the halfway point of the group. With three goals scored even in the tie and at least three scored in the last five games, it seems that whatever was hampering the team in the offensive side of things has been figured out by the coaching staff and the required adjustments have been made. The defense has looked significantly better but there are still a few too many cases of where it looks like it could be the weakest link for the side and how they are going to be found out again if it is in the cards, with the three goals in the last game given up as a prime example of that. However keeping the penalties to the minimum definitely helps in that regard, as it keeps the defense from being under pressure too often through the game and if the offense is doing its job, then it only needs to be adequate and not the world class that some other teams will want or even require of their blue liners in order to be successful.

That brings up to the two games left on the dockett, a road game against fifth placed Trolleborg, a Trolleborg seed who is on the ropes but are coming off a road victory that has them still in the race heading into this last match. Trolleborg has lost to both Le Choix and Abanhfleft at home but has beaten everyone else, except a tie against Equestria, showing that at home they are a considerable force to take on. With a weak offense and leaky defense, it leads to a good chance of winning, but care must be taken not to be a team flipped upside down against them at the worst possible moment. After their trip to Trolleborg, it is back to the Empire against Patriotlandia, who are the side that Trolleborg was able to beat on the road, making them a bit wounded, but still very much in the hunt, only one point behind Le Choix for third. Despite being unranked coming into the competition, Patriotlandia looks with earnest hope to be another side that comes into the tournament and makes a huge splash in doing so, but the Calcuttas will want a victory to at the very least ensure a top two finish, if not the group as well. With both having much at stake, it will likely be a much more difficult game than could have been foreseen, but the huge win away from home against Patriotlandia does give significant hope that all will come up good for the Calcuttas and their ambitions in the group.

by **Eshialand** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 11:43 pm

The Final Stretch
Eshialand 6-3 Taxonomic Kingdoms
Siovanija and Teusland 4-2 Eshialand

"So, this is it, huh? Two more games to play in the World Cup of Hockey group stage, and we're no closer to finding out whether the Owls will see the knockouts. Hello, my name is Josh Seametzle, this is ENN Tournament Report, and losing to Siovanija and Teusland was one of those inevitable things that you still really, really hate to see.

"Things are still extremely tight in the group, with 2^nd and 4^th being separated by just two points! The Owls' last two games will certainly decide this tournament, with the first game being against... Gyatso-kai. Oh dear. On the bright side, that'll leave a must-win scenario against Delaclava, in what's sure to be another banger of a finale! But what are Eshialand's odds in this one?

"Well, that's why I crunched the numbers, and... no, I didn't crunch the numbers. That'd be a waste of time. Instead, I talked to random people on the street to gather their thoughts and-- no, that doesn't sound right either... let's just discuss. How about, instead, we just have faith. Faith that our heroes on ice will pull through. Faith that the powers at be will grant this team safe passage to the Rink of Dreams. If we dream it, it will happen... AND THE OWLS WILL BEAT THE PHOENIXES!! Y'ALL HEARD ME, IT'S GONNA BE A MASSACRE!! IT'S NOT EVEN GONNA BE FAIR!!"

----zzzzzzhhhhttt----

ENN is experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by.

by **Gyatso-kai** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 12:45 am

.:: From the ASPN Blog After Thoughts in a Blip ::.
0215 hours, 20 December 2021.3

Got our first lost... A lone goal fromDelaclava gave us one in the L column, but at least we bounced back against Poaf.

I cannot wait to see the recap ASPN will print up for the break.

Have to get on a plane for Augnuook for that last match against Eschialand. Now that is going to be one haran of a match. We beat them 6-3 on their home ice in the first half of the group stage, and I'm sure they're going to be out for revenge. Just like Delaclava; we stomped then 7-2 in front of their home crowd, they gave the fans in Sundari a bit of a disappointment for Matchday 11.

Of course... With how things went in the AOBowl between their team and our own Boarqupines in the first Avatarian appearance for gridiron, I'm sure that inspired them a bit too...

We finish out the Group Stage against Eschialand at The Saddle, and then get to travel to Placely Placington for the last match before the break. Barring us losing both games and the Goldhorns winning against both Placely and Taxonomic — which they should come out on top of both teams — we will find ourselves at the top of the group. Something we haven't done in recent memory (I'll have to look it up as I'm sure it will come up in my next article)...

A nice change of pace for Avatarian sports. The Ice Bisons are doing well, the Bisons made it into their first AOCAF Quarterfinals, and the Boarqupines nabbed second place in the AOBowl during their debut...

I made the offering to Margaret last time... Maybe I should try that river goddess Degour worships, or maybe An'Buir. Would make my mother happy to hear me worshipping some old god…

by **The Cordian Isles** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 1:14 am

The Cordasfjord Post

Preview: WCoH Days 13 and 14

Cordasfjord, CORDIA- In the final home game of the WCoH group stage last night, the air at the Cordasfjord Colosseum was electric. Holding three times the fans you might normally see in a hockey arena, the sound was deafening in the game's more intense moments. There were plenty of those, as the Cordian national team delivered a beating to Pius Desurongcrandis, scoring six times in sixty minutes without allowing a single goal against. The victory was timely, too, as a loss would have made it impossible for Cordia to advance to the Rink of Dreams for the knockouts. After Day 9, when Cordia lost to Fluvannia, just about anybody would have thought it impossible for Cordia to qualify. But Cordia went on a three-game winning streak and Chromatika on a three-game losing streak, setting up an epic finale that could be decided on Day 13 or 14.

On Day 13, Chromatika will host Fluvannia. A win there would clinch them a spot in the knockouts, but a tie or loss could spell disaster with Cordia a point behind. The latter outcome is possible but unlikely, as Fluvannia has had a rough group stage so far and is already eliminated, despite being the 20th-ranked team in the world going into this competition. On Day 14, Cordia will travel to Cassadaigua. If Chromatika ties, Cordia must win to advance. If Chromatika loses, a tie or win would be sufficient. Of course, the word "sufficient" hardly begins to describe how monumental such an accomplishment would be; taking points off the fourth-ranked team in the world!

As for our prediction? Well, all we can say is that there's a chance. Fluvannia did knock off Elejamie on Day 11, a sign that maybe they can play at their rank and finish the group stage strong with a win over Chromatika. Cassadaigua is... going to be a problem. Obviously. They've also picked up some steam with big wins over Chromatika and Mapletish which have put them first in the group. Chromatika itself is on a pretty big losing run, which has to damage the team's morale and confidence. In contrast, Cordia is in the opposite situation, coming off three straight victories and taking a confidence boost from that.

Let's be honest. This is a bunch of fluff that can be summarized in three short sentences: There is still a chance for Cordia to make the World Cup of Hockey knockout round. Watch the Chromatika game against Fluvannia on Day 13 and root for them to lose. Then burn every rubber chicken you own (and perhaps add an emu or two) and pray to Margaret that Cordia beats Cassadaigua on Day 14.

by **Graintfjall** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:34 am

Election 27: Candidates Guide

Name: Zóphonías Juliusson
Party: Left-slate (big tent left-of-center coalition)
Beliefs: Libertarian socialist who’s to the left of his party on most economic issues and deeply confused by the modern left’s infatuation with the communist regime that once jailed and tortured him.
Brief bio: Secular Jewish playwright, poet and essayist who broke new ground as the first wave of “neomodernist” writers whose characters didn’t all get eaten by krakens at the end. Became the figurehead of the anti-communist left under the old regime. Has served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister and led the Left-slate for over a decade. Thrice divorced.
Strengths: Excellent laugh.
Weaknesses: A deeply principled man unwilling to sacrifice his ethics for short-term convenience. Which makes him wildly unsuited to politics.
Interesting fact: During the recent Thing expenses scandal, his sole expenses charge was 0.19kr for paperclips.

Name: Kaija Michaelsdóttir
Party: Progressive Liberals (wishy-washy centrists)
Beliefs: Politically flexible. As in, she’s been in government with the right, the left, and would probably enter coalition with a race of invading aliens bent on the destruction of humanity if she thought it’d help her get her child tax credit passed. Reviled as a “TERF” by a tiny minority on the left, though her actual views are more nuanced than that.
Brief bio: From the lowliest of working class origins, rose to become a noted media lawyer before entering politics and swiftly rising to leadership of the Progressive Liberals. Arguably her most famous accomplishment is, as Culture Minister, helping oversee the national victory in the Baptism of Fire football tournament. Recently got married after a lengthy and not entirely faithful engagement.
Strengths: Engaging public speaker who’s grown more popular with the public.
Weaknesses: Her political principles could fit on a postage stamp.
Interesting fact: A natural polyglot, Kaija can speak eight languages, although in six of them the only thing she knows what to say is: “Please distract my husband while I throw these pants out the window.”

Name: Sigjón Þjóðbjörnsson
Party: National Democratic Front (populist right)
Beliefs: Since his sister’s death from a drug overdose, his interest in medieval Catholic theology has really come to the fore whenever he announces the punishments he wishes to enact on drug dealers.
Brief bio: Openly gay advertising executive-turned-lawyer. Was a liberal back in the days but has drifted steadily rightwards on most issues. In 2023 he was at the vanguard of the NDF campaign that saw them briefly top pre-election polls, and was elected Leader of the Opposition. Since then his stock has sharply declined as his party has endured multiple corruption scandals and the Blue-Greens have outflanked him on the right.
Strengths: Cosmopolitan and genuinely funny, when he’s not telling racist knock-knock jokes.
Weaknesses: A highly competent leader of a political movement that almost exclusively attracts wildly incompetent buffoons.
Interesting fact: Dated Kaija Michaelsdóttir’s roommate in college. It’s unclear which of them considers this more embarrassing.

Name: Benjamín Styrbjörnsson
Party: Blue-Green (establishment center-right)
Beliefs: Hawkish libertarian in his personal beliefs but willing to play the centrist so long as it wins him votes.
Brief bio: Former professor of history who drifted into politics as his op-ed columns began earning him more than his little-read tomes of academic research. Was regarded as a member of his party’s libertarian right fringe, but following a tumultous period of leadership change for the post-Austmannsson Blue-Greens leveraged hard-line rhetoric on the Kitaran Crisis into a successful campaign.
Strengths: Exceptionally intelligent and far more down to earth than the typical boozy rich Blue-Green snob.
Weaknesses: Lactose intolerant. Not very good at golf. Occasional tendency to casually advocate genocide. Tendency to fidget with his glasses. Oops, what a klutz!
Interesting fact: A big football fan who supports working class Korsbach and attends every home game.

Name: Aríaðna Fjölvarsdóttir
Party: Liberal (shattered rump of the once-dominant Liberal-Conservative Alliance; classical liberals with a side of wild conspiracism)
Beliefs: A libertarian in a country where libertarianism is about as popular as cold sick; people mainly seem to vote for her because they like her freckles. Has become a bit of a culture warrior on issues like guns, free speech and crime, but detests the racism and nativism of the modern right.
Brief bio: Another lawyer who specialized in defending oil companies against environmental regulations and is as such both fantastically rich and fantastically lacking in scruples, Aríaðna’s leadership of the LCA was rocky, especially when it was revealed she was a witch who engaged in blood sacrifices. The Conservatives split off. Not because she was a witch, they were cool with that, but refusing to back immigration restrictions was a bridge too far.
Strengths: Cutting wit. The most skilled debater of any of the leadership candidates. Possibly eternal.
Weaknesses: No one actually agrees with any of her policies.
Interesting fact: The key to the dungeon is right there on the table. Please, just open the door and let me go, I won’t tell anyone. No – I can hear her coming back. Please! The door!! Let me go!!!

Name: Lukas Jalmarisson
Party: Græntfjaller national ice hockey team
Beliefs: Likes to set up at the top of the left faceoff circle.
Brief bio: First game up as a member of the WJHC team before making the jump to the senior team. Two-time All-PHL player. Has never won a scoring title but finished in the top five every season.
Strengths: Checks back hard on defense. Great teammate who despite being a goalscorer first and foremost possessing excellent passing instincts and is very unselfish.
Weaknesses: Not actually a politician. Has already been suspended once for fighting.
Interesting fact: Owns a pet raccoon. Thinking of getting a second one.

by **Elejamie** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 5:52 am

To say that Alex Sorenson wasn't pleased with the events going on would be a bit of an understatement.

The match against Fluvannia was a complete farce from start to finish. He knew it, the players knew it, even fans from both sides knew it. But the referees didn't. Maybe they brought back the guy who got busted for match fixing back at the 9th World Junior Hockey Championships, maybe they hired a guy who was openly biased or was just lazy. Either way, the match saw plenty of questionable decisions that ultimately boiled over into something regrettable but not unexpected. To some people, most notably the organisers of the torunament, the events were a complete black eye to the sport whereas to others such as purists it was simply some good old-fashioned old-time ice hockey even when it went beyond that.

The match itself started off innocent enough with plenty of exciting scenes and a few shots on goal from both sides. There was also some solid stopping from Adrian Lambert and his Fluvannian counterpart along with a few near-misses that they stopped in time before it went past their goal-line. There were some solid hits and checks to really pump up the crowd. But then all hell started to break loose when Fluvannia were somehow not penalised for a blatant off-side, although fortunately for the visiting team Lambert was able to stop it from becoming a potential goal. Especially damning when the same thing happened later on in the period by the same player and that was called for what it was.

Things got a bit more questionable when there were a combination of phantom penalties, uncalled penalties and penalties that were seen and punished. However, the most damning one came from the only goal in the match where, with 6:52 left in the second, a blatant yet accidental goaltender interference wasn't called and instead the goal was allowed despite the protests from Lambert and a couple of his defencemen. Even the video referees argued that it shouldn't have been allowed but they were overruled. Naturally, the arena was filled with boos and jeers from the stands and even players seemed to get a bit rougher with their opposite numbers. This ultimately lead to two events in the third period; the first was an equaliser from Stacy Saunders being ruled out for supposedly being off-side even though a video replay showed that the puck clearly passed the blue line first.

And the second was where all hell broke loose. After a shot from Harrison Blackburn was saved by the Fluvannian goalie with 5:43 left to spare in the third, there was a bit of pushing and shoving around their net. Nothing too unusual even if Blackburn was obviously uncomfortable doing it. And then one of the opposing players threw a punch at him. While it barely connected with Blackburn, only just grazing him, he stll tried to skate away. Eventually he accidentally elbowed the opposing player in an attempted to free his arm which caused another punch to fly, this time actually landing on him. However, Francisco Solano wasn't having any of this so he skated to the responsible player and landed a punch on him. Which lead to the player he was tussling with earlier to fight him. As Blackburn lied on the floor to absolutely signify that he doesn't want to fight, a line-brawl broke out.

And then things went from bad to worse when the defenders joined in. Neil Cuevas, the first and so far only openly LGBT player in the ENIHL, originally skated over to see what was going on but then things started to get heated and, when he alleged in a post-match interview that he heard some homophobic swears coming from an opposing player he dropped the gloves and joined in the fracas alongside his defensive partner Rafinho. And then Lambert came over without his helmet, which he had taken off sometime after the fighting started, and eventually joined in the brawl when he and the opposing goalie started to trade blows. A linesman came in to try and break up the fight between Solano and his opposing number, especially since Solano had him pinned down against the boards, but he was met with a loud "FUCK OFF, REF!" before landing another blow. At least another player came in to hit Solano in an attempt to instigate a fight with him just to save his teammate.

It wasn't long before the Fluvannian bench decided to join in the fray. The Elejamian bench joined in not long afterwards, with the sole exceptions of Stacy Saunders, who (despite having ties with a country whose national team is well-known for its fighters) refuses to drop the gloves because he cares more about getting points, and Cerin Meloten who's well-known for being the nicest player in Elejamian ice hockey with a total career PIM of 26 (the majority of which were part of bench minors which he elected to serve). In fact a picture of Stacy with his feet up on the boards and Cerin burying his face in his gloves became somewhat memetic in a few ice hockey circles. Alex was busy trying to call his players back to the bench to rein them in, Akio Shimasaki pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and Eduardo Carreras just simply watched on unsure if he should be enjoying what he was seeing or disgusted.

It was an absolute fracas on the ice. Despite hitting the floor first and being somewhat mismatched in more ways than one, the 5' 7" Bill Harrison was still holding his own in the fight. Bill Judge was involved in a two-on-one fight and was also holding his own. Cristian Serrano and Adrian Lambert even swapped goalies in their fights. Gloves, sticks and the odd helmet scattered the ice and were thrown onto it with gay abandon, with the sole exception of Lambert's helmet as it along with his jersey number were tributes to those killed in a disaster less than ten years before his birth. Elsewhere the referee, the linesmen and a few other members of staff were discussing who should get what penalties and for how long. Eventually, players started to become exhausted and, barring a few pity jabs, the massive brawl was over. A few were bloody and bruised. A couple had even lost their teeth. Players just stood around, either in their groups or with the people they had just fought, and simply awaited their fates.

Some, however, couldn't wait that long. Harrison Blackburn managed to get off the ice and headed to his locker room to get attended to by the physios just to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with him. Saunders was so disappointed in what had happened that he simply threw his stick onto the ice and stormed off to the locker room as well. Shortly afterwards a number of other Elejamian players had returned to the locker room as well for one reason or another. When the realisation set in that there wouldn't really be enough players to finish the match either because they were ejected or refused to finish the match, they eventually decided to call it a forfeit and, with that, hand Fluvannia a 1-0 win by default. A win's a win even if it's under the least ideal of circumstances.

Even without the bench-clearing brawl, Alex wasn't just displeased, he was angry. While it was hard to tell because of the absolute tranquility on his face, it was easy to spot that deep down he was an inferno. He didn't bother to talk to his team leaving Akio and Eduardo to talk to the players. He had walked past the press without saying a word. The only person he had spoken to between him leaving the stadium and him returning to his hotel was just a simple "Thank you" to someone who had opened the arena door open for him, as he may have been furious but he wasn't rude. Other than a couple of texts to his girlfriend Barbara, and even then they were brief ones, he didn't really speak to anyone for the rest of the night. He was even silent on the plane home despite the rest of the team trying to apologise to him. The next time the rest of the team saw him was just before their next game against Chromatika, the only other team that had handed them their defeat.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few changed from the last match. The entire third pairing and two thirds of the fourth line had been handed one match bans, with Francisco Solano receiving a two match ban instead. As a result, Alex Martin and Paul Sinclair were the new third pairing whereas the fourth line was now Kiko Carpio, Charlie Spreitzer and Mike Keller. Even Adrian Lambert was slapped with a ban and, as a result, Serrano had to start with Pedro Cervantes on the bench. Akio, Eduardo and goaltending coach Eric Christie had to handle that morning's practice by themselves and did a fairly admirable job of it, although it was clearly obvious that they didn't have the touch that Alex had. In fact, during his briefing he was still a bit angry and the players knew it. So, in an attempt to get back on his good side, they decided to put in 110% effort, maybe more. After all, the EIHB had to pull a few strings to not only keep the team in the tournament but also get the bans that low, including but not limited to having the teams they play for dock their wages.

Chromatika were a team that were riding high and mighty throughout most of the group stage but had hit a bit of a bump in the road as of late. They had drawn 3-3 with Mapletish to kickstart their second half then despite a win against lowly Pius Desurongcrandis they were blown out of the water by the minnows from the Cordian Isles 4-0 and were on the receiving end of a 5-1 loss to new group leaders Cassadaigua. And now they had to play a pissed-off Elejamian side who were looking to vent their frustrations and have their coach restore his faith in them. Naturally, there was only one way that this game was going to go. At least they had elected to play fairly instead of making any cheap shots and the Ice Storm were aware enough of the situation that they daren't risk anything too drastic.

Because, unsurprisingly, this game was an absolut blowout. Elejamie simply dominated and never looked back. There were moments where they slowed down, albeit more out of exhaustion rather than complacency, but the gas pedal was simply duct taped down. Stacy Saunders scored the opener, a wrist shot from the point with 19:11 left in the period that was assisted by Cerin Meloten and Adam Keane. Quite a fitting way to end your first shift of the night. Then they doubled up with 14:56 with another goal, this time from Ethan Swinburne who was fed the puck from the Barajas twins and then fired a snap shot that hit the back of the Chromatik net. Unfortunately, there was a bit of an issue when Danilo Barajas, the eldest sibling, went to the box for two minutes after a bit of interference on Ludovic Blanc a few seconds later but it was a penalty that was easily killed off for the home side. In fact, they still managed to get more shots on net than the opposition despite having one fewer player. And they got one final goal in with 3:44 left to spare in the first thanks to Saunders doubling up with a one-timer off of Meloten's pass.

The next two periods still had plenty of action despite having not as many goals in each of them. Jared Dumond received a two minute minor for accidentally slashing Paul Sinclair with 13:33 left on the clock, the only penalty the Ice Storm would receive all game. Not only did Elejamie still dominate on the power play but they scored their fourth unanswered goal, with Saunders and Lupe assisting a close-range shot from Bill Harrison. Number five came with 6:03 left when Kiko Carpio did a back and forth with Charlie Spreitzer and Mike Keller before the 23-year-old Ángeles left-winger buried it into the back of the net just out of reach of Dorothy Belmont. Speaking of Belmont, Chromatik coach Suzanna Marmont consulted with her assistant coach Brydon Sindari before pulling her in favour of back-up goalie Dustin Mast. Mast was a bit quicker on the uptake and proved to be a more robust opponent for the Ice-a-phants but that didn't mean that he needed some bailing out by his teammates or the opposition missing their shots and having to regroup.

And then James Han scored goal number six with 12:08 left in the third. It was a simple slap shot from the point, one that would've proved dangerous had it hit someone or provided a deafening clunk bounced off the post but instead it cleanly sailed into the net. Rafael Espinosa and Diego Pinto were credited with assists. Not bad considering that a minute and thirteen seconds earlier Bill Harrison would receive the second Elejamian penalty as well as the third and final overall penalty of the night when he hooked onto Loren Basalter by mistake, although he even managed to drop his focus for a few seconds to apologise to his opponent. Chromatika still looked a bit sloppy out there but they still did a decent job preventing any more goals and Mast even provided a few excellent saves including one that just millimetres from crossing the line. However, with less than a minute left he had to be pulled for an extra attacker. The six skaters played valiantly but it wasn't enough to curb the Elejamian might. The empty netter came with 32.5 seconds left when Carlos Sierra and Stacy Saunders skated up the net on a breakaway. Sierra was hoping to set up an easy shot for Saunders but when the latter saw that the pass was going to go in regardless he moved his stick away to let his teammate have all the glory. As least he had the puck earlier so he still gets an assist out of it.

And with that, Elejamie had vanquished the bad memories of the last match with a 7-0 crushing of Chromatika. While overall they could've easily had gotten it into double digits with the way Chromatika had played for most of the match, they were still the dominant force and they proved to be absolute hell to play against. At least when the match was over the first thing they did was console the opposing team than celebrate, partially out of niceness and partially because had the consequences been better they wouldn't have been so cold and distant. Even the home fans were cheering on Chromatika after goal number five! But still, a win was a win and it turned out to be the lucky win to see them through to the next round. They had two more games to play with a play-in round as punishment for complacency but they didn't really care that much. It probably helped that, as a result of their bye day and the Cordian Isles also dominating their opposition in Pius Desurongcrandis with a 6-0 win, Fluvannia were eliminated from the tournament and now had to play their last two games for pride. Even Alex calmed down a bit, at least enough to reward the team with soda again much like he did at the last tournament. He gave the team their debriefing and finished up his speech with a few sentences before leaving them to their celebration:

"Alright, now don't get lazy in these last two games or else you're all going to have a rougher time in Quebec. OK? OK. I'll be watching you all closely in training before our next game, so do us proud."

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 6:35 am

OOC: For those in the Play-Off Round, there will be a cutoff around 23:00 KST tomorrow (09:00 a.m. EST). As for others, you have a day off. See you guys there!

Cutoff, Matchday 13 and 14

Group A

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - Huayramarca (UR)
Adyatin (82) 2–3 Quebec & Shingoryeo (14-HOST)
Nephara (33) 4–5 Kelssek (09)
Nova Anglicana (21) 5–0 TJUN-ia (19)

P Group A                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo                             11   10   0   1    44   21  +23    20         —   9–2  2–7   —   6–2  4–1  5–1
2 Nova Anglicana                                  12    9   1   2    60   34  +26    19       2–3   —   5–0  3–2  3–1  8–2  12–1
3 TJUN-ia                                         11    5   2   4    43   36   +7    12        1–4  2–5   —   6–2  4–4   —   5–1
4 Huayramarca                                     11    5   2   4    45   42   +3    12        1–2  5–5  4–9   —   5–3  4–1  6–1
5 Kelssek                                         11    3   1   7    28   39  −11     7        0–3  2–3  2–4  3–5   —   2–1   — 
6 Nephara                                         11    1   2   8    27   43  −16     4        2–3  5–6  3–3  4–6  4–5   —   3–1
7 Adyatin                                         11    1   2   8    20   52  −32     4        2–3  2–6  4–2  5–5  1–4  1–1   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Nova Anglicana (21)
TJUN-ia (19) 5–0 Nephara (33)
Kelssek (09) 3–1 Adyatin (82)
Quebec & Shingoryeo (14-HOST) 5–0 Huayramarca (UR)

P Group A                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Quebec & Shingoryeo                             12   11   0   1    49   21  +28    22         —   9–2  2–7  5–0  6–2  4–1  5–1
2 Nova Anglicana                                  12    9   1   2    60   34  +26    19       2–3   —   5–0  3–2  3–1  8–2  12–1
3 TJUN-ia                                         12    6   2   4    48   36  +12    14        1–4  2–5   —   6–2  4–4  5–0  5–1
4 Huayramarca                                     12    5   2   5    45   47   −2    12        1–2  5–5  4–9   —   5–3  4–1  6–1
5 Kelssek                                         12    4   1   7    31   40   −9     9        0–3  2–3  2–4  3–5   —   2–1  3–1
6 Nephara                                         12    1   2   9    27   48  −21     4        2–3  5–6  3–3  4–6  4–5   —   3–1
7 Adyatin                                         12    1   2   9    21   55  −34     4        2–3  2–6  4–2  5–5  1–4  1–1   —

Tiebreaker notes: Nephara finishes ahead of Adyatin by winning their H2H matchup (1 win, 1 draw).

Group B

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - Rocky Canada (UR)
Kaldtfjell (UR) 0–1 Ko-oren (05)
Vilita & Turori (36) 1–6 HUElavia (07)
Banija (24) 0–3 Graintfjall (13)

P Group B                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Ko-oren                                         11    8   1   2    35   13  +22    17         —   1–0  5–0  3–2   —   8–0  5–2
2 Graintfjall                                     11    7   3   1    28   11  +17    17        1–1   —   0–0  4–2  2–0   —   6–3
3 HUElavia                                        11    6   3   2    28   21   +7    15        0–4  2–2   —   4–1  1–1  6–1   — 
4 Banija                                          12    7   0   5    42   28  +14    14        4–1  0–3  2–3   —   4–0  6–1  7–3
5 Rocky Canada                                    11    2   2   7    20   37  −17     6        1–0  0–2  1–2  2–5   —   5–4  5–5
6 Vilita & Turori                                 11    3   0   8    30   54  −24     6        3–6  1–5  1–6  1–4  7–4   —   3–0
7 Kaldtfjell                                      11    1   1   9    29   48  −19     3        0–1  1–3  3–4  3–5  5–1  4–8   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Banija (24)
Graintfjall (13) 9–3 Vilita & Turori (36)
HUElavia (07) 7–2 Kaldtfjell (UR)
Ko-oren (05) 4–1 Rocky Canada (UR)

P Group B                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Ko-oren                                         12    9   1   2    39   14  +25    19         —   1–0  5–0  3–2  4–1  8–0  5–2
2 Graintfjall                                     12    8   3   1    37   14  +23    19        1–1   —   0–0  4–2  2–0  9–3  6–3
3 HUElavia                                        12    7   3   2    35   23  +12    17        0–4  2–2   —   4–1  1–1  6–1  7–2
4 Banija                                          12    7   0   5    42   28  +14    14        4–1  0–3  2–3   —   4–0  6–1  7–3
5 Rocky Canada                                    12    2   2   8    21   41  −20     6        1–0  0–2  1–2  2–5   —   5–4  5–5
6 Vilita & Turori                                 12    3   0   9    33   63  −30     6        3–6  1–5  1–6  1–4  7–4   —   3–0
7 Kaldtfjell                                      12    1   1  10    31   55  −24     3        0–1  1–3  3–4  3–5  5–1  4–8   —

Tiebreaker notes: Ko-oren wins the H2H matchup vs. Graintfjall (1 win, 1 draw) and wins the group. Rocky Canada and Vilita and Turori have split their H2H series, so the GD were used to tiebreak.

Group C

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - The Cordian Isles (UR)
Pius Desurongcrandis (53) 0–7 Cassadaigua (04)
Mapletish (48) 1–4 Elejamie (08)
Chromatika (22) 0–0 Fluvannia (20)

P Group C                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Cassadaigua                                     11    8   2   1    45   20  +25    18         —   2–2  5–2   —   7–2  7–6  5–2
2 Elejamie                                        11    7   2   2    43   20  +23    16        5–3   —   7–0  5–1  2–2   —   5–0
3 Chromatika                                      12    6   2   4    30   32   −2    14        1–5  4–2   —   4–3  0–0  4–1  7–0
4 The Cordian Isles                               11    6   0   5    37   34   +3    12        0–3  3–6  4–0   —   6–5  6–0  2–0
5 Fluvannia                                       11    2   4   5    25   35  −10     8        0–0  1–0  0–1  8–6   —   4–4   — 
6 Pius Desurongcrandis                            11    2   2   7    30   49  −19     6        0–7  3–5  2–4  3–5  6–3   —   2–2
7 Mapletish                                       11    1   2   8    13   33  −20     4        0–1  1–4  3–3  0–1  3–0  2–3   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Chromatika (22)
Fluvannia (20) 2–2 Mapletish (48)
Elejamie (08) 4–1 Pius Desurongcrandis (53)
Cassadaigua (04) 3–7 The Cordian Isles (UR)

P Group C                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Elejamie                                        12    8   2   2    47   21  +26    18         —   5–3  5–1  7–0  2–2  4–1  5–0
2 Cassadaigua                                     12    8   2   2    48   27  +21    18        2–2   —   3–7  5–2  7–2  7–6  5–2
3 The Cordian Isles                               12    7   0   5    44   37   +7    14        3–6  0–3   —   4–0  6–5  6–0  2–0
4 Chromatika                                      12    6   2   4    30   32   −2    14        4–2  1–5  4–3   —   0–0  4–1  7–0
5 Fluvannia                                       12    2   5   5    27   37  −10     9        1–0  0–0  8–6  0–1   —   4–4  2–2
6 Pius Desurongcrandis                            12    2   2   8    31   53  −22     6        3–5  0–7  3–5  2–4  6–3   —   2–2
7 Mapletish                                       12    1   3   8    15   35  −20     5        1–4  0–1  0–1  3–3  3–0  2–3   —

Tiebreakers: Cordian Isles and Chromatika have split their H2H matchups. The Cordian Isles finish ahead of Chromatika by GD.

Group D

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - Taxonomic Kingdoms (UR)
Placely Placington (50) 2–5 Siovanija and Teusland (02)
Eshialand (31) 3–3 Gyatso-Kai (06)
Poafmersia (23) 5–4 Delaclava (17)

P Group D                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Gyatso-Kai                                      11    7   3   1    50   28  +22    17         —   8–5  6–3  7–2  4–1   —   3–3
2 Siovanija and Teusland                          11    8   0   3    44   39   +5    16        2–5   —   4–2  5–2  7–4  2–1   — 
3 Eshialand                                       11    6   2   3    51   34  +17    14       3–3  8–3   —   3–2  2–2  12–2  6–3
4 Delaclava                                       11    6   0   5    46   37   +9    12       3–2  3–4   —    —   5–1  11–4  6–1
5 Poafmersia                                      12    4   4   4    38   41   −3    12        3–3  4–5  5–2  5–4   —   4–3  1–1
6 Placely Placington                              11    1   2   8    30   56  −26     4        1–2  2–5  3–7  3–4  5–5   —   2–2
7 Taxonomic Kingdoms                              11    0   3   8    17   41  −24     3        2–7  0–2  1–3  2–4  0–3  2–4   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Poafmersia (23)
Delaclava (17) 3–3 Eshialand (31)
Gyatso-Kai (06) 6–2 Placely Placington (50)
Siovanija and Teusland (02) 6–1 Taxonomic Kingdoms (UR)

P Group D                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Gyatso-Kai                                      12    8   3   1    56   30  +26    19         —   8–5  6–3  7–2  4–1  6–2  3–3
2 Siovanija and Teusland                          12    9   0   3    50   40  +10    18        2–5   —   4–2  5–2  7–4  2–1  6–1
3 Eshialand                                       12    6   3   3    54   37  +17    15       3–3  8–3   —   3–2  2–2  12–2  6–3
4 Delaclava                                       12    6   1   5    49   40   +9    13       3–2  3–4  3–3   —   5–1  11–4  6–1
5 Poafmersia                                      12    4   4   4    38   41   −3    12        3–3  4–5  5–2  5–4   —   4–3  1–1
6 Placely Placington                              12    1   2   9    32   62  −30     4        1–2  2–5  3–7  3–4  5–5   —   2–2
7 Taxonomic Kingdoms                              12    0   3   9    18   47  −29     3        2–7  0–2  1–3  2–4  0–3  2–4   —

Group E

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - Patriotlandia (UR)
Trolleborg (89) 0–1 Valanora (01)
Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (39) 2–2 Abanhfleft (10)
Equestria (26) 2–0 Le Choix (16)

P Group E                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Valanora                                        11    8   1   2    35   18  +17    17         —   3–0  4–2   —   1–0  8–2  3–3
2 Abanhfleft                                      11    7   1   3    24   15   +9    15        1–5   —   1–0  6–0   —   3–1  4–0
3 Le Choix                                        11    5   2   4    23   14   +9    12        5–0  0–1   —   3–3  4–0  3–0   — 
4 Patriotlandia                                   11    4   3   4    19   24   −5    11        3–6  2–1  0–0   —   0–1  4–1  2–0
5 Trolleborg                                      11    4   1   6    14   19   −5     9        0–1  0–1  2–3  3–0   —   3–3  1–0
6 Equestria                                       12    3   2   7    17   33  −16     8        0–3  2–4  2–0  2–2  2–3   —   1–0
7 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland        11    2   2   7    13   22   −9     6        2–1  2–2  1–3  1–3  4–1  0–1   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Equestria (26)
Le Choix (16) 2–1 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland (39)
Abanhfleft (10) 6–2 Trolleborg (89)
Valanora (01) 2–3 Patriotlandia (UR)

P Group E                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Valanora                                        12    8   1   3    37   21  +16    17         —   3–0  4–2  2–3  1–0  8–2  3–3
2 Abanhfleft                                      12    8   1   3    30   17  +13    17        1–5   —   1–0  6–0  6–2  3–1  4–0
3 Le Choix                                        12    6   2   4    25   15  +10    14        5–0  0–1   —   3–3  4–0  3–0  2–1
4 Patriotlandia                                   12    5   3   4    22   26   −4    13        3–6  2–1  0–0   —   0–1  4–1  2–0
5 Trolleborg                                      12    4   1   7    16   25   −9     9        0–1  0–1  2–3  3–0   —   3–3  1–0
6 Equestria                                       12    3   2   7    17   33  −16     8        0–3  2–4  2–0  2–2  2–3   —   1–0
7 Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland        12    2   2   8    14   24  −10     6        2–1  2–2  1–3  1–3  4–1  0–1   —

Tiebreaker notes: Valanora sweeps Abanhfleft on their H2H matchups, 2-0, and wins the group.

Group F

MATCHDAY 13 BYE - StrayaRoos (UR)
Atheara (55) 3–3 Mercedini (03)
Sannyamathland (30) 1–2 Sarzonia (11)
Gergary (25) 1–0 Savojarna (12)

P Group F                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Sarzonia                                        11   10   0   1    54   20  +34    20         —   6–1   —   7–3  5–0  6–1  4–3
2 Savojarna                                       11    7   1   3    39   21  +18    15        2–5   —   6–0  4–2  7–1   —   6–1
3 Atheara                                         11    6   1   4    28   26   +2    13       4–1  0–4   —   3–3  3–0  1–0  10–0
4 Mercedini                                       11    5   1   5    47   37  +10    11        2–4  2–3  5–1   —   3–5  6–0   — 
5 Gergary                                         12    5   1   6    32   43  −11    11        2–9  1–0  2–4  5–7   —   6–3  7–0
6 Sannyamathland                                  11    3   2   6    30   32   −2     8        1–2  3–3  5–0  3–6  1–1   —   7–1
7 StrayaRoos                                      11    0   0  11     9   60  −51     0        1–5  0–3  0–2  2–8  1–2  0–6   —

MATCHDAY 14 BYE - Gergary (25)
Savojarna (12) 0–0 Sannyamathland (30)
Sarzonia (11) 7–2 Atheara (55)
Mercedini (03) 5–5 StrayaRoos (UR)

P Group F                                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                          
1 Sarzonia                                        12   11   0   1    61   22  +39    22         —   6–1  7–2  7–3  5–0  6–1  4–3
2 Savojarna                                       12    7   2   3    39   21  +18    16        2–5   —   6–0  4–2  7–1  0–0  6–1
3 Atheara                                         12    6   1   5    30   33   −3    13       4–1  0–4   —   3–3  3–0  1–0  10–0
4 Mercedini                                       12    5   2   5    52   42  +10    12        2–4  2–3  5–1   —   3–5  6–0  5–5
5 Gergary                                         12    5   1   6    32   43  −11    11        2–9  1–0  2–4  5–7   —   6–3  7–0
6 Sannyamathland                                  12    3   3   6    30   32   −2     9        1–2  3–3  5–0  3–6  1–1   —   7–1
7 StrayaRoos                                      12    0   1  11    14   65  −51     1        1–5  0–3  0–2  2–8  1–2  0–6   —

Playoff Table

P Group X                                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
01 Sarzonia                                        12   11   0   1    61   22  +39    22 FIRST-PLACE
02 Quebec & Shingoryeo                             12   11   0   1    49   21  +28    22 FIRST-PLACE
03 Gyatso-Kai                                      12    8   3   1    56   30  +26    19 FIRST-PLACE
04 Ko-oren                                         12    9   1   2    39   14  +25    19 FIRST-PLACE
05 Elejamie                                        12    8   2   2    47   21  +26    18 FIRST-PLACE
06 Valanora                                        12    8   1   3    37   21  +16    17 FIRST-PLACE
----
07 Nova Anglicana                                  12    9   1   2    60   34  +26    19 SECOND-PLACE
08 Graintfjall                                     12    8   3   1    37   14  +23    19 SECOND-PLACE
09 Cassadaigua                                     12    8   2   2    48   27  +21    18 SECOND-PLACE
10 Siovanija and Teusland                          12    9   0   3    50   40  +10    18 SECOND-PLACE
11 Savojarna                                       12    7   2   3    39   21  +18    16 SECOND-PLACE*
12 Abanhfleft                                      12    8   1   3    30   17  +13    17 SECOND-PLACE*
----
13 Eshialand                                       12    6   3   3    54   37  +17    15 THIRD-PLACE*
14 HUElavia                                        12    7   3   2    35   23  +12    17 THIRD-PLACE*
15 TJUN-ia                                         12    6   2   4    48   36  +12    14 THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF
16 Le Choix                                        12    6   2   4    25   15  +10    14 THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF
17 The Cordian Isles                               12    7   0   5    44   37   +7    14 THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF
18 Atheara                                         12    6   1   5    30   33   −3    13 THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF

Seeding notes: The group winners were placed 1-6, the runner-ups 7-12 and the third-placers 13-18, with #13 and #14 seeds being given a bye to the Round of 16. They were sorted out by number of points, and then the point differential.

Two re-seedings were done to prevent Round of 16 rematches by those on the same group. Those pairs switched around were #13 HUElavia and #14 Eshialand to prevent Eshialand's potential rematch with #3 Gyatso-Kai, while the #11 Abanhfleft and #12 Savojarna were also switched around to prevent Abanhfleft's potential rematch with #6 Valanora.

World Cup of Hockey 44 Playoff Rounds - Rink of Dreams, Quebec & Shingoryeo

The tournament will be held over a twelve-day period, with a couple of IC off-days built in. Please note that all matches are held at the stadium (also known as the Rink of Dreams proper) and not any of two practice rinks it uses.

Day 1 - Play-Off Round
#15 TJUN-ia vs. #18 Atheara 16:00
#16 Le Choix vs. #17 The Cordian Isles 20:00

Day 2 - Day Off/Congress Day.

Marked as Day off, with an IC congress held by the World Cup of Hockey Federation and Hockey Quebec. It is probable both the WCoHF executives, officials and the national federation delegates are attending. Players and the coaching staff can also use this day off to practice, recharge or engage with fans. (OOC: feel free to RP this, of course)

Day 3 - First Round DAY 1
#1 Sarzonia vs. #15-18 TBD [TBD due to possibility of re-seedings in case a potential rematch occurs] @ 14:00
#8 Graintfjall vs. #9 Cassadaigua @ 19:00

Day 4 - First Round DAY 2
#5 Elejamie vs. #12 Abanhfleft @ 14:00
#4 Ko-oren vs. #13 Eshialand @ 19:00

Day 5 - First Round DAY 3
#6 Valanora vs. #11 Savojarna @ 14:00
#3 Gyatso-Kai vs. #14 HUElavia @ 19:00

Day 6 - First Round DAY 4
#7 Nova Anglicana vs. #10 Siovanija and Teusland @ 14:00
#2 Quebec & Shingoryeo vs. #15-18 TBD [TBD due to possibility of re-seedings in case a potential rematch occurs] @ 19:00

by **Sarzonia** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 7:59 am

There may have been drama involving Sarzonia's baseball team advancing to the knockout rounds of the World Baseball Classic, but there was no such issue for the Sarzonian national ice hockey team.

The Stars wrapped up the group stage of the 44th World Cup of Hockey with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Sannyamathland and then a blowout 7-2 victory to avenge their only group stage loss to Atheara. In fact, the only "drama" involving Sarzonia's on ice escapades was which goaltender Brett Tanguay, Sr. would start in the group stage finale with a top two seed already locked up.

Tanguay would answer that question by sending out third choice goalkeeper Yuri Evgenikov to start the final match in front of an appreciative 17,978 at Bank of Sarzonia Arena in Nicksia. The crowd got an opportunity to salute Jacob Parsons for his work in helping the Stars get to this position of being a high seed. They also cheered on Owen Franks, the man who started the first two matches of qualifying, including a 4-2 away victory over third ranked Mercedini that continued an incredible string against one of the highest ranked teams in the hockey multiverse. They would salute Evgenikov, who announced after the match that he would retire again after being coaxed out of retirement when Parsons attempted suicide before the opening match against StrayaRoos.

Sarzonia wrapped up qualifying with an 11-0-1 record, level with host nation Quebec & Shingoryeo, earning a plus-39 goal differential that eclipsed the Quebecois by 11 goals. That rendered the hosts the No. 2 overall seeds, and both they and the Stars will await the results of the playoff round to determine whom their opponents will be in the Round of 16. It was an enviable position for any team to be in; in particular, one that had faced turmoil one World Cup prior when the Stars fired manager Paul Bremerton in favour of Tanguay.

"This team has shown great resilience," Tanguay said. "They've really responded well since I took over as manager. I can't say enough good things about how we've done."

Sarzonia also finished as the top goalscoring team during qualifying, netting 61 goals to edge past Nova Anglicana's 60 for the top spot. The Stars allowed 22 goals, ranking them 10th among the 18 teams still competing in the knockout rounds. None of the teams eliminated in the group stage have allowed fewer goals than Sarzonia's total. That fact is of some concern to centre Alyssa Hannigan, who pointed out the maxim that "offence wins games, defence wins championships."

"There aren't any bad teams remaining," she said. She pointed out that Atheara, who were the 18th and last seeds to advance to the knockout rounds, were the only team to defeat the Stars during group stage play.

"Every team still in the knockout rounds has a winning record," she added. "Atheara are not a team we can afford to take lightly. None of the other teams in this competition are."

If the Stars are to defeat their first round opponent, which could be Le Choix or The Cordian Isles if regardless of the TJUN-ia-Atheara result if World Cup organisers seek to avoid a rematch between Sarzonia and Atheara in the Round of 16, as per standard sporting custom, they would likely face the winner of the Græntfjall-Cassadaigua match in the quarterfinals. However, Tanguay said his team's focus for right now was to get some rest and to enjoy some time away from the rink. The team would take a day off, then would do a "skate-through" as he described it, likening that to a walk-through in gridball parlance.

"Right now, we want to make sure we're going to be healthy for the stretch run," he said. "That's my first priority."

by **Patriotlandia** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:31 am

Heartbroken, but giant slayers nonetheless

By Roland Leduc

The Patriotlandian national team needed a miracle in order to qualify for the next stage of the 44th World Cup of Hockey. They needed to win against the group leader Valanora and hope Le Choix would lose both it's matches against Equestria and Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland. The Mountaineers had a bye for the first matchday of the weekend. Players training in the weight room were watching their rivals on the television. They saw Equestria beat Le Choix 2-0 and seemed to be energized by the hope they weren't eliminated yet. Soon after, they had to prepare for their toughest challenge yet, an away game at Valanora.

A small contingent of fans were waiting at their airport gate to cheer them on for what could be the last time this tournament. In the locker room, before the game, there was a weird energy as, for some players, this could be the last time they wear the blue, white and red. However, the players looked focused on the task at hand. As they took to the ice, a small group of traveling fans surrounded their half of the ice with signs and a few players gifted them pucks. With the crowd on their side, the Calcuttas opened the scoring early after their offensive pressure finally pierced a way through the Mountaineers defence. Not wanting to fall behind, the team rallied with some pressure of their own with Dartagne beating the Vanorian netminder with shot from the point. All seemed to be going well but, minutes before the intermission, the defense was unable to properly clear the zone and the turnover was expertly converted as you would expect from the group leaders. In the second period, the Mountaineers had to mount the pressure in order to keep their qualification hopes alive. Gilles Curtis scored first to sow the seed of doubt in the mind of the home fans. In the second half of the period, Victor Herault fully silenced the home crowd by giving Patriotlandia it's first lead of the game. The Calcuttas pressed during the third to find the equaliser but ran out of time. Before they stepped off the ice, the players acknowledged and salute the group of traveling fans cheering from the nosebleeds. With the win, the Mountaineers had held up their end of the deal. Now they had to wait for a Schutzenphalia and West Ruhntuhnkuhnland upset.

The good news would not come however, as Le Choix eventually won their game. The mood was a bit lower on the plane as players, coaches and fans contemplated what could have been.

The next day, head coach François Saumure held a press conference to say a few words on the tournament. "I think every player on the team should be proud of what we accomplished. To show up on the world stage for the first time and compete at this level is no mean feat" he explained, "There is obviously a few games we would like to have back but finishing best of the rest in our group is something we can hopefully build on for years to come." "I would like to thank Quebec and Shingoryeo on behalf of the whole organisation for making this tournament possible. We also want to wish good fortune to all the teams advancing to the next round."

The players are now going back to their domestic teams and will soon be rivals again. However the foundations laid by this group is something that every Patriotlandian should cherish for years to come. They might not have made it all the way like you see in movies but they showed the whole world what it means to be Patriotlandian. Thank you for reading our compatriots' exploit during this edition of the World Cup of Hockey. Keep an eye out on our domestic sports newswire to stay up to date with the happenings all around the PHA.

by **StrayaRoos** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:12 pm

due to the Um... Success of the National Hockey Team at the 44th world Cup of Hockey The StrayaRoos Olympic Committee that oversees the Sport in StrayaRoos has announced that they will be going to the XVI Winter Olympics regardless of What happens because they want recognition by the Government who only sees The SFA as the Sole overseer of Sport in StrayaRoos.
also about hockey we didn't Lose!!!! We Didn't Win Though
Now onto the Next subject on the Snow Show:Zeal 2021 and the XVI Winter Olympics

by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 6:39 pm

After a chaotic 4-4 draw with Kelssek saw our fate move into our hands, the Ice Jaguars knew the winning at least 1 of their final 2 games in order to secure only a 2nd playoff berth in our history. Ølson Rasmussen knew that getting back to the promised land for the 2nd time would secure his job for a bit more time at least and so, he wanted to make sure that Huaryamarca had no chance of knocking us out at the final hurdle.

That goal would take us to our final road game of the campaign against Nova Anglicana in what was the Lions' final game of the regular season. Sherm Willis wanted his team's group stage to end on a high and as such, he showed no mercy towards our qualification hopes in this game. The ruthlessness shown by the hosts in this game was certainly apparent throughout and poor Jakob Vaduz stood no chance out there. Sammy Jensen would score a brace in this contest with Glen Gray, Victor Hall and Gaston Fortin making up the other 3 goals. In the end, we were simply no match for the Lions and that set up a simple scenario for the final MD: win and you're in.

Fortunately for us, Huayamarca lost to hosts Quebec and Shingoryeo which secured our Playoff spot no matter what. That did mean that our final game at The Rink in The Gardens against Nephara wasn't going to matter at all in the long run, but points were still points and getting a 6th win to our name heading into the playoffs was certainly a good way to build momentum and that is exactly what we did. Asger Fuchshund didn't have a fun night at all and that was due to the 5 goals we scored in retaliation to the 5 we conceded in the previous game. Julian Visipils was, once again, a force with a hattrick while Vasil Cherysezsky and John Gallagher also scored the final goals at The Rink for now. No one knows when will be the next time we suit up in New Washington and so, everyone applauded the crowd after the game in order to recognise the support we have received.

We shall now head to the Rink of Dreams with Broadcast Package B and a dream of winning our first playoff game ever. Our #15 seeding means we must play a Playoff Game to enter the Round of 16, with #18 Atheara awaiting us soon enough. The Northern Guards will certainly be an interesting opponent to face and with a date with one of the Top 2 seeds (Sarzonia or hosts Quebec) in the Ro16 awaiting the victor, getting that opportunity will certainly be good for us all. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE
MD1: vs Adyatin (82) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington W 5-1 (2nd)
MD2: @Huaryamarca (UR) - Domo del Altiplano, Huayramarca D.M. W 9-4 (2nd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD3: vs Quebec and Shingoryeo (14) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington L 1-4 (3rd)
MD4: @Kelssek (9) W 4-2 (2nd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD5: BYE (3rd)
MD6: vs Nova Anglicana (21) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington L 2-5 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD7: @Nephara (33) D 3-3 (3rd/3-1-2/7pts/+5GD)
MD8: @Adyatin (82) L 2-4 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD9: vs Huaryamarca (UR) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington W 6-2 (3rd)
MD10: @Quebec and Shingoryeo (14) - The Marijuana Island Gaol, Marijuana Island, Nunavut W 7-2 (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD11: vs Kelssek (9) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington D 4-4 (3rd)
MD12: BYE (3rd)
-----------------Puck Watch!-----------------
MD13: @Nova Anglicana (21) L 0-5 (3rd)
MD14 vs Nephara (33) - The Rink in The Gardens, New Washington W 5-0 (3rd/6-2-4/14pts/+12GD
--------------------------PLAYOFFS (All matches at Rink of Dreams, Quebec and Shingoryeo--------------------------
POR: vs Atheara (55/#18)

by **The Cordian Isles** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 12:32 am

Shock.

Complete and utter shock.

The kind of shock that steals the words right off your tongue.

That's what the entire Cordian national hockey team was feeling after the final game of the World Cup of Hockey.

Some players were affected by a sudden onset of short-term memory loss: Did we just do that? Did that actually just happen?

The team doctor quickly diagnosed this as what the fuck syndrome, a temporary condition that sets in when (usually positive) ridiculous stuff happens. It lasts about ten minutes before the dopamine takes over and celebrations begin.

Kress Thomassen walked into the room, grinning ear to ear as she surveyed the room. They'd just accomplished the impossible. They'd not only beaten but completely blown out Cassadaigua in their home rink. As an unranked nation. Ninety-one nations were ranked by the WCoH federation, and Cordia was not among them. Yet they'd just defeated the fourth-ranked nation by a score of seven to three. Incredible.

"There's not all that much to say," she began. "It's... insane what we've pulled off in this tournament so far. That performance... I don't even know. We've done what we got together to do and then some. You should all be proud of yourselves, each and every one of you, for what we've accomplished over the past month or so. There's more to come, but I don't think the competition will be any stronger than the Dagans, so if we play like we did today over there in Quebec, they'll have a hard time stopping us."

And just like that, the temporary affliction was lifted, and chanting and yelling could be heard anywhere within a large radius of the locker room.

The team split up on returning to the Isles, getting a bit of rest and time with their families before they had to head to Quebec. Only they wouldn't be flying...

Well, nobody could really say exactly what they were inging, but they were very excited about it. A magic portal to a magic rink? Magicing didn't have the right ring to it, nor did portaling. But come on, these were hockey players and they didn't care about the portal, however cool and new it was. To them, the only thing better than a normal rink was a magic rink. Especially a decidedly high-end magic rink with 40,000 seats for the good games and every amenity you might find in other modern rinks. Even if they only played there once, it would not be an experience for them to forget.

The draw to play Le Choix... they were actually just as excited about that. It's not every day you get a chance as a cinderella team to knock off last cycle's cinderella team, and by this point nothing was at stake for a team that had already far exceeded expectations. If they lost, so be it. They had had an amazing run already and didn't need another win to make it even more so. If they won? Great, and they'd show up ready to play the next game. There was no longer any pressure to win, just pressure not to embarrass the nation on ice hockey's biggest stage.

When they did get to the Rink of Dreams, the team began practicing immediately in an attempt to fine-tune some of their systems before the play-ins. Their offense, specifically, needed to be ready for a Chosen defense which allowed just fifteen goals in twelve group-stage games. Scoring on rushes would be hard to do, so these systems practices focused on the powerplay and extended play in the offensive zone, areas where most of the goals would come from.

Then came the big day. The team was dead silent, each person in their own mind, completely focuses, going over their what they had to do this game to come out on top. Nobody spoke as the players got into their gear. Nobody said so much as a word until the team yelled their chant just before the puck was to drop.

Thomassen offered few words herself. "It's all inside you. Everything you need to win this game, you already have. Now is when you show the world that you do have it."

Eric Eaton whispered words of encouragement to each of his players on the ice before lining up for the faceoff. He looked up to see Heloise Tourigny opposite him, in the yellow and black of the Chosen. The rink was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The puck fell from the referee's hand. The centers tensed up, fighting the first battle of the sixty-minute war that is hockey.

The game had begun.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 4:02 am

Day 2 - OFF DAY
Lounge, Officials' Lodge

Well the congress could have gone worse, the Imperial Sporting Council president and the deputy minister of Sports and Recreation, Louise P. Saulnier, thought to herself as she stood in middle of a near-empty lounge that was reserved for the officials on their lodge. There were only her and another high-ranked official, a man, who were still standing on this lounge, their eyes dreary from both the travel to the venue, and the last twenty four hours of the congress. Something that neither of them were really happy about.

'Isn't it always painful?' her colleague spoke, the tall frame of the man indicating that he was probably an athlete blue moons ago in his high school days. It was clear with his voice that, even though he has long moved on from those days, he always preferred to look with the positives. 'The burden of being on charge, always on run.'

Louise, being the superior of the two, simply gave a nod, before explaining herself. 'But nothing's like the reward that comes when everything works out in your favour,' she said, giving a light smile that still shone bright even in her age of fifty-five, indicating that they have known each other for a long time by now. 'You know, the ISC has done everything to get it right, and those below us have done everything possible to make sure that these competitions run on time, flawlessly, and with enough approvals by our foreign guests. Back-to-back VWEs, the HWC and we'll get through this one as well.'

'If that's what you'd say, Louise,' the man answered as he sipped another cup of cold coffee. His lifted vocal tone, like his rapidly balding hair, seemed to indicate that all the time had gone past these two bureaucrats, as they looked outside. It was a snowy day 2 (officially and unofficially marked as the 'DAY OFF') of the tournament's official schedule, and its northerly location was more than enough to suggest that this tournament was at least never going to be played under hot, dry summers, something that really helped the Quebecois bid win it on the annual congress held two years ago in Quebec City.

The appeal of a summer tournament in middle of snow, with everybody playing outdoors..on a summer, all-expenses paid holiday. What is there not too like about? And now, all the work that Louise and Pierre Akerman, the chair of the organising committee and the Vice President-International of Hockey Quebec, put into the project out at that night in the World Cup of Hockey Federation quarters, and two years later, they got to reap the benefits off of it. 'And yet, no words on possibly starting a regional games?'

'No,' was all Louise Saulnier said. Then followed a minute of silence, before she picked up where she left off. 'And why should we? Don't we always have plenty of work to do with our Commonwealth Games? It was just a year ago when we hosted it in Montreal, and yet you are expecting a regional games, the one with an entirely different nature, into foray?'

'Sure, but there are always possibilities we foster stronger relations with other nations-' Pierre started to speak, before being cut off by visibly-annoyed Louise.

'And what are we looking from those?' she shot back, with every bit of tensions that have come out of her body. 'One thing I can tell you is that Foxchester has not always worked out in the favour of us. Sometimes, it's come in the ways of increased paperwork, other times it's because of the way we, in every ministry and organisational level, have fudged the handling of it. Just ask the RQFA on that,' she continued. 'And yet you wish to risk yourselves further into a hole with something we don't know how people will perceive? There is no reward taking part in these competitions if the events are too different from The Olympic Games, and we will not have a hand organising it unless we have a clear grip.'

'Alright, but we do have to propose something and see if there is anything of value we can get out with these...Anaian Games!' Pierre said, making a stronger appeal than he would have intended to a superior. 'We will see if our more nuanced plan, something that can be used as a testing event for future summer games (OOC: I have no interest to bid for summer games, to be clear) instead of something wild, is perceived.'

Fortunately, this did bring back Louise's interests. 'Well, let's propose a feasibility plan and see what options we get,' answered Saulnier, before they started to walk out of the lounge. 'For now, keep things internal to the department level, and I will have a chat with the Minister about that. She may be more interested than me, and the Cabinet would certainly have their ears raised- they are always looking to expand and promote a pan-Anaian banner, so is to say.'

OOC: Of course, if you wish to enter a sports film to be reviewed, send me a TG or PM with basic premises, ideas, etc, and we'll talk further. If you've done something before, of course, we can pick it up from there as well. There is only one condition - that it must be a foreign film covering Québécois sports scene/plot, or a film covering foreign sports/plot content but directed/produced by a Québécois.

The Taegukgi: The Korean-language voice of the Québécois Commonwealth

'100 Years of Sporting Films': 'Rosyln' Review

★★★★

Gaston Heroux-Mah

HALIFAX, ACADIE - The prodigy, the legendary coach, and the year that can decide the direction of a contending program. This formula is, of course, very common in any film that features college sports, and Sir. Joel-Lynn McCarthy of course knew that when he first made this film, Rosyln, twenty years ago. With his thrilling, fencing-themed film he's planned out for decades prior to this, McCarthy makes it clear that storytelling, no matter how formulaic, is everything you need in order to make a college sports work on film, whether in a documentary or a film.

Of course, if you are like me, you are probably not interested in figuring out the nitty-bitties of every riposte and fleche, or how their 5-point poule matches had gone by. But in Rosyln, which follows a championship-aspiring fencer having to make several life-changing choices while navigating through his senior year of college pursuing the long-eluded first championship for his school, McCarthy makes sure to emphasise that a college student's life and worth is never defined by his performances in Win-Loss record or the championships won.

In his 1957 film 'Long Road out of Eden', Hong Seung-Hwa equalled a post-war teenager's internal struggles to that of an off-road drive through the deserts of Quebecois Acadiana, delivering a point that greatest sacrifices aren't tragic because of the sacrifices you have to make, but because of the fear that you will never be the same. Near the end of the film, Hong's protagonist Rudy Bader (portrayed by Shiloh A. Zuckerman) looks behind the desert he had just crossed, thinking about each sandy hill he had to drive past, and the dust of time that had long gone past him. In Rosyln, McCarthy uses the half-dim piste as a space reflecting the days past growing up that he has to remember. Just like his awareness of the day he will eventually leave it, he thinks about the clock that ticks.

The film opens in a dark room montage, with coach Wright (McCarthy) asking young Landon (Tobias Shin) what made him commit to their school, Ilderton College, three years ago in first place. Quiet, dark and solemn, this is a strong, cinematic introduction for both McCarthy and Shin, whose relationship shine early on.

The black and the white gradually turn into warmer colours though, as we get to see a bit more of Landon's life, in the college campuses filled with maple leaves and shrubs. Not a lot of the scenes are actually about the sport, though we see from time to time that Ilderton's program has become a major name under Wright, who all the other coaches and officials call by first name 'Herbert James' (reference to late 12th Duke of Bathurst, hall-of-fame coach who coached McCarthy and many gold medalists from centuries ago), but with not enough respect given by the athletics administration. Also present is the personal aspect of it all, with Landon's mother, Ursula (Donalda Yoon), and his two older brothers on a major market stall all the way in Myeongju, and his budding relationship with Johannie (Nadine Bureau-Gregoris), a songwriter seven years older.

Emulating Yi's younger self, McCarthy's Wright is all-consuming and isn't short of words, showing every form of emotion. In an away tournament, he asks his son (Filbert Bourassa), a cadet national teamer viewed with massive talent, to critique the sabreurs. But Wright is not short of humanity as well, with him quietly telling Landon that his wife, a local nurse who he came to Ilderton for, is dying and has a couple of years away. He doesn't show it in public, especially with his national team duties also weighing down and all the anticipations lead up to the championship weekend in March, but coach Wright, Landon and his upperclassmen all have to bond together.

Other upperclassmen, of course, are darkhorses in their own right too. They carry their own stories, from computer scientist Samuel on Epee to townie Patrice, have their own stories. While we don't go in explicit details about them - the film still retains a semi-biopic element after all - but through their lens we get to feel a bit more complicated elements established into the team, whether it be the intra-departmental struggles that Samuel observes through his relationship with a runner, or Patrice having his own stories about the team's pre-Wright days of mediocrity. The team does have its quirky moments between the players, especially during the away trips for competitions, but the film does balance itself well between positions of heart-warming moments and uncomfortable places.

Of course, Tobias Shin had an excellent debut here, acting a college senior in the crossroads of an uncertain career that stands before him. Unlike charismatic McCarthy who eventually ended up on acting and directorial career, Landon is more visible with his inner fears, determined not to go back to his younger self and disciplined enough after several years in prep school before now, but he's also emotionally shaky, feels out of depth when with Johannie and worried about his future career. If his real-life sake's had dramatic turns with his career while in his twenties, Landon's case is more realistic and grinding, who is not as confident but has a more straightforward path ahead of him. His performance, reflecting such state of mind, is just brilliant.

Rosyln's narrative does get spotty at times, with several overlaps of individual cuts making it hard to follow for some, and for others sheer cinematic mastery. But it does allow audience to stay anticipated, even if they know Landon's going to have a slightly different outcome than Sir. Joel, who has become one of the most defining faces of the Quebecois cinema. The dusty gyms and limited spectators do seem alien to those more familiar with the Quebecois fencing scene of last few decades, where the gold medalists do get plenty of media attention and we see lots school programs pop up every few years or so. But that's a realistic reminder about where the sport used to stand, and add a bit of reminders about choices we have to make.

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by **Ko-oren** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:47 am

"High fives all around, guys! Congrats! We're going to Quebec!"

"The real game within a game starts now."

"Really? Quebec? Why not a more exotic place. You can take a ferry to Quebec any time of year, this World Cup barely feels special."

"It's at the Rink of Dreams though."

"The what?"

"They made a rink in the middle of nowhere where every single game will be played."

"It's a little exotic at least."

"Teams can fly in a short while beforehand, and there are only two practice rinks. The main stage is in use pretty much 24/7. Gentlemen, please direct your attention to the laptops in front of you. I know we've only just punched our tickets and some guys are still in the showers and getting treatment from the 4-1 over Rocky Canada, but we've got bigger fish to fry."

"We will not leave until every single spot has been booked out by us."

"Reason?"

"Why reason?"

"What reason should we type in coach?"

"Ok, ok, minor setback. Just type in practice."

"It works for me."

"Not for me - it says 'Duplicate reason'."

"You have got to be sh- no worries, just make up stuff. Shooting practice. Skating practice. Scoring practice. Powerplay practice. Just... ice hockey term and then the word practice."

"I typed in sexy teddy bear toss practice and it accepted that."

"Oh well, just make stuff up then."

"One last check, both practice rinks, every day, from early until late. Everything's been booked full, right?"

"Yes."

"And the days after the next game?"

"Signups for those open after the last game ends... Quebec and Shingoryeo versus TJUN-ia or Atheara."

"We know what task awaits us at the final siren of that game, gentlemen."

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 7:15 am

OOC: If you have already made it....congratulations. You have around a day to add before R16 cutoff.

As for the four nations fighting for the R16 ticket.....Cutoff, Play-Off Round

World Cup of Hockey 44 Play-Off Round - Rink of Dreams, Quebec & Shingoryeo

Day 1
#15 TJUN-ia 3–0 Atheara #18 16:00 - Weather: Overcast, -3'c
#16 Le Choix 1–2 The Cordian Isles #17 20:00 - Weather: Light snow, -6'c

#15 TJUN-ia and #17 The Cordian Isles qualify. Due to TJUN-ia coming from same group as #2 Quebec & Shingoryeo, TJUN-ia and The Cordian Isles will have their matchup pairings switched. Their seed number will remain the same.

World Cup of Hockey 44 First Round - Rink of Dreams, Quebec & Shingoryeo

Day 2 - Day Off/Congress Day. Weather: Heavy snow, -11'c

Marked as Day off, with an IC congress held by the World Cup of Hockey Federation and Hockey Quebec. It is probable both the WCoHF executives, officials and the national federation delegates are attending. Players and the coaching staff can also use this day off to practice, recharge or engage with fans. (OOC: feel free to RP this, of course)

Day 3 - First Round DAY 1
#1 Sarzonia vs. #15 TJUN-ia @ 14:00
#8 Graintfjall vs. #9 Cassadaigua @ 19:00

Day 4 - First Round DAY 2
#5 Elejamie vs. #12 Abanhfleft @ 14:00
#4 Ko-oren vs. #13 Eshialand @ 19:00

Day 5 - First Round DAY 3
#6 Valanora vs. #11 Savojarna @ 14:00
#3 Gyatso-Kai vs. #14 HUElavia @ 19:00

Day 6 - First Round DAY 4
#7 Nova Anglicana vs. #10 Siovanija and Teusland @ 14:00
#2 Quebec & Shingoryeo vs. #17 The Cordian Isles @ 19:00

by **Graintfjall** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 7:28 am

During TV coverage of the game, an advertisment plays.

Grainy stock footage of a bullying scene. A group of nasty children surround a smaller, frightened child. They are laughing at him, pushing him around, knocking his bag from his hands. Cruel words are spoken, calling him horrible names. He whimpers and collapses to the ground in tears as one little brat pushes chewing gum into his air. Suddenly, Róbert Grímúlfursson skates in. He forcibly checks the bullies, who go flying. Several of the child actors appear extremely injured, breaking character as they wail and clutch broken limbs.

Cut to another bullying scene. Except now the bullies appear unwilling to engage with their target, a little girl clutching a teddy bear. From off-screen, the director whispers hoarsely at them, repeating his ‘action’ call. “Push her over! Pull her pigtails!”

Uncertainly, one of the bullies reaches out and gives the girl a shove. Nothing happens. Another bully grows a little in confidence, kicking dirty puddle water at her. Then a third opens his mouth and gets half a crude comment about her glasses out before – WHAM! Eiríkur Hálfdánsson soars in on his skates, levelling the bullies. They cry and sob for their parents as he pulls up.

Cut to another scene. A child who is meant to be the target of bullying sits alone at a desk, looking a little bemused. The camera pans over. Several actors meant to be playing bullies are desperately trying to scramble out the window. From the other side of the window, a blue helmet rises into view. They scream in terror as Lukas Jalmarisson materializes, and turn and run for the door – which shatters as Bjarni Davíðsson crashes through it, knocking them flying again. He and Lukas skate to the middle of the room and clap their gloves on the shoulders of the ‘victim’.

Cut to Ríó Ferdinandsson. He’s eating a sandwich, and seems surprised to have the camera on him. From off-stage, the whispered directions: “Do a rap!”

“Well because you’re blaaaaaaaaarrrggh!” The camera pans snaps over to the director, who’s just been body-checked out of his chair by Erlingur Holgeirsson, who then wrestles him to the ground and starts punching him. In the foreground, Bjarnleifur Asgeirsson skates in.

The advertisement ends and cuts back to the game. “And the Ice Wolves are leading 6-2 after two periods, but there’s no sign of letting up here…”

by **Sarzonia** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:03 am

Now that the Round of 16 has been set, the Sarzonian national ice hockey team would prepare for their first match as the top seeds in the tournament.

They would get an opponent who may not be completely familiar on the ice, but is no stranger to Sarzonian sporting teams in recent years.

The TJUN-ia Ice Jaguars defeated 18th seeds Atheara 3-0 and The Cordian Isles knocked off Le Choix 2-1 to finalise the draw, but since TJUN-ia were in Group A with host nation and No. 2 seeds Quebec & Shingoryeo, it means the Quebecois will get Cordia whilst the Stars face the Jags.

That means another opportunity for TJUN-ia to seek revenge for THAT GAME, as TJUN-ian media refer to the Cup of Harmony match that initially appeared to be a 3-1 victory for the Jaguars over the Stars, but then was reversed by a three-goal comeback that resulted in a 4-3 Sarzonia victory that changed the trajectory of both clubs. Ice Hockey Stars manager Brett Tanguay, Sr. said he was still wary of revenge as a potential motive for the Ice Jaguars, even though the teams compete in a different sport.

"Certain matchups transcend their sport," Tanguay said. "Delaclava. Banija. To a certain extent, Cassadaigua. Those are all matches that our teams get up to play no matter the sport. I imagine TJUN-ians feel the same way about facing Sarzonia."

The Jaguars come into the knockout rounds of the World Cup of Hockey after a third place finish in Group A with a 6-2-4 record. They defeated sixth place Nephara 5-0 and benefited from Quebec & Shingoryeo demolishing a Huayramarca side they were level with in the Group A table to advance out of the group. As documented earlier, Sarzonia enter the tournament as the top overall seeds after going 11-0-1. The Stars are riding a six-match winning streak with their only defeat being to playoff bound Atheara. They avenged that lone defeat at Bank of Sarzonia Arena in Nicksia with a 7-2 triumph which gave Yuri Evgenikov a chance to start in goal. Now that the knockout rounds have begun, expectations are that Jacob Parsons will get the nod against TJUN-ia.

"He's our guy," Tanguay said of Parsons. He also said Parsons has been working with the team's psychologist and several Stars players have also supported their teammate.

"I think a lot of us have gotten an education in how to treat someone who's battling depression," said Brett Tanguay, Jr., the team's star forward and the manager's son. "We're also getting a better understanding that there's not always a rhyme or reason to when it hits. That's been one of the biggest lessons of this whole thing for a lot of the players who weren't on the team for World Cup 39," when the team went 1-0-3 in Kelssek and were eliminated in the group stage. Centre Alyssa Hannigan agreed.

"When [Parsons] first couldn't get out of bed, I was like 'why are you so depressed? You're the starting goalie and you're great'!" Hannigan said of Parsons. "I know I've learned a lot about how to deal with depression from seeing what he's gone through."

As for Parsons, he said he's grateful for the support from his manager and Tanguay, Jr.

"It means a lot to me to know they care about me as a person and value my mental health over what I can do between the pipes," Parsons said.

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