Task 1: PMed

Task 2:

<div align="center">Chuck Goody vs. Ales Smirnov

Chuck Goody had himself a great playoff run for the Cup winning Blizzard. He was part of a strong blue line for Edmonton and he led the way with 5 goals and 11 assists, good for 16 points in 17 games. To go along with his offensive outburst, he was second on the team for both hits, 54, and shot blocks, 23. With those stats, it's easy to see why Edmonton leaned on him in the playoffs. He played the second most minutes on the team behind Tanaka and used those minutes very well. There's no doubt Edmonton isn't where they are without the play of Chuck Goody.

On the other side, the Platoon were led by defenseman Ales Smirnov. He was West Kendall's best player in their playoff run, putting up 5 goals and 13 assists, good for 18 points. He was also solid defensively with 35 hits and 27 shot blocks. Like Goody, he was trusted with a lot of ice time and he didn't disappoint. He was the key piece on the blue line that helped the Platoon make it to the Challenge Cup Finals.

Looking at both defensemen, Goody edges out Smirnov and it's no coincidence that Edmonton came out on top. Goody's playoff run was fantastic and he really spear-headed the Blizzard's Cup win.

(219 words)</div>

Task 3:

<div align="center">An Early Playoff Test

The biggest game of West Kendall's playoff season came early. The Platoon entered the playoffs with a matchup against the New England Wolfpack. The Wolfpack were a nice story in the East, but the Platoon were the superior team and many thought they wouldn't have a problem moving onto the second round. It's too bad games aren't played on paper. With home ice advantage, the Platoon came out flat in the first two games. The Wolfpack stormed into West Kendall and took the first two games of the series. The Platoon were rattled and had to travel to New England to right the ship. Enter game 3.

Game 3 of the first round was West Kendall's biggest game. Having lost home ice and down 0-2 going on the road, the Platoon had to win game 3, no question about it. With the pressure squarely on them, the Platoon came out strong and played like everyone knew they were capable of and won game 3 in New England. Now, instead of going down 0-3 and having to win 4 straight games, the Platoon were able to pace themselves into a series win and eventually all the way to the Challenge Cup Final.

(201 words)</div>

Task 4:

<div align="center">Power (Play) Outage

As we know, having an efficient power play in hockey is key to a successful season. The final two teams, however, aimed to prove that it wasn't as important this time around.

In the regular season, the Edmonton Blizzard posted an 18% power play success rate, good for 8th in the league. It wasn't great and it wasn't bad, very middle-of-the-pack. Even with an average power play, the Blizzard still finished in second place in the Western Conference. For the West Kendall Platoon, their power play had a rough year, finishing dead last in the SHL with a 15% success rate. Again, even with the bad power play, the Platoon finished first in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, the numbers didn't improve. The Blizzard stayed at 18% while the Platoon dropped even more to 9%. While the power play didn't stop either team from reaching the Challenge Cup Final, it was Edmonton who took home the Cup and you have to believe that power play success played a part. I'm sure the Platoon would of loved to be more efficient on the power play to give them a better chance next time. I would think that both teams wouldn't want to test fate again and would love to see their success on the power play increase.

(217 words)</div>