TASK ONE:

Quote:Write a blog post about any post season game of S30. Can be a game preview, a recap, something silly like a review of what colour laces a player is wearing. must be 150 words

2 rounds down and the finals are set. The stage is Rexall Place, Edmonton. The players are the Edmonton Blizzard and the New England Wolfpack. Both teams took very different paths to get here, but that's all in the past. All the matters now are the next 4-7 games to determine which team will hoist the SHL prize. Period one went differently than many thought with the visiting New England Wolfpack jumping out to an early 2-0 lead off goals from Tim "clutch" Buckner and defensive stud Roman Morenov. Fortunately for the home fans the Blizzard managed to cut that deficit in half before the end of the first off a timely contribution from Karpotsov. The second period saw both teams exchange goals, Dean Colt and Mikael Talo the contributors. Sadly for the hometown fans the Blizzard were unable to equalise in the third, ultimately losing 3-2 and dropping the first of the series at home to the visiting New England Wolfpack. goal scorers Buckner and Talo took home 1st and 3rd star respectively, and the setup man Bennett Jones who double dipped for 2 assists locked up the 2nd star designation. [192 words].

TASK TWO:

Quote:Make a graphic matching up a "Player To Watch" on each team in the finals. Must have 3 stats minimum, two player renders and team logos

TASK THREE

Quote:Who is your MVP candidate for these playoffs and why? Must be 150 words and have 3 stats minimum

There are a lot of worthy candidates, but the easy case is for the goalies that brought there teams to the finals. Brett Broadway in Edmonton and Jakob Tanner in New England have been swatting away pucks on a very consistent basis, and have arguably carried their teams in several games. Seeing as New England bested the Blizzard in a best of 7 the nod ultimately goes to Mr. Tanner. Through 2 rounds Jakob posted a tidy 6-2-0 record with a glowing 0.916 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average, good enough for 3rd and 2nd overall respectively. The finals saw those numbers climb even more, highlighted by an insane 10-2-0 record. Even more impressive, Jakob witnessed an increase in save percentage from seasonal to post-seasonal play, showing just how big he can be in the clutch. Naturally a team is made up of more than just one, or even two, players, but it easy to see that Jakob Tanner is a big reason why the New England Wolfpack were able to complete their Cinderella story and dismantle several early favourites on the way. [184 words].

TASK EIGHT:

Quote:Take one Cup finalist and talk about how they made the playoffs (free agent signings, trades, outstanding rookies, a career season from someone). Must be 200 words

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The season 30 Edmonton Blizzard were largely the same team that managed to win it all in season 28, minus a few key additions and subtractions such as Dean Colt and Chuck Goody to name a few. One player I'd like to highlight that made significant changes between the season 28 and season 30 squad is none other than German center turned winger Nikolaus Scholz. In season 28 Nik was an off-season addition coming in from Portland that was forced to shift from his natural center position to a left wing spot on the second unit. The change took longer than expected to adapt to and Scholz' numbers plummeted from 43 points to a measly 19 points. In season 30 Scholz was able to re-capture some of that offensive flare, going on to post 40 points, including a career high 18 goals. Easily his best season since being acquired by Edmonton, Scholz continued his surge in to the playoffs posting 3 goals and 5 points in the first round helping the Blizzard dispatch the Renegades in 6 games. Sadly for Nik and Blizzard fans alike the well dried up in the 2nd and 3rd rounds as he was largely invisible for the remainder of the playoffs. [206 words].