TASK ONE:



TASK THREE:
Flash.
McZehrl dekes around the defender, fakes the shot, and the goalie bites! McZ SCOOOOORES!!! *goal horn*

Grit.
Ruutu retrieves the puck in his own zone, and looks to make an outlet pass… LEVELLED BY LAFLAMME. Ruutu’s getting up slowly, but that one had to hurt. Ruutu was looking for his man, and LaFlamme just laid him out, causing the pass to go off target.

This week, the Challenge Cup Final kicks off, and you can see all of the action. Watch as two giant killers square off. Calgary defeated the Panthers and Blizzard, while the Rage took out West Kendall and swept New England. Both teams beat the best their conference had to offer in 5 games or less. What will happen when the meet?

It all gets started tomorrow night, when Mack, Anrikkanen, and Laflamme bring their Calgary Dragons in to do battle in Manhattan. Can McZerhl, Wollker, and Aittokallio withstand the onslaught? Tune in to find out!

(Check local listings for channels and availabilities. All game footage is the property of the Simulation Hockey League and may not be used or duplicated without expressed written consent from the SHL. Games may not be available in Portland or Buffalo since they don’t know what playoffs are to begin with.)



TASK FIVE:
Frequently, fans complain about the fact that in order for their favorite players to get awards and recognition, their team has to make the playoffs. Let’s take a moment to recognize some of the players who didn’t make the post season, but turned in stellar performances during the regular season, with an All-Star team made up of only those players whose teams did not make the playoffs.

C – Geoffery Allen
Geoffery Allen would be the starting center of our all-eliminated All Star team, and some might argue that his inclusion is unfair due to the fact that the Renegades were essentially a playoff team. The Renes only missed the post-season due to the ROW tiebreaker, and as such, the Texas roster is going to be well represented on this team. Allen went 23-24-47, falling just short of the Point Per Game pace. Allen was tied for 8th overall in goals scored and 15th overall in points.

LW – Damien Wert
Damien Wert is one of the two players we’ll recognize here who might make one of the SHL’s all star teams. Wert broke the Point Per Game threshold, posting 25-26-51. Wert didn’t contribute much physically, but with that kind of offensive production, he really wasn’t expected to.

RW – Kristian Eriksson
Kristian Eriksson had a stellar Two-Way season, and while he “only” had 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists) he also delivered 212 hits, one of only three players to record more than 210 hits, and the only one to clear the 40 point threshold. If there’s a standard for Two-Way players, Eriksson is the exemplar of it.

D – Vladimir Lidstrom
The Renes’ representative on the defensive side of the puck is none other than Vladimir Lidstrom. “Vliddy” put up a 7-38-45 season, which is fabulous by anyone’s standards. With no defensemen breaking the Points Per Game threshold, Vliddy was only 4 points off of the league leader. Adding 67 Shot Blocks shows a level of defensive responsibility as well.

D – Friedrich Muller
There’s not many ways to describe Muller’s season that don’t include superlatives. The second player from our list likely to receive actual All Star honors, Muller lead his team in points, getting 10 more than the next most scoring player. I’m not sure what the SHL record for goals by a defenseman is, but I have to think that 21 is pretty close. Adding 27 assists to finish with 48 points put him in second overall for points by a defenseman. He also logged an impressive 71 shot blocks, showing is value in his own end as well. Muller would honestly be my pick for MVP this season.

G – Christoffer Bjornsson
Bjornsson anchored the net for Texas, and while he was a middle-of-the-pack goaltender in save percentage (.910, 7th OA) and above average in GAA (2.40, 5th OA), he outperformed multiple playoff contenders’ keepers in both categories. He was also tied for third overall in wins (26) and tied for second overall in shutouts (4). As this keeper matures, Texas could be the team to beat in the SHL.


TASK SIX: