Will finish later

Quote:TASK ONE: How is your player feeling for the Finals? Are they nervous or excited? Are they ready? Write at least 150 words about the few days before the beginning of the Finals for your player and how they prepared for the series.

It might sound strange to many, but Maurice Picard's finals preparation was primarily focused on relaxation. "I have a pre-game ritual," he explains. "I sort of meditate before every game. Visualise myself doing good things, making plays. Things like that." In preparation for the Challenge Cup finals, Picard took it a step further, and reconnected with his old teammates in Prince George. "It was a familiarity thing," he elaborates. "I'd been through the stress of a finals series with those guys before, so I kind of wanted a familiar experience to just settle my nerves a bit."

And so it was. A night of jokes and games with his "spicy chicken bruddas" before the biggest series of his professional career so far. It will be interesting to see whether it pays off. If it doesn't, he might want to hide the details of his preparations from the Panthers' GMs -- and his teammates, for that matter.

(155 words)

Quote:TASK TWO: Who is your choice for the unsung hero of the S39 playoffs up to this point? Must be at least 150 words and include at least two statistics in support.

The unsung hero of the playoffs, in my view, has to be Danny Foster. Until now, Foster would probably have been characterised by most as a goon, a guy who does the dirty work on the ice so his teammates don't have to. A reputation which, in fairness, is well earned. However, during the playoffs, Foster has been the highest scoring defenseman on the Panthers roster, despite racking up double the penalty minutes -- twenty-four, to be precise -- of the second least disciplined player on the team (Jean-Luc Reflieux, with twelve), which is testament to his contribution.

Foster's scoring rate is approaching 1 point every twenty minutes of on-ice play, bettered only by Reflieux and the Panthers' leading playoff scorer, Sophia Bennett. For all his efforts, however, Foster doesn't seem to be getting the recognition he deserves, with just one appearance in the three stars list of any playoff game. How?

(150 words)

Quote:TASK FOUR: Unscramble the names of these four players who will be competing in the Challenge Cup Finals.

Send the answers to me by PM. Please make the subject of the message “CW Word Scramble” or something along those lines. [Grading: 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer]

Done

Quote:TASK SIX: Finals series always show surprises. Who will have to stand out the most from each team in order to win it? Make a prediction for potential series MVPs. Must be at least 150 words and mention at least one player from each team.

Quote:Bonus question: Who scores the Cup-winning goal?

Sophia Bennett