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S30 Championship Week
#91

TASK TWO:
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TASK THREE:
Nathan Russell, the veteran has been the MVP of the S31 SHL Playoffs. Russell, the undisputed leader of the New England Wolfpack and their longest-tenured player, was simply the best player on the team that won the Challenge Cup. Russell not only led the entire league in points, but was also tops in hits and plus/minus as well. His 19 points put him 3 points atop the leaderboards. His 71 hits were by far and away the most in the league; the next closest was Slappy McDoodle with 52. Russell logged heavy minutes for the Wolfpack, playing on average more than twenty five minutes per game, unprecedented numbers for a forward. Used in all situations, whether it be the powerplay, penalty kill or anything else, Russell was seemingly always on the ice. The veteran showed no signs of fatigue in the playoffs, and was undoubtedly the most valuable player of these playoffs.

TASK FOUR:
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TASK SEVEN:
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Bonus: Tim Buckner

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StarsnorwayRenegades // PLAYER PAGE || UPDATES \\ RenegadesnorwayStars
#92

Task Three
Code:
Laukkanen Going Green?
Ben Jacobs, [i]Between the Pipes[/i]

Standing at 6'6, Mikke Laukkanen is noticeable even out of the bulky goaltender pads we so often see him in. On the ice though, there's something else that sets him apart from the crowd.

'It started when I was a kid,' Laukkanen says, on the eve of the Wolfpack's now historic playoff run. 'My favourite colour was green and I wanted to be able to pick my stick out from the rest of them easily. When I got a little older, I started wearing green laces, and my dad found some green leather to customise my [second hand] pads. It was cool. I felt individual. I kind of stood out when I was playing for the national team though, when everyone else is in blue and white!'

Signing with the Kelowna Knights and then being drafted by the New England Wolfpack must have made coordinating his pad and helmet designs easy. Laukkanen's forest green and black pads are some of the best in the league, and with the full moon and wolf silhouette on the side of his helmet, it's easy to see what team the young goaltender plays for.

Task Three
Code:
Wolfpack goaltender Jakob Tanner had a fine regular season, finishing in the top three goaltenders of the league, but the postseason is where he really shines, and this season was no different. Tanner posted a record of 12-2-0 over three rounds, and even finished off the Cup win with a shutout to seal his third cup, only the second goaltender in league history to do so.

Tanner finished first in the league in wins (12), save percentage (0.929) and GAA (2.25) and was a huge part of the Wolfpack's amazing playoff run, including two sweeps. He also led all goalies in minutes player, thanks to three OT games in the first round against division rivals, the Minnesota Chiefs.

Though skaters like New England's Nathan Russell and Jasper Clayton, and Edmonton's Pedro Sarantez, should also be in the conversation, as the top three playoff scorers, it's Tanner's consistently excellent goaltending each and every game that really pushes him over the top and, in my opinion, makes him the ideal playoff MVP candidate.

Task Five
Code:
The Wolfpack were the underdogs heading into the postseason, having slid into a playoff spot on the last day of the season. The Chiefs were last year's President's Trophy winners, finishing at the top of their conference for the second year straight. They were a strong opponent for the Wolfpack.

Game One

The first game of the playoffs was a tight one, going scoreless through two periods before the teams traded two goals apiece to go to overtime. After twenty minutes, there was no winner. Finally, two and a half minutes into the second overtime, Raven Silverwing scores the overtime winner for the Wolfpack, and they have a 1-0 lead on the series.

Game Two

After game one, the Chiefs were angry, and the Wolfpack had something to prove. Tempers frayed, and the pressure got to both goaltenders. The Chiefs were up 5-2 by the start of the third period, and the Wolfpack had to claw their way to another overtime. Silverwing's second goal of the series is also his second overtime game winner of the series.

Game Three

The Wolfpack head back to Boston with a 2-0 lead on the series. Game three is low scoring, with teams trading a single goal before yet another overtime. This time, however, it's Brandon Pomery sealing the win for the Wolfpack, and they take a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.

Game Four

The Wolfpack need one more win to move on to the next series. The Chiefs are facing their second consecutive first round sweep. The Wolfpack concede the first goal before scoring five unanswered. Minnesota claws back another, but they can't do any more than that. The final score is 5-2 Wolfpack, and they move on to face the winner of Manhattan/West Kendall.

Task Eight
Code:
The New England Wolfpack's playoff run began in the offseason. After a disappointing campaign last season that saw them just losing out on a playoff spot, they lost their starting goaltender, Ernest Ciarelli to free agency, and were looking at an inexperienced starting goaltender fresh out of the SMJHL.

Then, the shocking news came out of Hamilton that their former GM, franchise face and star goaltender, Jakob Tanner, had asked for a trade. New England had to give up half of their top D pairing, Connor O Reilly, but they had a goaltender, and one that was much improved on the younger Ciarelli. They also picked up highly touted free agent Jonathan Lundberg, who last season bounced from team to team, but has finally settled in New England for the foreseeable future.

Adding Tanner and Lundberg added valuable veteran presence to the Wolfpack, but it was their youth that was also a huge factor, with youngsters like Raven Silverwing (getting a spin on the top line with Russell and Sherill) and Bennett Jones, as well as rookies Mia Landvik, slotting into Clayton's defensive partner seamlessly, and third line center Mikael Talo, both of whom contributed all season as well as in the playoffs. The future is bright for the Wolfpack, even as their foundation players are getting older.

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#93

TASK 1

CAL vs. EDM Game 4 - What Went Down?

There isn't a rivalry in hockey like the "Battle For Alberta" that sees the Calgary Dragons face off against the Edmonton Blizzard. Always heated, the tension is amplified by a huge amount when these two teams meet in the playoffs and this season's series was no different. With Calgary winning the S29 cup and the Blizzard winning in S28, this was always going to be competitive, and Game 4 of the series was particularly tense. The Blizzard led the series 2-1 and both teams were desperate to win, with Edmonton looking to take a dominating series lead and Calgary attempting to pull level. After two tight periods of play the game was tied at 2 goals to each team, but Edmonton blueliner Friedrich Muller was able to squeeze one past Hunter Wong of the Dragons in the third period to give the Blizzard a 3-2 win and a 3-1 series lead. For the Blizzard this was a crucial win, stopping Calgary from getting their foot back in the door and allowing them to effectively cement their place in the Challenge Cup finals.

Code:
Total word count, 182 words.


TASK 3

Nathan Russell - MVP Candidate

The New England Wolfpack's captain Nathan Russell stood out as a true leader on his team throughout his team's fairy tale Challenge Cup run. The forward performed exceptionally, leading all players in the points category with 19, scoring 7 goals and 12 assists, putting up an incredible 71 hits in 14 games and a eyebrow raising +18 rating on the ice. Russell quite simply put in a superhero esque performance to lead his team, and it's obvious that without his contributions the team wouldn't have come close to the result they had. Another potential MVP candidate on the Wolfpack is defenseman Jasper Clayton, who put up an incredibly impressive 16 points in 14 games from the blueline, and he deserves every plaudit he receives also, but in my opinion, it is the game changing all round performance of Russell that has earned him his place as the MVP of these playoffs.

Code:
Total word count, 151 words.


TASK 5

Dances With Wolves: Minnesota Chiefs vs New England Wolfpack

Whenever there is a playoff series between a team as dominant in the regular season as this season's Minnesota Chiefs, facing off against a fourth seeded team who barely scraped into the playoffs in the form of the New England Wolfpack, there is always the expectation that the top seed should make light work of the matchup. However the niggling doubt always persists that the underdog has the capability to pull a shock out of the bag. However this series went a stop beyond that, stunning anyone who witnessed it as the Wolfpack not only defeated the Chiefs, but did it in a mere 4 games. This marked the second time in as many seasons that Minnesota had suffered a first round sweep, and a stunning achievement for the Wolfpack, who failed to reach the playoffs last season, as they marked themselves as genuine playoff contenders this season, and someone other teams need take note of. Game 4 was a real hammer blow to the hearts of the Chiefs fans, as after losing 3 close overtime games, they were put out firmly by the Wolfpack with a heavy 5-2 loss. This may be a matchup we get to witness again next season with the way recent seasons have played out, and who knows in future how it will play out. Will the Chiefs be out for revenge after this humiliation, or will the Wolfpack again pull a huge performance out when it matters?

Code:
Total word count, 243 words


TASK 8

The Missing Piece

When it comes to discussing what made New England's run to the cup finals possible, the one thing that stands out to me is the addition of superstar goalie Jakob Tanner from the Hamilton Steelhawks. Tanner already had two Challenge Cup wins to his name, and after a decent regular season really turned on the jets in the playoffs, posting a 0.929 SV% and a 2.25 GAA to lead his team to a historic victory. Adding a player like Tanner to the mix was one that instantly took New England from being a borderline team to one that you expected to be successful. They had always had the talent among their skaters but their weakness in net had hampered them in recent seasons, and so the move to bring in one of the league's best for his twilight years in the SHL was a fantastic move. Having gone to Game 7 of the Challenge Cup finals and suffered a tough loss, I've no doubt that Tanner was beyond delighted to be able to avoid such a high pressure scenario this time and instead get the job done in just 4 games against the highly favoured Edmonton Blizzard. Ultimately, it's tough to measure the effect of a player like this just on his incredible on ice performance, as his contributions as a presence on the team among some of the younger players was no doubt a great bonus to them. Who knows if this is a feat the Wolfpack will be able to replicate in seasons to come, but if they do, Tanner's legacy will perhaps play a big part in it.

Code:
Total word count, 271 words.


BONUS

Tim Buckner

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KEEGAN ANGELLO - CENTER - #91
Raptors Renegades
#94

TASK ONE:

It was the night before Game four and all through the arena - even the sin bin! - not a creature was stirring, not even a pushkin. The players' socks were all hung near their lockers with care, in hopes that the cleaning lady, Conseula, would soon make them smell like fresh air. The young pups were nestled all snug in their bed (orgy?), while visions of Challenge Cups danced through their heads. The coaches had game plans all written on whiteboards, while the players each had had them some fine, fattened, white whores. Jakob Tanner did his stretches to his wife's assumed delight, but she couldn't stand to see such a sight. Instead she reach down and grabbed his wang and tugged, tugged, tugged and gave him a bang. I feel quite awkward, having mentioned fabricated sex - let me be clear, though, nothing happened, I stress. Then Game Four ended and everyone shouted, "Hear hear! Har har!" and the wolves lifted that cup straight to the stars.

Code:
Word count: 167

TASK THREE:

The most valuable player for the S30 SHL finals is a very tough pick. Nathan Russell led the Wolfpack in points (ninteen), goals (seven), plus/minus (+eighteen), hits (seventy-one), and ice time for forwards (twenty-five-plus minutes), but if we're going most valuable, I'd like to make a case for Jasper Clayton. Clayton lead the post-season defensemen in points, going three-thirteen-sixteen, was third among all defensemen in blocked shots (twenty-four), and led his team in powerplay goals (two). These are all make-or-break stats for a lot of post-season teams. Jasper also logged the second-most minutes played for his team, just behind Russell. For a defenseman to accomplish all these things is very important. For his points, blocked shots, and powerplay goals, I would nominate Jasper Clayon as the playoff MVP. If it weren't for his stellar play, I'm not sure if the Wolfpack would have made it as far as they did. Congratulations Jaspy. May we never take him for granted.

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Word count: 165


TASK FIVE

I think a lot of people coming into season thirty did not expect the playoffs to go down like they did - the defending champs being 4-1'd by Edmonton, Edmonton themselves been taken 4-0 in the Challenge Cup finals, a first round exit for the Manhattan Rage (thanks to the West Kendall Platoon), the Minnesota Chiefs being swept in the first round - a big shocker as Minnesota was favoured to win the Challenge Cup, add to that they were 3rd overall in points in the league, and what might be the biggest story; The Wolfpack themselves winning the Cup, having just squeaked past Toronto North Stars (who had a disappointing season showing) to earn the coveted final spot in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota was rightly favoured to win if you took a look at their off-season trades and acquisitions - namely, Barney Stinson coming in from the North Stars and partnering up with highest TPE candidate Alonzo Garbonzo. They had all the make up of a championship team. Maybe it wasn't their fault, though. Minnesota brought each but the last game into overtime with the Wolfpack, but apparently it was not enough. The Wolfpack sweep of Edmonton was also an apropos of nothing. 16-6 were the goals between the teams with the Wolfpack having the clear edge, add to that - the last game was a 5-0 rout for New England.

Code:
Word count: 230

TASK EIGHT

While it may not have been a surprise that New England made the post-season (with 59 points), some of their reasons for making the playoffs may be. Mia Landvik (defense) and Mikael Talo (forward) were the outstanding rookies that accompanied the New England Wolfpack to their triumphant playoff journey. Although the rookies may not have had the biggest impact during the season - both Mia Landvik and Mikael Talo placed on the Top Ten in Scoring among rookies (a very nice accomplishment, as a matter of fact) - the decision to bring both players up was a smart one. The use of Mikael Talo, the former Kelowna Knight, was also extremely smart. He was slotted as a third line centre with power forward Tim Buckner and two-way Bennett Jones and there the group was very tight defensively and immediately clicked. Mia Landvik (also a Kelowna Knight alumni) shored up the second defensive pairing and saw heavy minutes from the New England GM and head coach. Landvik took to it very well, seeing close to eighteen-plus minutes each night. One extra little piece of rookie that really helped bring the Wolfpack to the playoffs was rookie goalie Mikke Laukkanen who was second of the SHL Rookie goalies in shutouts with two. He may have only played 6 games (3-3-0), but his impact was felt and he is a great prospect for the already-powerful New England Team.

Code:
Word count: 234

BONUS: Who scores the cup winning goal? Tim Buckner, baby. Lucky guess.

Platoon Rob Wright Battleborn
#95

TASK ONE
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

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Jacob Tanner was seen doing something very peculiar as he prepared himself for his first game in the first round of the play offs. He was seen taking a walk in the woods, just the night before, garbed in a cloak with the antlers of a twelve point buck seemingly attached to his skull. When I approached him, eager to find out what he was doing and how he felt that a walk in the woods would help him for the upcoming games against the Chiefs, he turned to me, his eyes black and spoke a language I could not understand. I shrank away from him, startled by the shrieking, babbling waterfall of words pouring from his foaming mouth, by the glassy stare of his cold black eyes. As I fell to the ground, I understood what must be done. As a result, it is in this bloggers humble opinion that the Wolfpack are in for a hard fought match against the Chiefs. It would go either way. All hail the Eternal Sleeper.

173 words

TASK THREE
Who is your MVP candidate for these playoffs and why? Must be 150 words and have 3 stats minimum.

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Nathan Russel makes for a strong contender for the Most Valuable Player of the play-offs. It would be hard to dispute he was one of the most important pieces on the ice for the New England Wolfpack that would allow them to go onto win the Cup. He was well over a point per game pace, scoring seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points in total in just fourteen games. He out scored both of the next highest Wolfpack (Jasper Clayton) and Blizzard (Pedro Sarantez) by three points. He also had the highest plus/minus total (+18) of the entire team and while the plus/minus total isn’t a great indicator of individual performance, it shows that the team as a whole played better when he was on the ice, helping to keep the puck in the opponents zone. The icing on the cake would be that he was also the most prolific hitter on the team, with 71. This also ended up with him taking the most penalties (24) but in this case, the ends justify the means as his play clearly helped push the team forward.

186 words


TASK FIVE
Write 200 words on any series match up and what you think will happen, what actually happened or what should have happened.

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What happened in the final series between the Edmonton Blizzard and the New England Wolf Pack for the Cup? When the Edmonton Blizzard beat out of the previous Cup winners, the Calgary Dragons to go into the finals, most assumed that they would have an easy time defeating the New England Wolfpack. The Wolfpack themselves had basically strolled into the finals, having only had some minor amount of trouble during their sweep of the Eastern Conference’s most dominant regular season team, the Minnesota Chiefs but pundits would chalk that up to the East just being weaker or that the Wolfpack were just on a hot streak. What better to end a hot streak then the bone chilling Blizzard? Unfortunately for the Blizzard, it appears those Wolves are of the artic variety, as they tore through the Blizzard with even less trouble then they had dealing with the Chiefs, sweeping them entirely in regulation. These were not flimsy wins either. There was no nail biting close games here as there was in their first round series. In every game, the Wolfpack ended with a commanding lead over their Blizzard opponents, capping off the sweep with a 5-0 shut out of the flagging weather system.

203 words

TASK EIGHT
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 New England Wolfpack are, at best, a middling team. They have a few good to great players but when you stack them up against the truly elite teams, the Minnesota Chiefs and the Calgary Dragons, their roster seems almost pitiful in comparison. With only the recently depleted Manhattan Rage having a weaker roster while still being in the play-offs. So what was it that made the difference for them that would allow them to march, almost loss free, to win the Cup? It was turning over the reigns to Jakob Tanner. Tanner is in theory, just another unassuming goalie but underneath the veil of political correctness and sensitivity lies the cold, beating heart of a thrice damned sorcerer. It’s true, Tanner clearly cavorts with the evils that go in bump in the night, calling on them to do his bidding and curse his opponents, to enhance his own abilities. Did you not see how the pucks bounces off his pads so gently, that he might grasp them with ease? The net, seemingly shrinking to have the puck deflect off the post and away when he was caught out of position. Behold and tremble of the sight of one of the chosen of the damned! Do not say I have not warned yee but now I must away befor

219 words

BONUS: Who scores the cup winning goal? Tim Buckner

Andren Akerson (Present)
Adrik Baranov (S55 to S70)
Rurik Razin (S32 to S44)
Roy Razin (S17 to S32) (HOF/Rage HOF)
Audun Wissink (S5 to S15)
#96

Task one
The game blog that I will be writing about is the shellacking that the New England Wolfpack gave the West Kendall Platoon in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. My god did the West Kendall Platoon receive a spanking. This after all offseason you had players like Slappy Mcdoodle touting how they were going to be the Season 30 SHL champions and no other team in SHL could stand up to them. They even signed the twenty-two million dollar season man in Pierre-Luc Laflamme (no offensive DMOUSHEY – and congratulations on winning the lottery this past off season).
Now let’s discuss game six of the conference finals. Going into the game you had west Kendall Platoon players posting pictures of skinned wolves, predicting victory with scores and stats. Well things did not turn out that way. The first period made you think this game was going to be a good. The period started with Charles Winchester racking up his first goal of the playoff. Then the only shine light for West Kendall occurred, Zallerras Szlerchek scored, that would be the only score for the West Kendall Platoon. The period ended with the Wolfpack scoring anther goal. After the first period things went downhill for the Platoon. During the second period the Wolfpack racked up two more goals and outshot the platoon twenty to ten. That trend continued into the third period where the Wolfpack racked up two more goals and outshot the Platoon sixteen to six. After all that talking the platoon ended up being drummed out of the second round of the playoffs.
~ 264 words

Task three
When to look at the SHL season 30 post season, the hands down MVP for the post-season is the one and only Nathan Russell. In leading the New England Wolfpack to its first SHL championship in seven seasons Mr. Russell racked up some amazing stats. Nathan scored seven goals which was second in goals scored this post season. Mr. Russell also had 12 assist which was second in assists this post season. Resulting in him leading the league in scoring this post season with nineteen offensive points. Mr. Russell was also the league leader in plus/minus, this post season by being a plus eighteen in fourteen games. In addition to the offence prowess, Nathan Russell displayed his physical game this post season by leading the league in hits as well with 71. So when you see those stats it is not surprising the New England won the season thirty championship. Although Mr. Russell was also second in hit taken but let’s not talk about that.
~ 165 words


Task Four
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Task 5

The series that I will be writing about is the Western Conferences Finals series between the Edmonton Blizzard and the Calgary Dragons. The actual series was pretty quick with Edmonton winning the series in five games. When looking at the teams on paper it appears that the series should have gone to the Calgary Dragons.
The goalie matchup definitely appeared to favor the Calgary Dragons. Hunter Wong is an 1100 plus TPE goal tender with two challenge cup championships to his name. As opposed to the 800 TPE, first year starting goal tender in Brett Broadway. During the regular season Mr. Wong edged out Mr. Broadway in several key stats that would make you think the Calgary would win this series. Mr. Wong had more wins, shutouts, and had a lower goal against average. Although Brett Broadway did have a slightly higher save percentage.
The first lines for both teams are strong. With Calgary’s first line consisting of Esa Anrikkanen, Alex Mack and Randy Randleman. Who combined for 63 goals, 79 assist for a total of 142 offence points during the regular season. While the New England Wolfpack’s first line consisted of Nathan Russell, Blake Sherrill and Raven Silverwing. Who combined for 50 Goals, 74 assist for 124 offence points during the regular season. This paper review of the first line match up would give the advantage to Calgary again.

Based off the rough paper match up review it appeared the Calgary should have won the Season 30 Western Conferences Finals.

~251 words


Cheers
Jets norway

[Image: bonk.gif]
Sigs by @FlappyGiraffe,  @Steelhead77,  @ToeDragon84, @slothfacekilla, @Wasty and other dude I need to find your name

Lil' Manius


Big Manius

#97

TASK ONE:

The sixth game of the West Kendall Platoon and New England Wolfpack was expected to be a tight contest between the Eastern Conference foes. However, the curse of the Big Z would soon strike, as Zallerras Szlerchek scored early in the game to tie the event at one. From there it was as expected a non-contested game. New England would dominate in every facet of the scoreboard, and soon the game would be over with the Wolfpack having 6 beneath their name, and Szlerchek's goal as the lone tally for the favorited Platoon.

The curse will forever live on with the Platoon till they move on from their much maligned captain. Every time he does something good for the team, the team always loses. For a team as strongly competitive as the Platoon are, they must take advantage now, or possibly fall in the trap that Hamilton has, a complete rebuild. For a team that has not won the cup for a very long time, the word rebuild is not in the fanbase's lexicon. If that were to happen, we could possibly see a relocation that has long been rumored finally come to fruition, as the disenfranchised fans will stop showing their support.

TASK TWO

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TASK THREE

Jakob Tanner is my MVP for the S30 playoffs. Why you might ask? Because the man is simply the best goaltender in the game. Whether it be for Hamilton or now New England, he is always carrying his teams deep into the playoffs, and usually to the cup. This season is help vault them past the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Minnesota Chiefs. In the next round, Tanner would only shut the door on the perennial pretenders, the West Kendall Platoon, who were still many of the analysts top pick to win the cup this season. And finally, he defeated the Edmonton Blizzard, who only two seasons ago claimed the title for themselves. The numbers themselves don't lie. He put up the best save percentage, a .929, and goals against average, a sterling 2.25, which both led all goalies in the playoffs. Tanner was able to get that goals against average despite only recording one shutout, but in the end, his strength in net was why the Wolfpack won the cup.

TASK FIVE:

The Eastern Conference Finals can be summed up in four words; “The Szlerchek Curse Lives.” With the series all tied up at 2-2, the Platoon looked to be in dire straights with the Wolfpack up late in game 5. However, the captain, Mr. Big Z, took it upon himself to tie the game up with under a minute to go. This, as per all big goals scored by the cursed man, would lead to the ultimate let down. With seconds left on the clock, the Wolfpack would answer right back and win the game on Platoon ice.

Next up game six, where the Wolfpack this time would jump on the Platoon with a very early goal. Taking all the momentum in front of a boisterous crowd. However, that momentum would be short lived as the man that has some how angered the hockey gods for all of eternity, would strike again, scoring to tie things up. Only this time, it would once and for all spell doom to the Platoon squad. The game would become a slaughter, as the Wolfpack would win by a final margin of 6-1. I think it is time for the Platoon to rid themselves of the cancer that is Zallerras Szlerchek.


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#98

TASK ONE
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


Twitter User @Doesn'tMaattaToMe, for the Militia Mindset blog:

The Montreal Militia went in on small-scale rebranding this season, replacing their new logo from S28 with a new logo, largely considered to be superior. With this change came new jerseys and uniforms, including a switch from plain burgundy helmets to helmets that featured a golden stripe, which they debuted in yesterday's game 1 of the SMJHL S30 playoffs.

Overall, I think this is a striking choice for the Militia, one that definitely made a statement. When I heard there were going to be some small uniform changes to go along with the jersey, I was worried. Then a rumor came out that the helmets would be completely gold, with the Montreal logo on them. Part of me thought the contrast would be nifty. Most of me thought it would look tacky as hell.

Well, game 1 has come and gone, and I'm happy to say the Militia went with a less tacky colourblock choice than straight gold helmets, instead option for a custom job that includes some understated gold striping along the natural contours of the helmet, as well as the Bauer name brand in gold rather than white or black. The look does provide some nice contrast to the straight burgundy of the rest of the helmet, and I'm sure the St. Louis players didn't appreciate those flashes of gold streaking past them on Angello's three breakaways last night. I'm excited to see these helmets in action!

TASK THREE
Who is your MVP candidate for these playoffs and why? Must be 150 words and have 3 stats minimum.


These days, Nathan Russell is almost a member of the old guard, a longtime SHL player who's proven his mettle time and time again. He's nearing the end of his prime, but this year's SHL playoffs proved he still had a lot in him. Russell's 7 goals and 12 assists make him the leading scorer of the S30 playoffs, and he lead the New England Wolfpack to a Challenge Cup with ease, sweeping two teams in their wake.

Russell wasn't just an offensive powerhouse, but a defensive one as well, leading the league with 71 hits and in plus-minus throughout the playoffs. He played a strong, two-way game and in addition, was a leader on a team with a number of rookies and young players. While it's not Russell's first Cup--he won in S23 as a member of the Wolfpack, this second was a long time coming, and Russell's dominant two-way performance had a huge impact on the Wolfpack's post-season. Russell completely deserves playoff MVP; not only does it reflect his massive performance in this post-season but the long work he's put in over the seasons as a part of the Wolfpack to return to this spot.

TASK FIVE
Write 200 words on any series match up and what you think will happen, what actually happened or what should have happened.

The Eastern Conference SMJHL final--the Halifax raiders versus the Montreal Militia. The Raiders had a breakout season with a great crop of rookies, and the Militia were back again the the ECF trying to win their second Four-Star Cup in three seasons, but they'd had a middling season that had only picked up near the end. After fighting their way to a game 7 in round 1, the Militia came out swinging against the Raiders, before dropping two games. Again, they found themselves on the brink of elimination in game 6, only to fall in game 6. Game 5 and 6 were both brutal losses for the Militia, though they fought hard in the second and third period of game 6 to come back.

However, the Raiders are not undeserving of this win. They played a consistent game in front of goalie Hocolate, who spent this series playing lights-out hockey. They deserved the win, though Militia fans will have hoped that they could have gone to a game seven, where they had plenty of success in round one.

The series was vicious and hard-fought, getting dirty at times on both sides, but ultimately ended with both teams respecting the other. The handshake line was one of the most emotional of the playoffs. Look for these two to have spawned a rilvalry that will stretch into the forthcoming seasons.




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