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+---- Thread: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams (/showthread.php?tid=141849)
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - RLG91 - 03-18-2025
As the Kraken whipsawed back and forth throughout the standings all season long, the Carolina locker room is preparing ahead by expecting any possibility from their first round series against NBB. The team finished on a heater to end the season, and hope to continue that way in their first playoff matchup of S82. Team drilling remains the same, with the coaching staff continuing to work with the team to sort out inefficiencies spotted during the regular season, and practice keeping the same high intensity that is expected of them to succeed. The only difference that has manifested is the superstitions that have risen amongst the team. Players are refusing to break tradition from anything that may have contributed to their hot second half, and risk a meltdown against a lower seeded Nevada team. There has been several intense showdowns during practice where two or more players refuse to be the last one off the ice. Several players (not naming names) haven't changed their lucky underwear since game 37. @Hetaksh has only ate pasta for half a calendar year now.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - ctots - 03-18-2025
When you play in Great Falls, you prepare for the playoffs the only way you know how: like a Grizzly. The whole team has been sleeping on the floor of a cave just outside of town, waking with the sunrise and the sound of chirping birds in the surrounding forest.
Making their way in the morning down to the river, they caught protein-rich salmon to feast upon. They ate the fish raw, of course, because that’s tradition. Stomach full of fish, they mosey to the nearest clearing for a dessert of blueberries before nodding off for an afternoon nap.
For their evening training, the team chase wildlife through the forest on hands and knees, roaring fiercely as they do so. Exhausted from their day of absurd training, they make their way back to the cave to rest.
It’s unclear how this actually is meant to benefit them on the ice. Maybe this method explains their difficult first day of playoffs.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - SilverBlitzenAG - 03-18-2025
As soon as the horn sounded to wrap up the last game of the regular season, Thunder Bay started to put in work for the playoffs. Taking a peek at the standings showed we were up against Vancouver, and we started to go over tapes from the games we had with them, seeing what worked in our win and what didn't work in our losses against them. After taking a day to rest and recover from the final game, practice began in ernast. A lot of hours on the ice were put in by all, working on skills that needed improving, and building some last little chemistry on the lines for a playoff push.
What isn't talked about is the stuff that happens off the ice and out of the team facilities. Players met up over the weekend to hang out, relax, and talk about the season. Everyone on Thunder Bay wanted to be ready for the playoffs to start, and that includes making sure their bodies were in peak condition by taking this little time to rest and relax.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Kimar - 03-18-2025
Since this is my first time playing in the playoffs, I'm pretty nervous, but at the same time I'm really excited to play some playoff hockey. its a completely different beast compared to the regular season. I start of my day with breakfast, something with a lot of protein and a bunch of carbs so I'm full of energy for the game tonight. After that I head to the practice facility and work out for a while. While I work out I'm listening to some good music to help pump me up for the game. Some hard rock, metal and rap to get my blood pumping. After that hockey practice, were the full team is present to prepare our strategies and do some last minute practice to make sure were completely ready for the big game. After that I head back to my Aparment and take a quick pregame nap, which is sort of a tradition for me at this point, before the game so I'm 100% ready and full of energy.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - BXM - 03-18-2025
After a difficult loss of the first seed in the conference, the Ottawa Highlanders were matched up against the St. Louis Scarecrows, which was not going to be an easy matchup. In the 6 games we played them, we won three and lost three; and even tie. We analyzed the film and figured out what worked best for us, and what didn’t. Hopefully we can make work of the Scarecrows and move on to round 2.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - NamesMonday - 03-18-2025
As a team I think we have been preparing all season. We started the season off pretty rough but as myself and some of the other rookies started to get a hold of the leauge we started to get better. We talked with our captains and GMs to really get an idea of how to best fit ourselves into the teams scheme. Lots of conversations about how we wanted to play versus how the team wanted to funciton. We had a plan to work hard enough to at least be compeitive come playoffs. I think speaking more recently we have prepared by just talking and haning out. I know it doesnt help our players but having a good time and laughing with each other i feel like has made the team more active with one another. Allowing us to continue to earn TPE and buidling out players even stronger than we expected!
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Jackienape - 03-18-2025
![[Image: 0QULORD.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/0QULORD.jpeg)
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - theevilisback - 03-18-2025
After the first season in Quebec City it's customary to treat the vets to some good food and drinks. After contemplating where to take the team as a way of saying thanks for the warm welcome and a great regular season celebrating another Laurifer Trophy I decided on Légende. Where else but one of the most expensive places to drop a couple thousand and unwind after a long season? Unfortunately, the mistake was made of saying "Get what you want, it's on me." Not realizing what this place had, what was expected to be maybe $200 per person ballooned into almost a $100k bill thanks to the "sophisticated" tastes of some of the players. Most notably, Chubby Barista's $12k bottle of wine.
After many drinks, a 6 course meal, and many laughs, it was time to get back to training for the three-peat and to add another banner to the rafters for all to remember. The camaraderie of the team showed up, especially around Evil as the line has produced to become the top threat against the Grizzlies. Maybe there was something in that expensive wine afterall?
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Deli - 03-19-2025
The Great Falls Grizzlies knew a long time ago that the postseason was going to be a massive uphill climb to escape the first round no matter who their opponent was. Preparing for the postseason, the Grizzlies spent the week enjoying the feeling of building up to an important game. An important couple of games, which was a feeling they didn't get very often the past few seasons. Enjoying the small things like extra reporters around the practices and media days, every seat in the house being full, and the excitement of just being a big win streak away from a championship was a deep breath of fresh air for all of the Grizzlies players. Taking things more seriously in the trainings and recovery and diet to stay in top shape and pull off the big upset. Tyler Bodega had to lay off of so much time at the laser tag center, going over film review with his fellow goalie to learn offensive schemes and tendencies to help defend the net as the netminders would likely be the busiest men on the ice in the postseason.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Ashes - 03-19-2025
Our approach to the playoffs is to take it one round at a time - so how we prepare depends heavily on the matchup. That said, the first round matchup couldn't have ended up more perfect for Thunder Bay, as the Fish are set to face off against the fish killers themselves, the Vancouver Whalers. Being natural enemies and all, it was only fitting that they would be the first team we get to knock out. Before the series began, the team went on a big trip together to Vancouver. We figured that to defeat our enemy, we must know our enemy, and to know our enemy, we must become our enemy, so we went fishing together. We couldn't quite go whaling, as it has been illegal in Canada since 1972 (unless you're Inuit, apparently, in which case it's allowed since it's part of tradition and their local diets), so we just did some normal fishing in the waters around Vancouver instead. We let all of the fish go free, of course, the fishing was really just a team-building exercise - and I do think it brought us a bit closer together, and helped us develop a deeper hatred for our rivals and eventual opponents.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - egregious - 03-19-2025
The Quebec City Citadelles prepared for the playoffs in two separate squads.
Shiny Rainbow, some of the less-violent of the defensive players and half the forwards practiced hard at nice, conventional, skill-based hockey. Pass the puck. Visualize the play. Make a smart decision. Aim your shot well.
Dejana Kaptina, Levon Dojkic and Greg Evil, already three of the top shorthanded goal-scorers in the league during the regular season, practiced with Quebec's mongrel sub-human beasts on a more bleed-and-speed strategy. Bash the puck-carrier. Visualize the black eye on any enemy player. Make stupid decisions with force and glee. Aim your fist well. It was the same strategy that had generated so many shorthanded goals during the regular season, updated and upgraded in violent intensity for the postseason.
Despite a lack of shorthanded goals, it paid off in a first-round sweep. Chubby Barista earned more penalty minutes in her first playoff game than any other player earned in the first four games of any series. The tone is set, QCC will find itself fully in rhythm in due course.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - xNJRangerFanx - 03-19-2025
The Newfoundland Berserkers have demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the regular season, but the playoffs present a new level of challenge. Recently, the team has hosted several dinners to discuss and align on expectations heading into the postseason. Currently, the Berserkers sit just behind the Citadelles in the standings and hold a 3-1 lead over the Yukon Malamutes in the first round. While the team has experienced success in the opening round, the real test lies ahead in the second round, where they have been eliminated by the Armada in back-to-back seasons.
Now, with the team hitting their stride at the right time, the floor is set for success. Key players like Bourne, Linthome, and Ivanovitch are reaching their peak performance, providing a strong foundation for a deep playoff run. Additionally, majority of the Berserkers' players lead the league in the plus-minus category, a testament to their collective impact on both ends of the ice.
Off the ice, the team has fostered strong bonds through team-building activities such as amusement park outings and film study sessions. These moments of unity have allowed players to learn about each other's cultures and strengthen their chemistry. Now, as they prepare for the challenges ahead, the Newfoundland Berserkers are poised to fight as a cohesive unit in pursuit of bringing the Four Star Cup back to Newfoundland.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Dziadek93 - 03-19-2025
Malamutes finished the regular season as first, so we were the most exhausted team in the league. As a result, we also had the most time to regenerate, as much as two weeks, which we took advantage of. There was also time for the gym to stabilize our form again and take it to the first match with Berserkers. We disappointed the fans with our play, which we were aware of, and yet they managed to fill Takhini Arena. To strengthen the fans' faith, we met with them at an event that was supposed to build up strength before the playoffs and assure them that we will try to prove that the unsuccessful regular series was an accident at work and we will reverse it in the playoffs. Despite the difficult opponent, we felt that this season was starting over and with new energy we entered the ice to reverse the bad card.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - steviey - 03-19-2025
After the Quebec City Citadelles received the Laurifer Trophy for finishing first overall in the league, we had a fire truck parade through the streets of Quebec City to celebrate with our fans.
After the parade, we checked the standings and saw that we would be facing the Great Falls Grizzlies in the first round. It was time to get down to business. The first thing on coaches list was line to line wind sprints. After the wind sprints coach had us working hard on our special teams drills. Then coach split us up into two teams and we played a game against each other. After the intrasquad game it was back to wind sprints to finish off our practice.
After we finished our practice session, we headed to the film room to start analyzing our opponent for the first round matchup. After that we hit the weight room for some strength training.
RE: S81 SMJHL PT #5 - Playoff Dreams - Snipex91 - 03-19-2025
When the Thunder Bay Walleye get to the playoffs they get serious. To really get into the playoff mindset we had to hone our craft with what we do best. We knew the importance of keeping things light and relaxed. True to our team name, we dedicated a day to some "team-building" fishing on the lake. With rods, reels, and plenty of bait, we joked about catching our opponents off guard just as easily as we reeled in actual walleye. With competitive spirit and competition about who was the best fisherman (spoiler alert—it definitely wasn't Troy McClure), we strengthened our team chemistry off the ice. But we didn’t stop there. Back on the rink, our practices became more targeted, sharpening our puck handling and refining our power play strategies. Quick transitions and precise passing drills were what we needed, ensuring we were ready for Vancouver's fast-paced style. By the end of our weekend, we emerged more bonded, confident, and ready to reel in victory against Vancouver.