Task 1: Rank the other teams in your conference in the order of who you would most want to face in Round 1 to least want to face (regardless of who you actually faced). Explain why.

I'd most like to play the Detroit Falcons in the playoffs among the other teams in our conference. While they did advance farther than Montreal, and they did have a better regular season record than the Militia, the Crows actually won the season series against Detroit. We had three wins, three losses, and one shootout win over the Falcons, with 20 goals for, and 16 goals against. Furthermore, beating your rival in the playoffs is a big moment that any player would want. I'd personally like to have more games against a team that has a lot of players in my draft class.

Montreal is the team I'd want to play second-most, though you could make a decent case that we shouldn't want anything to do with them this year. It was a rough go of it against the Militia in the regular season, as we won one game, lost four, won a shootout, and lost a shootout. We only scored 15 goals versus 22 against in the season series, and they sure looked like they had Detroit put away before they suddenly couldn't beat a pretty weak backup goalie. They don't have much in the way of SHL prospects in this draft class that are too prominent, but this team had our number all year. I felt like they would go on a run in the playoffs.

Halifax is obviously the team I would like to face the least, and that's not even because they swept us. The Raiders look like the best team in the SMJHL going into the finals (though the Knights would probably take issue with that assessment) and have a lot of top talent including last year's no. 1 overall pick, Pietra Volkova. We actually beat them twice in the regular season, but lost six times. We only mustered 10 goals in those eight games and gave up 25, so I would say that we were lucky to actually win a couple. I must have felt like being a contrarian when I made my playoff bracket (and predicted a shock seven-game upset) because we got run over. I'm excited to see if they can seal the deal in the finals.

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Task 2: Create a game-day program cover for any playoff game.



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Task 3: Create a Top 5 list of something to do with the playoffs

Top 5 Things I Cooked This Playoffs (since we lost so quickly):

5. Mushroom Pasta (rotini, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, onion, garlic, lemon, white wine):


4. Thanksgiving Appetizer: Persimmons with apple sausage, goat chese, and craisin.


3. Channa Masala w/Brown Basmati (and a beer):


2. Thanksgiving BBQ Ham:


1. Stuffed Mushrooms (baby bella mushrooms stuffed with a filling of: shallots, garlic, spinach cooked in white wine, mixed with boiled Yukon Gold potato mash and topped with pecorino romano):




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Task 4: Your team has a fan-appreciation night during playoffs. Either write about it or make a graphic of whatever the team is giving away that night.


Oh, Free Beer Night. The Crows had struggled all year to score goals and after going on the road and scoring 1 goal in two games while giving up 7 to start the playoffs, declining attendance at the arena near the end of the season spooked management. And, with large stocks of beer needing to be gotten rid of, the marketing and promotions department figured the best way to solve two problems at once was to have Free Beer Night, with a caveat: The beer was free until the Crows scored their first goal of the game. You have to imagine they figured at worst the Crows would find a goal in the third period and you'd have drunk, rowdy fans providing a playoff atmosphere, or even better a goal right at the end of the first for the Crows would cheer up a crowd probably already into their cups. What they didn't know is that Game 3 would turn out to be the most frustrating playoff loss in recent history for the snakebitten St. Louis players: Game Link

In a somewhat disturbing night of frustration, the Crows managed to outshoot the Raiders 31-10 but lose in overtime, 1-0. The good news was, the arena was packed, and the beer was offloaded. The bad news was, the promotion never ended, and the entire arena was essentially a drunk tank, with multiple stoppages in play for fan interference and quite a few fights in the stands. The crowd appeared to be taking drinks everytime the Crows shot the puck, and on a 31 SOG night without a goal, the beer was guzzled rapidly. By the time of the third period, stands were running out of booze and half the crowd was in the concourse searching for a stand with remaining libations. Inside, meanwhile, it was a frat house kegger with a game of hockey going on in the background.

After the Crows finally gave up an overtime winner on the Raiders tenth shot of the game (St. Louis goaltender Kyle Wahlgren is said to have thrown his stick into the crowd in a fit of rage, knocking out a group of four who all tried to catch the stick- their motor skills had long since deteriorated), the still lively mob of drunkards filed out onto the streets where anyone attempting to get into their cars and drive were promptly arrested by the St. Louis Police. Apparently, they set a new record for DUI violations that night.


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Task 5: For finals, compare how each of the teams did at home vs away in the regular season and in playoffs so far. Will home ice advantage be what gives the winning team an edge, or will it not matter?

During the regular season, the Halifax Raiders held a slight edge over Kelowna in terms of home performance. In 25 home games, the Raiders went 13-7 in regulation, 1-1 in overtime games, and 1-2 in shootouts, for a total home record of 15-7-3. That's good for 33 points of a possible 50. The Raiders scored 73 goals at home versus 56 against.

The Knights on the other hand went 10-7 in regulation, 2-0 in overtime games, and 2-4 in shootouts, for a total home record of 14-7-4 in 25 games, or 32 points of a possible 50 points. They scored 83 goals on home ice while surrendering 73.

So, while the teams are reasonably even in home ice performance Kelowna didn't prevent goals at home as well as Halifax did (the overall season goal prevention for the two teams is practically even, with Halifax surrendering one less goal overall than the Knights but scoring six fewer). The road records tell a more interesting story:

Kelowna had a league-best 15 regulation wins on the road. In 25 road games, the Knights went 15-6 in regulation, 0-1 in overtime games, and 1-2 in shootouts, for a total record of 16-6-3. That's good for 35 points out of a possible 50, which is actually better than their home performance. Furthermore, they scored 76 goals, but what's the most impressive is that they only allowed 49- that's 15 fewer than any other team.

The Raiders were probably the second-best team on the road in the league but I think the gap there is noticeable. The Raiders in 25 road games went 13-9 in regulation, 1-0 in overtime games, and 1-1 in shootouts for a total record of 15-9-1. That got them 31 points out of a possible 50, which isn't that much worse than Kelowna, but the goal differential cements that Kelowna is probably the superior road team. Halifax scored 80 goals on the road, the best in the league, but gave up 65. Obviously a +15 goal differential is not something to scoff at, but compared to the Knights mark of +27 you can see a difference in results. Both teams have made it through two playoff series and each swept their first round series, so the sample size on their playoff home/road splits is comparable, if not so large.

In the playoffs, the Knights and the Raiders are very, very similar. Halifax has played 10 games, and Kelowna 11. Both teams are 4-1 on the road. At home, Kelowna is 4-2 and Halifax 4-1. Halifax and Kelowna's regular season comparions are likely more relevant to their actual relative strength at home and away.