TASK THREE: Write a script for the game day preview for Game One of the Finals. Must be at least 150 words.

We’ve all been eagerly anticipating it, and now the Finals are here! The Toronto North Stars will face off against the Portland Admirals. Both teams were underdogs heading into the conference finals as 2nd seeds facing off against 1st seeds, yet both teams overcame the odds and advanced. Toronto has had a magnificent run to the Finals this year, only losing 2 games along the way, while Portland had a hard-fought series that went right to game 7 against the heavily favoured Calgary Dragons. The outcome is very much up in the air for this series, as both teams seem pretty evenly matched. A key head-to-head matchup to watch will be between the 2 goalies, Kirkstone and Wahlgren, who have both been absolute walls for their teams so far. Look for Toronto’s 1-2 punch on defense of Barbashev and Taylor to continue making noise into the finals. We’ll see how Portland will respond to such a balaned defensive lineup.


TASK FOUR: Who is your choice for the S35 Playoff MVP to this point? Must be 150 words.

Heading into the finals, the clear favourite has to be Andrey Barbashev. Leading his team in scoring as a defenseman is not an easy feat, especially with the defensive responsibilities he has on top of it. He averages over 30 minutes a game, and with 24 blocked shots, ranks 3rd in the playoffs. The highest scoring player between the 2 teams going into the finals, he plays big minutes at even strength, and on special teams. The other major candidate would have to Kyle Wahlgren. With a save percentage of .926, no other goaltenders are even close to Wahlgren. His goals against average also ranks on top by a wide margin. If Wahlgren manages to keep up his stellar play in these finals, Toronto will have an extremely tough time getting wins. Other notable candidates would be Cynthia Taylor and Jeff Kirkstone on Toronto, and Pedro Sarantez and Patrick Brumm on Portland.