Task 01: (Written, 3 TPE)

Rainbow Dash is headed back to Ponyville to celebrate with the rest of the Mane 6, her closest friends. Upon arrival she is greeted by Pinkie Pie, who obviously is preparing the biggest party of all time for her even though she won't admit it. Then there was Fluttershy, who brought Angel along but he's as anti-social as usual - nothing too surprising there. Of course Twilight tried to take over the spotlight by talking about friendship and how obviously the Dragons have been doing so well because of friendship and blah blah blah. . .typically princess of friendship stuff. Of course the greatest thing of all was the present they gave her when she left - a photo of her draft day when she was on stage with the New England Wolfpack's management team, but the picture depicts her friends watching on TV back home. A true tale of two worlds, and a sign that friendship is anything but in the past.

Task 05: (Written, up to 6 TPE)

1. Breakdown this finals matchup for us, how will it play out? who will be the stars of this series, what will the outcome be? (*tag anyone involved)

I think that Rainbow Dash is going to be a breakout player. After her amazing performance in game one against the Edmonton Blizzard where she scored all four goals in the win she's just been okay at best. But just you watch - @Eggy216 is going to have a breakout game in the finals and lead the Dragons to a cup win.

2. A major managerial showdown is about to take place Between WKP's (Jr95, Wongy) and Calgarys (Steelhead77, C00kies) which set of GM's have the tactical/managerial advantage in this series and why?

While JR95 and Wongy have some great recent experience as GMs, not much compares to Steelhead and C00kies, easily the longest tenured GM tandem in the league with multiple cup finals and victories to their names. There isn't another GM tandem in the league I'd take over those two in a fight, so it's 100% the Dragons GMs for me.

5. After trading off there best players and declaring themselves in a full rebuild back in S45, The Calgary Dragons have made it to the S47 finals.. just 2 seasons later. Choose: ('No surprise', 'mild surprise', 'major surprise' or 'in shock') and explain why.

Mild surprise - The Dragons are an amazing team run by some amazing GMs. That, combined with the fact that so many of the players are up-and-coming, they were bound to find success. The fact that the success was so great, now that's a surprise for sure. But seeing them in the playoffs making a decent run is no surprise at all. And it's a good sign for next season, that's for sure.

7. The West Kendall Platoon are back in the finals after a season out of the playoffs and a team that was in serious regression Choose: ('No surprise', 'mild surprise', 'major surprise' or 'in shock') and explain why.

No surprise - Honestly I'd say last season was more of a surprise than this season. They've got a pretty great bunch of players and a great GM tandem. With the move of Tampa Bay to the East and the fact that so many teams in the East are struggling right now, West Kendall had a relatively easy route to the finals, and their GMs' experience is going to prove huge here.

8. Star netminders Kata Vilde and Beaujeaux Biscuit have both carried there teams into the finals. Which franchise goalie has a better chance to carry their franchise to a title?

I think Beaujeaux Biscuit has the edge in experience, so I'd have to go with him. While Vilde has been a standout goaltender for the Dragons this season, his youth and relative inexperience is going to make it a little more difficult for the Dragons to win this year - but his experience is going to be huge when the Dragons make the finals again next season.

Task 07: (Written, 3 TPE)
You have been given the responsibility of organizing the National Anthem(s) for both teams in the Challenge Cup Finals. With the entire world watching the league feels its imperative that who ever you choose really encapusates the persona of the team and their fanbase. In 150 words or more, let us know who you chose for both teams, why you believe they represent that franchise and anything notable about their performance,, IE outfits, accompaniment, etc.

For the Calgary Dragons, the game will be opened by Dragonforce. Notable for their 2005 song "Through the Fire and Flames," putting them on the ice for the anthem gives us the opportunity to have the band play the song as the team comes onto the ice for warmups. What a scene that would be as fire shoots into the air while the team takes to the ice while this song plays through the arena's sound system. There'd be smoke, fire, and one hell of a hockey team. Tell me it gets any better than that - it doesn't.

In West Kendall, the anthem will be sung by Flo Rida. I know absolutely nothing about him other than his name, but I think it would be pretty fitting to have a guy named Florida singing the anthem in Florida. Flo rida would also have an eagle flying around the arena while he performed, representative of the team's logo.

Task 09: (Written, 3 TPE)

I think the New Orleans Specters have to be the biggest disappointments for sure. After the season they had last year in which it looked like there was no stopping them, anything short of a Challenge Cup this season would have been a disappointment. Really I think the biggest issue comes down to the fact that the team went all-in last season in their first season, and didn't really make huge strides from there. The hope was that the success of last season would continue into this season, but now that they've been in the league a year people had the opportunity to adjust and adapt to their style of play, and they were no longer able to dominate in the same way that they did a year ago. I think it's likely we'll see them continue to decline in future seasons unless they start looking to build a foundation and not just hold at the top.

TASK 13: (*CASUAL MEMBER SPECIAL* Send answer in PM, up to 3 TPE)

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