I definitely can't complain about how this season went on the ice for Gabe Johnson so far. Although I failed to hit the heights of last season, where I was second in points and 4th in Scott Stevens award voting, I still had only a 3 point decrease from last season's 47 point campaign. In the playoffs, I only have 7 points in 11 games, which is not exactly terrible but not Razov nominee quality like my performance in last season's playoffs. However, I had a much bigger moment than any i experienced last season, which was scoring a double overtime winner in game 7 against Buffalo to send us to the finals. That moment alone tops anything I accomplished last season and will be something I remember if we win the cup against NOLA. I also have the third most blocked shots these finals, with 37 in 11 games, so it's nice to see me not being a total defensive liability for once.

(164 words)



There has obviously been a lot of fire surrounding the whereabouts of Andrei Kostitsyn's beloved brother Sergei, but a new lead came up recently suggesting that England may be where the missing sibling of Andrei is located. In a show of solidarity towards the search of his brother, Hamilton traded Andrei to England as part of a trade in order to facilitate the search for Sergei. Apparently the famed Queen Elizabeth of England has information that could lead to locating Sergei. The Steelhawks hope that the trade can help Andrei find his lost brother in the United Kingdom, where he has been rumoured to be located.

(106 words)



Canada should do way better now that I am gone. Anyone with even half a brain can tell that I was the root of all the issues that Canada faced in my time as fed head or co fed head. The squad is very good, like last season, but they managed to add Maxime Bouchard to their ranks, meaning they get one of the better wingers in the SHL added to their ranks. I think with that added quality, plus most of their already young squad getting even better, they will be the genuine gold medal threat that they deserve to be. It will be interesting to see how the team performs without me being involved in management of the team on the ice at all, and on a completely serious note I am looking forward to making a deep run as just a player of the team and not a leader.

(152 words)



a. These are absolutely two of the best goaltenders in the league in Cain and Kryyst - which team has the advantage in net in this series?
- Answering after the series is concluded, it's clear that Cain offered the bigger advantage to their team, with how he was generally a brick wall in the finals sweep. Kryyst was fantastic against Buffalo, but unfortunately was not up to the same standard in the finals. Cain was excellent this season for NOLA, and probably the main factor in their cup win. (62 words)

b. There are two Johnsons in this series - Gabriel (HAM) and Darnell (NOLA). In fact, the two used to host the Johnson & Johnson Podcast together, but they're now on the ice as bitter rivals. Which team has the better Johnson?
- Before the series I would have said it's easily Gabe, considering I scored the double overtime goal that sent us to the finals in the first place and blocked shots for fun, but man I was USELESS in the finals. Gotta give the edge to Darnell on this because he at least did well enough for his team to go unbeaten in the finals. I just sucked. (67 words)

c. The Specters won both regular season matchups, but Hamilton finished with better team stats overall. Do regular season head-to-heads provide an accurate forecast for a playoff series? (answer predictively if it hasn't happened yet; reactively if it has.)
- Head-to-head matchups are definitely more important than just overall record. NOLA knew how to beat Hamilton and just went out and did it just like they did in the regular season. Sometimes even though a team does worse than another, they are just well set up to beat the team and shut their style of play down. (57 words)


It has to be Aleister Cain for me. Easily. Hamilton are a team that are no strangers to peppering opposition goalies with shots and forcing them to either be at the top of the game or get lit up, and Cain was more than up to the challenge. Hamilton had more shots in every game in the finals and Cain was ready to just go brick wall mode and not allow any number of goals that NOLA could not match at the other end of the ice. Goalies are always such a huge factor in playoff performance and Cain showed the importance of a hot goalie in a cup run.

(108 words)


Trivia Submitted (Verification: Cottage)

Total TPE: 16 (CW DONE)