1) For me it was two things: First, Vancouver was slated to be a bit better by most pundits, had a rough start but climbed up to .500 and looked like they might even move up two or three more spots with their current play. Then the wheels fell off and the team stumbled, badly. They were lucky to get home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs and that paid off. The first surprising thing ended up being Vancouver taking a three to two game lead over their intraprovincial archival and regular season powerhouse Kelowna Knights.  They actually took the lead in game 7, but Kelowna scored the last two goals of the game to win and advance to the third round... where the second surprise happened. While everyone expected Quebec to give the Knights a challenge, I don't think anyone saw the Knights taking the first game and then losing four straight to get bounced out of the playoffs.
(162 words, 3 TPE, 3 Total)

2) I am going with option 2 because my team can go no penalties, meaning I can play with all 20 players on the ice. Hell the coaches can go out there as well! And since there is no offsides I can plant them anywhere I want on the ice. Five players in front of each net, eight in the neutral zone, two goalies in the net. Oh wait, you are saying that having more than 5 skaters is the one thing I cannot do because it violates the spirit of this exercise? I am still taking that option, because I can literally assign a player to shove the team's opposing goalie into the corner and keep him there. Sure, my team will be 6 on 4, but we can ice the puck wily-nily and I bet we put more pucks in an empty net than they do with their fancy six on fours.
(153 words, 2 TPE, 5 Total)

4) I ended up at home after a series where we took the first place team to seven games and was pretty bummed out to get so close. That was my last game as a Whaler, so I need to look to my next team, the Baltimore Platoon. While I have taken a somewhat balanced approached to my player in order to better assist the Whalers, I plan on working almost exclusively on my defense for my new home.  By concentrating on those traits I can quickly help my team, especially in games where we have the lead or when we are shorthanded. I don't expect to see the light behind the other team's goalie go off as much when I am out on the ice, but I expect to see our light even less. I will working on my stamina, shot blocking, hitting, and defensive positioning. While passing is sometimes considered an offensive stat, it is applicable on defense as well and I will be paying extra attention to that as well.
(172 words, 3 TPE, 8 Total)

5) The Kelowna Knights dominated the regular season and were the only team that broke a hundred points, taking the top spot in the SMJHL by 11 points! They were second in goals for and first in goals against along with the biggest goal differential in the league. They had the second best scorer in the league with Kynwyl Pearce, and while they didn't quite dominate the rest of the scoring charts this was more because the scoring was so spread out. Their goalkeeper, Damien Vertigo, was lights out with a .923 save percentage and ELEVEN shutouts in 48 games. Even the backup goalie put up a pair of shut outs.  I think everyone expected to see them in the final.
(117 words, 2 TPE, 10 Total)

12C) Buffalo and Hamilton are both hockey hotbeds and have been for over a hundred years. The Stampede have a leg up on the name as it flows with the city's name while Hamilton's is somewhat generic.  I also give Buffalo a slight edge on the team's logo. The Steelhawks' logo is great but I find the Buffalo one somehow simple but effective. As for colors, I am going with Hamilton. They blue, white and yellow are great, albeit a bit confusing because the logo has no yellow in it. The Stampedes' green and yellow just doesn't appeal to me as much. The Steelhawks also take the alternate jersey win with their stylish black over the too yellow Buffalo sweater. Lastly, the shoulder logo would be a tie for me. I cannot chose one, I like them both!
(137 words, 1 TPE, 11 Total)

15) Milestones:
DEFENSE
Goals -> 10 or more (7)
Assists -> 21 or more (17)
Points -> 33 or more (24)
+/- -> +21 or higher (-10)
Penalty Minutes -> 18 or fewer (22)
Shots on goal -> 141 or more (122)
Hits -> 57 or more (119)
Takeaways -> 20 or more (32)
Shots Blocked -> 71 or more (122)
Fights Won -> 1 or more (0)
Powerplay Points -> 5 or more (5)
(3 TPE, 14 Total)

16) I want to say thank you to the GMs of Vancouver, Boom and Dex. I am glad they stuck with me for the full four seasons, and were both so patient and helpful as I was a newbie to the league.  I'd also like to make a shoutout to Koopa, Petrov, and Kobo, my teammates for all 4 years.   It has been fun as hell, especially winning it all in my second season and I will miss playing alongside you all. I promise to come visit, mainly with my shoulder into your chest since we are now on opposing teams!
(2 TPE, 16 Total)