The entirety of Team Grizzled Vets was chomping at the bit for a rematch and redemption against the Hall of Famers. To their shock, they would get another round with Team Superstars. Rested and angry, the vets take the ice against those who wish to take their mantle as lions of the league. Former rivals Ryuuji Minamino and Jimmy Wagner combine for the dangerous attack line of the Superstars, and the vets will need to play their best to keep with these younger, talented players. The vets have something the Superstars don’t; experience, and more Challenge Cups combined than the Superstars could dream of.

With Superstars getting the home ice advantage, assistant coach Gunnar Soderberg suggests sending out a grittier unit to start the game. The third forward line of Barry Batsbak, Nick Brain, and Andreas Kvalheim start off with the shutdown pair of Collin Gibbles and Matthias Seger against Team Superstars top unit (Minamino, Wagner, Kaarlo Kekkonen, Akira Ren and Adam Scianna). They set the pace, playing a tight, clean, defensive style that grinds down on the younger, faster youths. There are plenty of scoring chances both ways, highlighted by Bjorn Leppanen and Keith Lee sandwiching Tony Pepperoni in the neutral zone, where Steve Harrington slipped a breakaway pass to Mats Marner late in the 1st. Marner went top shelf to beat Harry Carpet, taking a 1-0 lead midway through the 1st. The Grizzled Vets answered back quickly off a Corey Kennedy one-timer into a Martijn Westbroek rebound.

The game continued in this manner, with both teams getting chances. The slower, lock down style the Grizzled Vets play begins to get to the Superstars, as Tom Fiddler takes a cheap tripping penalty, claiming “they are stealing my TPE!” on his way to the box. Rotticus Scott then slashed his teammate Michael Scarn, giving the Vets a 5-3. Aaron Wilson does Aaron Wilson things, feeding Corey Kennedy in the slot for a brutalizing one timer to pull his team ahead 3-2. Two shifts later, the 2nd PP unit holds tight pressure for 35 straight seconds, getting 4 shots on goal. Cassius Darrow—taking a rare shift in this tournament with the man advantage, shows out with a sneaky strong wrist shot toward the net. The ancient Tony Pepperoni grabs a rebound high off the goalie’s left pad, and slides a pass to Matt Kholin. Wide open, Kholin puts a blistering backhand shot behind Strom Chamberlain to extend their lead to 4-2.

Heading into the 3rd period down 2 goals, Team Superstars changes goalies, as Cillian Kavanagh takes the crease. If speed was the name of the game before, Team Superstars dials it up another gear, racing up and down the ice and trying to keep the vets off balance. Darrow, Gibbles, McScruf, and Seger see a lot of time blocking shots in their own end, trying to slow the onslaught. Darrow, in particular stands out—after playing a smaller role in previous games, through two periods he played over 11 minutes, with 2 shots on goal, 3 blocks, and a takeaway. In the third period, the old German blocks SEVEN shots in 6:32 TOI, including a pair of back-to-back slap shots from Keith Lee. The veteran fans in the crowd went wild as Darrow limped back to the bench after a whistle—blocks go unrecognized, but this vet team has three of the league’s best in Seger, McScruf, and Darrow (the only 3 players in league history to break 2000 career blocks in the SHL).

The Superstars tie it up off a slippery wraparound from Mitchell van der Heijden, and a beautiful snipe by fourth liner Michael Fitted. They carry pressure and control for a good portion of the 3rd period, but the vets still have tricks afoot. After a good stickcheck, Karlstrasse Scholz tips a pass to mid ice. Nick Brain gathers the puck, and protects from a hard back checking Ryan Shepard, before dropping it to Corey Kennedy, soaring up the ice. He drives deep, dekes, and drops the pass to his trailing man—Julio Tokolosh. He blasts a one timer at Kavanagh, who gets some of it. Kennedy waits on the doorstep and slams it in to put the veterans up 5-4 with 2:16 to go. The faces on the Superstars is crestfallen—they felt anointed, that it was their time. These old shits refuse to give up the spotlight here. Not even an extra attacker could beat Harry Carpet, and the Grizzled Vets take this championship.