Burlok is in his peak season, so I guess if he's going on any team it's the Superstars, though it doesn't exactly feel fitting for him. I think he feels pretty out of place loading into the simulation and seeing guys like Jobin on his team with armfuls of challenge cups-- or Steve Harrington who might be on pace to lead the league in all time TPE-- or Edward Williams, his own teammate in Texas, that has racked up award after award his whole career-- or Zoltan Topalo, who I hear is pretty good on Tampa Bay.

I think his first practice is pretty lack luster. I think he's stuck in his head, not feeling like he really belongs there. Fumbles a lot of pucks, turns the wrong way on a lot of drills. It's a tough day for Burlok. He catches himself wondering why he isn't an up and comer, but then realizing that he's been playing professional hockey for ten years. Ouch.

In our first game, the Superstars were just able to take home the win against the up and comers. Naturally we have a bit more experience, and we're largely very well rounded as players, so we were the favourite going in. The game plan was to just keep the game on lockdown for the first forty minutes and let our skills eek us out a lead. Then the last period was just about weathering the storm against a group of amazing young talent.

We might be at the top of our game right now, but the superstars are still what, 28-32? We're not old and we're good, but you just can't compete on stamina with guys that are 18-24. Even if we know we're better overall, they'll just keep coming. So while it felt like we mostly had the game under control, the back third was a little more hectic for sure. I definitely noticed our guys getting back to the bench a little more winded than theirs were. But we had enough in the tank and our goalie bailed us out on our mistakes. A good win, but a tough one.

As the tournament continued, I think the superstars just got too big for their britches. I don't think anyone REALLY knew what to expect coming in to this, but with a name like Superstars you have to think you're a favourite. Of course the hall of famers sound good too, but as we all expected they're... well... old. We were played tight by everyone all tournament but we were always clearly the better team. This time around it was different.

Maybe the simulation gave them their old powers back? I shudder to think what other entities would be capable of returning them to the form they're in, but regardless of the means used they are back and they are in fighting shape. They have the experience and knowledge of hall of famers but the bodies of young guns. We weren't ready for it, and they came blasting out of the gate. We went down 3-0 in the first and just couldn't catch up. Once we knew what we were up against things started to even out, but their lead was too much and their skills too good. We ended up losing 5-1.

Given that we lost the last two periods by a score of 2-1, I think we could have a chance if we come prepared next time. If they don't catch us by surprise, it'll be a real war.

In the next game, the Grizzled Vets were a good matchup for us because we knew what to expect from them. The Young Guns have lots to give and still have a few surprises up their sleeve. The Grizzled Vets have more talent across them, but all of us guys on the Superstars have been watching them for more than a decade now. Their game is good, but we know it inside and out. With our talents and younger legs, we knew we could get it done.

The 4-2 outcome was pretty textbook as far as wins go, it was just a game of minimizing our mistakes in the defensive zone while trying to use our stamina to our advantage. As expected, a tight game early on opened up a bit as the vets got tired. A 2-1 squeaker at the end of the third quickly became 4-1 for the superstars as we fell back into tight defensive coverage to close it out. Not the most exciting hockey for the fans, but we got it done. We celebrated by studying Hall of Famers' game tape, because I have a feeling we're going to have to endure that storm one more time if we want to win it all.

And of course, as the tournament comes to close... our fears became real. Our whole team is nervous going up against the Hall of Famers for the championship because we clearly remember what happened last time. It's like playing against the Monstars minus the body horror. The only difference is that this time we know what to expect, and we know that if we play perfectly we can hang with them. While this simulation in a simulation seems to have given them some of their youth back, they still have a stamina curve similar to the Grizzled Vets. So if we can weather the first two periods, the third is really our chance.

That was the plan of course, but somehow we still weren't ready. They put one past us on the second shift of the game, and we were down 1-0 in under two minutes. That goal was the kick in the ass we needed though, and we stayed with them for the rest of the first.

The second was an absolute war of a period, with nobody giving an inch. During one of our penalty kills, an unfortunate broken stick when O'Shea tried to clear our zone put us in awkward positioning. They capitalized again, and we were down 2-0 half way through the second. The sound of Jobin cracking his stick off the post was what we needed to really start our offensive push, and from there to the end of the period that's what we did. We had them in their zone for huge stretches, culminating in Duncan smashing one home in front as I was just barely able to sweep it into the crease from behind the net. End of the period, we're down 2-1.

Unfortunately for the Hall of Famers, we kept our press up for the third too. Jobin helped us catch them on a bad line change with an unexpected stretch pass that hit Sutherland perfectly at their blue line. Streaking in alone, he went five-hole to tie the game. If we were starting to get tired from our relentless attack, all of that went away when we were back in position to win.

I gotta be honest, our last-minute winning goal was pretty amazing... I just wish I could say I was on the ice for it. It doesn't always happen like the movies, ya know? Sometimes you play a great game top to bottom, but when the storybook moment happens, you just happen to be on the pine. Ah well.

Anyways, in the final minute, Timonen made a great block in front of our net, kicking off a huge scrum in the slot as the puck bounced around. Everyone was throwing cross checks and tackling anyone in an opposing jersey to try and get the puck to safety. It shot out back towards the Hall of Famers D, which sprung Topalo into a footrace against their D. He was able to corral it and fight them off his back to get it deep into their zone and frozen in the corner. Taking slash after slash, he bought time until a hobbling Timonen was able to join the attack. Topalo managed to kick it back to him, he caught a glimpse of Williams who came off the bench and into the zone like he was fired out of a cannon. The Hall of Famers weren't able to pick him up fast enough, and he ripped a shot top corner with 25 seconds left to cap off the tournament.

I was going wild on the bench, and we got to leave the simulation as grand champions.