Quote:2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. An LAP team that was disappointed in a S63 finals loss is back again to face a TBB team that has been hungry for their chance in the entire FHM era. Who are you taking as a winner and why?
b. Tampa Bay’s top forwards have been absolute power houses on this run, totalling 102 points across their top 6. If you’re LA, how do you line-match against two lines that are on an absolute tear?
c. L.A.’s D pair of Kierkegaard and Kahnwald are maintaining a shocking 2 more GF/60 than GA/60, despite playing more than 21 minutes a game including PK time. If you’re Tampa Bay how do you get around these two? Hope to outlast them in endurance, or look to more depth scoring?
d. TBB’s roster has racked up many more shot blocks (294) than LAP has (188). Do you see this as a good thing? Is this an iron willed team that’s willing to lay down their bodies to get the job done, or do you think it paints a picture of a team that can’t maintain possession and has to find another way to keep the puck out. Maybe a bit of both?

1a. You know, I think I am gonna go with the Panthers just because I think a Barracuda is no match to a panther. Even in the barracuda's natural environment I think a panther would do just fine. I've seen them take on alligators underwater on videos. As far as hockey skills go, I lack the knowledge so I defer to the standings. Panthers were #1 team so that's who I'd as the winner.

[ 74 words ] +1 TPE


1b. Asking me how to line-match in the FHM6 is like asking a shoemaker how to operate a power plant (no offense to any shoemakers). Hockey wise, you take your fastest pest and have them shadow the top players and give them as little space as possible. Get them off their game after the whistles, just try and make them as uncomfortable to play the game as possible. You don't want them to be enjoying it out there, that's for sure.

[ 81 words ] +1 TPE


1c. You need to take advantage of home-ice and last change the best you can. You also need at least one other line to bring something to the table. The pair may be on the ice for 22 minutes but that just means there are 38 minutes without them. Take advantage of that and put pressure on the rest of their d-core.

[ 62 words ] +1 TPE


1d. Blocking shots through the season can be a bad thing because of injuries and the wear and tear on players. But we are a sim league so that doesn't apply. In the end, blocking shots are mostly a positive stat. There are instances where players can get out of position trying to over commit on the block but I have a hard time choosing the team with less blocked shots as the one that is more committed.

[ 78 words ] +1 TPE

Quote:16. Written, 2 TPE, Just Like Back Home (100 words min.)
Choose a dish from your IIHF federation and tell me about it! Does your player make it? A member of their family? What’s special about it to you?

Spack Jarrow's childhood is well known by now. A kid living on a ship isn't afforded the luxuries that a lot of other children his age were. Such simple things as pastries, sweets, or even chocolate bars were an extremely rare treat.

One of the things that Jarrow loads up on every time he returns to Switzerland is boxes and boxes of Swiss chocolate. It's his favourite and every time he has some he is reminded at how far he has come in life. It makes him appreciate everything he has and the enjoyment of rewarding himself with something he dreamt of as a young child.

[ 106 words ] +2 TPE

Quote:17. Written, 3 TPE, A Few Of Your Favourite Things (150 words min.)
Last season I asked why you chose your IIHF country, and this is somewhat similar but I’m specifically asking for non-hockey reasons now. What are some of your favourite things about the country your player is from? Are there special sights? Cities? Maybe it’s food? All of the above? Do a little research on the country and tell me what you like!

I've never been to Switzerland or have any real ties to that country beyond my player being recruited to play there. Honestly the first impression I ever had of Switzerland was probably watching Bond as a kid and the skiing. Of course movies and TV shape a lot of my impressions of the country. So things like the movie Bourne Identity, Amazing Race, Swiss army watches/knives, Swiss leather, Swiss chocolate, Swiss gold but all that is more about what we import.

I think from what I know about Switzerland is that I really like how they have so many languages and how beautiful the country looks. The food also sounds delicious and unfortunately I doubt I'll ever have the money to actually visit it.

[ 125 words ] +2 TPE

Quote:21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Boss Fight (150 words min.)
Develop a video game boss fight based off of your team’s branding. Tell me what it looks like, what its strengths are, and most importantly– how you defeat it. ALTERNATIVELY for a graphic task, show me your player fighting the boss you’ve imagined.

The Winnipeg Aurora of the SHL presents "Star Dust". This boss of bosses. This beast of beasts. A massive 20 foot transforming bear that resembles a polar bear however instead of white fur it has an iridescent glow with Aurora colours. Its powers is while in bear form it can attack you by swiping with its claws or grabbing you with its mouth if you get too close. It can also charge quickly across the screen at random times. It will transform into an Aurora cloud to recover energy and health. While in Aurora form, it can hypnotize anyone too close and cause them to let their guard down and stop moving. The sky will also reign down while in Aurora form injuring anyone unprepared or hypnotized.

How to defeat it? There are some that say it can't be defeated. Am I one of those people? Yeah, sure. Why not. It can't be defeated. Sorry.

[ 157 words ] +3 TPE

Quote:22. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Gone Viral (150 words min.)
Your player unexpectedly has a video go viral on social media. Why? Does it make your player look good? Does it make them look bad? What happened and why was someone filming you to begin with? ALTERNATIVELY for a graphic task, show me your player being filmed in their viral moment.

I am the person who posted the video. That is my house and my doorbell camera that the footage is from.

What you are watching is a drunk Spack Jarrow stumble up the pathway to my house. Proceed to pull his pants down and urinate all over my front door. I got the alert from my doorbell video app while I was at dinner and immediately called the police.

Obviously I didn't know that was Spack Jarrow at the time but from what I've pieced together from talking to the cops and to the Uber driver who drove him to my house was that this all started after Jarrow lost game 7 to the Chicago Syndicate. Evidently all of the Winnipeg Aurora players jumped on the team bus and headed to the airport back to Winnipeg except for Jarrow. Evidently, he decided to get drunk and hire an Uber driver to take him around Chicago so he could pee on a rival players door.

The Uber driver claimed that he picked up Jarrow from a liquor store in front of the Chicago stadium and he was already hammered before even getting into the car. The driver didn't know why Jarrow had him drive him around to several houses in a Chicago suburbs. It wasn't until the 3rd house (mine) that he started to question what was going on.

I wasn't the only one to call the police who eventually detained Jarrow who claimed that he was attempting to pee on the front door of a Chicago Syndicate defenseman by the name of Ben Jammin @James Truong but didn't know which house was his. So he was going from house to house, peeing on everyones doors. It's unclear if he was arrested or if they just sent him away with a warning but TMZ paid me $10k for the video.

[ 315 words ] +3 TPE

Quote:23. Written, 2 TPE, How Are You? (100 words min.)
Instead of asking you about other people this season, I figured I’d ask about you! How are you feeling? Take a couple of minutes to write about what’s going on in your life and how you’re feeling lately. I think taking the time to write things down helps me appreciate or understand them better, so maybe this could help you! Or you can just rant about your cat annoying you for 100 words and collect 2 TPE. I guess that works too.

Last week I needed to get some plumbing work done in the house so I had a plumber come in. He attempted to shut off the water to do work but the valve wouldn't shut off. So we needed to call the city to turn the water off to the house at the main. We book a time, they come out and try and turn it off but can't because the last person to work on it bent the valve with the bobcat. So they need to dig up half of my front yard to repair that. They book another appointment. Show up and break the pipe going into my houses water supply causing the mud to back up into the system. That now needs to be flushed and the front yard is partially flooded that now needs repair on top of the plumbing work that I still needed done.

Thankfully the plumbing is now done and the valve is installed. My front lawn looks like shit still though but baby steps I guess.

[ 176 words ] +2 TPE