a. There is undeniable bias in this response, but at the risk of creating a jinx, I will simply say that this series should definitely be a lot closer than people are expecting. The Inferno are a very driven and dominant team all season long, while the Argonauts have discovered this amazing winning formula that, on top of some incredibly dominant play from several players, has led them on a magical run. Truthfully, this should not be a one sided matchup.

WC: 80

b. Willie Miller has proven to be the big piece of this puzzle for the Seattle Argonauts. In order to support him, we need to make sure that the defensive corps in front of him does their best to limit the amount of shots he faces. Miller is currently leading the league in playoff saves, which is amazing, but also means we can do better to support him. Furthermore, we need to give Miller some offensive support by scoring as many goals as we can.

WC: 84

c. Seattle's forechecking and backchecking has to be on part. A good forecheck will prevent them from getting those good breakouts, likely leading to dump and chase playing which would prevent their players from getting good scoring chances. A good backcheck and tight defensive play will also prevent them from being able to generate high danger scoring chances.

WC: 57

d. It's a good question for sure. It truly does come down to how the penalties are called in the series. If the Argonauts get the power plays, then it should absolutely benefit them. On the other hand, I doubt the Inferno will try and play a safe game. A physical series is what I am expecting from both sides, and anything that crosses the line should certainly be called a penalty.

WC: 71


I'll be honest, I am not, by any means, an incredibly creative individual. My marketing skills would probably be subpar and involve some super cheesy catchphrase, like "Who's up for the Challenge?". Anyhow, I suppose it does not matter about what catchphrase is chosen, but it will absolutely matter what video clips are used to hype up the playoffs. We have had some really intense matchups over the course of the many seasons in SHL history, and there are so many great moments that can be used. The Buffalo Stampede vs Chicago Syndicate matchup in Season 60 that went to seven games, the intense back to back seasons between the Texas Renegades and the Hamilton Steelhawks also comes to mind. More importantly, there should be videos that highlight the teams currently playing as well. Some clips from the most recent regular season, along with maybe some clips from last year's playoffs, would definitely be included, likely ending with the most recent cup being raised from the LA Panthers.

WC: 168


Oh, there definitely are some teams that would have a fighting chance at doing this. Off the top of my head, a lot of those dominant Four Star Cup winning Newfoundland teams from Season 62 to 64 would easily put up a really good fight. That being said, they probably wouldn't put up too much of a fight against one of the top tier teams, but it is very much possible for them to take down a team that is much lower in the SHL standings.

I'm looking through the list of Newfoundland Berserkers teams from that dynasty era and it appears that the Season 63 Newfoundland Berserkers roster was by far the most dominant. A 58-6-2 record with seven players over a point per game. Meanwhile, the Season 63 Manhattan Rage did not perform too well in the SHL, as they had a 9-54-3 record. I feel that a 58 win Juniors team would have a chance against a 54 loss SHL team, but it honestly might be closer than a lot of people expect. The vets that are over 425 TPE and continue to earn might finish with TPE somewhere just shy of 1000, while I doubt that Manhattan is going to ice a roster of just 155 TPE players, too. It would be close, probably.

WC: 218


For whatever reason, the Seattle Argonauts goaltender, Willie Miller, really likes balls. Like, it is a freakily obsessive passion for balls. As a result, in order to better prepare him for his starts, the Seattle Argonauts management team will install a ball pit like what you would see at all those fun indoor adventure fun time places. This will allow our beloved goaltender to relax amongst a ton of plastic balls ahead of an important start. Look, basically 99% of hockey is psychological, so if it works, it works.

Next, the Seattle Argonauts will hire a brand new dietician to figure out how to better provide nutrition to these players. No more ketchup noodles for Liam Slate, but instead there will be chickpea pasta with a hearty pesto sauce. No more snacking or cheat days here. Just chickpea pasta.

Oh, and of course the plan will also involve some performance enhancing substances in order to give us the upper hand on the opponent.

WC: 163


A fun curse would be the Playoff MVP curse. A player that seriously performs at the top of their game during the playoffs, when it matters the most, only to struggle significantly in the following 66 games of the subsequent regular season. It feels poetic in a sense, and some realists may chalk it up to players performing more up to par with their expectations after overperforming in the postseason. However, would that really make sense if a superstar player ended up winning playoff MVP? A superstar player that puts up something like 80 to 90 points in the regular season and then has an outstanding postseason ends up regressing to just putting up something like 50 to 60 points. Is it a curse then? Or is it just plain regression? I would imagine that it would bring up a lot of contentious discussions as to the real cause of it, but maybe the truth is that all this time it really is nothing more than a curse.

WC: 168

4 + 3 + 3 + 3 +3 = 16