1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

penguin

(3 TPE)

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. Manhattan comes into this series with a much more balanced attack than their previous playoff run carried by a scorching hot Lev Lebedev. This time around they have nearly seven players chugging along at a PPG clip. Is this a different beast than last season's Rage? Why or why not?

b. Seattle returns to the finals with a roster that's very similar to last season's champions. So why would they lose this time around? This squad has proven they can do it, so what's changed? Do you think this team can do it again?

c. The play of Max Manning for Seattle and Thomas Lind for Manhattan has been a key factor in their respective teams' playoff runs. Do you think they're both able to continue performing at the spectacular pace they have thus far, or do you think someone is able to figure out how to shut them down? Is that the key to this series?

d. With all that being said it's round two of SEA vs. MAN. Who wins this time? Regardless of any other stat in this series-- who do you think wins it and why? Last season Manhattan was the upstart without any experience, but here they are again to face the same behemoth Seattle team. Make your pick.

a. I think any time you can get more than just your star players on each line involved, you're dealing with a monster outside of the ordinary. Any time you can get three or four players involved in scoring it’s absolutely fantastic and teams don't mind riding those guys, but when you have seven like Manhattan does the scoring really can come from anywhere and make it near impossible to defend. (70 words)

b. Seattle is able to rebound with their same roster and the most important part of that is Willie. Willie has been dominant since entering the SHL and I can't see that changing now that he has a reliable team built around him. They may have not dominated the regular season, but this roster was built to win when it matters most with elite defense and goal tending. I don't see them being stopped. (73 words)

c. I think in this situation you have to look at Lind in specific. Manning has been spectacular and will continue to be so, but Lind is unique because he's been great and is now being forced to face against an elite level goalie and defensive unit. Willie has shown an ability to shut down any team, much less any individual player, at will and it will be interesting to see if Lind has anything creative up his sleeve to get past that. (82 words)

d. I think you'll see the same result as last season. Manhattan was a young, upstart team and they've certainly gotten better with another season under their belt. It’s all people have been talking about. What has been ignored is that Seattle's players haven't just been sitting around and getting worse. This is a team who was dominant last season and improved themselves this season. And they still have Willie. Different season, Seattle is still champions. (75 words)

(7 TPE)


3. Written, 3 TPE, New Year New Me (150 words min.)
What is your player's New Years resolution? What aspect of their game do they want to work on in S69 to help them reach the finals next season? If they did make the finals this season, is it because of something they resolved to work on last season? If so, then what's next?

Adelie has a goal to not only see the finals next season, but to become a better overall player. He has now made deep playoff runs in multiple seasons with Chicago, but hasn't quite found a way to get over that hump. With the new year though, Adelie wants to dedicate himself to being a better penguin. He's become a pretty lockdown defenseman as he has repeatedly made clutch plays with blocks and takeaways deep in his own ice, but that is only one facet of the game. He wants to get better at helping his team on the other side as well. Offense is the name of the game for this penguin and he strives to find a way to better distribute the puck to his teammates and start racking up assists while also taking better, smarter shots of his own. When in Nevada he became known for shooting accurate shots from deep and it is time that slappers from the blueline make their return! (166 words)

(10 TPE)


4. Written, 3 TPE, Dream Series (150 words min.)
Many teams have rivals they'd love to trounce in a playoff series. Maybe you as a player have another specific player you'd love to beat to win the cup and lord it over them for the rest of their lives. Tell me who you'd love to play in a playoff series and why! Why would you love to beat this team or player? What would it mean to you or your team? Keep it friendly. 

I think if Adelie and Chicago are to ever win the cup, I think I would want them to have to beat Seattle on the way. It seems a little silly as logic dictates that we should avoid Seattle. After all, this is the team that has eliminated us in multiple consecutive playoff runs. Most of it comes down to one man and his name is Willie Miller, goalie for Seattle. He has repeatedly come into series against us and put up absolute clinics. Every single time we play Seattle, the fear of being Willied on reverberates through the entire locker room. Each time we see Seattle on the schedule, the man haunts our dreams. He is an elite, clutch, playmaking goalie and frankly I think any championship win in which we don't first overcome Willie is meaningless. After all, what is the point of reaching the highest points if you don't first overcome the monsters who have haunted you? (160 words)

(13 TPE)

7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 7 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.


Milestones +3 TPE

(16 TPE)